7 Simple Ways to Cut 100 Calories from Your Diet

One hundred calories may not sound like a lot, but they can really add up. If 3,500 calories equate to one pound of weight gain, by cutting 100 calories a day from your diet you will lose one pound in a little more than one month, as long as you keep other things the same. We’ve rounded up some of the simplest ways to shave 100 calories from your day—ways so easy and pain-free that you won’t even notice the calories are missing. We’ve also done the math to show you how many pounds you stand to lose in a year by adopting these simple solutions daily. Take a look at how to cut 100 calories:

Cut one can of soda a day. Of course, we think you should eliminate soda all together because of the huge amounts of sugar it contains. But even if you cut just one 12-ounce can of soda from your diet each day, you’ll save more than 140 calories, almost all of it from sugar, which means your insulin won’t spike so your risk of developing diabetes will be decreased. When thirst strikes, drink a glass of water, which has a ton of weight loss benefits. Yearly savings: 14.6 pounds.

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Replace mayonnaise with mustard. By swapping a tablespoon serving of mayo with the same amount of mustard, you’ll save 80 calories (the mayo has 90 calories and the mustard, 10). Plus you’ll add a spicy zing that pairs particularly well with meats like turkey, ham and roast beef. Yearly savings: 8.3 pounds.

Cut your rice in half. Who doesn’t love rice with stir fries and saucy dishes? But by cutting your typical serving of 1 cup of rice in half, you’ll save 100 calories while still enjoying the delicious mouth feel and nuttiness rice brings with it. We suggest you go for brown or wild rice for added fiber. Yearly savings: 10.4 pounds.

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Stop putting sugar in your coffee. A teaspoon of sugar may help the medicine—and the coffee—go down, but each one contains 16 calories. Let’s say you put two packs in each of your three daily coffees—that’s 96 calories. Only drink one cup but with cream and sugar? Cut out both and you’ll lose 100 calories. By all means, drink your coffee: it has some unexpected health benefits. Yearly savings: 10 pounds; 10.4 pounds.

Take a brisk, brief walk. The average person burns about 100 calories in a brisk 15-minute walk. Think about it. If you work in an office, your walk to and from the local sandwich or coffee shop could be an easy way to burn 100 calories. Need to have a meeting with a coworker? Ask her to walk with you while you discuss the issues you need to address. You’ll feel energized from the activity and the change of scenery. Yearly savings: 10.4 pounds.

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Trade sandwiches for leafy green wraps. An average slice of commercially-prepared white bread has 65 calories. By replacing the two pieces of bread with a piece of a leafy green, you’ll save 130 calories, and enjoy the benefits of eating green: fiber, nutrients and, depending on the type of green, bioflavanoids. Go for the greenest you can: kale and swiss chard. Yearly savings: 13.6 pounds.

Swap bagels for english muffins. Bagels are the poster child for bloated portion size—they’ve grown in size by almost 30 percent in the last 30 years. By swapping an english muffin (120 calories) for a standard commercially-prepared bagel (360 calories), you can save a whopping 240 calories a day. Be sure to use sugar-free peanut butter if you go that route. Yearly savings: 25 pounds.