Fruit juices may be healthy, but they can add a major-league load of calories. Scale back on calories, and up your water intake by mixing equal parts of fruit juice with water or club soda.
Wean yourself off sugar in coffee or tea. Yes, you can do it, just give it a month. Week one, you’ll hate the taste. Accept it—there are only seven measly days in a week. Week two, you’ll be less unhappy. Week three, it’s better, and by the fourth week you won’t mind and will appreciate the taste of the coffee or tea. (And try switching to good quality coffee, not the brown powder that comes in a jar.) By cutting your daily sugar, you’ll save 16 calories per teaspoon of sugar. How many cups do you drink a day? Do the math. And no, I’m not a proponent of artificial sweeteners. (Don’t hold me to this, but I recall reading a study way back that indicated that they can actually stimulate your appetite.)
Throw out the salt, and fill your salt shaker with this tasty Salt Substitute:
½ tsp. ground red pepper
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tsp. each basil, marjoram, thyme, parsley, savory, sage, onion powder, ground black pepper, mace
Divide lunch into two meals. Have your first half sandwich with a drink at 11:30, and the second half at 1:30. It’ll keep you feeling satisfied longer.
Always have a late-afternoon snack of fruit so that you don’t go into the kitchen starving when it’s time to make dinner.
While you’re cooking, keep a tall glass of mineral water or V-8 around to sip.
Add sour pickles to the plate of safe foods—like cut-up veggies—to grab when you’re starved. (People who are trying to quit smoking find pickles helpful too.)
Opt for blender drinks for a snack rather than just fruit and a beverage. A glass of skim milk or soy milk blended with an apple or banana, ice cubes and a teaspoon of sugar is more satisfying than just a piece of fruit and a glass of milk. The air incorporated into the drink will fool your stomach into feeling fuller than it would be from just the milk and fruit alone.
Next time you feel like having a frank, cut calories in half by slicing the frank in half (give the other half of the dog to yours) and filling the half-empty roll with sauerkraut and mustard. Use the same trick with hamburger—that’s where all the calories are, not in the poor maligned bun. Add two slices of tomato and lettuce.
Start lunch or dinner with a generous salad and a low-fat or no-fat dressing, then wait fifteen minutes before going on to the next course. Sanity will rule. Try this creamy stuff as a dressing or dip: Combine 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt with 1 tbs. dehydrated onion flakes, ¼ cup chopped fresh dill, 2 minced garlic cloves and 1 oz. crumbled blue cheese. Use 2 tbs. per large cup of salad.
Think of soup as the main course, not an appetizer. You can steam and then puree a pound of any fresh vegetable with four cups of low-fat chicken broth combined with one chopped onion and 1 ripe pear, which have been sautéed in 1 tbs. of butter. Makes four servings. Freeze each one separately so you can microwave for a low-cal quickie dinner.
Turn side dishes into main courses. Make a baked potato or a cup of brown rice the centerpiece of your meal. Top with ½ cup of cottage cheese and a cup of roasted or steamed vegetables.
In all recipes that call for sour cream, substitute low-fat yogurt.
When you buy meat or fish at the butcher shop or fish store, make sure you have it cut into 4 oz. serving pieces. If it’s presized, before cooking, you’ll be less likely to overeat.
Instead of spreading a tablespoon of mayonnaise on your ham, chicken or turkey sandwich, try using mustard. You’ll save 85 calories.
Avoid buying boxes of cookies or containers of ice cream. Walk to the store and buy single packaged cookies or single scoops of ice cream. Yes, it is far more expensive. Hold that thought and let it be a deterrent.
Keep a piggy bank and deposit all the pennies you would have spent on things like Sara Lee cakes and didn’t. At the end of each month, take the money and buy yourself a nonedible treat—a Chanel lipstick, maybe? You deserve a reward for abstaining.
If you must buy ice cream, choose the less expensive, nonpremium brands. They’re lower in calories and fat.
Can’t resist the chocolate temptation? Instead of eating a fattening chocolate candy bar (most have over 220 calories), opt for one Oreo cookie (50 calories) or one Reese’s 0.6 oz. Peanut Butter Cup at 92 calories.
Can’t give up your favorite pies? You don’t have to. Simply eat the filling, but not the crust. You’ll be eating about 25 percent fewer calories.
When baking a cake from a store-bought mix, substitute 1/3 cup applesauce for an equal amount of cooking oil. You’ll shave 612 calories, and 72 grams of fat.
ENOUGH OF MY TRICKS! You’re on your own from here. Just remember, shave 3500 calories from your diet (or burn that much through activity) and you lose one pound. Get creative! Just switching from a can of Pepsi each day to a bottle of mineral water will save you 150 calories a day and net you a one-pound weight loss in just over three weeks.
EXERCISE
I’m not going to pretend that this part was easy. At least not at first. But I don’t have to tell you about the dividends: A stronger heart, a thinner body, reduced risk of osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, even some cancers. Start slow and get clearance from your doctor first, before beginning any exercise plan. This is vital. And forget about no pain, no gain. The easiest way to start is with brisk walking. I graduated to the NordicTrack, slowly building to an hour a day, Monday to Friday, with weekends off. If you’re out of shape, start with just your legs. When you’ve built up your aerobic capacity (and you’re not huffing and puffing), add the arm movement. I also added a set of sit-ups to the aerobics every day, working my way up to forty-five crunches, and an additional thirty-five crunches to work the obliques (muscles around your waist). And remember, start every exercise slowly so that your body warms up first. Never stop abruptly, slow down little by little, over the course of a few minutes so that your heart rate slows down gradually.
I can’t write a whole exercise plan in the space of this column, but it’s sufficient to say that in addition to the benefits of regular aerobic exercise, your body will benefit from sit-ups and weight-lifting to tone and firm muscles. Wanna know my advice: Go to your local health club and book a session or two with a trainer to assess your condition and get you started. Once you’re taught the proper exercises, you can buy some light weights and do the workout at home.
Here’s a quick list of how many calories the average 150-pound person burns in one hour:
Biking (moderate exertion): 572
Jogging: 501
Weight Lifting: 107
Aerobics: 429
And, wanna laugh? You’ll enjoy this. It takes
* 2 hours and 44 minutes to walk off a 9 oz. slice of apple pie
* 35 minutes to run off a 9 oz. bowl of ice cream
* 47 minutes to run off a 9 oz. slice of cheesecake
* 59 minutes to run off a 9 oz. brownie
* 4 hours and 39 minutes to walk off the brownie
* 1 hour and 55 minutes to bicycle it off
Bottom line: Keep your sense of humor. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find statistics on how many calories you burn when you laugh. But whatever, it’s good for your soul!
First edition March 2004
FAT CHANCE
A Red Dress Ink novel
ISBN: 978-1-4592-4614-0
© 2004 by Deborah Blumenthal.
All rights reserved. The reproduction, transmission or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without written permission. For permission please contact Red Dress Ink, Editorial Office, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents and places are the products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construe
d as real. While the author was inspired in part by actual events, none of the characters in the book is based on an actual person. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and unintentional.
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