Summer is a time for outside grilling, barbecues and summer cocktails, which usually means you'll be consuming a lot more calories. You'll be shocked by the amount of calories in some of our favorite summertime foods -- like corn. Try boiling your corn as opposed to grilling it, this will save you about 10 grams of fat and 30 to 100 calories per ear.

If you enjoy slathering your corn in a little butter, don't worry about the added calories because summer is also a great time to get outside, enjoy the weather and get active. You can burn off 60 calories in one cob with a fun 15-minute walk. The best summer workouts are those that allow you to strike the best balance between calories in and calories out.

What do you guys do to burn off those extra summer calories?

Calorie. When you're trying to lose weight those three little syllables can sound a bit sinister. But calories really aren't the bad guys. Basically, a calorie is just a unit of energy. They give us the fuel we need to keep going. But did you know that when you cut calories you can actually boost your energy? Since calories are our main source of energy, it may seem counterintuitive that reducing them can boost our energy. But the trick -- even though a calorie, is a calorie, is a calorie -- is eating high quality foods that benefit your body.

When you aren't eating healthfully, you're likely to get extra calories from refined carbs (sugary foods, white bread/pasta/rice, etc.) and greasy foods. Those are choices that pack a hefty calorie punch and (though you may get an initial rush from sugar) ultimately leave you feeling sluggish. Slow-burning, healthful foods will keep your blood sugar stable and keep you energized throughout the day.

Whole-grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein are all good choices for energy-boosting foods. Some top picks include:

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Did you know that your kitchen grater can be a great tool for calorie and health-conscious meals? Believe it or not, it's true. According to Shape, a cup of grated cheddar contains 77 fewer calories than a cup of diced. So they next time you're reaching for a calorie-dense food, consider grating it instead of slicing or dicing it. You're likely to use less and, as as added perk, grated food distributes more evenly. Try grating cheese over salads or steamed veggies. Also, a small amount of grated chocolate is delicious on strawberries and lite whipped topping.

A grater is also a great tool for tricking kids into eating their veggies. I'm pretty lucky in that respect; my son loves vegetables. In fact, the other night I made a quick dinner of whole grain mac and cheese with steamed cauliflower and broccoli. My son went back for seconds on the steamed veggies and barely touched the mac and cheese. But if your kids aren't quite as willing, pull out the grater. You can grate carrots, zucchini, or summer squash into marinara sauce. Also, many baked goods can be enhanced with the addition of grated zucchini or carrots.

For more healthy eating tips, check out AOL Body.

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ave you ever wondered if all those diet tips you're always reading about ever work? Can you really lose weight by cutting out soda? (Yes.) Do smaller plates really help you eat less? (Maybe.) Self magazine recently asked some of their readers to give the more common weight loss tips a try, and then to share their results.

Some women loved what they learned. Eliminating multi-tasking during meals helped one women pay attention to what she ate. Another woman found that keeping junk food out of the house reduced her tendency to snack, but she couldn't see keeping it up long term. The thing that all of these tips have in common is that they are easy to carry out and demand little preparation, perfect for the low-maintenance dieter.

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If you're spending much of your day trying to figure out the glycemic load of each food you eat in an effort to lose weight, you may just be wasting your time. That's according to new research that put two groups of people on a diet. One group followed a plan full of low-glycemic foods, while the others simply cut calories. In the end, both groups lost similar amounts of weight.

For the average person, cutting calories and eating a healthy diet -- the advice we've been hearing for ages -- seems to still be the best way to go to shed those pounds. That's not to say a low -glycemic diet isn't still a useful tool. People with type 2 diabetes or people who secrete large amounts of insulin may still have more success on a diet with a low-glycemic load. And if a low-GI diet is working for you, there's no reason to stop doing what you're doing.

Experts remind us that even if you choose an "anything goes" kind of diet that simply restricts calories, it's still important to focus on nutrient-rich foods and leave the junk food out.

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The effects of aging can be slowed by just minimally reducing the amount of calories one consumes per day, according to new research.

In a test performed on a rat population (as always, it seems), scientists have found that eating a little less food and exercising just a little bit more every day could reduce or even reverse aging-related cell and organ damage in those rates.

Can this be carried over to humans? That is always up for debate -- but a minimal reduction in caloric intake per day is never a bad thing for most of us.

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If you're trying to lose weight and the "quick-fix" diets just haven't brought you success, here's a very moderate and sensible method to take the weight off.

The author says that if you really want weight loss to be "painless," then start by cutting just 50 calories per meal. Take the bacon off your hamburger, put 1/2 as much cream cheese on your bagel, or trade in that bag of chips for an apple. At the end of the day, you'll have cut 150 calories. At the end of the week, you'll have cut a little over 1000. If you burn another 100 calories per day through moderate exercise -- a 30 minute walk or similar activity -- you'll have lost a half a pound. Want to speed the process up? Try cutting 100 calories at each meal instead.

I think this is great advice for those who don't mind taking a little longer to lose their weight. It's not so much a diet at it is reteaching yourself about portion sizes. I also think that it's a gradual way to learn good food choices, rather than trying to make major changes to your lifestyle all at once. I bet that in the long haul, someone who loses weight this way keeps it off for good. It's not mentioned in the article, but before you can begin cutting calories it might be a good idea to know exactly how many calories your eating at each meal and throughout the day. Journaling your food for just three days can give you a good grasp on your daily intake.

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Every night, when I finally sit down for the day, it's usually with a bag of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are good for you, but very high in calories. If I don't bring a small bowl to put my 1/4 cup portion in, I'm likely to eat twice that much -- and add 190 calories to my day. Portioning snack foods into single sized servings is just one of the great tips I found reading this article today.

Here's another tip from the article -- cut your foods into appropriate sizes before serving. A family style meal is great, but be sure that you know what an appropriate serving is before sitting down. Otherwise, you're likely to fill up your plate with twice or three times the amount of food you need. Not sure what an appropriate serving looks like? Here's a handy visual reference guide.

Cutting just 200-500 calories per day could help you lose up to 50 pounds in the next year. Instead of putting yourself on a "diet," why not just find corners you can cut to eliminate 100 calories here and there. You might be surprised how easy it is and how quickly the pounds start melting off.

Interested in learning more? Here's a list of 15 easy ways to cut 100 calories.

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Healthy living is about fitness but it's also about how much you consume. Cutting calories is a good way to get healthy and feel your best. But cutting calories isn't easy -- or is it? This article offers a list of 100 painless ways to cut calories every day. The tips are simple, like replacing full-fat milk with non-fat, eating dried fruit instead of candy and munching on a whole wheat English muffin instead of a muffin.

If you can cut 100 calories from your diet every day, you can lose a pound of fat a month. This may seem a bit slow but it's a start, and the slower the weight loss, the more likely you are to keep the weight off.

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