The Right Salad May Help You Eat Less

I remember in the past, I ate salads everyday for lunch, and my normal breakfast and dinner, I lost 37lbs. Most I've lost ever! - 3/19/2013 10:02:18 PM

Good article and the helpful suggestion on preserving lettuce is something I will try. As a vegetarian I have salad before dinnern3-5 times per week . I now have my hypothesis confirmed. An 8 oz glass of pure fruit juice can satiate you before meals also. S if you find your self starving while preparing meals, sip a glass of fresh juice instead, dilute with water if necessary. - 3/19/2013 12:24:08 PM

This is a great reminder! I ate salad almost every day - usually just lettuce, a few veggies, and some low cal homemade dressing - with lunch, and sometimes with dinner, in December. December was when I lost the most weight so far!

Gotta say though, even more than the article, I'm excited about MOM2EM1's tip for keeping lettuce fresh. I'm trying that this weekend, thank you!! - 3/19/2013 12:03:53 PM

I enjoyed the article very much. It gave me a much needed confirmation that salads do help curb your appetite. My husband will not eat any fresh vegetables so I have to make 2 menus every day, so I have learned that my Tupperware containers are essential to keeping all my veggies fresh for days longer. My Romaine lettuce and Spinach keep much longer and as I cut my veggies for portion control, the other halves stay fresher longer in the Tupperware. Thanks for these refresher articles. - 3/19/2013 11:39:40 AM

I always have a salad with my meal, but just add lemon juice or balsamic vinegar and a few chopped herbs as it saves calories on the dressing. - 3/19/2013 10:42:41 AM

I have IBS, so starting meals with a salad is not a great idea for me due to the digestive issues it would cause. Therefore, I will often have a small bowl of a homemade vegetable soup instead and that serves the same purpose. - 3/19/2013 10:19:51 AM

For a good while I having been trying to remember some of my eating habits that kept me thin until my 42nd birthday. What was I doing different then and now! Well, this article reminded me to EAT SALADS WITH YOUR MEALS!
While growing up, along with dinner there was always a salad on the table. The salad was always lettuce or spinach or kale with tomatoes, onions of some sort of variety, bell peppers of any color that was available, some sometimes fruit such as fresh strawberries, orange section (fresh), or shredded cheese. Mostly the simple lettuces with the above listed vegetables. As i grew I would turn those salads into my actual meals by adding tuna, or chopped chicken breast! i maintained my weight until I married husband at the age of 42! He does not eat salads and when he does it is just a bowl of lettuce with thousand island dressing. When we first married he very rarely ate any green vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus(never ate this!), spinach. I found my self throwing away his bowl of salad and eventually I stopped preparing them all together.
Here is where I fall short! i don't eat salad with my lunch or dinners. After reading this article, I am going to always include a green salad with dinner and lunch everyday. I am going try to get him on board with this as well, I am sure this step will help him with his diabetes!

THANKS FOR THE REMINDER SPARK PEOPLE!

- 3/19/2013 10:18:52 AM

I prefer to have a salad as my meal and add protein such as grilled chicken or salmon. My dressing is usually oil and vinegar or lemon juice. I really love Blue Cheese Dressing and when I choose to reward myself with that I get the dressing on the side and dip my fork in. I find I only use half the dressing that way and am still very happy with the taste. - 3/19/2013 9:01:59 AM

A one study 42 person sample is a small sample. I wonder if all the participants were tracking calories or dieting? - 3/19/2013 6:52:35 AM

I try to take salads when I have some in the fridge. I have found that when I eat my salad while waiting for my lunch to heat up in the microwave, I do eat less. This article has inspired me to have salad next week at work! - 8/17/2012 9:51:54 PM

For those of you who have difficulties keeping lettuce fresh, here's what I do and it lasts up to 2 weeks! I wash and spin the lettuce. Then, I shred it as if I were making cole slaw - I usually do a head of iceberg and a head of romaine. I put the shredded lettuce in a zipper plastic bag that I've lined with 2 paper towels on each side (the lettuce goes between them). After I have the lettuce in the bag, I close the zipper 3/4 of the way then I roll the whole bag up from the bottom and while leaning on it to keep the air out I zip the rest of the way. It's like sucking the air out of those storage bags. I've had this lettuce last 2 weeks this way. You have to be sure the lettuce is fairly dry before doing it, but I think the most important thing is no air! Don't include carrots, cucumber or tomato, just plain greens. I also find it easier to make salads with it already cut up. I shred carrots, slice/dice cucumber and put them in plastic bowls with lids so they're also ready to toss in. - 8/17/2012 7:15:46 PM

It's a good idea but I find if I eat a lot beforehand I can always eat the meal after (portion control is really difficult for me) and will end up feeling too full! I will try it though! - 8/17/2012 3:06:56 PM

The recommended 100-calorie salad is my standard dinner salad. I now find that if I'm ravenously hungry I'm actually craving it. - 8/17/2012 11:44:05 AM

Loved the article! Although there are many awesome low-fat or fat-free dressings, both store bought and even homemade, most of them are loaded with sodium (including the ones with a cottage cheese base). Granted, I am a heart patient and watch my sodium intake, but excessive sodium sabotages any diet by causing your body to retain water. I like use a powered salad dressing and cut the mix in half, sometimes adding some herbs to make up for any loss of flavor. Also using mostly vinegar and water in the vinegrette/italia
n type ones saves on the fat, again using only half the packet of the dressing mix works well. A favorite to use both on salads and most green cooked veggies is plain rice vinegar. No calories, no carbs, no fat, no sodium, (no nutritional value, but get that in your salad) and TONS of flavor! Enjoy! :) - 8/17/2012 10:51:43 AM

I find this article kind of confusing: when they calculate the calories consumed during the meal, do they mean calories including the salad or calories consumed in the entree portion of the meal? If the former, well, of course if one person eats a high calorie salad and one eats a low calorie salad both eat the same amount of pasta, the first will accumulate more calories than the second.

Or are they trying to say that the high calorie salad stimulates your appetite and encourages you to eat more?

Overall, not a very helpful article. - 8/17/2012 9:26:38 AM