Salads can hide calories with the mask of eating healthy. All that green crunch has to be good for you right? Well, just 2-tablespoons of the salad dressing you drizzle on top can contain up to 140 calories if it’s creamy. A lot of times you don’t even realize how much you put on, especially when it’s at a salad bar. You really don’t need to drench every bit of salad with goo. Vegetables really do have flavor. The dressing is supposed to just add to the flavors, not mask them.
Here’s a tip to help you use a LOT less dressing, yet still enjoy the flavors you savor. Put a small amount of dressing in a cup on the side. Then dip the tip of the tines of your fork into the dressing before gathering a portion of the lettuce and veggies. The flavorful dressing will dance on your tongue before mingling with the cool stuff. It’s that easy. Use less dressing and cut calories with your fork.
TODAY: REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF DRESSING YOU USE ON SALADS.
It’s the weekend and you’re in a different routine. I know we just started the year and a fresh look at our eating habits but don’t deny yourself a little snack from time to time. It may not only keep your hunger in-check between meals, but can reduce your desire to overeat at mealtime. Some research shows that snacking instead of just regular meals may lead to greater weight loss and keeps your metabolism from going into a survival mode that stores food (fat) the next time you eat. Of course don’t use that to justify chips, cookies and other low value foods. Try cheese, nuts or hard boiled eggs which are high in protein or raw veggies. Both will make you feel fuller than snacking on foods that are high in carbs and sugar calories.
TODAY: MAKE AN EXERCISE PLAN FOR THE COMING WEEK.
Okay… don’t eat the entire time. Just make sure that you stretch your meals out to at least 20 minutes. If you’re still hungry after finishing your meal, take a 20 minutes break. Sip a cup of coffee, relax, take your mind off eating. Then see if you are still hungry. You’ll probably find that you don’t need more calories. It takes that long for the “full” signal to get to your brain. The main thing is that you see the “stop” signal go on.
TODAY: SLOW YOUR MEALS DOWN.
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.
Spring cleaning should not be limited to the closets. Hit the pantry and get rid of the high calorie winter snacks that you’ve been storing like a squirrel. You can’t eat ’em if you don’t have ’em. Grab a few bags, go to the park and… feed the squirrels.
TODAY: GET RID OF THOSE BAGS OF SNACKS.
A study by the US Department of Agriculture found that people who spend more time planning, shopping for and preparing food are less likely to be over or under weight. They think it has something to do with being around the food so much. Of course those little tastes may also help you eat less too. Though I’ve seen my share of fat cooks. So don’t overdo the samples, unless you also reduce your portions when the meal is done.
TODAY: GET OUT AND WALK. NO FOOLING!
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.
Daily Nag, Tips & Tricks | Diet Nag | 
January 12, 2016 6:19 am | 
Comments (0) 
Subscribe