Low Calorie Diet – Tips for Success

by Weight Loss - January 11, 2012

Low Calorie Diet – A Good Way to reach your goal

Lowering your calories can help you lose weight, that is absolutely certain. But be careful with a low calorie diet. Some people don’t do it carefully and put themselves at risk for health issues as well as failure..

Too low of a caloric intake and you’ll put your health at risk. You will feel faint and listless and not only is this unhealthy but this can lead to falling off the diet wagon as well as making it difficult to function. You want to lose weight but you don’t want to lose muscle mass.
Be sure you’re eating the right amount of food along with the right types of food.

Too low and you’ll slow down your metabolism. If your body thinks it’s starving it’ll start hoarding calories.

You need to be sure you’re getting a good mix of nutrients and a good ratio of carbohydrates and protein while you’re lowering your fat content. Don’t just pay attention to calorie counts. Look at nutritional value as well.

Tips for Low Calorie Diet Success

Count nutrients as well as calories. Eat healthful foods, make sure you’re getting enough protein, and track your calories to make sure you’re getting enough.

Find out what your basic calorie requirement is and compare it to what you eat on an average day. (Using a nutrition calculator can help) This can help you figure out how many calories to cut down.

Look at low calorie weight loss foods and swap some out for some of your usual staples.

Add exercise into your day. Low calorie diet foods can help you lose weight.

Eat breakfast. This will start your metabolism up and help your body burn calories as well as help regulate your appetite.

Drink plenty of water. In addition to your low calorie diet foods, drink water as it will help fill you up and doesn’t contain any calories.

Eat small and frequent meals that contain low calorie foods throughout the day.

Some people try crash dieting and go too low with their low calorie diet. This is like setting yourself up for failure. Most people should be eating at least 1200-1500 calories per day and your size and lifestyle might suggest a higher caloric intake than most.

There are plenty of low calorie diet foods out there that can help you succeed.

Be vigilant about making informed dieting choices so that you can increase your chances of success without jeopardizing your health.

Eating Healthy To Lose Weight

by Weight Loss - January 5, 2012

Eating Healthy To Lose Weight

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To begin with, eating healthier will help you lose weight. Therefore, the vast majority of people who eat healthy have healthy body mass indexes. Portion control and exercise blended with healthy eating is a very good approach to weight loss.

Here are 7 tips for eating healthy to lose weight..

1. Count The Calories

Count calories, you’ll have a better chance of weight loss. Be accountable for what you eat, you will stop and think about eating healthy.

2. Quality Instead Of Quantity

Make your calories actually count. A good way to do this is to track nutrition as well as caloric intake. Being nourished will reduce cravings and eating healthy to lose weight will often take time and effort at first but soon you’ll probably start craving the quality and realise just how much better eating healthy feels.

3. Cut The Condiments

A lot of healthy foods are less healthy by the time you’ve prepared them because they’ve been slathered in high calorie and low quality condiments. Use condiments sparingly. You don’t have to eat bland but find lower calorie and healthier ways to make sauces and dips.

4. Swap The Snacks

Crave crunch at night? Try raw veggies instead of potato chips. Reach for low fat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. Grab a bowl of frozen grapes instead of chocolate chip cookies.

5. Try Healthy New Recipes

One of the challenges of eating healthy to lose weight is thinking up healthy foods. We often default to our old favourites because we don’t feel creative. Find some websites with healthy recipes. You can even join mailing lists and have them mailed to you. Try a healthy new recipe each week and it could be easier to eat healthy than you thought.

6. Be Prepared

Cook extra so you can reheat leftovers. Go to the grocery store with a well thought out list in hand. These things will contribute to being better able to avoid temptation. Don’t bring junk food into your pantry and it won’t be there to woo you away from healthy eating.

7. Brown Bag It

Bring healthy snacks with you. This is part of being prepared. A stash of low fat snacks at work, a snack or two stashed in the bag, and highly portable fresh fruit can all help you give the 3:pm chocolate bar a miss and / or avoid the box of donuts in the break room.

Yes, eating healthy to lose weight takes effort but the results can be overwhelmingly positive.

Vegetarian Diet Plan – Useful Tips for Success

by Weight Loss - December 19, 2011

Vegetarian Diet Plan – Useful Tips

If you’re interested in being a vegetarian, you need a vegetarian diet plan that will work. You need a vegetarian diet plan that will help you get the right mix of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It’s not enough to simply exclude meat from your foods. You need to make sure you’re getting enough nutrition.. and nutrition you’d normally get from meat must come from elsewhere.

Simply eliminating meat from your diet could cause problems for you if you’re not careful about what you do eat. If you’re willing to eat eggs and dairy products it is a bit easier to get your required protein and other nutrients. If not, you’ll have to make even more of an effort to be careful with your diet.

Track your food intake so you can keep an eye on your mixture of carbs, fat, and protein. This can help you make sure the ratios are healthy. A good ratio, depending on you, could be 45% carbs, 30% protein, and 25% fat.

Depending on your size, you’ll need between 40-60 grams of protein every day. That’s not always easy when you don’t eat meat. And make sure your vegetarian diet plan takes this into consideration. Here are some good food choices to sprinkle into your diet to keep things moving in the right direction: beans, peas, lentils, quinoa, tofu, whole grains, nuts and seeds, nut butters, milk and cheese.

Many vegetables contain incomplete proteins but when combined with other veggies, can become complete proteins so a good vegetarian diet plan will have a wide variety of foods. You might opt for a protein supplement as well. Hence, a good vegetarian diet plan should have several servings of various foods per day.

Vegetarian Diet Plan An example is:

6 servings of whole grains
5 servings of food that have high protein levels
5 servings of food that have high protein levels
4 servings of vegetables
2 or 3 servings of fruits
About 2 serving equivalents of fat (25% or less of your calorie ratio is ideal)

There is a false rumour that vegetarians are not typically overweight. On the contrary, many vegetarians struggle with waist circumference due to too many carbs (for help with this, read our article on vegan weight loss). Make sure your carbs are complex and that you keep an eye on your food ratio so you can be a healthy vegetarian with a healthy body mass index. If you’re not following a good vegetarian diet plan, consider making a plan that starts with a weekly menu to help you stay on track.

In conclusion, creating an effective and nutritious vegetarian diet plan requires planning. Do it now!

Tips For Making A Dairy Free Diet Work

by Weight Loss - December 9, 2011

Dairy Free Diet – A Solution for Lactose Intolerance

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If you are thinking that dairy is the cause of your health problems, learn how to make a dairy free diet work. Whether you are lactose intolerant or simply want to eliminate dairy from your diet to overcome health issues that might be related to it, read on for some information to help you make a dairy free diet work.

It’s important to consider how you will get the right level of vitamins and nutrition and get around recipes that call for milk, butter, cream, and cheese. Read on for some tips for your dairy free diet:

Be sure that you take multivitamins. Make sure you get an adequate amount of calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients that you’d normally get from dairy products. Most people aren’t able to follow a picture perfect diet, a good multivitamin is always smart.

Look for a milk alternative. You may want it in your coffee, cereal, or for recipes that call for milk. Try soy or almond milk, for example. Almond milk often works great in baking recipes. If you’re highly allergic, you may find rice milk more agreeable.

If you have small children, talk to your pediatrician to make sure that you know what’s required for them. Small children need much more dairy in their daily diet than adults. It will take a concerted effort to make things work in a dairy free household when kids are involved.
Look for alternative diets such as vegetarian or meat based diets for valuable sources of protein and vitamins.

You can find dairy free cheese and ice cream, too. If needed, you can check your local health store for some alternatives and suggestions on dairy free diet products to try.

Consider consuming extra calcium rich foods, such as calcium enriched orange juice and increasing your intake of salmon, sardines, and tofu. Many dark green leafy veggies also have a lot of milk-like nutrition qualities.

There will be a period of adjustment as you navigate through this unfamiliar territory but whether you’re doing it for an experiment or because you need to do it, there are a lot of available products to help make a dairy free diet much easier.

Finding a Dairy Free Diet that offers nutrition is difficult, however there are good options out there.

5 Yummy Low Calorie Chicken Recipes

by Weight Loss - December 6, 2011

Low Calorie Chicken Recipes that are Easy and Delicious.

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Chicken is a great food for those who want to watch their diet by reducing fat and increasing protein. It’s a versatile food as well. When it’s on sale, stock up in the freezer! There are a great deal of yummy low calorie chicken recipes.

Here are five easy low calorie chicken recipes for you to try out..

Low Calorie Roasted Chicken

Roast a chicken on a metal cage. These cages are available for, typically, under $10 and let you stand the chicken up in the oven. Because fat drips off. Cook according to package directions based on the size of chicken (typically 325F for a few hours). Just sprinkle with some BBQ chicken spice. Avoid eating the skin. In addition, serve with vegetables and/or salad.

Tip: Save the leftover roasted chicken and make some hearty and low calorie chicken vegetable soup (see next recipe!)

Chicken Vegetable Soup or Stew

Soup is a hearty meal with low calorie count. It’s also very budget and schedule friendly as you can make a batch easily and freeze some for later. Boil some leftover chicken to make a broth and strain out the chicken and bones. Re-deposit the meat and add some vegetables and spice to the mixture and cook until tender.

If you want to make it into stew, add a can of low fat cream of chicken soup and some thickened chicken broth to it.

Low Calorie Chicken Recipe – Mexican Chicken

Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a roasting pan and add a jar of salsa and half a jar of vegetable cocktail. Cook in roasting pan at (180 degrees or 325 – 350 Fahrenheit) until done. Serve with brown rice and your choice of vegetables. The sauce is low calorie and delicious!

Homemade Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders are often heavily breaded and fried. They’re delicious but they’re off the charts on the caloric value scale. To cut the calorie count, consider baking them instead of frying them. Slice your chicken into strips and dip in flour, then an egg and milk mixture, and then breadcrumbs mixed with your favourite spices.

Also consider using whole wheat bread crumbs for better nutrition or for extra crunch, crush some cornflakes cereal. Bake these, flipping half way through. For extra crunch without loads of extra calories, spray them lightly with cooking spray half way through cooking. This is a pretty good alternative to deep frying.

Chicken Pasta Alfredo

5 Yummy Low Calorie Chicken Recipes Chicken in pasta Alfredo sounds decadent, doesn’t it? It probably doesn’t sound like one of the more figure friendly low calorie chicken recipes. But here’s a way you can get the decadence without eating a day’s worth of calories in one meal:

Whole wheat pasta (and only serve yourself a cup of it).

Saute or grill some boneless and skinless chicken breast with some vegetables (chicken and broccoli and a bit of spinach works great). Lots of veggies will fill you up, add flavour, and won’t leave you feeling robbed due to the smaller pasta portion.
Add a teaspoon of butter and a teaspoon of flower into a skillet. Make a roux and slowly add some chicken broth, skim milk, and low fat cream cheese and parmesan cheese until desired consistency. Add some salt, pepper, parsley and any other spice you like. Toss together and serve over hot whole wheat pasta.

*** Always be sure to cook chicken until it’s no longer pink in the middle!

Finally, these Low Calorie Chicken Recipes are easy and fast to prepare, Try Them Now!

Low Fat Diet Plan – Pros and Cons

by Weight Loss - December 1, 2011

Low Fat Diet Plan – Pros and Cons

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You’ll find low fat diet plan options out there that help you lower your fat intake through low fat and fat free foods. But is a low fat diet plan your best option for weight loss? Read on for some pros and cons of a low fat diet plan.

Low Fat Diet Plan Pros

Low fat diet plan foods tend to have lower calories than fat laden foods. If you’re counting calories to lose weight, you’ll find that low fat foods allow you to have more of a particular food, increasing your satiety level and helping you get to the next meal.

Beyond lower calorie counts, less fat is better for your body. This is better for your heart.

Low Fat Diet Plan Cons

The biggest con of a low fat diet plan is the belief that if you don’t eat fat, you won’t gain weight. If you eat a lot of sugar, for instance, and you don’t burn it off through exercise, it will cause weight gain. Many junk foods are a bit deceiving to dieters who read labels and see a zero fat content.

Some fat is needed by the body. Cutting out fat entirely probably isn’t good for your health overall. So what’s the answer? Here are some tips:

Opt for good fats wherever possible. Fish, olive oil, avocados.. these contain good fat.

Count calories but make calories count. Look at nutritive value more than numbers.

Calculate your percentage of each area. What percentage of your low fat diet plan includes carbohydrates, protein, and fat? Chances are that you’re eating too much fat, too many carbs, and not enough protein. Try tipping the scales in a better direction.

Conclusions

Some people opt for low fat diet plans that are portion controlled. Some food plans provide you with prepared meals, which can make it easier for you to lose weight because you don’t have to think about what to eat. There are pros and cons with this way of dieting. Yes, it can work but it’s important to learn how to identify low fat diet plan and high yield nutritional foods on your own so that when the diet plan is over, you’ll be able to make healthy choices without having to rely on packaged foods.

However you choose to approach your diet, whether choosing a low fat diet plan or choosing a low carb plan, or something else altogether, learning as much about nutrition as possible will serve you well in your diet efforts and in terms of your overall health and wellness.. and longevity, too!

Low Calorie Desserts For Weight Loss

by Weight Loss - November 28, 2011

Low Calorie Desserts Help Maintain Weight Loss Routines

RitaE / Pixabay

Low calorie desserts can help you stay on track with your diet. By eating low calorie desserts, you’ll feed your urge for a treat without sabotaging your dieting by overeating. Eating plenty of variety in your diet can help keep you interested. Be sure that you look forward to your meals at least somewhat.

While you’re probably trying to think of food as fuel rather than eating for pleasure, having food that you enjoy will help keep you on track. Dessert is something we are programmed to enjoy. It’s a treat. It’s something that signifies family, fun, joy, celebrations. The wrong dessert after dinner can undo your hard work all day long. Don’t skip it, though; just choose something that’s a bit more figure friendly. Here are some simple low calorie desserts ideas..

Fruit

Fruit is known as nature’s candy. A bowl of fruit, as in a fruit salad or fruit cocktail, can be very satisfying as options for low calorie desserts with variety. A fruit smoothie can be filling and remind you of a milkshake. Fruit and yogurt dip can feel decadent.

You can even melt just a little bit of dark chocolate and dip a few strawberries for a great treat that delivers a heavenly experience for the taste buds. You could also bake some apples with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon on them (go easy on the sugar). It’s like apple pie without the crust.

Tweaked Baking Recipes

When you bake a boxed cake mix you can often see cholesterol or calorie lowering tips that could include: reducing eggs, using water instead of milk, using apple sauce or some other liquid instead of butter, and reducing specific ingredients such as sugar, butter, and oil. You could, conceivably, trim a big chunk off a baking recipe if you get the right advice (Tip: don’t dabble without advice unless you’re willing to experience the occasional recipe flop!). Keep portions to a minimum with baked goods and you can enjoy them once in a while.

StockSnap / Pixabay

Yogurt

Frozen yogurt, low fat yogurt with fruit, a yogurt parfait with fruit and a bit of granola are all great low fat, healthy snacks for weight loss. Do watch sugar content, though.

Jell-O

Gelatin desserts aren’t too calorie laden and can be a low calorie dessert idea. You can buy light whipped topping if you want it to feel extra decadent.

Pudding

Pudding can also be low calorie desserts. Making pudding with skim milk instead of full fat milk, for example, can help you trim calories. Again, portion control is important. You might also opt for a low fat pudding pop for a sweet treat that takes a while to eat (resulting in keeping you satisfied longer).

Consequently, keep a variety of Low Calorie Desserts in stock, hence you will keep your diet on track.

10 Healthy Snack Ideas for Nighttime Snacking

by Weight Loss - November 25, 2011

Healthy Snack Ideas That Will Keep Cravings Away

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To begin with, do you struggle with staying on track for weight loss and healthy eating goals at nighttime?. If so we can conclude that this is the most dangerous time of day from an eating perspective. Therefore there is a need to snack at night in a sensible way.

Here are 10 healthy snack ideas that can help you feel good about your choice and some will still feel like you’re getting a “treat”.

1. Trail Mix

Trail Mix, Fruit and Dip, Smoothies, Popcorn and Frozen Berries Trail mix can be a high satiety snack and is one of the popular healthy snack ideas. Be careful as it can be high calorie, too, if you’re not careful. Making homemade trail mix can help you choose the right combination and in the right quantities while giving you control over sugar content.

This type of snack is great for people who like to “pick” at a snack. Measure portions out so you don’t find that you’ve consumed 800 calories while watching your favourite TV show.

2. Fruit and Dip

jill111 / Pixabay

A variety of fruit on a platter can be appetizing to the eyes and great from a nutritional standpoint. Fruit can be filling and it’s satisfying. Choose low fat dips (if using dip at all), such as a yogurt dip.

3. Fudge Pops

A fudge popsicle can be a satisfying sweet tooth cure for the chocoholic and it’s only about 100 calories a pop. It’s not the healthiest of healthy snack ideas but it’s a great option over a chocolate bar or bowl of chocolate ice cream.

4. Frozen Yogurt with Fruit

Fro-yo is a one of the great healthy snack ideas when it comes to substitutions for ice cream. But do watch portion control and be aware that some frozen yogurt has a pretty high sugar content. Consider adding a handful of berries to up the fibre and nutritional content and help you feel satisfied with a reasonable portion.

5. Veggies and Dip

Raw veggies can help you cure the craving for crunch. A bowl of radishes with a bit of sea salt is a much better choice than a bag of chips, of course. A plate of peppers, carrots cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower with a low cal dip (don’t overdo the dip!) could be a great TV snack for the whole family.

6. Popcorn

Popcorn gives you the option for a large volume of food without a lot of calories. Do be careful however, about overdoing it with cheese or buttered popcorn as it can be calorie-laden and full of fat. You can buy 100-calorie bags, for instance.

7. 100 Calorie Packs

100 calorie snack packs have pros and cons. They don’t get you eating the right food as these are often cookies or other naughty snacks but do offer a limited portion of something that can be indulgent. Use them sparingly.

8. Smoothies

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Because fruit smoothies are a filling and deliciously healthy way to cure a nighttime sweet tooth! Therefore you can mix your choice of fruit, skim milk with a banana and you’ve got a great healthy snack for weight loss. You can also add probiotic yogurt or green powder for a nutritional punch, too.

9. Cereal and Cereal Bars

Cereal is a healthy snack idea that’s low cal and high nutrition. Opt for choices with high fibre content to really satisfy.

10. Frozen Berries

A bowl of frozen grapes, berries, or cherries can help the sweet tooth for movie night.

Daria-Yakovleva / Pixabay

Healthy snack ideas should encompass flavour and health in order to help you feel satisfied.

A few of the above ideas weren’t the healthiest snack options but the occasional indulgence will feel like a “cheat” but won’t have the same impact as some of the common nighttime snacks.

Tip: Ignore the commercials! If you can skip through them you’re less likely to see something tempting that causes you to reach for an unhealthy snack.

In conclusion, use these Healthy Snack Ideas to add variety to your diet and loose weight.

3 Low Fat Soup Recipes That Taste Great

by Weight Loss - November 23, 2011

Low Fat Soup Recipes That Taste Great

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Soup is good for nutritional and dietary needs. It’s also a very budget-friendly food as you can make a large pot for a low cost and freeze a batch for another day. When cooking, don’t settle for commercial soups all the time, because they’re often high in sodium,preservatives and low on flavor.

By making your own low fat soups you will fill up with a low amount of calories and that is very nutritious.

Here are a few low fat soup recipes for you to try:

Vegetarian Chili Soup

This recipe serves about 4-5 people.

This is a combo of a soup and a stew. It’s low cal and high in flavour and fibre so will help you stay full longer.

Low Fat Soup Recipes Use 1 can each of:

diced tomatoes
tomato soup
baked beans
kidney beans
1 small diced onion
1 diced bell pepper (any colour or use several varieties)
Sliced mushrooms

1. Brown all vegetables and then mix all ingredients.
2. Then add salt, pepper, garlic, and chili powder to taste.
3. Cook over medium heat until peppers are tender.

Low Fat Macaroni Vegetable Soup Recipe

This recipe will make about 4 bowls of yummy low fat soup.

congerdesign / Pixabay

Low fat soup recipes include just about any veggie you like, because most vegetables are low calorie and high in nutrition.

Here’s a pasta vegetable soup you will love:

1 envelope of Lipton chicken noodle soup
4 cups of water
1 can of diced tomatoes
7 or 8 sliced baby carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 handful of macaroni (whole wheat if possible)

Method: Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer soup for about 30 minutes or until macaroni and carrots are tender.

Lower Fat Cream Soup Recipes

Creamy soups are delicious but aren’t exactly figure friendly, are they? You can substitute skim milk for the cream to begin with. Then trim the butter, and add chicken broth for extra flavour in just about any cream soup recipe. Finally how about some low fat soup recipes for Cream of Broccoli? Here’s one:

Low Fat Cheesy Cream of Broccoli Soup

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This recipe will give you about 2-3 bowls.

1. To start boil or steam a head’s worth of broccoli flowerets (or broccolini) until it’s tender. Reserve a cup of the steaming or boiling broccoli water.

2. Follow by mixing a tablespoon of flour into a tablespoon of melted butter in a saucepan. Make a roux by slowly adding about 1 cup of skim milk.

3. Then add some soup stock (chicken bouillon. The condensed jelly type if possible – about 1 tablespoon).

4. Add broccoli and a tablespoon of light cream cheese and then about 1-2 tablespoons of light Parmesan cheese.

5. Add reserved broccoli water, and slowly add another cup of milk.

6. Finally simmer 20-30 minutes to melt all the cheese and blend flavours. Add salt, pepper, and other spices to taste.

Overall, soup is a low fat food. When you make it homemade, you control the salt and fat content. It’s budget friendly, figure friendly, crockpot friendly, and freezer friendly, too. Why not experiment with some low fat soup recipes today!

Tips for Sticking to a Healthy Eating Plan

by Weight Loss - November 18, 2011

Healthy Eating Plan – How to Succeed in Losing Weight

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Whether you want to lose weight or just improve your health, a healthy eating plan is important. It doesn’t have to deprive you of flavour or comfort but it needs to be sensible. Read on for some advice for setting up a healthy eating plan that you’ll be able to stick to.

Strive for Variety

The best way to stick to a healthy eating plan is to make it enjoyable. If you eat steamed vegetables and broiled chicken for dinner every night, you’re going to have trouble sticking to your eating plan. Vary your protein sources, find ways to mix up your veggie intake, and you will have a better chance of being able to stick to it. There are a lot of healthy eating options. Look for variety in terms of food and ways to prepare the food.

Planning is Paramount

One of the surest ways to the drive thru is being hungry without a plan for what to eat. A key to a healthy eating plan is to actually plan in advance. Sit down weekly and put a healthy eating plan menu together and then shop. Go shopping with a list in hand and stick to the list.

Know what you’re eating for dinner, lunch, breakfast and snacks every day until you’re planning for the next food shopping trip. Plan what you’re going to buy BEFORE you shop.

Eliminating Temptation

Temptation happens when unhealthy foods are within your reach. Don’t buy them. Don’t go to places that will provide a lot of temptation until you’re sure you’re over your junk food cravings. Some find that this takes a while and for others it happens fairly quickly.

Know your weaknesses and make sure that you remind yourself that you have goals of healthy eating for good reasons. Whether it’s for your weight loss goals, to tackle cholesterol problems, because of blood sugar reasons, or you’re embarking on a healthier eating plan for another reason, temptation will be there. And if you do fall off the healthy food wagon, just get back on. If you’re eating healthfully the vast majority of the time, it’s okay to have a treat once in a while. The good news is that once you’ve eliminated some bad habits, it gets easier and the cravings diminish.

Change your Bad Habits

If you always eat dessert after a meal or you always snack in front of the TV at night, these may be hard habits to break. Start off small with better choices and with portion control. Eat a snack sized bag of potato chips for 100 calories instead of opening a large family sized bag. Transition to a bag of apples or grapes. Choose alternatives instead of deprivation and it’ll be easier to do.

While you’re adjusting to your new, healthy eating plan:

Find something else to do at night other than watching TV. Change your shopping habits, change your bad habits, and plan ahead with variety in mind and you could dramatically improve your health and, if it’s your goal, your waistline as well.