Nutrition

Shave Calories to Shave Weight
Many people believe that they have to make such drastic changes to see positive results for health and weight management. Then, after that person runs out of steam, motivation and will power, he or she simply goes back to the way things were and makes the original problem even worse. The truth is that little changes add up to significant results. They can even lead to more dramatic results than drastic changes. This is because we are more likely to stick to small changes over time and add to them.

Healthy weight is about balancing food intake with physical activity. Most of us could improve our energy balance by shaving away only 100 calories a day. It doesn’t have to be difficult. For instance, the following ideas are small but dramatic.
• Lighten up your favorite coffee drink with non-fat milk and sugar-free syrup.
• Trim all fat from beef, pork and chicken. Remove the skin from poultry.
• Dish up slow-churned, reduced-calorie ice cream in place of regular.
• Enjoy raw vegetables with salsa or fat-free ranch dip instead of chips.

Here are more great ideas that will cut calories from your daily intake, possibly without your even noticing (taken directly from the American Dietetics Association/Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics):
1. Downsize Your Dishes. Use smaller plates and bowls to help you eat less. We tend to fill up the dish we’re using and then eat it all. Our brains also think we are getting more when the same amount of food is placed in a smaller dish. 2. Savor Your Meals. Eating slowly helps you consume only what your body needs to feel satisfied. Eating too quickly, in less than 20 to 30 minutes, leads to overeating and feeling uncomfortably full afterwards.
3. Leave Some Food on Your Plate. This is especially important if you grew up in the “clean plate club.” By leaving even a few bites, you can focus more on your internal signals of satisfaction and less on eating food just because it is there.
4. Don’t Eat Out of a Bag or Box. When you eat out of a package, you are likely to keep eating until it’s all gone – no matter how many servings the package actually contains. Pour one serving into a small bowl.
5. Choose Your Glass Wisely. Here’s another place where our eyes play tricks on us. When glasses are short and wide, we tend to fill them with more fluid and to drink more. Use a slender glass for any beverage except water.
6. Rethink Your Drinks. High-calorie beverages like soft drinks, juice drinks, energy drinks, specialty coffees and alcohol add calories just like solid foods. Whenever possible, replace these drinks with plenty of water.

For more information:
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: http://www.eatright.org
Centers for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/index.html
National Institutes of Health: http://www.nih.gov