How to Save Yourself 250+ Calories
These 8 easy steps can save you up to 250 calories.
- Leave out the “crispy” in salads. Salads aren’t always the best choice at restaurants especially when they come fried and drowned in fattening dressing. When getting a salad ask for grilled chicken, shrimp or salmon and opt for a lowfat dressing on the side. You will save about 250 calories.
- Cut your baked goods in half. Automatically cut the calories by cutting fresh baked goods like muffins in half. You can also swap a half cup of applesauce for a half cup of butter or oil in your recipes to save you an additional 75 calories per muffin.
- Get Sandwich Savy. A Tuna sandwich may seem like the healthier option but it can contain 700 calories and over 30 grams of fat. Instead of going for something loaded with mayonnaise, choose a small turkey sub with no mayo or oil and skip the soda, chips and cookies. You can save yourself 420 calories.
- Topping your Tater. The toppings on a baked potato can add up to 412 calories to your meal. Instead of the standard butter, sour cream, and bacon try using salsa, and lowfat greek yogurt for a healthier alternative.
- Become a Kid Again. When ordering ice cream or yogurt opt for the kid size. This can save you up to 400 calories compared to a regular adult size portion.
- Veggies, Veggies, and more Veggies. Most of us tend to eat our pasta lathered in meat, spaghetti sauce, or alfredo sauce adding more than 600 calories to our day. Instead try filling your pasta with steamed veggies or diced tomatoes to cut your calories by 250.
- Satisfy your Sweet Tooth. If you can’t resist something sweet go for it, just make sure you are only having a shot glass worth which amounts to about 3 tablespoons. This could save you 360 calories.
- Choose Wisely at Breakfast Meetings. Instead of grabbing a donut or muffin try going for fruit salad or lowfat yogurt and save 280 calories.
How to Save Yourself 100+ Calories
These 3 easy steps can save you anywhere from 100-200 calories.
- When making hamburgers just use half of the beef. Instead mix 1.5 cups finely chopped mushrooms with half a pound of lean ground beef and serve it in place an all-beef patty. This simple act will save you about 100 calories.
- If you think all soups are the same, think again. By trading the milky or creamy soups, like chowders, for a soup with a tomato base or clear broth, like vegetable soup, you can save yourself about 100-200 calories per 12 ounces.
- Trade in your wineglass. Instead of using the larger bowl shaped wine glasses try using a slimmer champagne flute to help with portion control when drinking. You will feel like you are drinking the same amount but you will be cutting 100 calories.
Brussels Sprouts
They may look little but can pack a big sized taste to your diet. The heat mellows out their bitterness and gives in a nice nutty flavor.
SALAD: Add Brussels sprouts to your salad by sautéing 24 sprouts. Toss them in 1 tbsp lemon juice. In a wok, add 2 peeled, diced Bartlett pears, 1/3 cup apple cider, 2 tsp cider vinegar, and a pinch of nutmeg. Cook until the liquid is almost gone. Add the sprouts and sprinkle with almond slivers.
SIDE: As a side dish you can sauté 4 ounces of diced pancetta in a saucepan. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ cup julienned onion, the largest leaves from 40 sprouts, and ¼ cup chicken stock. Cover and reduce heat. Cook for 20 minutes or until leaves are tender. Transfer to a plate and serve with poached whitefish.
SOUP: To use Brussels sprouts in a soup simply sauté ½ cups of diced onion in ½ tbsp oil. Add 1 tbsp dry sherry and 1 ½ cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Mix in ½ lb quartered sprouts, a pinch of nutmeg, and 1 tbsp kosher salt. Cook for 30 minutes over low heat. Puree in a blender. Strain and serve.
1 cup of Brussels Sprouts pack 38 calories, 75 mg Vitamin C, 342 mg Potassium, and 54 mcg Folate.
Understanding Exercise-Induced Weight Gain
It is common knowledge that exercise burns calories and helps you to shed extra pounds.
Armed with this knowledge, many people think that losing weight should be easy with enough exercise. You may take this as bad news, but the truth is that for those who aren’t use to exercising and are out of shape, beginning an exercise program may actually lead to weight gain.
This fact, however, shouldn’t stop you from exercising, as you’ll eventually turn the weight corner and start losing.
What is it about exercise that may cause some people to gain instead of lose weight?
Muscle Mass: One of the main reasons exercising can lead to weight gain is that it promotes the growth of muscle mass.
If you are not use to working out and haven’t used certain muscles regularly, after exercising your muscles will be sore and will increase in size. While you may burn off fat, muscle is denser than fat. Therefore, the weight you gain is in your muscles.
And take heart. Since muscles take up less space than fat, your extra weight doesn’t necessarily translate to larger size. In fact, once you start working out, you’ll probably become thinner, even if you maintain your previous weight. Instead of using a scale to determine if you are slimming down, have your body fat tested regularly or measure your body at certain areas like your waist.
If you see that you’re losing inches, then you know you’re on the right track.
Cardiovascular activities like walking, running, or swimming will encourage the growth of lean, toned muscles. Other activities such as weight lifting promote the growth of larger, stronger muscles that contribute to weight gain.
There is good news in this. If you stick with the exercise program, your muscles will soon stabilize in size and after a time, become toned. After your muscles are strong and able to handle more strenuous workouts, you will be able to burn calories faster.
While it may be frustrating and disappointing to see the scale go up after starting an exercise routine, it shouldn’t stop you from exercising. You may just be building muscle faster than losing body fat. This can be especially true if you’re genetically prone to building muscle fast. The key is to incorporate plenty of cardio exercise in addition to strength training; that way you will burn plenty of calories during your routine and be more able to shed pounds.
Eating Habits: When you work out and burn calories, your body will feel the need to replace those burned calories.
This may make you feel more hungry than you usually do, which can cause you to eat more than normal – sometimes without knowing it. A good idea is to keep a food journal to track the actual number of calories you are consuming.
You may also end up eating more calories and justifying their consumption since you’re exercising. After a good workout, you may see an ice cream sundae as a reward for the calories you burned. Be careful. If you’re interested in losing weight, you can’t simply break even with your caloric intake and the amount of calories you burn.
At the same time, eating too few calories can be counterproductive and slow your weight loss. Without enough calories, your body may slow its metabolism. So eat plenty to keep your body well fueled, but choose healthy calories that will help your body recover after a workout and grow stronger.
Hydration: Depending on the time of day you weigh yourself, the scale may read differently. Your weight can fluctuate as much as five pounds depending on the amount of water or food you have recently consumed, or the amount of water you have shed in sweat. It is therefore important to weigh yourself at the same time.
My exercise programs are specifically designed to produce results quickly.
Call or email today to test drive a program that will get the numbers on your scale headed in the right direction.
Give It Time: Whatever the cause of your weight gain after exercising, don’t give up! Not only is exercise the key to shedding pounds, but it is also vital for overall health and well-being. Give your body time to respond to a new routine. It can take several weeks for your body to “recalibrate” itself to increased activity and changes in eating habits. But once it does, you’ll begin seeing the weight-loss results you seek!
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