Theres all these little things that you can do to make your meals lower-cal, and as Im just getting back into thing I think I should start thinking about this...

I know I used to always ask for no cheese - in just everything to cut out the fat, without losing too much taste.

Avoiding the bread basket before meals, obviously.

Throwing away the top bun of a burger.

Asking for dressing on the side not on top.

I ask for my Hot and Sour soup without noodles.

What sort of tricks do you do to keep the cals low!

My secret is that I try to avoid eating out, since it's much too easy for me to go overboard.

When I do go out, though, I will look at the healthy options on the menu and try to order from that. Sometimes I will order from the seniors menu, since their portions are smaller. Same with the kids menu. (They usually are fine with me ordering that stuff, even though I'm not a senior or a child).

Or, I will stick to the plainest, simplest things like a garden salad (no dressing or croutons), and grilled chicken breast with nothing else added.

I'm like the previous poster, I try to control what I eat by making it myself. I never quite trust calorie counts from restaurants. As someone who cooks a fair amount myself, I know that measuring things like oil/fat is critical for lower cal cooking and I'm not sure line cooks really care about my calorie counting.

As for things I do at home:

- water, pretty much my only liquid
- cut down on oil in cooking, use chicken stock sometimes instead
- mix ground turkey/beef when cooking fav. dishes
- cut back on pasta/sauce portions, add a veggie on the side
- drop the starch from dinner (usually 5x a week), taking meat/veggies only
- mixed yogurt into my homemade sorbet to lower calories
- protein shakes in the evening seem to keep me from raiding the kitchen for snacks

Gaaaaaaah! That's like a bad dream for me.

I really spice up my food with tabasco (hot) sauce. If I eat really spicy foods, I usually eat less.

I always request no mayo on sandwiches... I don't even like the taste of it anyway!

Avoiding having a drink (alcoholic) is always best for me if I am eating out, but often I am out for some sort of celebration so I will have just one and try to order something as healthy as possible. Then I have to avoid people's offers of fries and desserts to be shared!

As several of you said, my best defense is cooking for myself, which I love to do. I use a lot of herbs and spices to flavor my food so I don't need tons of fat. I really love cheese, but I'll use just a little bit of it (which I can control when cooking for myself!).

When Dh and I go out now, if I felt like I've already had most of my calories, I ask him to split an entree, and add a salad or soup or veggie-type appetizer, to fill us up. I generally take only 1/3 of entree--still let him have 2/3 .

Then, of course, no bread basket, and we both have either salad or soup.
BTW, I LOVE soup as another way to fill me up, before any other meal. A reasonably healthy soup is best, of course.

Great ideas!

I portion out my box of pasta into little plastic baggies so I don't eat to much.
Lots of seasonings to make things taste better
Dressing on side
I get a to go box when I get out and put half in RIGHT AWAY
I always order off the kids menu (then I'll eat most of it though)
Frozen dinners, smart ones, lean cuisines, etc.
Frozen grapes, yum
I make smoothies with water, ice, and lots of fruit - they last a while, something to slowly eat all morning when I'm at work.

I love these tricks, anyone else have more!!!!

I don't eat out more than three or four times a year anyway, but if I do I always drink an entire glass of water before the meal, say no to the pre-dinner salad and bread option (the always put too much dang dressing in the ceasar. Ugh!) and eat 1/3 of what's on my plate slo-o-o-o-o-o-o-owly. Drink 1 glass of water during dinner, and one after and i'm usually good.

I cook all of my meals and brown bag it for lunch. I decided to go back to what was healthiest and eat like how my mom made me when I was a kid. Half of an 8-inch plate full of fruits or veggies (try mixing it up with fruits, you'll like it!) and on the other half put whatever is for dinner (downsize the portion so it fits), and I drink a glass of milk with every meal.

My number one thing: my food diary. I've done my absolute best to be constantly honest and faithful to it, never letting myself slide about what I ate or hedging on how many calories is in it. If I look at it, and I see I COULD have that candy bar...but it would basically mean no dinner...then I'm not going to eat the candy.

I brown bag it for lunch and snacks everyday. I always feel a little silly, carrying all that food in to work with me, but I have to say, even my work has improved since I'm no longer starving at 10am and 3pm.

Dinner is a bit tougher for me. Until recently, when I went on FS, I was eating separately from DH, but I realized recently he was missing eating with me and (more importantly) missed my cooking. My cooking isn't unhealthy (one of our favorite dishes, for example, is snow peas and broccoli with shrimp served over whole wheat pasta^^), but I was raised in a family of 6, and I will ALWAYS make far more than is necessary, and we both end up feeling the need to eat it all.

SO...that in mind...I recently bought a small food scale, and looked into ways to eyeball portions. I'm still getting in tune with that "hungry/full" bit of me, so portion control with carbs and protein is a must.

I also have always hated water. HATED. I grew up on well water that was full of sulphur, and even bottled water makes me tamp my gag reflex. I did, however, recently find bottled water with a very light spearmint flavor - and surprisingly, I handle it very well. So I've started into drinking that constantly lately also ^^

Its really about portions for me, I try to select healthier choices if I eat out. Mostly just salads with the dressing on the side is a must.If I know I am going out to eat then I will go to the restaurant's web site and see if they have nutrition facts so that I don't have to guess about how many calories there are in what I'm eating. You can always share an entree too!

I usually eat salads everyday at home if I can, low calorie dressings and lean meats like chicken and fish. On occasion I'll have red meats but its rare I keep it to a minimum.

If I eat a desert at home I'll have a Skinny Cow or a Sugar-Free Jello Pudding. Drink lots of water mostly. I have eliminated soft drinks from my diet and I rarely have caffeine. If I do drink something else its diet iced tea(caffeine-free) or my new favorite drink is Powerade Zero

I recommend taking your lunch to work instead of ordering, it gives you a better control of what calories you are eating.

I load things up with veggies. I'm not a big meat eater so usually opt for lean meat options anyways. when I cook meat its always in water or broth and not in oil. I measure and weigh everything, no surprises. I fill up on clear broth based soups and salads. I don't eat out often and when I do I scour the menu for the lowest cal lowest fat options and don't eat the whole thing because usually they give you two or three servings worth of food.
I stay away from carbs unless they are 100% whole grain.
other things:
I usually only drink water
I distract myself from snacking, I am an anti snacker!
I avoid foods that I know trigger binges like pizza and spaghetti
I stick to food that I know the exact calorie counts for, even if its boring I have come to the realization that since I have issues with food and weight my life cannot revolve around food.

Drink a ton of water. Also, veggies and fruit are becoming my best friend. I try and always add as many as possible into every meal.

You guys are awesome! Keep them coming - I used to have all these tricks but I just cant remember them and cant do them anymore!
Plus with my new lifestyle Im eating out far more regularly!
I guess what it boils down to is that I need to upp the exercise really...