Written By: Dr. Loreen Dawson, ND
Now that the weather is cooler, most of us are spending more time inside, and exercising less. At the same time, most people want to eat more, and crave richer food. This is what makes it so easy to gain weight over the winter. We add a little extra butter or mayonnaise to our bread. We take a second helping. We mindless grab another cookie, another slice of bread, a muffin, a piece of cheese. Next thing you know, our pants are too tight, or we have developed a “muffin top”.
However, I have a simple idea that will help you easily loose 10lbs this year. It is called THE ONE HUNDRED CALORIES PLAN.
Did you know that if you reduce your calories by only 100 per day, you would lose just over 10 pounds in the next year? This would happen even if you didn’t change anything else. One hundred calories is not that much, and most people can do this with minimal effort. The first step is simply becoming aware of the number of calories found in the foods you eat every day. Then, choose to eliminate calories from foods which provide minimal nutrition. Below are some examples.
Sources of 100 Calories
1 tbsp butter, margarine or mayonaise, just under 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 tbsp jam
½ bagel or 1 and ½ slices of bread or 1/3 slice of pizza
1 small, homemade muffin or ½ of a commercially made muffin, ½ toaster pastry
1 ounce of sweetened cereal (cheerios, corn flakes, special K and bran flakes)
2/3 package of instant oatmeal
just under 1 ounce of cheddar cheese, swiss cheese
1 chicken weiner or 2/3 regular weiner
1 ounce candy (a few hard candies, jelly beans, etc)
½ cup chocolate milk, 2/3 ounces dark or milk chocolate
½ of a chocolate chip cookie, a croissant, a Danish pastry or a donut
¼ fast food fish sandwich or hamburger
1.5 ounces liquor (vodka, rum, whiskey, etc), 4-5 ounces of wine
1/3 cup regular ice cream, ¼ cup soft serve ice cream, ½ cup low fat ice cream
3-4 corn chips
1 cup of juice
If you eat one or more of the above foods regularly, and would like to lose 10 lbs this year, simply eliminate that food from your routine (without replacing it with anything else), and, very slowly, you will lose that weight. If you are eating more than a few of the above regularly, you may want to eliminate 2 or 3 of them to double or triple your results. Simple changes in your daily routine are easier than dramatic diet changes, and, most of the time, will give you longer lasting results.
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