It has been said that the sure fire way to lose weight is to EAT LESS. If only it were that simple. The problem is we pay no attention to the amount we eat and what that means calorie wise. But this assumes that everyone who is over weight is an over eater. What if your overweight and you don't eat very much? Now I know that doesn't make much sense, but when you think about it, it is possible.I have a very good friend who decided one day that it was time to lose her "pear" shape. I mentioned to her that I had read in Oprah magazine that most people underestimate the number of calories they take in a day by a 1,000 calories. That means if you take in an extra 1,000 more calories a day then you need, you will put one pound on every three and a half days (one pound is equal to 3,500 calories). Ouch! That's fast. Here's what my friends problem was.
She claimed that she didn't eat that much. Probably like you, I figured she snuck food. So I asked her to count her calories for a few days. When she came back and told me everything she had eaten, it only totalled to an average of 1,100 calories a day. Once I saw this figure I was convinced that she was sneaking food. But you know what, as I looked at her list of foods she had eaten, she hadn't listed anything she drank. Hum, maybe she's drinking her calories I thought. So I asked her what she had to drink that day and boy was I surprised.
She started her morning with a Starbucks drink that was 600 calories. Later she would drink soda pop that amounted to about 400 calories. Later she would drink a soda again for another 400 calories. And in the evening she would drink a few beers or have a few glasses of wine. I was stunned. She was taking in an average of 1,800 calories everyday from liquids. There was the problem in black and white. Once you added the 1,100 calories of food she was eating everyday, there was her weight gain. So you know what she did?
She lost 40 pounds over a few shorts months (and she looks great) by cutting back on all the high calorie drinks. She has a small coffee drink in the morning (170 calories) and diet soda whenever she needs something sweet with her meals. She drinks beer and wine only on special occasions and only one beer or one glass of wine. Since she doesn't overeat, the weight just flew off her body. So what does this mean?
No one has been thinking about the people who are "over drinkers." The saying should be, eat and DRINK LESS to lose weight. Still, easier said then done.
