Posts tagged: diet and calories

Sauce Up Your Food

tabascoI love chicken wings. They’re great diet food as long as you fry them “naked” with no batter or crust. You can make a sauce that’s to your heat liking with just hot sauce, melted butter and a some cream. Or keep the calories down by sticking to hot sauce. Just dip the wings, don’t drench them. They’re easier to eat. Decadent, yet still reduced carb.

Discovering that hot sauces are low or no carb was a huge thing for me. It definitely is not all about the heat. There are an amazing variety of flavors from habanero to mustard. The Tabasco brands are a mainstay. But one of my current favorites is Wild Turkey hot sauce. Yes the bourbon is in it. I got it as a gift at Christmas and have to find more soon.

Keep a variety of hot sauces on hand and try it on anything and everything from eggs to veggies. It will spice up your diet in more ways than one.

TODAY: EXERCISE EXTRA TO MAKE UP FOR YESTERDAY!

Lunchable Vegtable

As we add fruits and veggies to our diet to meet the five (or more) a day goal, let’s look at lunch.

  • Salad bar? Stack on the dark green leaves and other vegetables instead of so many of the extras like eggs, bacon and cheese.(keep the dressing ON THE SIDE)
  • Add frozen veggies to any pasta. (Even the canned stuff.) You get more good stuff and more flavor too.
  • Skip the fries and add a vegetable. Most all restaurants will do that. (Even the fast food places offer a value size salad.)
  • SMACK! Have a V8!
  • Have fresh fruit for desert.

TODAY: LOOK FOR WAYS TO ADD MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES TO YOUR LUNCH.

Membership In The Clean Plate Club Is Growing

Unfortunately it’s the waistline that’s growing. We were introduced to it when we were kids. The club is so prevalent in American society that it has resulted in 67% of us eating everything on our plate, no matter how much is on it! That figure came from the American Institute fo Cancer Research. Now combine that with the way portions have grown in the US and you begin to understand why we have gained weight. Burgers are bigger, drinks are bigger than we can gulp, value meals are valued for quantity and “all you can eat” is much more than we should.

The habit that can cut the most calories faster and let you literally lose weight by doing nothing is to simply eat single servings. Cut back to just single servings. Eat favorite foods, just eat less of them instead of the huge amount of calories you decided was “normal”.

Go ahead and maintain your life membership in The Clean Plate Club… just use a smaller plate.

TODAY: EAT ONLY SINGLE SERVINGS. DON’T FORGET TO WALK.

Don’t Let The Week End Your Diet

Studies have found that we eat more on weekends. I hope they didn’t spend a lot of money to figure that one out. All they had to do was visit a grocery store or look at a restaurant parking lot. Anyway, it turns out that we eat about up to 115 calories more per weekend day. It may not sound like much, but that would add up to an extra pound after ten weekends. So try and avoid those extra treats.

My trick for curbing snack cravings is to use diet sodas. The extra sweetness of Diet Dr. Pepper or Root Beer seem to be very satisfying. If you need a real thirst quencher after your extra long walk (hint, hint) try diet Tonic with a squeeze of lime.

Just don’t let the weekend be a weak end to what you are achieving.

TODAY: DOUBLE UP ON YOUR WALKING.

Bulk Up To Slim Down

Eating less doesn’t mean you will weigh less. Starving yourself isn’t healthy and can lead to craving and binging. (Followed by severe guilt.) A moderate, healthy diet is best. So stay satisfied by eating food that is low in calories but high in bulk anD fiber like veggies, whole grains and low fat soups. Add a reasonable amount of healthy fats like olive oil, nuts and protein with some cheese and you are on your way. By the way, that’s sometimes called a Mediterranean diet. In addition to being satisfying it’s very healthy.

TODAY: TAKE THAT WALK… EVEN IF IT’S A LAP AROUND THE MALL.

Cold Weather + Weekend = Temptation

Saturday is here and the weather is really wicked everywhere. It’s going to be tough to resist eating too much. The key is going to be keeping the snacks satisfying yet low in calories. I mentioned the chicken broth earlier in the week. A hot cup of that is a mere 20 calories. You’ll find that beef broth gives you another option and a trip to the soup aisle will show you that there are several other options including some exotic choices including oriental and spicy. Just check the labels for total calories. A warm tasty sip will take the edge off your cravings.

TODAY: KEEP BUSY TO KEEP YOUR MIND OFF OF EATING.

Smack! You Could Have Had A V8

You really can kick up your energy without junk food by having a vegetable drink. Of course V8 comes to mind, but there are others to choose from too. Simple tomato juice is an option or really give yourself a kick with carrot juice. You’ll get a real warm effect from the niacin it that. No matter what your choice you’ll find it satisfying while adding some variety to your diet and more vegetables to meet your daily quota. Visit the juice aisle and check out the choices. Don’t forget to read the labels to avoid being tricked into a bunch of hidden calories.

TODAY: REV UP YOUR DIET WITH A V8.