Good reading: Calories and nutrition
Reading the required food labels at the store, before you buy and before you eat, can be an easy way to spot ways to cut both calories and fat. Below is one easy example. The labels are for two identical, one-cup portions of milk: 2% milk on the left, and nonfat milk on the right.
Notice that in both instances, the % Daily Value (DV) for calcium and for vitamins A, C, and D are identical (remember that any source above 20% is considered high. Thus we see a one-cup serving of milk as a high source of both calcium (30%) and Vitamin D (25%).
Fat and calories
Now look at the Total Fat sections of the labels. Notice that while the 2% milk serving has 8% total fat (DV) and 15% saturated fat (DV) values, the skim milk serving has no fat whatsoever, saturated or otherwise.
Finally, notice the difference in calories. 120 calories (2% milk) versus 80 (skim). Without reducing portion size at all, one serving is 40 calories less than the other, with no difference in nutrients, except the added fat you also save by using skim milk.
These small savings in calories—bit by bit, portion by portion—can add up to substantially reduced calories and better overall nutrition. In the " calories in, calories out " equation, that can mean healthy weight loss or maintainence with no sacrifice and little effort. Just reading the label and knowing where to look to save.