Cutting Those Unneeded Calories

As I've said in the past, losing weight is all about counting calories. It doesn't matter what you've read or seen on TV.

To lose weight, you need to consume less calories than you burn every day. I recommend you consume no more than 2,000 calories/day on your weight loss diet. To most, that sounds impossible. However, if you cut out those small foods that you think have no impact, you can easily make that 2,000/day cut. What are those small foods you ask? I've compiled a list of some snacks that you may think have no effect on your diet, but they do.

1) Fruits. Did you know a single banana has around 200 calories in it? If you're snacking on fruit more than twice/day, you might be consuming over 500 calories just from a snack! Instead, have some 100% natural yogurt. It's a light snack that you shouldn't feel guilty about eating.

2) Cereal. Did you know that one cup of Smart Start has around 200 calories? Combined with 1 cup of milk, that's 290 calories! Some people will have at least 4 cups of cereal for breakfast, which comes out to a whopping 1,200 calories! For breakfast, I recommend something along the lines of 3 scrambled eggs (only 100 calories/egg) or 1/2 cup of natural dry oats + milk (heat this up, and add blueberries for only about 400 calories).

3) Drinks. One can of Pepsi has approximately 150 calories. If you're drinking 2 cans/day, that's 300 calories added to your daily intake, and you'll probably be just as hungry as you were before. Things like coffee, Gatorade, soft drinks, etc. will just give you unneeded calories. If you're looking for energy, get the Lo-Carb Monster energy drinks. Those only have around 10 calories if you get the right kind, and they pump you up just as much (if not more) than coffee.

Anthony Chuinard is a young writer from Chicago, Illinois. He likes to update his weight loss blog several times per week, and allows anyone to contact him regarding weight loss questions. He has been in the field for several years, and is constantly sharing his knowledge with the rest of the world.