Posts Tagged ‘Lose weight’

Easy Way To Lose A Pound In A Week

February 12th, 2010

Simple food swaps , cutting back on high calorie treats and pushing yourself to be a little more active can help you achieve realistic , long-term weight loss . Mix & match these tips & you will look and feel more slimmer with minimum effort .

Say no to crisps

This is one of the most popular snacks , but a regular 40 g bag has around 200 g of fat . Even lighter versions come in at slightly over half of that amount.So if you stopped having a bag each day at work , you’d save at least 500 calories a week .

Avoid large portions

A large burger , fries and fizzy drink will beasily stack up to 1000 calories , if not slightly more . If you can’t cut them out , at least opt for the regular or small sizes which will cut the calories in half .

Watch what you drink

On a night out , three 175 ml glasses of white wine will cost you nearly 400 calories . Three spritzers will be half that . A half pint of stronger lager clocks up around 160 calories , while a half ordinary strength is about 80 calories . Steer clear of cocktails too – a pina colada is easily 225 calories , while a vodka & slimline is just 60 .

On your bike

Eco-friendly , fun and jolly good exercise , an hour’s cycling should take care nearly 500 calories .

Sandwich swap

If you have a little low fat salad cream in your lunchtime sandwich instead of lashings of butter , you could save up to 500 calories during your working week .

Rethink your Saturday night take-away

Choose chicken chow mein and boiled rice over sweet and sour chicken and fried rice , you’ll save around 500 calories .

Walk more

If you walk to work , the shops or just for fun ( but at a reasonably brisk pace ) you’ll burn up around 250 calories an hour .

Wash the car

Save money & burn energy by valeting your car . Wash it , polish it & vacuum it inside and you’ll use up a few hundred calories .

Have a skinnier coffee

You could save yourself 170 calories if you opted for a regular white coffee , made with skimmed milk , rather than a cappucino made with full fat milk .

Party snacks

Think such small little nibbles don’t count ? If you had two tablespoons of tzatziki dip that would add up to 40 calories . Two tablespoons of taramasalata , however , is 130 calories . Thick meat pate on French bread can cost you about 250 calories , whereas a small helping of smoked salmon on rye bread is mere 130 calories . A cocktail sausage is around 70 calories . Wrap it in pastry & serve it as a sausage roll & you’re looking at 200 calories .

Goodbye Mr Chips

January 19th, 2010

Cut back on fat and you’ll reap rewards on your bum and your thights.Try some simple and painless ways to reduce fat in your diet.

If you’re reading this,no doubt your priority right now is on your behind.And,given that being overweight is a major factor in cellulite,it’s time to slash some of the naughty stuff from your diet.Let’s start with some home thruths about dietary fat:

Weight for weight,fat contains twice as many calories as sugar.

1 g of fat contains 9 calories,while 1 g of sugar contains about 3-4 cals – so one of the best ways to cutback on calories bis to reduce your fat intake.

Fat calories make you fatter than carbohydrate and protein calories.

That’s because fat is closest to the form it needs to be for storage – to metabolise it requires 3 calories for every 100 calories you eat.That leaves a whopping97 to be stored in your fat cells.

Compare this with the number of calories required to metabolise carbohydrates,about 10-15 calories which leaves only 85-90 to be stored.Proteins wins hand thought; it requires an amazing 20 calories to use it.So if you want to boost your metabolism,stick to protein and carbs and go easy on the fat.

Try sticking to a moderate fat restriction eating plan (where it accounts for between 30and 32 % of your total calorie intake).You are more much likely to keep the weight off this way than by restricting it to 20-25% because it’s more palatable and therefore easier to stick with.

You don’t have to suffer on a fat-free regime to lose weight.There are plenty of painless ways to cut back:

  • Ban margarine,butter or cheese in your sandwiches (and use tuna,turkey and low fat ham as fillings).Mustard and low-fat dressing make good alternatives to spreads.
  • Reduce red meat consumption by adding beans or root vegetables such as parsnips and turnips to casseroles or horpots to bulk up your servings.
  • Keep away from food preservedin oil; check the labels and stick to brine or fresh water instead.
  • Stop frying food ; instead barbecue/griddle or grill your fish or meat.
  • If you’re making meat casserole,leave it to go cold,then remove any fat on the surface.
  • Never add butter to your potatoes; try mustard or fromage frais in the mashed potatoes instead.
  • Drink clear broths or vegetable soups instead of creamy ones.
  • Never add cream to pasta sauces or soups.

Try these swaps:

  • Instead of steamed puddings and cream,opt for crumbles;they’ll keep your fruit intake high.Plus if you swap heavy crumble mixture for brown-breadcrumbs and a sprinkling of brown sugar you’ll keep it lower calorie still.
  • Instead of toast smoothered with butter try hummous – it’s a good source of protein,plus it’s high in soluble fibre which lowers cholesterol levels.
  • Love roasts?Swap red meat for white meat – and use spray olive to add taste and oils and balsamic vinegar and cut back on fat.