Whenever I go on a diet, I wish I could just stop eating for a while. And really, the math seems so simple – 3,500 calories = 1 pound of fat. If i cut only 500 calories per day I should be able to be one pound lighter by the end of the week. 500 calories is less than two chocolate bars I enjoy every day…
Few hours in and my enthusiasm begins to fade. Here is the truth about me – I love food! There are people who forget to eat when they are busy. There are people who can stick to 1,000 calories per day for three months. I personally have a hard time to impose any kind of food restrictions on myself. I eat often and I do so for pleasure.
Fortunately, I’ve been always reasonably slim and even skinny, however the older I get, the harder it becomes to maintain my body weight. Since I don’t like to restrict myself, I found it’s better to develop a bag of tricks – quick and painless fixes, such as satisfying low-calorie dishes. Chicken and mushrooms are my favorites.
Cool facts about chicken
Chicken cuts can vary drastically in fat and calories. Choose the right part and consume up to 50 percent less calories than you otherwise would if you were eating the whole thing.
The dark meat is the highest in calories. If you simply skip the dark meat you will be cutting up to 30-40 percent of calories. Chicken breast is the lowest in calories and there is a lot of cool stuff you can do with it. If you go even further and remove skin from chicken breast, you’ll be cutting additional 40 calories and about 4 grams of fat.
Cooking tips
While of course you could cook your chicken with skin on and remove it later, there is the possibility that the fat will melt onto the white meat and you will end up consuming more calories than you originally planned. If you are worried that your chicken will dry out when cooked without skin, use low-calorie sauces and marinades. Not only this will prevent your chicken from getting dry, it will make it way tastier! Removing skin before cooking makes a big difference.
The healthiest (and the lightest) ways to prepare your chicken is to simmer it in a stew or roast it. You could use a little bit of olive oil to stir-fry your chicken, however this will slightly raise the calorie content. Finally, you should stay away from nuggets, fingers or anything other than pure white meat.
Want more ideas? Check this – 4 Steps to Eating Pizza on a Diet.