|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
An online newsletter about food, nutrition & food safety for consumers |
|||||
|
|||||
The Power of One Dietary Change in Losing Weight12 Easy Ways to Eat 100 Less Calories Per Day Alice
Henneman, MS, RD, Extension Educator |
|||||
|
What do 10 pounds of fat look like? For a rough estimate, imagine 40 sticks of butter or margarine or 10 1-pound cans of vegetable shortening. Looks like a lot ... yet how many of us add this much weight in a year without realizing it until our pants fit a little tighter or our belt runs out of notches? It takes an excess of about 3,500 calories to gain a pound. Break that into smaller bites and 100 extra calories a day can put on about 10 pounds a year. The GOOD NEWS is LOSING 10 pounds can be as easy as eating 100 calories LESS each day for a year. Sometimes, we're too hard on ourselves when we're trying to lose weight. We eat some pretty awful-tasting foods, forgo getting together with friends if food is involved, or take the joy out of eating through a monotonous and limited "diet." While people have lost hundreds of pounds through some of these methods, it's often the same 10 pounds over and over again! ONE dietary change may be all it takes. Here are some simple changes, involving just ONE food; each will decrease your daily intake by about 100 calories. The amounts of calories saved are approximate; check Nutrition Facts labels on specific foods for exact amounts. As a general rule, the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2000" recommend a gradual weight loss of no more than 1/2 to 2 pounds per week. The Guidelines also recommend losing weight under the guidance of a healthcare provider, especially for obese children and older adults, the Guidelines advise. If you'd like to lose more than 10 pounds over the next year, try two or more of the following changes daily. It's difficult to obtain adequate nutrients if you consume less than 1,200 calories per day; supervision by your physician is especially important when dropping below this level. It's beneficial for most people to increase their activity level and eat less. Single Dietary Changes Equal to about 100 Calories1. Modify Your MilkInstead of drinking two cups of whole milk, switch to two cups of 1% lowfat milk or skim milk. The nutrients are comparable. 2. Modify Your MayoSwitch from two tablespoons of regular mayonnaise to two tablespoons of low-fat mayonnaise. 3. Rethink Your DrinkSubstitute a 12-ounce can of a diet soft drink at 0 calories for a similar amount of a regular soft drink at 150 calories. (Or, drink a cold glass of water, perhaps with a slice of lemon!) This strategy also may help you eat less in other ways. According to Dr. Barbara Rolls, Pennsylvania State University nutrition professor and author of Volumetrics: Feel Full on Fewer Calories: "Various liquids are processed by different mechanisms in the body. The hunger and thirst mechanisms are quite separate. A soft drink will trigger thirst mechanisms, not hunger mechanisms, and add calories without satisfying hunger. You may end up consuming more total calories than if you didn't take the drink." 4. Downsize Your DrinkIf you've been drinking a 20-ounce container of a regular soft drink, switch to a 12-ounce container size. 5. "Dress," Don't "Drown" Your SaladPam Anderson (How to Cook Without a Book, Broadway Books, 2000) advises about 1 tablespoon of oil and a teaspoon of vinegar for each 1 1/2 cup portion of salad. In How to Make Salad (Boston Common Press, 1998), the test kitchen staff for Cook's Illustrated magazine advise a fourth cup of vinaigrette should be enough to dress 2 quarts (8 cups) of loosely packed salad, an amount they suggest for 4 servings. That means each 2-cup serving of salad greens should have about one tablespoon of dressing on it.
If you've been using 3 (or more!) tablespoons of dressing per two cups of salad, try cutting back to 1 1/2 tablespoons of dressing or less. Or experiment with some of the reduced calorie versions -- even then, your salad will taste best if "dressed," not "drowned." 6. Size up Your Cereal BowlA study reported in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (June, 2001) found the amount of cereal eaten by adults was approximately twice the serving size listed on the box. That's not necessarily bad, but may be one place calories are sneaking into meals. Check the portion size you're pouring in relation to the size cited on the box; decide if you're pouring more calories than desired. Try eating from a smaller bowl to aid in portion control. 7. Watch Your Bread and SpreadLimit the amount of bread (or rolls) and spread eaten before the main course to one serving when dining out. You always can eat more later if you're still hungry! 8. Count Your CookiesA single medium-sized cookie easily can have about 100 calories. Often we pop two or more into our mouths before we realize it. If you feel you're not getting enough "crunch" by limiting yourself to one cookie, try eating an apple instead -- the calories are similar. 9. Top Your Potato with Fewer CaloriesIt's easy to slather a couple of tablespoons of butter or margarine (200 calories/2 tablespoons)on a baked potato. Try switching to sour cream; you can have as much as a fourth cup for 100 calories. For even fewer calories, use one of the light or fat-free sour creams. Or, substitute yogurt for sour cream. 10. Lessen Your LiquorIf you drink alcohol, limit your daily consumption to one drink for women and two drinks for men as recommended by the Dietary Guidelines. A typical 5-oz. glass of wine has 100 calories; a 12-oz. serving of beer, 150 calories; and 1 1/2 ounces of distilled spirits, 100 calories. 11. Be Size-wise with Fast FoodTry one or more of these strategies the next time you visit your favorite fast food restaurant and you easily can save 100 or more calories:
Most fast food places offer nutrition information, including calories, at their restaurant. Many also provide nutrition information on their company Web site. At your next opportunity, total the calories you obtain from your favorite fast food meal. For many adults and children (age 2 and older), a calorie range somewhere between 1,600 to 2,200 is sufficient. It's easy to consume one-half or more of your daily caloric needs at one fast food meal, especially if you're super-sizing portions! 12. Practice Portion Control with PopcornPopping microwave popcorn can be a daily occurrence in many workplaces and homes. It's easy to eat half a bag or more at a sitting. While even TWO cups of the more buttery popcorns may weigh in at 100 calories or less, the entire package might yield 10 or more cups, or possibly over 500 calories! To gauge how many cups of corn you're consuming, one cup is about equal in size to a baseball or to your fist. Microwave popcorn can be a great snack. If you'd like more than a few cups, experiment with some of the lower-fat versions. Putting The Power of One Dietary Change into PracticeThink through the foods you eat on a regular basis. Are there small changes, like those mentioned in this article, you could implement? Perhaps these have given you ideas for other changes that might work for you. To obtain an approximate idea of the calories and nutrients in additional foods, search the USDA National Nutrient Database at www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp or check the Nutrition Facts labels on foods.
Special Thanks To . . .I'd like to express my appreciation to my colleague, Linda Boeckner, PhD, RD, University of Nebraska Cooperation Extension Nutrition Specialist, for her help and suggestions as I prepared this month's Food Reflections article. |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
Search
This Site |
|
