If you’re trying to lose a few pounds, try these easy-to-do activities and diet tips to take 100 calories out of your day. Improving your overall health is essential as a nurse. Your patients look up to you as role models for a healthier lifestyle.
You might be surprised at how quickly you lose weight and feel better after following just a few of these suggestions on a daily basis:
- Order pizza with half the cheese.
- Substitute skim milk for full fat milk.
- Use apple butter on toast instead of butter or margarine.
- Use smaller slices of bread for sandwiches.
- Omit mayonnaise and sauces from sandwiches.
- Lightly sprinkle salads with olive oil instead of using dressing.
- Drink a glass of water before snacks and meals.
- Eat a bowl of fruit first for breakfast.
- Grill instead of fry your meats and vegetables.
- Choose the tomato sauce over the cream sauce.
- Use an exercise ball when at your desk or watching TV.
- Carry your groceries instead of using a cart.
- Laugh often throughout the day.
- Go for a quick five-minute walk every hour you’re awake.
- Park in the farthest parking spot from the store.
- Clean your house vigorously for 20 minutes.
- Sing whenever you get the chance (and are alone!).
- Iron clothes while standing for 25 minutes.
- Jog in place for 12 minutes.
- Fidget in your chair throughout the day.
- Pass on the chips and salsa and eat fresh veggies instead.
- Write down everything you eat for one day.
- Pre-measure one serving size of snacks and put in a snack bag.
- Drink sparkling water with lemon mid-afternoon.
- Substitute sugar in recipes for honey in half the quantity.
- Choose light frozen yogurt instead of ice cream.
- Pass on the cone and just eat the frozen yogurt.
- Substitute half the oil in a recipe with applesauce when baking.
- Grill your sandwich with nonstick cooking spray instead of butter or margarine.
- Fill half of your plate with vegetables before serving the main course.
- Workout to music.
- During work, set the temperature to 64 degrees.
- Go for walking meetings with your co-workers.
- Wear a pedometer.
- Stretch for 10 minutes three times a day.
- Instead of walking, lightly jog from one destination to another.
- Cook all three meals instead of eating out.
- Get a full-night’s rest.
- Sit with proper posture. Don’t slouch.
- Play catch or Frisbee for 25 minutes.
- Make two meals from you day non-meat meals.
- Eat fish tonight instead of beef or pork.
- Listen to fullness cues and stop when you feel full.
- Eat your food slowly.
- Make your sandwich with whole-wheat pita bread instead of regular bread.
- If you have a sweet tooth, eat a small cup of all-natural apple sauce.
- Give your pet extra 10-minute attention three times today.
- Play an instrument for 25 minutes.
- Ask for a cup of soup rather than a bowl.
- Choose a broth-based soup over cream-based soup.
- For a snack, try two cups of air-popped popcorn without the butter.
- When ordering, choose baked foods over fried ones.
- Ask for sauce on the side.
- Season with fresh lemon and herbs instead of butter or oils.
- Cook brown rice instead of white rice.
- For breakfast, eat old-fashioned oatmeal cooked with skim milk.
- Get outdoors today for thirty minutes.
- Choose a small drink instead of a large one.
- Follow the low-fat cooking directions.
- Use walking polls when going for a walk.
- Recruit a fitness partner for workouts.
- Hire a personal trainer to give you new ideas.
- Walk, run or bike on an unstable surface.
- Keep proper posture while walking.
- Gain more muscle by strength training regularly.
- Add intervals to your aerobic exercise routine.
- Wear a weighted walking vest on your walks.
- When cooking, mix ingredients by hand instead of the mixing machine.
- Break a sweat three times a day.
- Buy a fun workout DVD.
- For eggs in recipes, use two whites in place of one whole egg.
- Order first when at a restaurant.
- Drink hot or cold unsweetened tea if you feel the urge to have an untimely snack.
- When eating out, wear tighter pants.
- Choose baked chips over regular.
- When baking, substitute half of the flour with whole-wheat flour.
- Pass on the popcorn at the movie theatre.
- Read ingredients on food labels.
- Use a natural sugar substitute instead of sugar.
- Exercise early in the morning.
- Workout with a partner.
- Move your arms over your head while walking or on a stationary bike.
- During cooking, do static squats and lunges during cooking time gaps or while food is in the oven.
- Park an extra five blocks away from work.
- When strength training, increase intensity by doing exercise circuit-style (three to five consecutive exercises that challenge upper and lower-body muscle groups at the same time.)
- Take a stroll for 30 minutes after dinner.
- Add plyometric (jump training) exercises to your strength-training workout.
- Get 20-30 grams of fiber each day through beans, fruit, veggies and whole grains.
- Learn the difference between the “full” and “no longer hungry” feeling and go for the latter.
- For flavor, use salsa, Tabasco sauce or mustard instead of butter.
- Keep snacks to about 100 calories.
- Cut alcohol consumption by one drink a day.
- Steam your vegetables.
- Eat breakfast within one hour of rising.
- Plan ahead and eat low-fat meals before going to a party, but eating a small nutritious snack right before.
- Mingle away from the food at a party.
- Choose whole grain pasta over regular pasta.
- Pack a lunch instead of eating lunch out.
- Substitute ground beef with extra-lean ground turkey breast in recipes calling for ground beef.
- Keep evening meals the smallest meal of the day.â
Calories can be cruel. Yes, we all agree to that! With a busy schedule as a nurse, our health tends to be our last priority. Shredding pounds can be stressful but with these little ways, we can hit our target weight goal.