Ten ways to reduce calories and keep your waistline in check

Ten ways to reduce calories and keep your waistline in check

Here’s some brutal honesty: I’m not a doctor. Nor am I a physical trainer, dietician, health coach,
psychologist, or bodybuilding champ. What I am is a guy who grew up in a family where exercise and
healthy eating weren’t priorities. We used to have pancakes, bacon, and fresh donuts on Saturday
mornings. Same plate, one meal. How my pancreas survived I’ll never know.

That changed when I got out on my own. I started exercising regularly, and I figured out that what I put
in my body directly affected my cardio and weight training. So I changed what I was eating, and slowly
but surely the junk weight got transferred into welcomed strength weight. My immune system became
almost impenetrable, and now it doesn’t take an internal pep talk to resist a donut.

Keeping your gut more or less flat takes no more than gradually increasing your exercise regime and
reducing the amount of daily waste calories you put into your system. Here’s how to do the latter.

1. Change the way you view food.
Here’s four words to ask yourself before you grab that piece of birthday cake at the office or the burger
from the drive through: Is it worth it? Are you really going to remember that piece of cake or burger an
hour from now? Look, indulging in a well prepared meal with your significant other or friends is one of
life’s great pleasures. A couple hotdogs and a few beers at the ball park is as well. But more often than
not, food is fuel. So before you crack the lid on the Ben and Jerry’s carton when it’s just you and the
couch on a random Tuesday night, ask yourself if it’s worth it. Because more often than not? It’s not.

2. Keep a food journal
It’s easy to ignore the “is it worth it?” question if you’re not being held accountable at the end of the
day. Buy a small spiral bound notebook and each night before you head to bed, make some quick notes
on what you ate that day. I usually write down the “bad” food I ate, how many drinks I had, and how
many drinks I’ve consumed so far that week (beer is a bit of a vice.) Plus a few notes on my chosen
workout. It takes no more than 30 seconds and it’s just enough accountability to make you think twice
before eating something unnecessary and bad for you.

3. Throw out almost all the bad stuff in your house
You know what the bad stuff is. Toss almost all of it and find healthy replacements. For the potato
chips, use lightly salted popcorn cakes. For ice cream? Look into the brand “skinny cow” for their low
calorie low fat ice cream sandwiches. If there’s no healthy replacement (say, for soda), just get it out of
the house period. Remember, food is fuel. And diet soda won’t get your anywhere.

4. Do 90% of your grocery shopping along the outer aisles of the store
Grocery stores are smart. They know that by keeping the food that spoils the fastest to the outter aisles,
they’ll spend less time walking through the store each day to restock it. It’s all the highly processed high-
calorie junk that’s on the interior. It can sit longer. Stick to the fruits, vegetables and meats located
along the outside aisles and your body will thank you for it in the end.

5. Learn how to firmly say no to junk food pushers
Misery loves company, so people who eat terrible and feel worse because of it almost always try and
pawn off their junk food on you. They’ll offer you an unasked for piece of pizza, cinnamon sugar bagel,
or a handful of M&Ms. If you’re on this website you’re not the type to be easily swayed by some treat
pusher, so politely say no thanks and stick to your guns. If they continue to press, tell them you’re
watching your “girlish” figure. Throw in a curtsy if you must. Works for me every time.Ten ways to reduce calories and keep your waistline in check

Here’s some brutal honesty: I’m not a doctor. Nor am I a physical trainer, dietician, health coach,
psychologist, or bodybuilding champ. What I am is a guy who grew up in a family where exercise and
healthy eating weren’t priorities. We used to have pancakes, bacon, and fresh donuts on Saturday
mornings. Same plate, one meal. How my pancreas survived I’ll never know.

That changed when I got out on my own. I started exercising regularly, and I figured out that what I put
in my body directly affected my cardio and weight training. So I changed what I was eating, and slowly
but surely the junk weight got transferred into welcomed strength weight. My immune system became
almost impenetrable, and now it doesn’t take an internal pep talk to resist a donut.

Keeping your gut more or less flat takes no more than gradually increasing your exercise regime and
reducing the amount of daily waste calories you put into your system. Here’s how to do the latter.

1. Change the way you view food.
Here’s four words to ask yourself before you grab that piece of birthday cake at the office or the burger
from the drive through: Is it worth it? Are you really going to remember that piece of cake or burger an
hour from now? Look, indulging in a well prepared meal with your significant other or friends is one of
life’s great pleasures. A couple hotdogs and a few beers at the ball park is as well. But more often than
not, food is fuel. So before you crack the lid on the Ben and Jerry’s carton when it’s just you and the
couch on a random Tuesday night, ask yourself if it’s worth it. Because more often than not? It’s not.

2. Keep a food journal
It’s easy to ignore the “is it worth it?” question if you’re not being held accountable at the end of the
day. Buy a small spiral bound notebook and each night before you head to bed, make some quick notes
on what you ate that day. I usually write down the “bad” food I ate, how many drinks I had, and how
many drinks I’ve consumed so far that week (beer is a bit of a vice.) Plus a few notes on my chosen
workout. It takes no more than 30 seconds and it’s just enough accountability to make you think twice
before eating something unnecessary and bad for you.

3. Throw out almost all the bad stuff in your house
You know what the bad stuff is. Toss almost all of it and find healthy replacements. For the potato
chips, use lightly salted popcorn cakes. For ice cream? Look into the brand “skinny cow” for their low
calorie low fat ice cream sandwiches. If there’s no healthy replacement (say, for soda), just get it out of
the house period. Remember, food is fuel. And diet soda won’t get your anywhere.

4. Do 90% of your grocery shopping along the outer aisles of the store
Grocery stores are smart. They know that by keeping the food that spoils the fastest to the outter aisles,
they’ll spend less time walking through the store each day to restock it. It’s all the highly processed high-
calorie junk that’s on the interior. It can sit longer. Stick to the fruits, vegetables and meats located
along the outside aisles and your body will thank you for it in the end.

5. Learn how to firmly say no to junk food pushers
Misery loves company, so people who eat terrible and feel worse because of it almost always try and
pawn off their junk food on you. They’ll offer you an unasked for piece of pizza, cinnamon sugar bagel,
or a handful of M&Ms. If you’re on this website you’re not the type to be easily swayed by some treat
pusher, so politely say no thanks and stick to your guns. If they continue to press, tell them you’re
watching your “girlish” figure. Throw in a curtsy if you must. Works for me every time.