“Losing weight can be as simple as cutting out a meatball here and an egg roll there.” ~~Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D.

REACHING YOUR FAT-LOSS GOALS may be easier than you think. To lose a pound of fat a month, all you need to do is cut 100 calories a day from your diet, assuming the intake and expenditure of all other calories remains the same. That’s because a pound of body fat is equivalent to about 3,500 calories. So if you cut 100 calories a day for 31 days, you’re cutting 3,100 calories–or about a pound.

Wait…a pound a month? Isn’t that a little slow? Well, mounds of research indicate that you’re more likely to keep weight off if you lose it slowly. Besides, losing a pound a month doesn’t require drastic changes in your eating habits. It can be as simple as eating two egg rolls with your Chinese stir-fry instead of three. Here are 100 painless ways to cut 100 or more calories a day. As a bonus, they all reduce fat or sugar, which means, calorie for calorie, you’re getting more vitamins and minerals.

1. Spread 1 tablespoon of all-fruit jam on your toast rather than 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter.

2. Replace 1 cup of whole milk with 1/2 cup of nonfat milk.

3. Eat 2 poached eggs instead of 2 fried eggs.

4. Replace 1/2 cup of granola with 2 cups of Cheerios.

5. Instead of using whole milk and eggs to prepare 2 slices of French toast, use nonfat milk and egg whites.

6. Snack on an orange and a banana instead of a Snickers candy bar.

7. Munch on 35 pretzel sticks instead of 1 ounce of dry-roasted peanuts.

8. Replace 1 cup of sweetened applesauce with 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce.

9. On your lamb-and-vegetable kabob, replace 2 of the 4 chunks of meat with fresh whole mushrooms.

10. Dip an artichoke in 1 tablespoon of low-fat mayonnaise instead of 1 1/2 tablespoons of regular mayonnaise.

11. Steam your asparagus rather than sauté it in 1 tablespoon of butter or oil.

12. Instead of a 5-ounce glass of wine, opt for cherry-flavored sparkling water.

13. For a chewy snack, have 1/2 cup of dried fruit rather than 9 caramels.

14. Replace 3 slices of bacon with 3 slices of Light & Lean Canadian bacon.

15. Eat a Lender’s egg bagel instead of a Sara Lee egg bagel.

16. Select 1 cup of home-style baked beans instead of an equal serving of baked beans with franks.

17. Replace 2 biscuits with 2 dinner rolls.

18. When making a sandwich, use 2 slices of Roman Light 7-grain bread instead of Pepperidge Farm wheat bread.

19. Eat 1/2 cup of steamed fresh broccoli instead of 1/2 cup of frozen broccoli in cheese sauce.

20. Make a burrito with 1/2 cup of fat-free refried beans and 1 ounce of nonfat cheese instead of the same amount of traditional refried beans and cheese.

21. Replace an apple muffin with a high-fiber English muffin.

22. Reduce a typical serving of chocolate cake (1/8 of a two-layer cake) by one-third.

23. Switch from 1 cup of whole-milk hot chocolate to 1 cup of steamed 1% milk flavored with a dash of almond extract.

24. Replace 1 cup of caramel-coated popcorn with 2 1/2 cups of air-popped popcorn.

25. Switch from 1/2 cup of yogurt-covered raisins to 1/2 cup of plain raisins.

26. Snack on 1 cup of nonfat plain yogurt instead of 1 cup of custard-style yogurt.

27. Top your celery sticks with 2 tablespoons of fat-free cream cheese instead of 3 tablespoons of regular cream cheese.

28. Replace 2 fried-chicken drumsticks with 2 roasted drumsticks and a cup of peas and carrots.

29. Instead of eating 5 chocolate-chip cookies, savor the taste of 2.

30. Lighten your 2 cups of coffee with 2 tablespoons of evaporated nonfat milk instead of 2 tablespoons of half-and-half.

31. Replace a 12-ounce can of cola with a 12-ounce can of diet cola.

32. Thicken your cream sauce with 1 percent milk and corn starch instead of a roux of butter and flour.

33. At the appetizer tray, choose 4 fresh raw mushrooms instead of 4 batter-fried mushrooms.

34. Use 2 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream instead of regular sour cream (on baked potatoes or in stroganoff). If done twice in the day, 100 calories will be cut.

35. Reduce the size of your steak from 4 1/2 ounces to 3 ounces.

36. Grill a cheese sandwich with nonstick cooking spray instead of margarine.

37. Replace 1 cup of chocolate ice cream with 2/3 cup of nonfat chocolate frozen yogurt.

38. Snack on 2 ounces of oven-baked potato chips instead of regular potato chips.

39. Instead of topping your salad with an ounce of croutons, get your crunch from 1/4 cup of chopped celery.

40. Instead of 1 cup of macaroni salad, eat 3 1/2 cups of spinach salad with 2 tablespoons of low-calorie dressing.

41. Cut the peanut butter on your sandwich from 2 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon.

42. Serve your turkey with 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce instead of 1/2 cup.

43. Order a sandwich on cracked wheat bread instead of a croissant.

44. Complement your hamburger with 1 1/4 ounces of oven-baked tortilla chips instead of a side of fries.

45. Split an apple Danish with a friend rather than eat the entire thing.

46. Order 2 slices of cheese pizza instead of 2 slices of pepperoni pizza.

47. Grab a Dole Fresh Lites Cherry frozen fruit bar instead of a Sunkist Coconut frozen fruit bar.

48. Snack on 1/2 cup of fruit cocktail canned in water instead of 1 cup of fruit cocktail canned in heavy syrup.

49. Switch from 1 cup of fruit punch to 1 cup of sparkling water flavored with 2 teaspoons of concentrated orange juice.

50. Instead of eating garlic bread made with butter, spread baked garlic cloves on French bread.

51. Rather than snack on 1 cup of grapefruit canned in syrup, peel and section 1 small grapefruit.

52. Dip your chips in 1/2 cup of salsa instead of 1/2 cup of guacamole.

53. Switch from 1/2 cup of Frusen Gladje butter pecan ice cream to Breyers butter pecan ice cream.

54. Use 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise in your tuna salad instead of 2 tablespoons.

55. Hold the tartar sauce on your fish sandwich, and squeeze lemon on it instead.

56. Replace 3 fish sticks with 3 ounces of grilled halibut.

57. In sandwich spreads or salads, use 3 teaspoons of dijonnaise instead of 4 teaspoons of mayonnaise.

58. Use 2 tablespoons of light pancake syrup instead of 2 tablespoons of regular syrup.

59. Top your pasta with 1 cup of marinara sauce instead of 1/2 cup of alfredo sauce.

60. For each serving of pasta salad you make, reduce the oil or mayonnaise by 1 tablespoon.

61. Replace 1/2 cup of peaches canned in extra-heavy syrup with 1/2 cup of peaches canned in water.

62. Prepare 1/2 cup of steamed peas and cauliflower instead of frozen peas and cauliflower in cream sauce.

63. Cut back on sampling during cooking. The following “tastes” have 100 calories: 4 tablespoons of beef stroganoff, 3 tablespoons of homemade chocolate pudding, 2 tablespoons of chocolate-chip cookie dough.

64. At an Italian restaurant, snack on a large breadstick instead of a slice of garlic bread.

65. Eat a 3/4-cup serving of pudding made with skim milk rather than a 1-cup serving of pudding made with whole milk.

66. Choose 1/2 cup of brown rice instead of 1 serving of frozen rice pilaf with green beans or 1 serving of frozen Oriental rice and vegetables.

67. Compliment your sandwich with 3/4 cup of split-pea soup instead of 1 cup of chunky bean and ham soup.

68. Replace 3 tablespoons of strawberry topping on your ice cream with 3/4 pint of fresh strawberries.

69. Pass on the second helping of mashed potatoes.

70. Eat 3 grilled prawns with cocktail sauce instead of 3 breaded and fried prawns.

71. Make a pie crust with 1 cup of Grape-Nuts cereal, 1/4 cup of concentrated apple juice and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, instead of using a traditional graham-cracker crust. You’ll save 100 calories per slice.

72. Replace 8 sticks of regular chewing gum with sugar-free chewing gum.

73. Snack on a papaya instead of a bag of M&Ms.

74. Substitute 3 ounces of scallops for 3 ounce of lean beef in your stir-fry.

75. Rather than spread 4 tablespoons of cream cheese on two slices of raisin bread, dip the bread in 1/2 cup nonfat apple-cinnamon yogurt.

76. Munch on 1 cup of frozen grapes instead of an ice cream sandwich.

77. Rather than drink a strawberry milkshake, make a smoothie of 2/3 cup of low-fat milk, 1/2 cup of strawberries and 1/2 a banana.

78. Replace 2 brownies with 2 fig bars.

79. Eat 2 meatballs instead of 4 with your spaghetti.

80. On a hot day, quench your thirst with a glass of ice water with lemon or mint instead of a can of light beer.

81. Eat 1/2 cup of black beans instead of 3 ounces of roast beef.

82. Replace 1 1/2 tablespoons of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spread with 1 1/2 tablespoons of Nucoa Smart Beat margarine.

83. Choose 1 serving of vegetarian lasagna instead of lasagna with meat.

84. Eat 2 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain bars instead of 2 Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts.

85. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of low-calorie French dressing on your salad instead of 2 tablespoons of blue cheese dressing.

86. Replace 1 large flour tortilla with 1 six-inch corn tortilla.

87. Eat a turkey sandwich instead of a chicken salad sandwich.

88. Choose 4 1/2 ounces of tuna packed in water instead of 4 1/2 ounces of tuna packed in oil.

89. At Burger King, have a Whopper Jr. Sandwich with regular fries instead of a Whopper With Cheese Sandwich.

90. Order your Quarter Pounder without cheese.

91. At Jack in the Box, eat a regular taco instead of a super taco.

92. Fix 1 cup of turkey chili with beans rather than regular chili with no beans.

93. Use 1 cup of fat-free cottage cheese instead of regular cottage cheese.

94. Order a sandwich with barbecued chicken instead of barbecued pork.

95. Replace 1 cup of corn with 1 cup of carrots.

96. Reduce your helping of turkey stuffing from 1 cup to 2/3 cup.

97. Have a single scoop of ice cream instead of a double scoop.

98. Replace 2 ounces of corn chips with 2 ounces of SnackWell’s wheat crackers.

99. Eat 1 hot dog at the baseball game instead of 2.

100. Shred 2 ounces of fat-free cheddar cheese on nachos instead of regular cheddar.

Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., is a nutritionist in private practice and editor of the Nutrition Report. Her latest book is Nutrition for Women: The Complete Guide (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1993).

Losing weight is straight forward. You eat a good diet and you work out regularly ensuring you are burning more calories than you care consuming and woooooala…weight loss will follow. However, if I had a gold coin for every time someone has told me that they are different and they are the exception to the rule and that no matter how much they work out and eat salads, they are still fat – I’d be very wealthy. I’ve just been reading an article based on some new research that may just prove those people right. Maybe there are some people out there who have the fat gene and there’s nothing hours in the gym can do about it.Steven Blair, a professor of exercise science has discovered that genes and hormonal balance can have a huge impact on your weight and size. Here’s a selection of his findings:

1. Some people have more fat cells
Some people could have as many as twice as many than then next person which would help to explain why they may struggle so much where other find it easy to shed extra weight. Fat cells never go, they can reduce in size but they are always there – waiting to be filled up.

2. The Fat Gene is real
Fatso – that’s what the fat gene is called and those with the genes are 60% more likely to be obese than those without. This may explain why some people do so many sports and physical activities and eat and balanced diet and still have a lot of extra body weight.

3. Your mother’s pregnancy sealed your fate
If your mum ate very unhealthily during her pregnancy, according to these findings, a sugary and fatty diet can cause havoc to you before you’re even born if the womb has higher levels of glucose and free fatty acids floating around than it needs.
There’s plenty more nuggets of research in this report which are worth a look but I’m a little skeptical. I’m willing to accept that you don’t have to be thin to be fit – slightly overweight people can be fit to but just unable to shift that last 10 pounds. But I’m not convinced yet that fat can be blamed wholly on genes. Maybe this report will convince you?

Although fat is the source of vitality our body needs, there is a very important difference between having sufficient or too much fat in the body. Sure you relish watching home movies with weight increasing snacks but before you know it, you’re already piling on the pounds. The you would be busy contemplating furiously as to the type of exercises you need to do to get those unbecoming love handles out of the way, so what are you meant to do? Love handles are those rolling flaps sticking out at your pants’ brim, they don’t look good and they’re not healthy so you need to get rid of them. If you make physical exercise part of your daily routine, it can help you keep an attractive body.

Nonetheless it is not a walk in the part to shed those additional tires round your waistline, it needs direction, labor and time. However, this doesn’t mean you have to torture yourself because working out should be fun. In All Probability, the foremost thing that comes to your mind is to recognise the right type of physical exertion to eliminate love handles. Since most of us relish home movies, why not do it while working out? Here are some exercises that you can do in front of your TV screen.

Aerobic workouts: this type of physical exercise burns fat fast so that you also lose those extra pounds and moreover if done with regularity, it can also help you keep up that perfect weight too. This may be a difficult proposition to do workouts while watching a movie, but try to find a channel which shows aerobic workouts. This would not take too much of your time and it is fairly easy to perform even when you limber up for your next positions.

Abdominal Muscle workouts: the best three and the most recommended ones are the captain’s chair, the bicycle maneuver physical exercise, and the exercise called the ball crunch. It is not necessary for you to do all of them, but for your information, these 3 focus on both the rectus abdominis and the oblique muscle groups and help build abdominal muscles. You may only just need one form workout to eliminate love handles efficiently. You could choose to watch your favorite movie at this juncture but do not lose focus on your workouts.

Have a more nutritious diet: At times when you just want to relax and relish the movie, try having healthy snacks. Rather than ice cream, try fibrous snacks such as celery or carrots, after all, you only need to train at least 3 times a day. In between your exercise routine, you could go back to your favorite cinema and munch those beneficial health bites.

Resolve to remain healthy: When you take up workouts to remove those love handles, remember this is a long-term proposition. One of the most fundamental points to note here is that since the body is on a continuous process of storing fat, you can land up putting on immense amount of weight if you are not careful with your food habits especially during old age, when losing weight is a near-impossible task, hence it is always wise to start early with your exercise. The most advocated piece of advice thus is to change your life style with a proportionate diet accompanied by the right kind of workouts, interspersed with the right time gap. The bottom line is to keep in shape all the time and stay well.

Losing weight is all about one thing – your metabolism. The faster your metabolism, the more calories you burn, the slower your metabolism, the less calories you burn. So the question is how do you speed it up and what tricks and fitness tips can help you reach your weight loss goal in the shortest time. Hint – skipping meals and fasting is the fastest way to slow it down.

The lean tissue in our bodies burns calories and so our end goal should always be to have more lean tissue. When you skip meals repeatedly in an attempt to lose weight or go on fasts / crash diets, the problem is that the initial weight you lose is mostly lean tissue and so you are actually slowing down your metabolism. That’s why after a crash diet, the weight comes back fast and hard and it seems even tougher to lose. So what can you do to speed it up:

1. Interval training
When you are running, walking, cycling or on the stairmaster, don’t just go at one speed. Start moderately and then do 60 second sprints periodically so you are working at your maximum. Even if you are walking, try and squeeze in a one minute print every 2 minutes and you’ll be amazed at the difference this makes to your body.

2. Regular meal times and habits
If nothing else, please stop skipping breakfast. Its slows down your metabolism and makes your morning so much harder than it needs to be. If you can, though a modern lifestyle can make this difficult, try to eat your dinner by 7pm. It simply gives your body more time to burn the calories you’ve consumed all day. If you’re having carbs, try to eat them earlier in the day as well – breakfast or lunch and leave the lighter choices for your evening meal.

3. Strength training
The more muscle tissue that you have, the higher your metabolism is and the less muscle that you have, the slower your calorie burn. So try to do strength training when you can – light weights, push ups, squats etc. This will mean that when you are not working out, your body is burning more calories and that’s your end goal after all – to become a mean, calorie burning machine.

4. Regular movement
Stay on the move if you can. For those with a sedentary job, try to walk around at least once an hour – more if you can. Walk to the water cooler, the photocopier, walk up the stairs. The more constant motion you have, the higher your metabolism.

5. Get Spicy
Add spice to your food. Whether its a curry or hot sauce on the side or even chili flakes added to vegetables, they all contribute to helping raise your metabolism. Add it to your routine to give your body a helping hand.