Burning Calories Diet, Part 1
Avoid "fad" diets. If you don't believe me, ask your doctor about these: negative calorie diets, extremely low calorie diets, low carb diets, and any other type of "fad" diet that is unbalanced.
Changing diet should be a matter of healthier life style. Learn all you can about different foods and nutrition. The more you know the easier it is to implement healthy nutrition in your diet.
1. Substitute fruit purees for butter or margarine. They are easy to prepare in a food processor and will significantly reduce calories and fat.
2. Cheese is good for you, but the fat is not. Try this: Zap cheese in the microwave and drain off grease.
3. Exercising before you eat just makes you hungrier. Exercise AFTER eating when the body has to work harder to digest food.
4. Don't eat while watching television. You can become so engrossed in your program that don't realize how much you are eating.
5. Too many people skip breakfast. Eat in the morning when the body burns more calories.
6. Water mixed with fructose suppresses appetite better than glucose with water or diet drinks. Drink a glass of orange juice one half to one hour before a meal.
7. Avoid trans fatty acids. Use olive, corn or canola oil when cooking.
8. Switch from whole to skim milk. All the nutrients are there without the fat. Okay, at least cut back to low fat!
9. Limit yourself to just four egg yolks a week.
10. Trim all fat from meats before cooking. You'll be amazed at how much you reduce your fat intake if you take this one small step.
11. Eliminate fried foods. Do we need to say why?
12. Cream sauces like alfredo and hollandaise are loaded with fat. Use tomato based sauces instead of cream.
13. Use lemon juice or low sodium soy sauce for flavor.
14. Don't skip meals. When you do, you eat more at your next meal and usually eat the wrong foods.
15. Read labels - check fat, sugar and carb content.
16. Stop buying on impulse. Never shop for groceries without a list.
17. Avoid shopping when you are hungry - eat first!
18. Shop for groceries once a week and only buy from your prepared list.
19. Head directly to the fruit and vegetable aisles when you enter the grocery store. Fill up your basket in these aisles and you'll be less likely to buy binge food.
20. If you have a local "farmers market" where you can buy your fruits and veggies off the truck, by all means do so. They'll be fresher and tastier.
21. Make sure you buy everything you need for your weekly meal planning. Returning to the grocery store numerous times increases the risk of buying what you shouldn't. The grocery stores know their business very well and present items that are hard to resist.
22. Vary your foods - introduce something new each week. Menu planning can become boring when you eat the same things. That boredom translates into over eating. Try new healthy recipes each week.
23. Stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Yes, they are very convenient. They are also loaded with fat and/or sugar, not to mention the chemicals.
24. The ads are soooo compelling. Cut fast food from your diet!
25. Eat more fish but avoid breading or batters. Fish oil is good for you.
26. Eat more vegetables. Try mixing and matching fresh vegetables for variety.
27. Steam your veggies instead of boiling them. They'll taste better and you'll retain more of their nutritional value.
28. Use fat free or low fat salad dressings or make your own using lemon juice, spices and a tiny amount of olive oil.
29. Exchange water for soft drinks - yes, even diet drinks!
30. Slim down with casseroles - just use lean meat and veggies.
31. Go ahead and snack, just snack on good stuff, like raisins, nuts veggies and dried fruit.
32. Never eat while you are standing.
33. Don't sample when you are cooking. A taste here, a little bite there and before you know it you've eaten an entire portions without sitting down at the table!
34. Don't give up potatoes. A baked potato has 0 grams of fat and only 160 calories. Just don't eat fries that weigh in at 13 fat grams and 480 calories!
35. Stay away from pastries. They are loaded with fat not to mention that they are also loaded with sugar.
36. Eat more salads but don't let salad become boring. Add different ingredients. Throw in a few raisins, canned beans like garbanzos and vary your dressings. Leave out the mayo!
37. Limit your intake of meat to just two or three meat choices per week and select more "white" meats than red.
38. You don't have to give up dessert, just rearrange it. Try mixing fresh fruits with low fat yogurt. Strawberries with banana yogurt is delicious!
39. Add nuts to your yogurt and salads. Chopped nuts make a great alternative to "breaded" style garnishes like croutons.
40. Replace white bread with whole grain bread. If you can find bread that still contains the "wheat germ," buy it!
41. When baking, applesauce makes a great substitute for shortening.
42. Prepare foods in different ways. Instead of traditional frying, try stir-fry and use a low fat spray or non-stick pan.
43. Reduce portions at meal time. We live in a "jumbo size" world. There's no reason why the portions we consumer need to be super sized as well.
44. Measure portions one time to get an idea of what a portion of any given food should be. Do it once for each food that you commonly eat. Eventually, you will be able to "eyeball" a proper serving.
45. Keep a food diary of everything you eat. This is the first step to acquiring a new, healthier life style.
46. Wait no more than five hours between meals or snacks. This regiment will help to stabilize your metabolism.
47. Specific food combinations can help to burn calories by enhancing your metabolism. Eat carbs that are rich in fiber. They take longer to digest and you will feel "fuller" for longer periods of time.
48. Use fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Canned veggies are okay in a pinch, but generally include more salt than you need. By the time they are canned and processed, they have lost much of their nutritive value.
49. Eat more yogurt. Yogurt is a protein as well as a carbohydrate therefore giving you the small amount of energy needed to burn the protein.
50. Add more tuna to your diet. You can grill it, broil it, steam it and poach it, all without any added fat.
51. Try different varieties of beans rather than sticking to the same old type you are accustomed to. Beans are a great source of energy, protein and fiber.
52. Beware of misleading claims. Reduced fat merely means that the item has 25% less fat. Use common sense. If something "normally" contains 300 fat grams, then reduced fat means it still has over 200 grams of fat!
53. Salads to avoid are tuna, chicken and egg. It isn't the meat or egg that's the problem. It's the mayonnaise. Try making them with plain yogurt and spices to dress it up and you'll have a healthy combination.
54. If you absolutely must have your fatty salad dressing, try this. Have the dressing on the side and dip your fork into the dressing before you spear the salad ingredient. You'll have your taste but without dredging your salad in fat.
55. Love avocado? Go ahead and indulge a quarter cup but don't mix it with sour cream!
56. Roasted, flavored almonds make a great snack.
57. Make your own potato chips. It's simple. Thinly slice a large baking potato and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet sprayed with low fat aerosol spray. Spray the slices lightly as well. Sprinkle with paprika and any other spice of your choosing. Bake in a 400 degree oven for thirty minutes making sure to turn once. 'Voila! Your own home baked potato chips and a great snack.
58. Switch from cream of wheat cereal to oatmeal. The whole grain in oatmeal is much better for you and won't leave you hungry an hour later like the cream of wheat.
59. If you plan on eating out at a buffet, eat something before you go. Don't skip a meal and plan on chowing down at the buffet.
60. Grab a table as far from the buffet as possible. You'll lessen the temptation to graze or go back for seconds.
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