The Magic of 100 Calories

If you eat 100 fewer calories and exercise 100 calories more each day, you could create a deficit of 200 calories per day. This would amount to a loss of 1 pound every 18 days or about 20 pounds per year. Here’s how:Pay attention to WHAT you eat - choose foods that are less processed and low in sugar and fat. Compare 100 calorie portions of popular foods below. Look at how you get to eat MORE?of the better choices and LESS of the higher-calorie choices.For example, do you think you would feel more full with 1-3/4 cups of grapes or 3/4 of a small cereal bar? Or a small baked potato instead of a measley 3/4 ounce serving of fatty potato chips? Yes! And chances are you would eat more of the higher-calorie choice to feel satisfied, thus consuming many more than 100 calories at a sitting with higher fat, higher sugar foods.Better choice -- Higher-calorie choice1-3/4 cups grapes -- 3/4 cereal bar1-1/2 oranges -- 1 cup orange soda4 oz baked potato -- 3/4 oz potato chips1 banana -- 2 oreo cookies1-1/2 apples -- 1 small chocolate chip cookie3 oz baked chicken -- 1-1/2 ounces fried chicken4 oz spaghetti marinara -- 1 oz spaghetti alfredoEasy ways to shave 100 or more calories:

• Use fat-free salad dressing instead of regular dressing.
• Measure frozen yogurt so you eat 1/2 cup instead of a whole cup.
• Get a small biscotti instead of a muffin at the coffee shop.
• Switch to diet soda or unsweetened tea instead of soda.
• Eat a salad instead of bread when dining out.
• Order broth- or tomato-based soup instead of cream soup.
• Skip the cheese on sandwiches.
• Order the smallest size when ordering out. For example, choose a half sandwich with salad. Or choose a low-fat appetizer and salad instead of a large entree.
• Go for lean - choose baked instead of fried, skip cream and cheese, use ketchup instead of mayo, choose small, lean portions of meat instead of large, fatty ones.

Activities that equal 100 calories. Being active is always better than sitting. If you are sitting at a computer or in front of a television, you are only burning around 72 calories per hour. If you are cooking, washing dishes or doing light household chores, you will burn about double that per hour. Moderate exercise will burn even more. It is definitely to your advantage to be more physically active. Try to limit the number of hours spent in front of the television, especially if you have a sedentary job.Here is a list of ways to burn about 100 calories (average for 150 pound person):

• 9 minutes of jogging
• 13 minutes of weight lifting
• 14 minutes of racquetball
• 20 minutes of gardening
• 20 minutes of average walking
• 40 minutes of light household chores