Simple, Everyday Steps to Cutting Extra Calories

Overweight! Obesity! You hear about the weight-related epidemics that affect the waistlines of adults and children all around the developed world. It seems that any developed country nowadays is overfed but undernourished. Can Americans, Europeans and the rest of the world lay the blame on fast food, clever advertising and the convenience of eating out? Partly, we can. It's almost impossible to pass an open bag of Oreo cookies without letting our grubby little fingers snatch up a delicious morsel and popping it into our salivating mouths. Many of us don't even think about the potential consequences until later, when we're complaining about the number that flashes back on the bathroom scale

So what are we to do? Are we doomed to live under the constant threats of becoming overweight, dealing with heart disease, diabetes, and all the other conglomerations of health problems that come with unhealthy eating habits and being overweight? Of course not! If you can change even a few of your bad habits now, the health/weight-related benefits will add up, just like all those little calories from that extra cookie will if one continues to live unhealthily. Here are a few things you can do to help turn your health around and say "NO!" to that next tempting Oreo or ice cream bar. Provided are some other calorie cutting strategies you can use, too...

At Home

-Replace the candy bowl with a bowl vegetables. My personal favorite is baby carrots. I always seem to be in snacking mode whenever I pass by the kitchen, and so are many other people. I find that when a bowl of fruits or vegetables are readily available, I'm less likely to go to the cupboard and pull out the crème wafers.

-Cut down on butter. Its been said that if a person stopped using butter in their diet, they could lose up to 10 pounds. I firmly believe this. A TBLS of butter contains about 100 calories! That's the equivalent of a 3-ounce piece of roast turkey or 4 cups of air popped popcorn! Think of how much more filling those last two options are! Cheese. Cheese, just like butter, adds up quickly, too.