Are Your Food Choices Poor? Bring in the Subs

Remember that to reduce your body weight by 20 pounds over a year, you need to reduce your eating (or increase your activity) by 191 calories a day. That's 1,337 calories a week. The list below illustrates how you can make some small, mostly low-pain choices to help you reach that goal. Note, however, that some nutritionally beneficial substitutes shown below actually add calories. And it should go without saying--but it won't--that it won't do you any good to overeat in other ways while making any of these changes.

* Sub out those super-sized McDonald's french fries with small fries, one day a week.

Super-size: 540 calories, 26 grams total fat (4.5 grams saturated)

Small: 210 calories, 10 grams total fat (1.5 grams saturated)

Reduction in calories/week: 330

Potential calorie reduction/year: 17,160

Potential weight loss/year: 4.9 pounds

* Switch from two packets of sugar in coffee every morning to two packets of Equal (aspartame).

Sugar: 31 calories

Equal: 8 calories

Reduction in calories/week: 161

Potential calorie reduction/year: 8,372

Potential weight loss/year: 2.4 pounds

Note that opinion on the safety of artificial sweeteners is split.

* Replace 2% milk with skim milk (two 8-ounce servings per day).

2% milk: 242 calories, 9 grams total fat (6 grams saturated)

Skim: 170 calories, 0.8 grams total fat (0.6 grams saturated)

Reduction in calories/week: 504

Potential calorie reduction/year: 26,208

Potential weight loss/year: 7.5 pounds

* Substitute 8 ounces of porterhouse steak with the same amount of broiled salmon, once a week.

8-ounce porterhouse steak: 586 calories, 46 grams total fat (18 grams saturated)

Salmon: 467 calories, 28 grams total fat (6 grams saturated)

Reduction in calories/week: 119

Potential calorie reduction/year: 6,188

Potential weight loss/year: 1.7 pounds

Note the huge reduction in total and saturated fat; recommended upper limit for total fat in a 2,200 calorie-a-day diet is 73 grams per day, including no more than 24 grams of saturated fat.

* Instead of two glasses of wine four times a week, only have one.

2 glasses of wine (8 ounces): 165 calories

1 glass of wine (4 ounces): 83 calories

Reduction in calories/week: 328

Potential calorie reduction/year: 17,056

Potential weight loss/year: 4.8 pounds