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10 easy ways to drop 10 lbs

Posted on Aug 10th 2007 7:18PM by Martha Edwards

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss

When I see headlines on articles like 'Lose 5 pounds easily', I always cringe because it's not easy and anyone whose ever tried to lose a few pounds knows that it takes a lot of work to work off that weight. So I was skeptical when I read this headline from eDiets, on 10 painless way to lose 10 pounds. Here's what they suggest:

Read the fine print and make the choice that's got the least calories
Make your own low-cal desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth
Commit to some sort of exercise most days of the week and stick to it
Every time you get a phone call, get on the stationary bike if you have one
Substitute cooking spray for the butter or margarine that you use when cooking
Switch unhealthy snacks for healthy ones
Avoid happy hour
Pack up leftovers and have them instead of fast-food for lunch
Frozen meals will have much fewer calories than restaurant ones so when you don't feel like cooking, use the microwave.

These do sound pretty easy, but do you think they can lead to long-term weight loss?

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7 Comment

Tags: cooking oil, CookingOil, frozen meals, FrozenMeals, leftover, lose weight, LoseWeight, painless, restaurant meals, RestaurantMeals, snack

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

smdryad 8-11-2007 @ 12:34AM

Cinch plan is a great easy diet plan. It's good nutrition, and the leucine helps maintain muscle mass during weight loss. http://www.cinchplan.com/good_health

James 8-11-2007 @ 12:34AM

I've decided to translate these ten steps for anyone that doesn't understand it:

1. choose low calorie foods over high calorie (says capt obvious)
2. make your own low calorie desserts instead of processed desserts (ok that's a good one)
3. exercise (says capt obvious)
4. get on a stationary bike when you get a phone call? Does this person spend hours on the phone daily? I spend maybe 5-10 minutes a day tops on the phone when I'm at home, most the time I'm in the car or somewhere else. Sure 5 minutes a day on a bike is better than nothing, but that's 25 calories isn't going to help you drop 10 lbs.
5. use cooking spray instead of butter (you weren't doing that already?)
6. eat healthy! (says capt obvious, and isn't that step 1 and 2?)
7. Avoid happy hour (you weren't doin that already?
Alcohol is full of calories)
8. eat home-made meals instead of fast food (says capt obvious)
9. eat at home instead of eating out (sounds like 2 & 8 to me)

... where's 10? oh well, they all started sounded like each other anyway.

So these were all pretty obvious "tips" except for making your own desserts. That's not a bad idea, like make pudding or jello instead of buying a box of donuts.

I'd also like to add "buy smaller quantities". If you want a Oreo, buy the 6 pack for $1, even if the giant box is on sale for $2 you're really better off with just the 6 you're craving instead of 6 dozen. If you want chips, buy the tiny 2 ounce snack bag out of the machine for $1 instead of the 8 ounce $1 bag. You're better off in the long run.

Another one: who said food was suppose to taste great? Somewhere someone got the crazy idea that everything we eat should taste the best it can. Why does everything have to have 40 grams of sugar before we eat it? What's wrong with eating a cold can of spinach? Gross? maybe, but at ~50 calories and packed with protein a 1 lbs (16 ounce) can of spinach sure fills you up without making you feel guilty later. And if you can't stand that try a can of green beans. Better taste, still low calories. Best part is you can keep a couple cans in your trunk for months for a quick snack, just be sure to have a can opener and fork in there too.

OUGRAD75 8-11-2007 @ 12:17PM

You're right the first time. There's nothing easy about dieting. Once you decide it's extremely hard work, you'll realize 10 tips -- that most sound the same -- won't get your there. And for 60% of Americans 10 pounds is not their problem...50-75 pounds is more the issue. I've lost nearly 100 pounds by eating the right sized portions in the last year, and avoiding ALL fast food restaurants. I still eat desserts, have moderate wine and liquor, pizza, (and for your reader, lots of great tasting spinach sauteed and raw for salads). I have real tips at my blog rightsizing.blogspot.com. Good luck to everyone, it's takes a lot work to not be obese in America.

aklarro 8-13-2007 @ 12:41PM

Martha,
Pears or Apples. Pear shaped bodies are one of the most unattractive to men. Men prefer the inverted pear. Happy days.

Raina 8-13-2007 @ 1:48PM

Use cooking spray instead of butter or margarine? Blech. I don't use any of the above - cooking spray just seems to me to be very unnatural and full of additives that I don't need in my body. I'd much rather use olive oil (high in good fats), canola oil, or most frequently, white wine.

James, the thing about eating food that tastes good is that it's an incentive to keep eating it. That's why so many people eat crap, because crap tastes good. So if you can find a way to eat healthy and have it taste really good, you're more likely to stick to it.

A little town in Italy has another tactic - pay people to lose weight. I put a post on my blog about that whole thing: http://steppin-up.blogspot.com/2007/08/cash-for-pounds.html

FitClubScott 8-14-2007 @ 12:18PM

Cooking spray IS canola oil. The rest of the ingredients are propellants to force it out of the can.

Don't be fooled into thinking it is calorie or fat-free. It's a trick of serving size. A "1/3 second" spray (1 serving) contains less than .5 grams of fat so they call it "fat-free", but if you totally coat a pan with it...its still oil.

My suggestion: Get a regular pump sprayer and fill it will olive oil. No nasty propellants and you can spray a very small amount.

http://thefitclub.blogspot.com

Ginger 8-16-2007 @ 1:13PM

So many people remind us to check for sugar and calories and fats when dieting. Your suggestion of canned vegetables can be (in my opinion) a bit dangerous. While spinach and green beans are indeed a healthy and fat free food, canned products are notorious for their sodium content. Sodium causes our bodies to retain liquids, raises our blood pressure and all in all is probably more dangerous for many people than calories or fat.