Freelance Writing Jobs | Today's Articles | sign in

Losing One Pound a Week is Easier than You Think

Easy Ways to Cut 250 Calories a Day

Mar 10, 2009 Andrea Chrysanthou

One pound is equal to 3500 so to lose 1 pound a week you have to subtract 3500 from your life. Divided by 7 days, that means you need a deficit of 500 calories every day.

That may seem like a lot, but if you lose those calories through a combination of moderate exercise and diet, this becomes much easier.

It is recommended that most people try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. As long as your workout is relatively intense, this will equal roughly 250 calories shed daily. That leaves you with only another 250 calories to lose through diet and that is not as hard as you might think.

Here are 10 simple ways to adjust the foods you’re eating to lose hundreds of calories.

Swap a can of regular cola for diet cola (saves 135 calories)
Replace one slice of cheddar cheese for low fat cheese made from skim milk. (saves 35 calories)
Swap 1 glass of 2% milk for 1% milk (saves 20 calories)
Switch from your regular bag of buttery popcorn to the air-popped variety (saves 100 calories)
Replace a white-bread bagel with a lighter and fluffier English muffin (saves 60 calories)
Instead of ordering a Café Mocha prepared with whole milk at your local coffee shop, opt for an equally satisfying Café Latte prepared with non-fat milk (saves 240 calories)
When you want a fresh snack, choose a high-fiber apple over a banana (saves 30 calories)
Choose a light salad-dressing for your salad. Three tablespoons of non-fat Italian dressing makes a big difference over Caesar salad dressing. (saves 215 calories)
When making a 2-egg omelet, replace one of the eggs with an egg-white (saves 50 calories)
This one's probably the one that will hurt the most, but it also packs the most punch. The next time you’re eating at a fast-food restaurant, say ‘no’ to the French fries and have a side order of salad instead.(saves 300 calories)

Bear in mind that the above adjustments only work if you were already eating or drinking those items. Don’t start drinking a Café Latte if you were only drinking 0-calorie coffee. Also, be sure you are not eating or drinking extra items throughout the day to compensate for the changes you are making to your life.

The best way to monitor this is by writing a food diary. Begin by tracking all the foods you eat now on a regular basis and then go forward making note of all your changes. Make sure that the total number of calories you eat on this plan is at least 250 calories less than it has been in the recent past.

Once you start thinking of losing weight as a matter of making small changes, your goals will become more achievable.

The copyright of the article Losing One Pound a Week is Easier than You Think in Nutrition is owned by Andrea Chrysanthou. Permission to republish Losing One Pound a Week is Easier than You Think in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Choose lighter salad dressings to lose weight