10 easy ways to lose 10lbs

An extra 100 calories here and there may not sound like a big deal if you are watching your weight. Yet if over the course of one year you saved yourself this number of calories each day, you could save 36,500 in total, which equates to dropping 10lb in weight. Do the opposite and over-eat by 100 calories a day and it is easy to see how weight gradually creeps on. Check out our top 10 easy ways to lose at least 100 calories from your daily intake without feeling at all deprived.

1. Swap cereal and toast for muesli and fruit.
   Swap a 50g bowl of crunchy nut (or other sugar-coated) cereal with milk and a slice of buttered toast and marmalade, 485 calories, for a 65g bowl of sugar-free muesli with semi-skimmed milk, topped with chopped banana, all for only 385 calories. The latter is low GI and will be digested more slowly keeping you fuller for longer. Also it is harder to chew the muesli and this helps to trigger appetite centres in your brain, leaving you feeling more satisfied after eating. With this breakfast you also get one of your five servings of fruit and vegetables for the day.
    
2. Make bacon a sarnie with lean bacon, tomato and ketchup
   Bacon sandwiches do not have to be off your breakfast agenda. A traditional bacon sarnie using two slices of grilled streaky bacon on two slices of buttered bread with ketchup has 440 calories. If you opt for two slices of lean grilled back bacon on bread with no butter but still have the ketchup, and also add some slices of tomato, you reduce the number of calories to 340 for a still tasty, filling breakfast. The lower calorie version also has a quarter less total fat (7g compared with 28g), and your total saturated fat falls from 14g (a woman’s daily limit is 20g and a man’s 30g) to only 2.5g.
    
3. Skip shop-bought baguettes and make your own pitta pockets
   A chunk of French stick from a typical sandwich shop weighs in at 200g, which gives you 526 calories before you event start thinking about filling it with anything. Opting for pitta bread gives you 200 calories, which will save you more than 300 calories in one fell swoop. Also, while the French stick is high GI, the pitta bread is low GI. Although fillings slow down digestion of the high GI French stick, it is still wise to go for a low-GI carbohydrate option to help you fell fuller for the afternoon ahead.
    
4. Have a baked potato with beans and salad instead of cheese and butter
   Having a baked potato with butter, baked beans and a sprinkling of grated cheese gives you 600 calories, compared with the potato with just the beans, a big salad with French dressing and a piece of fruit, such as a peach, for pudding, all of which comes to 500 calories. This swap also cuts fat from 20g to 9g and the total amount of saturated fat from 12g (a women’s daily maximum is 20g and a man’s 30g) to only 1g. The salad and fruit also add vitamins, minerals and protective supper-nutrients to your lunch.
    
5. Melt-in-the-mouth milk buttons instead of a slab of chocolate
   Wolfing down a quick 54g bar of Dairy Milk notches up 280 calories and 17g of fat. Instead, grab a mini pack of Cadbury’s milk chocolate Buttons with just 169 calories. Eating them one by one makes the chocolate experience last longer. If you can bear it, let each one melt in your mouth for more intense chocolate experience and you may even find that you don’t need to finish the whole packet. Even if you do, you still save 111 calories.
    
6. Have a kit kat with two servings of fruit instead of a mars bar
   Swapping a Mars bar with 307 calories for a two-finger Kit Kat with 107 calories leaves you to indulge in a big punnet of raspberries and a juicy nectarine. Not only have you saved 100 calories, you have notched up two servings of super nutrient-rich fruit to boost your health.
    
7. 7. Replace salted peanuts with a raisin and peanut mix
   If you sit and nosh you way through a typical 50g handful of roasted, salted peanuts, you will rack up 301 calories, not to mention 27g of fat. Opt instead for a 45g bag of peanuts and raisins and the calories drop to 195 and the fat to 12g. You also save on salt. The salted peanuts also give you a 0.5g of salt (our upper daily limit should be 6g), but the peanuts and raisin option is almost salt free.
    
8. Snack on olives and give hoummos and crudités a miss
   If faced with a choice of hoummus and cucumber sticks or a plate of olives, go for the latter. In just three tablespoons of hoummos, you will have wolfed down 168 calories. You can however, eat 20 olives for 68 calories, saving 100 in total. If the olives have been stored in oil, stick to 15 in total. If they are stored in brine, make sure that you have a glass of water close to hand so you don’t end up knocking back an alcoholic drink quickly to quench your thirst.
    
9. Swap a smoothie for three pieces of fruit and drink water
   Rather than grabbing a thick smoothie, with 300 calories per 250ml bottle, buy three pieces of your favourite fruit. You could choose a banana, a couple of satsumas and a tub of pre-peeled mango and pineapple and pick on it during the day. This will count towards three servings of fruit (compared to just two in a smoothie) and it will help to stop you picking on other snacks during the day, as well as saving you 100 calories, all in one go. To quench your thirst, just have water.
    
10. 10. Cut wine measures and enjoy a long spritzer drink
    A typical bar and pub-sized glass of wine comes in a 250mil serving giving you 185 calories per glass of medium white wine. Go back to the original 125ml size glasses and instantly you drop to 85 calories. If you feel this does not look a generous measure, have a big glass, but top up your wine with sparkling water. You will get a long, refreshing spritzer with all the volume, but cutting 100 calories. When it comes to shorts, opting for low-calorie mixers instead of the sugar versions saves you 100 calories with each double you order.

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