Cut 20 Pounds a Year with Easy Lifestyle Changes

We have lots of names & excuses for typical weight gain:freshman fifteen, post wedding blissful domestication, baby fat, or midlife spread. It doesn't matter what stage of life you're in---if you gain weight due to it, someone has done it before and someone will do it again. They can provide you with excuses or a reason to get yourself ahead of the curve and make simple changes to stop it before it starts. The best way to lose weight of course is diet & exercise as recommended by your doctor, but here are a few quick & easy ways to cut 200 or more calories per day. 200 extra calories a day is over 20 pounds worth over the course of a year!

Control your sugar

Love sweet tea? Switch to unsweetened tea & sweeten it yourself to save nearly 200 calories per large glass. Compare Mcdonald's large sweet tea (230 calories) to the same size unsweetened tea (0 calories). http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutritionComparison.do

Add your own sugar at 16 calories per tsp-if you stick to 2tsp you'll save 198 calories each time you do it yourself! Imagine how much you'd save switching from soda to tea a few times a week. Use artificial sweetener for even more calorie savings.

　

Control your portions

How easy is it to open a bag of chips and snack until you're done? They may only be 150-200 calories per serving depending on brand but once you've got that bag on your lap & you're watching Survivor, who is even thinking about how much you've already had. Suddenly the bag is empty & you've eaten hundreds of calories that you didn't mean to, don't remember and didn't really enjoy.

Just pour a serving into a bowl & put the bag back into the cupboard. This can save hundreds of calories each time you do it!

　

Eat with intent

Once you're really hungry its easier to make poor choices, eat too fast and eat too much. You may be full long before your stomach realizes it, so ever extra bite beyond that is going to line your inner thighs before long. You're going to be hungry at dinner time, so plan ahead & try to eat at the same time each night. It will be easier to eat what you intend, not what you crave!

Buy a food scale

Weigh your portions before you eat them and you'll be shocked at how big they are. Eating 4 pieces of chicken can be an entire pound of meat-while a recommended serving can be as little as 3-4oz depending on who you listen to.

This tip isn't to eat smaller portions. Its be aware of portion sizes. Once you realize that you're about to eat hundreds more calories in chicken than you realized, you may make difference choices.

　

Live your life with intent & control-you're in charge, so why let food rule you?