Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
The holiday season isn't quite over yet, but you may already be feeling a pinch around the waistline. If you're like most, you've put on a pound or two noshing your way through weeks of holiday treats.
On the Healthbeat, Diane Bakos looks at a simple way to shed those holiday pounds.
Ah, the memories, from the Thanksgiving turkey to the Christmas cookies, the holiday ham, Aunt Fanny's fruitcake. You ate your way through the past month and now you're paying the piper. Pants don't fit, buttons are popping-- you need help!
Don't panic, the solution is simple. Figure that most of your meals-- your breakfast, lunch, supper-- average about 800 calories. Cut back on just one of those, and you can easily lose a pound a week.
Your goal is eliminating 500 calories a day. So, go ahead and have two 800-calorie meals, just like always, but cut one down to 300 calories. It's so easy!
A 300-calorie breakfast: A cup of cereal with a small sliced banana, a tablespoon of chopped walnuts, and a half cup of fat free milk.
If lunch is going to be your "skinny meal" how about a tablespoon each of peanut butter and grape jelly on whole wheat, with a bit of celery on the side.
Dinner: Three ounces of salmon, a cup of salad with two tablespoons of low-fat dressing, and a small oat bran dinner roll.
Or make up your own. It's an ounce of prevention to help those holiday pounds melt away painlessly.
Diane suggests keeping a food diary to be sure your program is on target.
