Simple ways to cut calories

To start off with, allow me get up on my soap box for a minute (one of the many, as I’m discovering). okay, ready, go!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I turn on the television and commercial after commercial is advertising diet pills, miracle exercise equipment (use this for 5 minutes a day and you can look like THIS!), liposuction, and basically new ways to get to your “dream body” fast and easy. Forgive my language, but this is BULL! Losing weight is not going to be a product of taking a pill every night, or drinking a shake loaded down with expensive protein powder. Losing weight is going to come as a result of hard work. Yes, that’s right, ladies and gents, it takes work to lose that stubborn weight. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s true. Especially if you are looking to actually maintain that weight loss, it needs to come as a result of a lifestyle change, not just some 3 month long program that you join and can’t wait to get off so that you can get back to your french fries, ice cream and Oreo cookies. It’s not just about being skinny, it’s more about being healthy! And weight loss is just a nice side benefit.

Okay. whew. Sorry about that. It’s been building up inside of me for a while, as I’m sure you could tell. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my Oreos as much as the next person, but its all about moderation. If a weight loss plan sounds too good to be true, most likely, it is!

As complicated as people try to make it, what maintaining/losing/gaining weight really comes down to is calories.

• If you want to maintain your weight, your intake has to match your output.
• If you want to lose weight, your intake has to be less than your output.
• and If you want to gain weight, your intake has to exceed your output.

One pound is approximately 3,500 calories. This means, you need to create a calorie deficit of 1,000 per day to lose 2 pounds per week, and 500 per day to lose 1 pound a week. That deficit can be created by either eating smarter and finding more nutrient-dense food to enjoy, or by exercising, OR preferably, BOTH! Studies have shown that combining healthy eating patterns with daily exercise is the most effective method for weight loss, particularly for sustained weight loss.

To figure out whether  or not a food is nutrient dense, you must look at the nutrition label. Take the amount of calories and divide it into 2000, and then turn it into a percentage. Or, The easiest way that I like to do it is take the calories and divide it by 10, and then divide that by 2. That’s your percentage of calories (of a 2000 calorie diet) for the day that are in that one food item. Then, taking that percentage, look and see if anything healthy in that food item (like iron, fiber, protein or any vitamins or minerals) has a higher percentage than the amount of calorie percentage. The more items that are higher than the calories, the better off you are. That means that you are getting more good things (nutrients) than calories. You’ll most likely reach your recommended These foods are sometimes called Nutrient-Dense Superfoods.

Cutting back calories doesn’t mean you starve yourself. In fact, there are quite a few very painless ways to cut back on the calories you eat.

Try This:

1. Focusing on nutrient dense food is a biggie! Rather than eating that donut for breakfast, have a slice of whole grain bread and a banana instead. You’ll feel just as satisfied (if not more so), plus you’ll get more nutrients, AND it will be less calories! What else could you want?

2. Try cutting back your portion sizes. Many times we eat past the point that we need to, because we eat so quickly that the message our body sends to our brain to tell us we’re full doesn’t get to us until it’s too late and we’ve eaten too much. So I guess this tip is actually two-fold. First of all, eat slower, so you have time to recognize the “full” signal. And second, cut back your portions. Try eating from a smaller plate. You will have the illusion that you are eating just as much (because your plate will still look full), but you won’t be (because there is less room to load up the plate with food)– thus eating less calories without even thinking twice about it.

3. If you currently drink 2% or whole milk, try cutting back to 1% (low fat) or skim milk. You will still get the calcium and other nutrients in the milk, but you will not get as much saturated fat or calories.

4. Try replacing things in your diet. Instead of using butter in your cooking, most recipes you can replace the butter with applesauce. Sounds strange I know. But just experiment. Start with half and half. Replace 1 stick of butter with an equal amount of applesauce (1/2 cup). For more tips on this, you can search the internet and find millions of tips and advice from people.

5. Just say NO! to eating when you are not hungry. Many of us eat out of boredom, because of emotions, or as part of a social activity. If you’re not hungry, don’t even think about putting it in your mouth.

6. Forego some of the foods you know are bad for you. If you eat a Snickers bar daily, eliminating that will help a ton. There goes about 300 calories each day!

7. Drink more water. Many times we confuse the feeling of thirst with the feeling of hunger. If you think you’re hungry, drink a glass of water. Wait a few minutes. Then if you still feel hungry, it probably really is hunger. Plus, this way you’ll stay more hydrated, which is healthier as well.

8. Finally, shop healthily. If you don’t buy it, chances are you won’t eat it. This puts the main pressure of your eating decisions on your grocery shopping trip. Make a list. Make sure the foods on the list are healthy foods that will not hurt your weight loss efforts, and then only buy the foods on your list. Avoid the cookie aisle. Don’t look at the candy bars by the register. Just don’t do it.

(don’t feel like you have to totally eliminate anything that isn’t fruit or whole grain. You can still eat those less healthy foods you love. Just keep it to a minimum. Moderation is key here. Remember, it’s about being healthy!)

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