Lose Twenty Five Pounds Without Dieting

photo credit: VirtualErn

Do you ever think what you eat today doesn’t matter in the long run? Do you believe you’ll just ‘work it off’ tomorrow? Do you hate depriving yourself of a side of fries or a quick candy bar pick-me-up?

Newsflash! All it takes is cutting 250 calories a day to lose half a pound a week. Certainly nothing you’ll notice at the end of the week, but by New Year’s Eve you can lose six pounds, and by this time next year, a whopping 25! You don’t need to go on a diet or start jogging every morning for this to happen. Just start paying attention to those very-high-calorie items and either skip them or replace them with something less fattening.

Here are six times during the day you can save yourself 250 calories or more!

- Your morning coffee drink. Coffee has about 2 calories. What you put in it could have a lot more. Non-dairy creamers often have more calories than cream itself (real cream has 15 calories per serving). READ the LABEL. CHECK the PORTION size! Some ‘creamers’ state they have 12 calories per serving, but their ’serving size’ is a teaspoon!  It’s easy to pour 2 ounces in to lighten your coffee–that’s 12 teaspoons, and 150 calories! And that’s just your first cup.  If you like those sweet, foamy cappuccino drinks from the machine at your local quickie-mart, they have about 200 calories for a 16 oz. cup. The coffee drinks at famous name-brand establishments (with whole milk, flavored syrup, and whipped cream) have close to 260 calories.

Consider opting for a smaller size; use skim milk instead of whole milk, cream, or creamers.  At the gas station cappuccino machine, mix with half regular coffee and/or hot water to reduce the calories by half.

- Your lunchtime soda. Soda used to come in small glass bottles that held about eight ounces. Then came the 12 oz can, containing about 120 calories. Now there are 20 oz plastic bottles at every convenience store and gas station, making it easy to suck down 200 calories. Check out the label–there are 2.4 servings in one of them. When’s the last time you shared one of these?

Try substituting water, unsweetened iced tea, or an occasional diet soda. Or stick to an eight-ounce serving and share your calories with a friend

-Your fast food lunch. ALL of the fast food establishments post their nutritional content on the web; some even have it handy in the restaurants and will hand it to you. Check to see the calorie content of foods you order often. Not to pick on Burger King, because this is a typical example, but a whopper and large fries hands you 670 calories from the sandwich plus 500 from the fries (1170 calories for lunch, in case you don’t have a calculator handy).

Now, just try having a whopper junior with small fries and you’re down to a 370 calorie sandwich and 230 calories from the fries (that’s 600 calories for lunch, saving you 570–double the 250 you set out to save today!)

-Your afternoon candy bar. Looking for a pick-me-up when you start dragging after lunch? How much does a candy bar really help? Most of them contain a high amount of fat, often from nuts in addition to the chocolate, and they can actually leave you dragging. Try a piece of fresh fruit or some dried fruit for something sweet. A candy bar, depending on your choice, has between 180 and 240 calories. That’s a medium sized one. Now there are king sized candy bars. They have more calories. Read the label.

There are dozens of of granola-type bars now available in grocery stores that provide close to 140 calories.  They have more fiber and less fat than candy bars, are more filling, and less likely to leave you craving more later in the afternoon.  Choose from oats and nuts, crunchy or soft, salty or sweet!  My new favorite–Newton Fruit Crisps: just 100 calories for the two-bar package.

-A nice big, juicy steak for dinner. A prime cut of meat is prime partly because of the fatty marbling that makes it tender. The fat also contributes calories, so that each ounce of meat can have at least 75 calories. That means a 16 oz steak can have 1200 calories.  Cut it in half, take eight ounces home, and save 600 calories. Also save having to buy lunch tomorrow when you eat the leftovers.

-Dessert. A nice slice of pecan pie can have over 400 calories; other pies without nuts have slightly fewer; a serving of cheesecake over 250 calories; Chocolate cake, 240 calories.

Try 1/2 cup sherbet for 100 calories, or some of the ‘light’ ice cream novelties that have less than 150 calories (Skinny Cow makes great fudge bars as well as ice cream sandwiches)!

Remember, all it takes is saving 250 calories a day to lose half a pound a week: That’s over 25 pounds a year—probably faster than you gained it!

About The Author: Laurie Beebe has been a registered dietitian for 25 years and is certified in adult weight management. Laurie currently serves as a diet and life coach at www.mycoachlaurie.com.