Best Fitness Blog

... By Karli Taylor

Diet is DIE with a T on the end of it… How many times have you heard that one? As the temperature rises, we start to think a little bit more about those extra few pounds that have snuck on around our middles and we start throwing around that D word. The last thing any of us want to do is go on a diet, right? Luckily there are ways to ban that bulge without taking drastic measures. The trick: Eat just a little bit less every day at every meal.

In fact, by cutting out just 100 calories each day, you'll lose more than 10 pounds a year. Up that to 250 calories and you're down 26 pounds! Need it gone sooner? Cut 500 calories daily and you'll drop those 26 pounds in half the time. Keep reading for some easy ways to give up a little to lose a lot.

At Breakfast:

• Use skim milk in place of cream in your coffee.
• Eat a bowl of high-fiber cereal and you'll consume fewer calories all day.
• Order bacon, not sausage, with your eggs.
• Order your toast dry and put on your own butter- just one serving

At Lunch:

• Use 1 tablespoon of mayo and 1 tablespoon of low-fat cottage cheese to make tuna salad.
• Put barbecue sauce, not honey mustard, on your chicken sandwich at your favorite fast food joint.
• Top your burger with onions, lettuce, and tomato and skip the cheese.
• Ask for the 12-ounce small soda instead of the 21-ounce medium at the drive-through.
• Slim down your sandwich by using Arnold Select 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins instead of whole wheat bread.
• Toss your salad with 1 tablespoon of dressing until every lettuce leaf is coated. You'll get away with using half the usual serving size. Try this trick at dinner too.
• Choose thin crust pizza with veggies on top instead of regular with meat toppings

At Dinner:

• Choose EITHER butter OR sour cream for your potato
• Skip the bread before the meal OR if the bread is your favorite part, skip the potato that comes with your entrée
• Ask for sauces on the side and when you prepare food at home, go easy on the oil, cream and butter in your sauce- use stock instead
• Have a big salad before you start your entrée
• Drink water with dinner instead of something caloric
• Stop eating after your first helping and wait at least 15 minutes before helping yourself to seconds. If you are eating out, eat half of what’s on your plate and do the same thing.

Any of your own tricks to share?

... By Karli Taylor

What did you have for breakfast today - coffee? Most mornings, we barely have time to glance at the kitchen. Though fixing breakfast can take up a few minutes that are  in short supply, there is a great deal of evidence that breakfast really may be the most important meal of the day!

Did you know that the simple act of eating breakfast every day is a big part of a successful weight loss plan?

People skip breakfast thinking they're cutting calories, but by mid-morning and lunch, the hunger takes over and most people eat more calories than they would have had they eaten a sensible breakfast.  Breakfast skippers tend to replace calories during the day with mindless nibbling and overeating at lunch and dinner.

A study conducted on individuals who have lost and kept off more than 30 pounds for over a year reported that 78% of the participants ate breakfast every day, and almost 90% reported eating breakfast at least five days a week.
Another research group analyzed government data on 4,200 adults.

They found that regular breakfast eaters were more likely to exercise regularly. Perhaps starting your morning off in a healthy way sets the tone for the rest of the day!

The same study showed that women who ate breakfast regularly tended to eat fewer calories overall during the day, and men and women who ate breakfast had lower overall daily fat intake than non-breakfast eaters.
 It makes sense. Eating early in the day keeps us from overeating and making poor food choices  later in the day.  But that’s not all! Eating breakfast also jump-starts your metabolism allowing your calorie burning furnace to start earlier- the longer your furnace is active, the more total calories you burn in a day.

So what’s for breakfast?