Free foods, or having certain foods you do not track is not a new concept. Diet programs such as WW and Slimming World have been doing this for years! That is where I first tried this “free foods” method. After I quit WW and started calorie counting, I found it SO HARD to count or track the items that used to be free or “zero points” for me. So, I kept them in my new plan because, WHY NOT!

 

HOW HAVING FREE FOODS HELPS

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1.) LESS TRACKING! For instance, when you make tacos you will not have to weigh or measure your lettuce, tomato, onion, 99% fat free ground turkey, or even the Non-fat greek yogurt you can use as a sour cream dup! You literally only track the shells, cheese and avocado (yes, I love to stuff my tacos ha!) That’s less work overall for you, and less work = sustainability. 

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2.) LESS OBSESSING! There is the routine of tracking calories, then there is the OBSESSION with tracking calories. When I was tracking everything, I found myself constantly thinking about what I was eating or going to eat, how many calories it would be and how many I would have left. If I was starving and wanted a bigger lunch, I would stress out about using more calories because it would leave me with less calories for dinner.

When you incorporate the free foods, it relieves so much of that stress! If you want that bigger lunch, have it! And if you are low on your calories at the end of the night, you can make an entire meal out of your free foods! Even fruit for dessert! Or, if you know you are going out with the girls for happy hour later, save those calories! Not by NOT EATING AT ALL, but by having eggs for breakfast with a side of fruit. And maybe a chicken salad with some of your fav dressing for lunch. All that you would have tracked for that day so far would have been about 120 calories for your dressing. Then you have the bulk of your calories left for your happy hour. Remember, it’s all about Calories in vs Calories Out.

 

3.) ENCOURAGES YOU TO EAT THE GOOD STUFF. We all know that you can easily consume your days worth of calories eating junk food. And yes, you can still lose weight doing that because it comes down to Calories in vs. Calories out. However, your body does have need for the nutrient dense fruits, veggies, legumes and lean proteins. By having these items be FREE on your weight loss journey, it actually encourages you to eat them! If you tell me I can eat a banana or some strawberries when I want and it won’t count against my calories for the day, I am way more likely to reach for them! If you tell me I can have that side of mac-n-cheese with my dinner, if I choose a juicy chicken breast instead of steak; I may just choose that chicken breast instead. It just is what it is.

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BUT WON'T I OVER EAT MY FREE FOODS?

People do not tend to overeat their fruits, veggies, beans and lean meats. If say, you LOVE bananas and can eat 10 of them a day. Maybe remove bananas from your free foods list and make sure you count them in your calories. This plan is made by you! You know yourself, so make sure you customize it to set yourself up for success.
 

OK, BUT HOW DOES IT WORK?

 

Yes, all the items on the “free food” list have calories in them, so how does this work?

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Here’s what I did:

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1.) First, you have to figure out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). If you haven’t done this already, click here to calculate that. Your TDEE is the number of calories you burn just living your normal day. So, in order to lose weight we need to consume less calories than we burn! It’s Calories in vs. Calories Out, remember?

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2.) So once you have figured out your TDEE, you then have to subtract an amount of calories for weight loss. A pound of fat is about 3,500 calories, so to lose 1 lb a week you would need to subtract 500 calories a day from your TDEE. 1.5 lbs a week? Subtract 750 calories from your TDEE. 2 lbs a week? Subtract 1,000 calories from your TDEE. (Generally doctors say it’s best to shoot for losing 1-2 lbs a week, but I recommend speaking to your doctor about what's best for you.

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3.) Once you’ve done your subtraction, you will be left with that magical number. This number is how many calories you need to stay under to lose weight.

 

Now, let's talk about those free foods. 

 

4.) The list of FREE FOODS is down below. Sit down with a paper and pen and try to guesstimate about how many calories you think you may consume in free foods a day. You may even try tracking everything for a few days, then see how much you actually consumed in free foods. I basically wrote out a few options I tend to go to for breakfast, lunch and dinner, then figured out how many calories in free foods it was. That came out to anywhere from 500 - 700 calories in free foods, so I subtracted that from my magical calorie number. That left me with about 1,000 calories.

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THIS MEANS,

 

My daily calorie target is 1,000 calories + free foods. So on average I will eat about 1,500-1,700 calories a day. Allowing me to have my free foods and keep in my calorie deficit which will make me lose weight!  

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WHAT ARE THE FREE FOODS?

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Download a free printable list here:

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FREE FOODS LIST:

 

VEGETABLES (NON-STARCHY)

Acorn squash

Artichoke hearts, no oil

Artichokes

Arugula

Asparagus

Baby corn

Bamboo shoots

Basil

Beet greens

Beets

Bok choy

Broccoli

Broccoli rabe

Broccoli slaw

Brussels sprouts

Butter/Bibb lettuce

Butternut squash

Cabbage

Canned pimientos

Carrots

Cauliflower

Cauliflower rice

Celery

Chives

Cilantro

Coleslaw mix

Collard greens

Cucumber

Eggplant

Endive

Escarole

Fennel

Frozen stir-fry vegetables, no sauce

Garlic

Ginger

Green leaf lettuce

Hearts of palm

Iceberg lettuce

Jicama

Kale

Kohlrabi

Leeks

Mint

Mixed greens

Mushrooms

Mustard greens

Napa cabbage

Nori (seaweed)

Oak leaf lettuce

Okra

Onions

Oregano

Parsley

Pea shoots

Peppers

Pickles, unsweetened

Pico de gallo

Pumpkin

Pumpkin puree

Radishes

Red leaf lettuce

Romaine lettuce

Rosemary

Rutabaga

Salsa, fat-free

Sauerkraut

Scallions

Shallots

Spaghetti squash

Spinach

String beans

Summer squash

Swiss chard

Tarragon

Thyme

Tomatillos

Tomato puree, canned

Tomato sauce, canned

Tomatoes

Turnips

Water chestnuts

Wax beans

Zucchini

 

VEGETABLES (STARCHY)

Canned corn

Corn

Green peas

Parsnips

Peas

Split peas

Succotash

 

FRUITS

Apples

Applesauce, unsweetened

Apricots, fresh

Bananas

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

Cherries

Clementines

Cranberries, fresh

Dragon fruit

Figs, fresh

Frozen mixed berries, unsweetened

Fruit cocktail, unsweetened

Fruit salad, unsweetened

Grapefruit

Grapes

Guava

Honeydew

Kiwi

Kumquats

Lemons

Limes

Mangoes

Meyer lemons

Nectarines

Oranges

Papayas

Peaches

Pears

Persimmons

Pineapples

Plums

Pomegranates

Pomelo

Raspberries

Star fruit

Strawberries

Tangerines

Watermelon

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BEANS & LEGUMES

Adzuki beans

Alfalfa sprouts

Bean sprouts

Black beans

Black-eyed peas

Cannellini beans

Chickpeas

Edamame

Fava beans

Great Northern beans

Kidney beans

Lentils

Lima beans

Lupini beans

Navy beans

Pinto beans

Refried beans, canned, fat-free

Soy beans

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NONFAT YOGURT & SOY YOGURT

Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat

Plain yogurt, nonfat

Quark, plain, up to 1% fat

Soy yogurt, plain

 

TOFU & TEMPEH

Firm tofu

Silken tofu

Smoked tofu

Soft tofu

Tempeh

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CHICKEN & TURKEY BREAST

Ground chicken breast

Ground turkey, 98% fat-free

Ground turkey breast

Skinless chicken breast

Skinless turkey breast

 

EGGS

Egg substitute

Egg whites

Egg yolks

Eggs

 

FISH/SHELLFISH

Abalone

Alaskan king crab

Anchovies, in water

Arctic char

Bluefish

Branzino

Butterfish

Canned tuna, in water

Carp

Catfish

Caviar

Clams

Cod

Crabmeat, lump

Crayfish

Cuttlefish

Dungeness crab

Eel

Fish roe

Flounder

Grouper

Haddock

Halibut

Herring

Lobster

Mahi mahi

Monkfish

Mussels

Octopus

Orange roughy

Oysters

Perch

Pike

Pollock

Pompano

Salmon Sardines, canned in water or sauce

Sashimi

Scallops

Sea bass

Sea cucumber

Sea urchin

Shrimp

Smelt

Smoked haddock

Smoked salmon

Smoked sturgeon

Smoked trout

Smoked whitefish

Snails

Snapper

Sole

Squid

Steelhead trout

Striped bass

Sturgeon

Swordfish

Tilapia

Trout

Tuna

Turbot

Wahoo

Whitefish

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