Consider what one small change in your daily life might mean for your health. Overfat/Obesity is a major health issue in the United States of America and the one health issue we should be making a concerted effort to combat. As a rule, 3500 kcal is equivalent to a pound of fat. Fat weight is lost when the body is in a caloric deficit (hypocaloric; calories in are less than calories out). One can create this deficit by consuming fewer calories, expending greater calories, or a combination of both. What can one do on a small scale to have a big—lasting—effect?
Walk an extra mile a day. The 100-kcal rule states that one will expend approximately 100 kcal walking, jogging, or running a mile. This is cumulative, so every step counts. In a year, that is 36,500 kcal (10.4 lb).
Drink water instead of sugared pop/soda. One 20-ounce pop contains approximately 140 kcal. In a year, that is 51,100 kcal (14.6 lb).
Switch to a sugar substitute. The average American consumes 17 teaspoons (71.14 g) of sugar per day. That is about 285 kcal! Limit sugar to the American Heart Association recommended 6 tsp (25 g) for women and 9 tsp (38 g) for men, and that is a savings of 185 kcal and 133 kcal, respectively. Over a year, that is the equivalent of 19.2 lb of fat for women and 13.8 lb of fat for men. This change would go virtually unnoticed with a change to a natural sugar substitute (a sugar alcohol, e.g., erythritol).
Eat less fat. We should eat healthy fats, e.g., olive oil, avocado, etc., and some butter is fine; but we can eliminate a small amount of fat and have a tremendous effect on our caloric intake. One tablespoon of butter is about 120 kcal. Eliminate this small amount on a daily basis and that is 43,800 kcal or 12.5 pounds annually!
Consume less alcohol. Craft brewers are starting to make more low-carb beers that taste great. A 12-ounce beer that is 4% ABV is approximately 120 kcal. New brewing processes are allowing brewers to maintain much of the taste and alcohol while reducing the calories to less than 100 kcal. Twenty kcal per day is 7300 kcal/year or about a pound of body fat! Opt for lower alcohol content (i.e., %ABV) beers and similar calories can be saved. Similarly cutting consumption by one daily drink (and, really, one should consider doing so if weekly consumption in greater than 5-7 drinks) will result in a reduction of body fat by 10 to 15 lbs.
Strengthen your weaknesses. Snack food. Candies. Coffee creamers. Chocolate. Etc. We all have our weakness. Target these. Make a concerted effort to consume less and make better choices. We don’t have to omit these entirely. We don’t have to feel deprived. We just have to be wise in our indulgence.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!!