Can we get a show of hands for all those ladies out there who have made a resolution this year that involves, in some shape or form, skimming off those pesky extra pounds you just haven’t been able to shed in 2012?
Yes, we thought there would be quite a few of you. And for each and every one of you, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite tricks that can help you cut calories and slim down in 2013!
Start with a salad
Research shows that eating a medium-to-large sized salad, topped with low-fat cheese and low-calories dressing, 20-minutes before you sit down to nosh can actually help you to eat up to 10% less during the course of your meal.
Get steamy
We often think of sauté©ing as a low-fat method of cooking our veggies, but in reality, with the amount of oils used it can actually be a fat-laden disaster. This year, try steaming your vegetables and add a few teaspoons at the end of cooking instead, saving you up to 150 calories with each serving.
Get some serious shut eye
Sure, we all know that when you are lacking sleep the last thing you want to think about is going to the gym, but little did you know that insufficient zzz’s can also increase the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which regulates appetite and can cause you to nosh more than usual.
Class up your wine
Contrary to what we would like to think on a Friday evening, most wine glasses are NOT designed to be filled to the brim. Save yourself the empty calories of slugging back 8-9 ounces of booze and instead drink your wine out of a champagne glass.
Pump up the protein
Think you get enough protein? Think again. High-protein, low-carb diets might very well be the key to keep you from losing muscle along with your fat (and we all know more muscle means more fat burn, right?). Try and fit a protein into every meal and every snack, each and every day!
Stand up and get skinny
Believe it or not, we naturally burn about 100 calories an hour just by sitting on our behinds. What’s better than that? The 140 calories you can burn by standing up instead of sitting down. Try spending at least two hours a day on your feet, whether at work or at home.
