
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 4, 1994                   TAG: 9501040064
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LORI STEINMEYER KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RESOLVE TO LOSE WEIGHT THIS YEAR? TRY THESE 10 DIET ADJUSTMENTS

Weight loss is often at the top of the list of new year's resolutions. ``I have to lose five to 10 pounds,''' I frequently hear folks pledge. Too often, however, stringent calorie-restricted diets fail to lead to the desired end and we carry those extra pounds around yet another year. This year instead of promoting a rigid diet plan for weight loss, I thought I might suggest a few diet adjustments that, over time, can lead to significant weight loss.

1. Let's revamp breakfast. Break the habit of picking up a sausage and biscuit on the way to work and elude 300 calories! Instead, try a cup of unsweetened flaked cereal and 1/2 cup of skim milk.

2. Make your beverage sugar-free. Switch to a sugar substitute for tea and coffee. Drink only sugar-free sodas. With these changes, you could avoid more than 250 calories a day if you drink a soda and several cups of tea or coffee.

3. Take a brown bag lunch of deli turkey and brown mustard sandwich and avoid the standard burger and fries. You have just reduced your diet by 400 calories.

4. Snack on low-fat foods like pretzels (110 calories per ounce) instead of high-fat foods like potato chips (150 calories per ounce). Substitute bottled water for a regular soda and you've eluded another 150 calories.

5. Select a fat-free spread instead of regular margarine. If you are using it on toast at breakfast and vegetables at dinner, you could save yourself 125 calories or more each day!

6. On occasion microwave a low-fat frozen dinner. These dinners run from 220 to 350 calories. They tend to be fewer calories than a low-fat meal you would cook yourself because the portion size is so small. You have avoided about 200 calories or more.

7. When using beef, stick with 95 percent lean ground beef (three ounces for 165 calories) instead of regular ground beef (three ounces for 225 calories). This simple change could lower your calorie intake by 60 calories.

8. Use fat-free or low-fat milk products. By using skim milk instead of whole milk, you could avoid 60 calories per cup. Eating fat-free cheese can save you 60-70 calories per ounce.

9. For an evening snack, choose air-popped popcorn or 75 percent reduced fat microwave popcorn over the regular microwave popcorn. You could save up to 40 or 50 calories per two to three cups.

10. Finally, remember that fat-free cookies are not calorie free! Fat-free cookies (50 or more calories per cookie) have as many or more calories than regular cookies. The calories are from carbohydrates instead of fat. A better selection would be a few crackers (three for 30 to 50 calories). This diet adjustment could help you avoid 100 or more calories.

Each of these suggestions will lower your calorie intake without requiring a drastic change in your diet. Select a couple or all of these diet changes and you will be surprised that you can actually lose weight in 1995.

Lori Steinmeyer is a registered dietitian.

by CNB