“Raise your hand if you think you look fat. You’re not alone. Almost every woman I know thinks she does—even those who exercise every day, eat nothing but salads and salmon, and wear a size six or less!”
So wrote Charla Krupp in the foreword to her New York Times best-seller How to Never Look Fat Again. We pick up 40 pointers from the internationally known fashion and style expert’s book.
“If I knew these 37 things sooner, I would be thinner,” she wrote.
Make them a part of your daily life and get healthier – and thinner!
(1) See a doctor or a nutritionist find out the number of calories you need to eat a day to lose weight—and to maintain your weight. If you don’t know this, you don’t really know how much you can eat. You can also look online or get one of the many books on nutrition to figure out your specifics.
(2) Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, before coffee. When you weigh yourself, take off everything, even your watch, and earrings. Some nutritionists and doctors say not to weigh yourself daily, but how else do you know how you did yesterday? And what you need to do today?
(3) Eat whole grains for breakfast. Oatmeal with cinnamon and skim milk is very filling.
(4) Buy a little food diary or use the free iPhone app, “Lose It.” Record everything you eat. “If you nibble, you have to scribble,” is what I learned in Weight Watchers.
(5) Calculate your calories as they occur. Don’t wait until the end of the day or you may have gone over your limit.
(6) Measure everything you eat in measuring cups or with a scale—blueberries, salmon, etc.
(7) Don’t let fattening foods enter your home, and you won’t be tempted. Walking around with a cart in a grocery store is when you have to be most disciplined.
(8) Buy small packs if you can’t control yourself. For example, buy ice cream sandwiches instead of a box of ice cream or snack boxes of raisins instead of a large container.
(9) It’s said that people who consume 100 to 1,400 milligrams of calcium a day actually lose more weight. You need to consume calcium to keep bones strong anyway, so this is another motivator. It’s hard to get enough without supplements, so try the chocolate ones! Just count the calories.
(10) If you receive a fattening gift—cookies, chocolates, brownies—pack it up and bring it to the office, or give it to the next person you run into.
(11) If you don’t know what to have for dinner, make a dish of roasted veggies: Brussels sprouts, eggplant, asparagus, onions, red pepper with a couple of teaspoons of olive oil at 400 degrees for a half hour.
(12) Move your body every day. If you can’t do a proper workout, then, at least, walk to a place you would normally drive. Or walk up and down steps instead of taking an elevator at work or home.
(13) If you haven’t a clue what to eat for lunch, boil an egg or two.
(14) Next time you reach for a diet cola, ask yourself, “Would I be just as satisfied with a glass of water?”
(15) Don’t eat when you’re sitting in front of the TV or computer. You’ll lose track of what’s going into your mouth.
(16) Try not to eat when you’re in transit—leaving the house, in the car, walking on the street— it just looks bad, and you can wait.
(17) Don’t bake unless you intend to give your baked goodies away or bring them somewhere within the hour.
(18) Put cinnamon on everything you can. It burns calories and adds spice.
(19) Don’t wear elastic pants—you’ll never know what your real weight is.
(20) Listen to music when you’re working out. People who do work out longer.
(21) If you’re wearing comfy shoes, you will be more likely to walk. Carry a pair in your bag or in your car.
(22) Anything less than ten blocks considers walking.
(23) Buy an oil spritzer so you spray on just a little olive oil, instead of pouring on a lot.
(24) Floss or brush your teeth after each meal. When your teeth are clean, you’re less likely to eat more food.
(25) An avocado a day is not a good idea. Once in a while, they are a great treat, but too many are the pits when counting calories.
(26) Save yourself a little cushion of calories—130 or so—so you can “cheat” on something at the end of the day.
(27) When you open the door of the fridge for the fifteenth time that day, ask yourself, “Am I really hungry?” If the answer is no, pour yourself a glass of water, shut the door, and leave the kitchen.
(28) One banana a day is plenty.
(29) A box of dates contains enough calories for the entire day.
(30) Even if the bag of popcorn is by a healthy food company, a huge bag could be more calories than your average dinner.
(31) Licking the spoon or bowl when you’re making cookies or cakes counts in your daily calories.
(32) Reduced-fat peanut butter is still fattening!
(33) All granola bars are not created equal; in fact, some are super-fattening. My nutritionist, Jennifer Andrus, recommended the brand GNU, which I love in cinnamon raisin.
(34) Chew your food. Try fifty times before you swallow. The slower you eat, the less you eat.
(35) “After eight, gain weight.” Try not to eat after 8 p.m. Close the kitchen for the night after dinner, and don’t go back in. Limit eating time.
(36) Keep your mind engaged. Many times we walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator out of sheer boredom.
(37) Try not to make every social activity revolve around food. See a movie instead of having dinner. Take an exercise class or walk or get a massage instead of lunching.
