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| | | | | Want to Lose 10 Pounds without Dieting? Daily Choices and Calorie Per Serving Awareness by Sandra Ahten | | | Many people find counting calories difficult, and if you’re only occasionally having a specific food or beverage, then counting calories for that specific item may not be imperative. But if you’re eating any item on a regular basis, then knowing the calories per serving can be critical, and making daily choices about whether or not it’s worth it can have a big effect on your annual weight loss.
Do the math
For some, living in our coffee-house culture can mean making daily choices before the local barista. At Starbucks, there are 260 calories per medium Frappuccino® Blended Coffee. If you have one of these three times a week, 52 weeks per year, that’s 40,560 calories.
For an average person, there are approximately 3,500 calories per pound of weight gain. That means that 40,560 calories translates into eleven pounds per year. Yikes!
Maybe you’ll decide it’s worth it—you’ll decide to cut down on calories elsewhere and exercise a bit more. These are the sorts of daily choices we must all make, and we will all make them differently. But then, what if occasionally, let’s say about once a week, you succumb to temptation and replace one of your regulars with a Mocha? And, since you’ve been so virtuous with all that exercise, you say “yes” to the whipped cream too? Now you’re talking 490 calories per drink—and 3.5 pounds per year—just for the once-weekly upgrade from a Frappuccino to a Mocha. Even someone diligently counting calories may not realize just how much those weekly or daily choices can add up over time.
Soft drinks are often a shocker too. Do the math on how many servings of cola you consume in a year. 150 calories per each 12 ounce serving means that one per day = 16 pounds per year. How about that little glass of wine with dinner? 75 calories per each 3.5 ounce glass means that one per day = eight pounds per year. Are these the sorts of daily choices you’re making? Are you remembering to count calories from your drinks at all?
Soft drinks and wine are empty calories, but even health conscious calorie counters don’t catch a break here. You could have a whole cup of apple slices for 65 calories per cup, or a cup of apple juice for 116 calories per cup. The best daily choice here is the apples, but even switching to the apparently healthy apple juice three times per week will equal more than two pounds of weight gain per year.
It’s not just beverages
I count calories, but I won’t buy “lighter” bread that has less nutritional value just to save on a few calories. At the same time, I won’t take the chance with an unknown caloric value for something that I eat as regularly as sandwich bread. I love to buy bread from local bakeries, but they generally don’t give nutritional information or even calories per slice.
Even scrumptious, healthy, whole grain bread can vary by 20 or more calories per slice. If you have two pieces per day, that may mean four pounds of weight per year, one way or the other.
Daily choices are the key
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that those rare folks who have a “skinny metabolism” or “no interest in food” are neither counting calories nor reading along today. The rest of us shouldn’t waste our time comparing ourselves to them either.
Everyone has his or her problems, including people with good “fat genes.” If you want to trade metabolisms with someone, you have to be willing to trade everything else too. Yes, you’ll get his credit card debt and his wayward children along with his hollow leg. The deal isn’t quite as rosy now, is it?
So deal in reality. Follow the example of people with normal metabolisms who are living in this society and not gaining weight each year. How are they doing it?
They may not necessarily be counting calories, but they are choosing their food and drink with the awareness that their daily choices determine their annual weight gains or losses. Daily choices may not seem to make much difference from one day to the next, but as the examples above illustrate, a difference of as little as 20 calories per serving can make a substantial difference over the course of a year. Through some means, be it counting calories or otherwise, healthy weight maintainers have educated themselves enough about the nutritional value of food and calories per serving of the items they routinely enjoy to eat in a calorie-appropriate range.
Counting calories is not punishment
I suggest that you take a two-week period during which you count calories by finding an easy method of looking up calories per serving of the foods you eat and writing down each of the daily choices you make. If you eat something regularly, or as you become curious about the calories per serving in a certain food or beverage, do the math.
Do this exercise with curiosity, not as a punishment. You may learn a lot by counting calories. You may find that you are “wasting” calories on food or drink that isn’t even that important to you. You may be shocked to learn that a depending on size, a banana can have between 90 and 135 calories. You may find it easy to change your daily choices.
Make a note at the top of your calorie notebook page: “Daily choices are the determining factor in my annual weight gain or loss. What is my choice this year?” | | | | Article Source : Article-treasure.com | | Publication date : 10-16-2008 | | | | Article by Sandra Ahten | | | | Sandra Ahten, CEO of www.reasonablediet.com, is a professional motivation expert and diet and wellness coach. She is an internationally recognized host for two top-rated diet podcasts: Reasonable Diet Radio and Six Minutes of Sanity. Sandra's clients most often lead very successful lives, yet they still battle with their weight. If this sounds like you, register now for your own free e-course ==> "Five Fact You Absolutely Must Know Before Starting Any Diet". Her specially designed programs, for the "I know what to do, I just don't do it" crowd, will bring you weight loss success and peace of mind with regard to diet, food, your body, and your overall well being. | | | | Keywords : count(ing) calories, daily choice, calories per | | | | | |
