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You’re
choosing healthy foods, you’re exercising, you’ve cut out your
late-night cookie habit… But the number on the scale isn't budging.
Sound familiar? This diet head-scratcher happens to the best of us. I'm Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien, and I've got the 411 on eight reasons you’re NOT losing weight…
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Not Paying Attention to Calories
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Updated June 15, 2015.
This one is tough to swallow, but I’ve gotta say it…
Even healthy food contains calories. Choosing nutritious foods is smart,
but just because they’re good for you doesn’t mean you can eat
unlimited amounts and continue losing weight. A dinner of salad, salmon,
and whole-grain pasta is certainly healthy, but don't discount the
numbers. A 6-oz. salmon fillet with two cups of whole-grain pasta clocks
in at about 700 calories; a salad of lettuce and tomatoes with a
tablespoon each olive oil and vinegar brings the total to well over 800
calories.
Weight loss is primarily a numbers game:
calories in versus calories out. So choose nutritious foods, but count
those calories! On a related note, read up on these seven surprisingly fattening foods. They only seem healthy...
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Overcompensating for Exercise
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Updated June 15, 2015.
Pat yourself on the back for fitting in a lunchtime run,
but don’t consider it a free eating pass. It’s easy to miscalculate how
many calories you’re actually burning. Your gym may promise that you’ll
burn 500 calories with an hour of spinning, but every person is
different -- you might burn just 300 calories. For the most accurate
info, wear an activity monitor that tracks calorie burn. And remember,
if you reward yourself with a treat equal in calories to the calories
you burned, it's as if you never burned any calories at all...
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Not Counting Condiments and Other Extras
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Updated June 15, 2015.
Brace yourself for some not-so-fun facts... A single
tablespoon of ketchup on your eggs or burger adds around 20 calories.
(And most likely you're using more than one tablespoon!) An ounce of
half & half (the kind you splash in your coffee) has about 40
calories and 3.5 grams of fat. A tablespoon of mayo adds 90 calories and
10 grams of fat to your sandwich. Even if you’re being super careful
about your choices, it’s easy to forget about the little extras.
These items aren’t off-limits, but they definitely "count," and the numbers add up. So keep track of everything you eat and sip... Ignorance is not bliss! Now that you know to count 'em, check out these 15 condiments with 15 calories or less.
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Dining Out... Even if You Are Counting the Calories
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images
Updated June 15, 2015.
I love a good restaurant meal as much as anyone, but
here’s the problem: You never know exactly what’s in your dish. Even if
the restaurant provides nutritional info, those are just estimates based
on precise recipes passed down by the folks in charge. Do you really
think every member of the kitchen crew is weighing and measuring each
ingredient? Now, there's nothing wrong with dining out -- especially if
you ask questions and make smart choices.
Do you regularly munch on some amazing snack you
discovered... You know, the one with stats that are almost too good to
be true? Whether it's an 80-calorie fudge brownie or a monstrous bag of
chips claiming only 150 calories, it's possible your snack stats aren’t
exactly right. Labels aren’t always accurate, especially when products
come from our small mom-and-pop shop pals. If something seems too good
to be true, it probably is.
You’ve definitely heard this before, but it bears
repeating: Watch your portion sizes! Sure, that cereal box says 110
calories, but check the portion size... then check how much you're
routinely pouring in your bowl! Another portion trap? Packaged snacks
that look like single servings but are actually 2 to 3 servings. Read
labels carefully, people! Check out five ways you're reading nutrition labels wrong...
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Falling into the "0-Calorie" Trap
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images
Updated June 15, 2015.
Don’t consume unlimited amounts of “zero calorie” foods.
As long as a product has less than 5 calories per serving, companies
are allowed to round down to 0 calories per serving -- and often, the
official serving sizes are unrealistically small. Watch out for salad
dressings, sweetener packets, and cooking sprays. Click for more info on this topic!
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Drinking Your Calories
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images
Updated June 15, 2015.
Pop quiz: What has more calories: a 12-oz. glass of
orange juice or a dozen almonds and a medium orange? That innocent
little glass of OJ has around 165 calories, while the
nuts-and-fruit combo clocks in at around 140. And the food is probably a
whole lot more satisfying. The moral of this little story is to be
careful what you drink. Personally, I'd rather chew my calories!
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