Here’s something to feel good about: Your body is a calorie-burning machine. You’ll even torch a few while reading this article. The point is, every single thing you do—from breathing to eating to sleeping—uses energy. The number of calories it would take just to lie in bed all day is called your resting metabolic rate. And just like your curly hair or warm personality, yours is unique.

"There are so many factors that determine your metabolic rate," says Janet Rankin, PhD, professor of human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Tech. Among them: your height and weight (bigger people burn more calories), your gender (women have slower metabolisms than men), your age (your metabolic rate declines as you get older), how much muscle or fat you have (muscle burns more calories than fat does), and your DNA.

Although you can’t rewire your double helix or switch back the clock, there’s still plenty you can do to be a fast burner, Rankin says. All you need to do is remember these four research-backed truths.

Cardio revs your metabolism for hours afterward
Resistance training often hogs the metab-boosting spotlight. It’s no wonder, since a pound of muscle at rest fries three times as many calories as a pound of fat. However, cardio is every bit as crucial for keeping your metabolism humming. New research explains why: In a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, people pedaled a stationary bike as hard as they could for 47 minutes. The finding: They slashed 190 calories above their resting metabolic rate for 14 hours after their workout. Add that to the 519 calories, on average, the cyclists scorched from the workout itself, and that’s one heck of a sweat session. "If you do just two to three vigorous bouts of exercise per week for 45 minutes, you could lose a pound of fat every two weeks from the combination of calories expended during exercise plus what you burn afterward," says study author David Nieman, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Appalachian State University.

So how can you tell if you’re pushing hard enough? Any sweat-inducing activity you can sustain for 45 minutes will do the trick.

Skimping on sleep stalls your calorie-burning
You’d think that more hours awake means more opportunities to sizzle calories, but the truth is that more sleep makes for a quicker metab. In fact, a single sleepless night reduces your resting metabolic rate by about 5% several hours into the next day, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. What’s more, the morning after skipping sleep you burn 20% fewer calories from diet-induced thermogenesis—the number of calories your body uses to break down and digest food.

As if that wasn’t enough to encourage you to power down your iPad early, scientists have found that women consume 329 more calories, on average, after snoozing for four hours than they do when they sleep for nine. To keep your cravings in check while preventing your engine from sputtering, try to get seven to eight hours of sleep per night.


Next Page: Busting metabolism myths
Metabolism slows with age, but there’s plenty you can do about it
It’s hardly a myth that many women pack on pounds after age 40. Although experts have attributed the average annual one- to two-pound weight gain to perimenopause and menopause, they really didn’t know why it was happening—until now.

A new study in Cell Metabolism reports that the dip in estrogen levels that occurs with menopause reduces activity in important estrogen receptors in the brain that control how many calories you burn. Less estrogen, it turns out, equals a sluggish metabolism—you burn 50 fewer calories a day. Your first line of defense: Hit the weight room. Regular weight-lifting (three sets of 10–12 reps of 8–10 exercises three times per week for 12 weeks) adds enough muscle mass to burn an extra 45 calories per day. That basically makes up for the hit your metabolism takes at menopause.

When you eat affects whether you’re a super burner
Ideally, you want to keep your internal fat-blasting machine running all day long. So what makes it idle? Drops in blood sugar.

"The primary fuel for the brain is blood sugar, so when it drops, the brain takes steps to sustain sugar delivery so it can maintain normal function," says Dan Benardot, PhD, a professor of nutrition at Georgia State University. "The body releases the hormone cortisol to break down tissue, including muscle, and turns it into glucose to feed your brain." In other words, low blood sugar leaves you with less muscle, which makes your metabolism drag. The fix? Eat smaller meals with 100- to 200-calorie snacks in between to keep blood-sugar levels even.

Final tip: Have a light bite before bed. It’s a myth that you should never eat after dinner, Benardot says: "Blood sugar fluxes about every three hours, so if you eat dinner at 6 p.m., blood-sugar levels are getting below normal at 9 p.m." Keep your metabolism cranking with a pre-bed snack—such as peanut butter on a graham cracker—and you’ll be living the dream: burning calories while you sleep.

The holidays are all about best intentions: Finish shopping early, mail those cards on time, and survive the annual fat-filled feeding frenzy. Sorry, we can't lick envelopes or shop for you, but we can arm you with these nine eat-smart tips for indulging without gaining weight.

1. Be a food snob.
Don't waste precious calories on blase fare like chips or crackers. At parties, follow the lead of Leslie Kelly, 48, a restaurant reviewer in Memphis, and try a decadent hors d'oeuvre or the host's signature dish. "I always pick the special items that have lots of love poured into them, take just a small amount, and savor every bite," Kelly says. When you discover something that's not-so-wonderful, though, ditch it (but do it discreetly, of course).

2. Step away from the table.
If you don't put your choices on a plate, "you have no idea how much you're really eating," says Barbara Rolls, PhD, a Pennsylvania State University nutrition professor and author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan. "The worst thing you can do at a party is stand around the table dipping into the bowl."

3. Veg out.
At the start of a buffet, pile the greens and other tasty veggies on your plate, leaving just a little room for those high-calorie treats like sweets and cheeses. In a survey of more than 7,000 adults, Rolls found that those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were the least likely to be obese, even when they ate more food overall.


Next Page: Pare down those portions

4. Pare down those portions.
Choose the smallest plate possible, suggests Brian Wansink, PhD, a Cornell University professor of nutrition science and marketing. In researching how the eye tricks the stomach, he's found that whether it's Chex Mix, pasta, or even stale popcorn, the bigger the bowl, plate, or package, the more you're likely to eat.

5. Don't talk with your mouth full.
One of the best ways to keep from stuffing yourself at a big family dinner is great conversation, says Rick Bell, ScD, an adjunct associate nutrition professor at Tufts University. But, like Mom says, finish chewing before you start chatting. "When you eat and talk at the same time, you're not really paying attention," Bell explains. Plus, you look pretty gross.

6. Curb your options.
Variety might be the spice of life, but it's also a recipe for overeating. Rolls found that students who were offered sandwiches with four different kinds of filling ate a third more than those who got only their favorite sandwich. Health Advisory Board member David Katz, MD, an associate professor of public health at Yale University, advises bundling together similar flavors. For instance, put only salty (or meaty) foods on your plate at once. You'll grow tired of that flavor more quickly and end up feeling full and satisfied on fewer calories.


Next Page: Pace yourself

7. Pace yourself.
Take your cue from the slowest eater at the table. Research shows people may eat as much as 50 percent more when dining with friends. That's why on Thanksgiving it seems like you can scarf down five times more food than on any other day. "When someone gets seconds or orders that third glass of wine, you kind of go along by default," says Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. If you're surrounded by speed-eaters, take a sip of water between bites to slow down.

8. Drink slimmer.
Alcohol is a double whammy during the holidays. It tends to weaken your resistance when it comes to eating, and the calories in drinks add up rapidly. "If you want to be a slender drinker, drink out of a slender glass," advises Cornell's Wansink, whose research shows that people tend to drink more from short, fat glasses. So try this optical illusion: Use a white wine glass rather than a goblet, or a highball over a tumbler.

9. Slip, don't slide.
If you eat three helpings of mashed potatoes and half a chocolate Santa, don't just say you blew it and decide you might as well polish off St. Nick. Learn from your slip-up. Did you arrive at the party starving? Did you befriend the buffet because you didn't know anyone? Next time, eat a salad first, start a conversation, and park yourself far from the danger zone. And let next time start today.

Research behind The CarbLovers Diet Cookbook shows strong evidence that a diet rich in carbs is the healthiest and most effective way to get and stay slim for life. But here's something to keep in mind: These carbs aren't the refined kind, packed with tons of additives and preservatives that come in crinkly packages from a vending machine. The CarbLovers Diet isn't about junk food (though you are allowed daily indulgences, including chocolate). The carb-rich foods that make you slender are packed with fiber, antioxidants, and Resistant Starch, the star ingredient that has helped so many feel full and lose weight on The CarbLovers Diet.

The CarbLovers Diet's secret weapon
What exactly is Resistant Starch? Carbohydrate-rich foods contain two types of starch. One is high-glycemic starch; like sugar, it gets absorbed into the bloodstream quickly and gives you a fast hit of energy. Another is called Resistant Starch, so named because it "resists" digestion. Hundreds of studies have shown Resistant Starch to be a natural appetite suppressant, metabolism booster, and overall health promoter. It produces fatty acids that trigger weight loss by turning on enzymes that melt fat, especially in the abdominal area; encouraging your liver to switch to a fat-burning state; and boosting satiety hormones that make you get and stay full longer. Resistant Starch is more than safe; you really can't eat too much of it. In fact, most people consume too little—about 5 grams a day. Researchers believe we need at least twice that amount for optimal health and weight loss. That's why the CarbLovers menus include 10 to 15 grams daily of this important fat-burning nutrient, served up in delicious recipes like our Cornflake-Crusted Chicken Tenders and Triple-Cheese Mac.

The science of carbs and health
The CarbLovers Diet Cookbook doesn't hinge solely on the health and weight-loss benefits of Resistant Starch, though. All of our recipes have been created to pack the best possible ratio of the nutrients that research shows help to melt fat, boost satiety, and promote good health—and get you a much flatter belly. Belly bloat is one of the key symptoms of constipation, a common side effect of not eating enough healthy carbs.

The amazing carb-filled recipes in this book, including Chicken Cacciatore with Rigatoni and Grilled Flank Steak Fajitas, taste just as delicious as they sound. But they also contain a mix of carbohydrates that make them healthier and much more filling than most protein- or fat-loaded foods. The Resistant Starch and fiber in our recipes act as powerful appetite suppressants. They fill you up because they are digested more slowly than other types of foods and trigger a greater sensation of fullness in both your brain and your belly. Eating The CarbLovers Diet way, according to research, can help you consume 10% fewer calories a day—without ever feeling hungry!

Next Page: Slim people eat the most good carbs Scientific evidence bears this out
For instance, one groundbreaking study looked at thousands of people to see what factors determine whether they stayed slim or gained weight over time. Conclusion: The slimmest people ate the most good carbs—the kind you'll find in the recipes in this book—and the chubbiest ate the least. The researchers confirmed that your odds of getting and staying slim are best when carbs comprise up to 64% of your total calorie intake, which mirrors what a day of eating the CarbLovers way delivers.

Another recent study found that making a simple lifestyle switch—such as eating more carbs at dinner—can result in both weight loss and a reduction in body fat. Researchers in Israel put 78 overweight or obese police officers on a diet. Half were given a low-calorie weight-loss plan, while the other group followed the same diet but ate most of their carbohydrates at dinner. Incredibly, after six months the carbs-at-dinner group lost both more weight and body fat—and they reported feeling less hungry than other dieters. The evening carb eaters also got healthier, with improvements in both their blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Researchers believe that eating your carbs at night may help elevate satiety hormones during the day, preventing feelings of hunger. Bottom line: Carbs satisfy, no matter what time of day you eat them.

The CarbLovers Diet may actually be one of the healthiest diets you can follow, whether you're trying to lose weight or simply maintain your current weight. Scores of studies conducted at top research institutions worldwide show that eating the right carbs is one of the smartest preventive measures you can take to keep your heart healthy, your cholesterol and blood pressure low, and your blood sugar balanced. A recent study by researchers in the United Kingdom published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that including three servings of whole grain foods in the diets of healthy people helped significantly lower their blood pressure; the researchers concluded that daily consumption of whole grains could thus decrease the incidence of stroke by 25% and coronary artery disease by 15%.

How carbs make you happy
As you cook and eat according to The CarbLovers Diet Cookbook, you might start to feel calmer, happier, and less stressed. The reason? Carbs boost mood-regulating, stress-reducing chemicals in the brain, while high-protein, fatty foods may deplete them, says Grant Brinkworth, PhD, lead researcher of a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. He followed 51 dieters on a carb-rich diet and 55 dieters on a low-carb plan. After a year, the carb eaters felt happier, calmer, and more focused than the carb-deprived group, who reported feeling stressed out. Stress produces high levels of hormones, such as cortisol, which boost your appetite and can lead to bingeing, says obesity researcher Elissa Epel, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.

In other words, enjoying the delicious recipes in The CarbLovers Diet Cookbook will make you look good and feel great! "Dieters feel so empowered once they lose weight on carbs. For the first time, they are able to lose weight by eating in a balanced manner, without cutting out entire food groups," says Sari Greaves, RD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

Sometimes the company of a friend can be one of the strongest motivators to exercise. That’s why we’re telling the stories of five women who have successfully made fitness a permanent addition to their lives, drawing upon their workouts both for inner and outer strength. If you’ve found your will to exercise dwindling lately, read on for inspiration.

•Soccer Fosters Camaraderie
When Susan Spidle signed up for her recreational women’s soccer team, she got an instant social life.

•Cross Training in the Great Outdoors
Judy Waytiuk treasures the time she spends swimming laps at dusk after a day devoted to work.

•Cycling: A Tool for Goal-Setting
It’s easy to assume Germaine Adams is a natural cyclist. But she tells a different story.

•Music Revs Up Fitness Walking
Sophia Dembling used to practically force herself to put on her walking shoes.

•Spinning Teacher's Enthusiasm Is Infectious
Sarah Gilbert hadn’t exercised in months when she stumbled onto Erin Carson’s Spinning class.

It’s not just what you eat that can make you more satisfied—it’s how you eat, too. Try these tips to feel fuller longer.

Learn how to make the most of Health’s CarbLovers Diet

To help you keep weight off, we’ve found strategies that target the real reasons for winter gain. Ahead, five secrets for keeping your summertime body year-round.

Superfoods build bones, prevent chronic diseases, improve your eyesight, and even keep your mind sharp. But did you know new evidence suggests these foods can also help you get—and stay—slim?

While Resistant Starch (RS) is definitely the star player in The CarbLovers Diet, it has a strong string of supporters.

Do this tone-up-all-over strength workout 2–3 times per week, leaving at least a day's rest in between.

From Health magazine
Low-carb and no-carb strategies make it harder, not easier, to lose weight. Got it?

You actually need carbohydrates to burn fat, according to Nancy Snyderman, MD, chief medical editor for NBC News and author of Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat and the 101 Truths That Will Save Your Waistline—and Maybe Even Your Life (Crown Publishers, 2009; $24.95).

Why? Because your body uses carbs to fuel its energy-producing system. Try whole-grain cereals and breads, brown rice, and, yes, potatoes.

PS: Calories matter, so don’t overdo it.

Want to know how to lose weight on carbs? Order Health's CarbLovers Diet book.

Losing weight takes time and patience. However these sneaky tricks, courtesy of the CarbLovers Diet book, may help to speed up the process.

1. Automate eating.
Some people can lose weight while enjoying lots of variety in their food choices, while others discover that variety only stimulates their appetite. Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, calls this the buffet effect (you know, where you just...can't...stop eating because there are so many options?).

There's some evidence that backs up this theory: when researchers at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offered study participants M&Ms in 10 different colors, they gobbled up 77 percent more candy than when offered just seven colors. In another study done by the same researchers, participants consumed 55 percent more jelly beans when they were offered 24 varieties of flavors versus only 6 varieties.

If you suspect too many different tastes makes you hungrier, try this: Instead of eating seven different breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks each week, you may want to try alternating among just two or three of them. Dieters who have tried it say they actually appreciate having to make fewer decisions and feel fuller faster.

2. Control portions with frozen meals.
Replacing two or more dinners a week with frozen meals can be helpful when it comes to portion control: since these kinds of meals are already portioned for you, there's no guessworkand no chance you'll be tempted to have seconds or thirds. Use this list of recommended dinners as a guide.

3. Cool your food.
If you enjoyed cold pizza or spaghetti for breakfast in college, now's a good time to get back in the habit. Cold foods are thought to help you to burn more fat and fill up on fewer calories. Cooking actually reduces the amount of resistant starch in a food because it causes the starch to absorb water and swell, breaking up the starch and making it more digestible.

As a food cools, however, the starch recrystallizes back into resistant starch. This is why a cold boiled potato has twice as much resistant starch as a hot one. Eating cold, high-resistant starch foods may fill you up faster, so you don't need to eat everything on your plate. It will also provide you with an extra metabolism boost.

4. Choose less-ripe fruit.
As fruit ripens, starch turns into sugar. This is why a green banana has 12.5 grams of resistant starch, whereas a ripe one has just 4.7 grams. Bottom line: The less ripe your fruit, the more resistant starch it will containand the more fat you'll burn.

5. Cook al dente.
The more a food is cooked, the more water the starch absorbs, causing the starch to become more digestible (which may hinder weight loss). This is why al dente foods are thought to offer you more slimming resistant starch than foods that have been cooked into limpness.

6. Swap pepper for salt.
You know how you feel hot after a spicy meal? You're burning fat thanks to capsaicin, a substance in chile peppers that speeds metabolism. If you want to boost your weight loss even more, try sprinkling a little red pepper on whatever you want.

7. Sip more green tea.
I hope you're already sipping our tried-and-true tea-based Fat-Flushing Cocktail (2 quarts brewed green tea + juice from one orange, lemon, and lime). If not, consider this: Green tea packs two key metabolism boosters, and more tea could equal bigger weight loss.

In one study, participants who consumed caffeinated green tea daily continued to lose weight after four weeks, whereas study participants who did not have the drink had significant weight regain. Other research has found that drinking a cup of green tea before your workout can increase your fat-burning during it. Very high amounts of green tea (the amount in several cups) has been shown to boost fat-burning up to 17 percent.

8. Sleep an extra hour every night.
You really can sleep your way to a smaller waistline, and an hour or two more zzzs can make all the difference. When you don't get enough sleep, levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin rise and the satiety hormone leptin dips. This makes your body pile on belly fat, and it also makes you feel hungry, sluggish, and stressed.

In fact, a study at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, found that people who slept fewer than 6 hours a night tended to weigh more than people who slept moreeven though these sleep skimpers walked an extra 1.5 miles a day. And a Harvard study of more than 68,000 women determined that those who slept 5 hours or less a night gained 2.5 pounds more over a 16-year period than women who regularly slept 7 hours or more.

9. Exercise (some).
You don't have to pump iron or run 5 miles a day to succeed on CarbLovers. But exercise will help you lose weight more quickly, and you'll feel great doing it, too. Now is the perfect time to get back into shape with The CarbLovers workout.

It's an optional routine that combines strength-training and cardio, burning loads of calories in under 20 minutes! If that's too much structure for you, then try these oldies but goodies: Take the stairs instead of the elevator, consider walking or biking to work rather than driving, or spend an afternoon walking with friends or your family instead of doing errands by car.

"Carbophobia," or the fear of carbs, is rampant. Almost every woman has skipped the bread basket or a pasta dish at some point in her life. We’ve learned to fear carbs because we’ve been told for more than 25 years that foods filled with carbohydrates make us gain weight.

Well, we, the editors of Health magazine, have big news for you. There is new research—reliable, solid, groundbreaking research by the smartest minds in nutritional science right now—that reveals our old, beloved carb-filled foods will not make us fat. Instead, they will actually make us thin. We put all the research into our new CarbLovers Diet book.

Order the CarbLovers Diet book!

Scientists at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center for Human Nutrition, in Denver, along with a team of international researchers uncovered new evidence that revealed that eating the right carbs is the best way to get and stay slim. Other exciting new studies showed that certain carb-rich foods:

• Shrink fat cells, especially in your belly


• Boost fat burning


• Increase muscle mass


• Curb cravings


• Keep you feeling full longer than other foods


• Control blood sugar


• Lower cholesterol and triglycerides

Perhaps the most surprising piece of research was a large-scale look into the eating patterns that determine whether people will be fat or skinny over the course of a lifetime. This multicenter study of 4,451 people found out something stunning: It concluded that the slimmest people ate the most carbs (in the form of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables), and the chubbiest people ate the fewest carbs.

Getting ready to lose weight on carbs
If you’ve been convinced for years that eating carbs will make you fat, it’s going to take time for you to adjust to the new reality that they are the best things that ever happened to your waistline.

However, being a CarbLover does not mean you get to stuff yourself with bagels and cookies all day. What you’ll be doing on this plan is increasing your total intake of carbs, and upping the percentage of a type of carb called Resistant Starch in your diet. Resistant Starch is a kind of carbohydrate getting lots of attention in scientific circles these days.

Studies show that adding a little Resistant Starch to your morning meal will shift your body into fat-melting mode, so that you burn nearly 25% more calories a day. Meanwhile, you’ll eat about 10% fewer calories—simply because you’re not as hungry (foods containing Resistant Starch are quite filling)—so you end up eating less overall.

Resistant Starch–filled foods aren’t those magic, super-expensive ingredients; they’re right there, at your local supermarket. They are bread, cereals, potatoes (even potato chips!), and bananas.


Next Page: So how does it work? Lose fast on the 7-Day CarbLovers Kick-Start
The CarbLovers Diet starts with a 7-Day CarbLovers Kick-Start developed by two top dietitians. We know how hard it may be to allow yourself delicious carbs, after years of denying yourself. That’s why our 7-Day Kick-Start helps you transition to your new world of eating and feeling satisfied. On it, you’ll quickly knock off up to 6 pounds and reduce belly bloat, all while feeling full, in control, and super-energized!

Take off even more on the 21-Day Carb-Immersion Plan
After you’ve tasted success on the 7-Day CarbLovers Kick-Start, you’re ready for the life-changing 21-Day Carb-Immersion Plan. This is the heart and soul of the CarbLovers Diet. It’s basically a plan that gets you back to the way you used to eat before you made carb deprivation a way of life. The plan itself is a breeze. Our experts did all the calculations for you, so all you have to do is eat and enjoy.

Think of Carb Immersion as your road map to the future—an incredibly easy-to-follow set of basic eating rules, daily menus, grocery lists, and delicious recipes anyone can make, enjoy, and share with others. Don’t feel like cooking? No problem. We also have more than 100 quick bites, frozen foods, and restaurant-menu items that work with the CarbLovers Diet.

We’ll support your new eating life with tips, recipes, and clear-cut phases that will change your relationship with food and keep you from ever going hungry again. By the end of the three weeks, you’ll have lost up to another 6 pounds!

You'll find proven get-to-goal strategies and ideas for helping you reach your goal weight even faster if you make some small tweaks to your lifestyle. Exercise, smarter sleep habits, and cooking tricks can speed up weight loss while you’re still enjoying carbs.

As you lose weight, our nutritionists—as well as real women who’ve already successfully lost weight on CarbLovers—will encourage you every step of the way. If you have a little “I can’t believe I ate that muffin!” panic attack, we’re there, too, with real-life advice from women who’ve lost big, as well as experts who can reassure you that the road map to lasting weight loss is the very one you are on.

Finally, when you’ve reached your goal weight, we’ll tell you how to stay as slim as you want to be—forever.

Plus, you'll find more than 70 easy, amazingly tasty recipes for nearly every eating moment of your life. You can enjoy a glass of wine (and some amazing pasta salad) with your book club! Or how about tacos after work with co-workers? You can create amazing desserts your family will love.

So get ready for the best—and only—diet plan you’ll ever need. Get ready for your fabulous new life as a CarbLover! Order here.

Need to know what to order at a restaurant or fast-food joint on The CarbLovers Diet? It’s here. You’ll even find the right foods in the right portion sizes, so you don’t have to do the math yourself.

The following choices all contain at least one ingredient high in Resistant Starch as well as several other metabolism boosters. You can mix and match them, too. Pair any option that totals fewer than 300 calories with a piece of fruit.

Order The CarbLovers Diet now!

Breakfast
FoodCaloriesServing sizeAu Bon Pain Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal28012 oz.Così Oatmeal1017.5 oz.Dunkin' Donuts Ham, Egg White, and Cheese on Wheat English Muffin3001 sandwichEinstein Bros. Sante Fe3601/2 portionEinstein Bros. Spicy Elmo3601/2 portionJamba Juice Blueberry & Blackberry Oatmeal2908.9 oz.Jamba Juice Coldbuster24016 fl oz.Jamba Juice Fresh Banana Oatmeal2809.6 oz.Jamba Juice Protein Berry Workout With Soy Protein27016 fl oz.Orange Julius Bananarilla40020 oz.Orange Julius Berry Banana Squeeze27016 fl oz.Panera Strawberry Granola Parfait2808.25 oz.Starbucks Apple Bran Muffin3501 muffinSubway Egg & Cheese on 9-Grain Bread With Egg White3206-inch sandwichSubway Ham, Egg, and Cheese on 9-Grain Bread With Egg White3506-inch sandwich
Next Page: Lunch and dinner Lunch and dinner
Pair any option that totals fewer than 300 calories with a piece of fruit or side salad.

FoodCaloriesServing sizeCosì Hummus and Veggie39710.2 oz.Einstein Bros. Traditional Potato Salad3551/2 cupEinstein Bros. Half Chicken Chipotle Salad3607.8 oz.Fazoli's Grilled Chicken Artichoke Salad24012.3 oz.Jamba Juice Chimichurri Chicken Wrap (without sauce)4101 wrapP.F. Chang's Buddha's Feast Steamed With a Side of Brown Rice2109-oz. lunch bowlSubway 6" Oven Roasted Chicken on 9-Grain Wheat Bread3106-inch sandwichSubway 6" Turkey Breast on 9-Grain Wheat Bread2806-inch sandwichSubway 6" Veggie Delite on 9-Grain Wheat Bread2306-inch sandwichWendy's Chili + Side Salad225Small chili; side saladWendy's Sour Cream and Chives Baked Potato3201 potatoWendy's Southwest Taco salad4001 salad
Next Page: More options
These options contain all the right ingredients, but the portions they’re sold in are too large for a single meal. Consume only ¾ of what you are served. For servings that total more than 500 calories, skip one of your snacks.

FoodCaloriesServing sizeAu Bon Pain Mayan Chicken Harvest Rice Bowl (brown rice)51019.25-oz. bowlAu Bon Pain Spicy Tuna Sandwich47010.3-oz. sandwichChili's Guiltless Grill Grilled Chicken Sandwich With Veggies6101 sandwich and veggiesCosì Grilled Wild Alaskan Salmon Salad45714.5 oz.Così Lighter Side Grilled Chicken T.B.M. sandwich53111.5 oz.Einstein Bros. California Chicken Wrap6301 wrapEinstein Bros. Chipotle Turkey Wrap7301 wrapJamba Juice Greens and Grain Wrap620 with sauce; 580 without1 wrapOlive Garden Shrimp Primavera510Lunch entreePanera Fuji Apple Chicken Salad520 (1/2 salad is 260)Full saladSubway 6" Cold Cut4806-inch sandwich