KINGMAN – Do you find yourself wishing you could lose weight, fit into that favorite outfit, or improve your eating habits?
How often do you take action to make those wishes come true? Researchers have found that only about 20% of people with unhealthy lifestyles are willing to act. Wishing implies that we aren’t planning on making changes. Wishful thinking is waiting for something miraculous to happen without putting forth effort. Instead of wishful thinking, think about reality. Thinking realistically involves planning and taking action to make changes in our behavior. Instead of making wishes, create a list of goals. Write down those goals and then determine a course of action to achieve them. Remember that reaching goals takes effort. In the end you’ll no longer be wishing and waiting for something to happen. You’ll be taking action to make them happen!
It’s easy to say, “I will do it after my vacation, or I will start Monday.” Why not start now?
Here’s a tip to help make your goals a reality. As you go through treasured recipes and favorite cookbooks substitute high calorie, high fat food items with lower fat or fat free ingredients. Making simple substitutions in our daily meals and recipes makes significant reductions in our calorie intake.
Here are examples of how many calories that can be saved substituting lower fat ingredients for high fat ones:
- 1 cup skim milk versus 1 cup whole milk= 60 calories.
- Substituting 8 egg whites versus 4 whole eggs= 188 calories.
- Nonstick cooking spray versus oil or butter= 135 calories per tablespoon.
- Light margarine versus butter= 58 calories per tablespoon and 464 calories per ½ cup.
- Removing skin from a five-ounce portion of chicken or turkey= 360 calories.
- Non-calorie sweetener versus sugar= 48 calories per tablespoon and 385 calories per ½ cup.
- Plain nonfat yogurt versus cream in recipes= over 700 calories.
- Plain nonfat yogurt versus mayonnaise in dressing recipes= over 480 calories per 1/3 cup.
- Fat-free evaporated skim milk versus evaporated milk= 14 calories and 2 grams of fat per ounce.
- Fat-free sweetened condensed skim milk versus sweetened condensed milk= 54 calories and 3 grams of fat per ounce. 2 tablespoons equal one ounce.
Now that you’ve started cutting out fat and calories don’t make the mistake of thinking, “I have cut out a whole bunch of calories now I can eat as much as I want.” Watch those serving sizes.
Practice preparing family favorites with low fat and fat free ingredients, so it will become second nature. Making small substitutions can make big differences in the number of calories we consume. It’s a little change that can make a significant impact on our weight.
If you’ve already made changes like these and are still struggling with weight loss, please call me today at 928-753-5066 or stop by 1848 Hope Ave in Kingman.
– Eunice Mesick
(Diet Center, Kingman, Arizona)
