Drinking a 20-ounce (590 ml) bottle of cola daily for a year without increasing your energy expenditure can result in a gain of 25 pounds. Before you trade it in for an equal serving size of O.J., realize that the calories are near equivalent and they are all coming from sugars. The rules of weight loss are simple: if you are eating more than you need to support your body’s metabolic processes you will gain weight. But did you know that by eating 500 fewer calories per day, you can lose 1 pound per week?
Here are 5 easy ways to cut 100 calories from your diet:
1. Use mustard instead of mayonnaise. It doesn’t matter how much you use—you’ll get tired of squeezing the bottle before you have 100 calories of mustard on your sandwich!
2. Avoid ‘candy bars’ (for example, Mars, Snickers, Oh Henry! are all candy bars, disguised as chocolate bars). Instead, purchase an actual chocolate bar and eat 2 squares of dark chocolate. You will enjoy it more if you eat less of it, and slowly.
3. Use celery sticks instead of crackers or bread when spreading your peanut butter. Again, you will be FULL before you can eat 100 calories worth of celery! (But make sure you stick to the same serving size of PB!)
4. Use stevia in your coffee and tea instead of sugar. Stevia is a plant with sweet tasting leaves that are dried and powdered, then bleached. Stevia contains zero calories, and it is so sweet that a little dash goes a long way! If it tastes bitter to you, you’ve used too much. It’s available in handy packets for convenient transportation. (If you plan to bake with it, follow me and watch for tips on how to use it properly, coming soon!).
5. When ordering fast food, avoid the temptation to ‘get a better deal’ by buying the drink-included combo. Remember, that extra 240 calories comes from sugar! Instead, drink water. Flavour it by adding a drop of pure food-grade peppermint oil, or other essential oil extracts (shake or stir well before drinking).
…you’ve done it! That’s at least 500 calories spared. I bet you aren’t even feeling hungry.
Remember that weight loss should be mainly fat loss. If you want to lose fat, not muscle, be sure to obtain a body composition measurement before you start and once your new lifestyle has been in effect for at least 3 weeks, and then compare your measurements.
Do you have a favourite low-calorie snack? Please leave a comment here.