Top 10 Small Changes that Equal Weight Loss

Summah Time! The livin’ is easy — out of the kitchen and onto the beach. Everything is minimal in the summer … less cooking, less clothes, less stress. Some things increase in the summer, too. You need to drink more water to prevent dehydration, and you need to wear more sunscreen to protect you from the rays.

Are you unable to wear that sundress you bought last April, thinking that by July you’d surely have lost those extra 10 pounds? It’s not too late to make those changes, the simple modifications to your daily lifestyle that equal weight loss. Hey … you can do it! Start today!

There’s no “magic” in weight loss. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. There is no potion, powder or pill that produces automatic weight loss. Weight loss is a numbers game, but there is a payoff if you follow my instructions.

Make small changes; they pay off big-time. Small changes made consistently pay off in pounds of weight lost. Please notice: I didn’t say, “Make small changes temporarily.” Nope. These small changes need to be adopted for your very own, and when you do adopt them, you’ll achieve permanent weight loss. Just a few key modifications to your usually diet and exercise habits pay off. It’s painless, and it works. What do you have to lose this month but the extra weight!

1. Soda: If you usually drink regular soda, stop! Lose more than two pounds in a month without trying (if you drink about 10 cans per week). One 12-ounce can of soda has 150 to 170 calories and no nutrition. Have ice-cold water or a can of diet soda if you like, but limit the diet stuff to one can per day.

2. Activity: Go for a 15-minute, brisk walk twice a day. It’s not hard and it takes commitment, but in a month, there goes one pound!

3. Chips: Change the potato chips to pretzels. One serving of chips has 60 calories more than pretzels, and 10 times more fat grams. Just changing this snack will help you lose half a pound this month. Better yet, switch to baby carrots and lose another half-pound!

4. Fast Food: Order a Jr. Whopper instead of the regular and sub those fries for a side salad. The Junior-sized sandwich is plenty for most folks and is mighty satisfying on its own. The original with cheese has 800 calories, and the junior has only 430. Eliminate the mayonnaise and cheese on the Junior, and save 490 calories on one sandwich. Assuming you eat out at least twice a week, you’ll drop at least ¾ pound, just by switching from a large size to a smaller one.

5. Television: Instead of sitting for hours in front of the television, get on your exercise bike and pedal. Each time a commercial comes on, pedal! Burn about 200 calories when do it at least five evenings per week during your favorite program. Figure you’ll be pedaling about 20 minutes a day, and you’ll lose another pound!

6. Breakfast: Lower sugar and fat effortlessly by switching from your usual Raisin Bran cereal to Bran Flakes, and add your own 2-tablespoon serving of raisins. This, plus switching from 2 percent to 1 percent milk, saves enough calories to lose another half-pound!

7. Fat: Do you add butter to your bread? Do you add mayo to your tuna? Do you drink full-fat milk? Eat full-fat ice cream? Just switch products to save fat and calories. Today’s lower fat butters are great; you don’t need to sacrifice the taste of butter, and you can avoid trans fats too. Buy a spread labeled “no trans fats” and save about 75 calories per tablespoon. Newly formulated low-fat mayonnaise is tasty, and you’ll never miss the extra calories. Lower-fat ice cream is superb. Just switch to lighter choices and lose close to two pounds a month.

8. Lifestyle: Instead of paying someone else to wash your car this week, do it yourself. Spend an hour cleaning your car each week this month, save yourself some money and lose half a pound. Cut your housecleaner to once a month and take up the slack. Get up half an hour earlier in the morning Monday through Friday, and vacuum one day, clean the floors the next, dust on the third, do the bathrooms on the fourth, and clean the kitchen on the fifth. Put the savings toward a new bathing suit and lose another half a pound.

9. Omit the Fat: Eat broiled chicken instead of fried chicken. Tasty broiled, baked or grilled chicken, without skin, is the better choice and is a delicious savings equal to about 200 calories or about half a pound.

10. Set Aside the Sugar: Your morning coffee can undo all the good efforts of the day before! A mocha latte with syrup and whipped cream has all the hallmarks of a decadent dessert and can add 420 calories before you even have eaten breakfast. Instead, have a cappuccino with nonfat milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon. You’ll lose up to three pounds in a month and save a lot of money.

It’s the small stuff that adds up. I guarantee you’ll never miss the calories by changing what you eat. By adding some simple activities, you can keep your body slim. I don’t say never to indulge in an occasional dessert or a higher-fat meal; it’s the day-to-day good eating that keeps you where you want to be.

Susan Burke, eDiets.com Chief Nutritionist

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