Eat Your Way Into Swimsuit Shape

By Ocean Gildee, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Lots of students hope to slim down before swimsuit season, but let’s face it: It’s a lot easier to pack on the pounds than it is to make them melt away. Still, you don’t necessarily have to spend hours on a treadmill, as long as you consciously adopt a lifestyle of healthful eating.

Ever hear of the 80/20 rule? It says that losing weight is 80 percent what you eat and 20 percent exercise. We’re not sure how accurate that stat is, but one thing is certain: Even if you’re a workout-aholic, you won’t lose weight if you like to chow down on slabs of chocolate cake with cola chasers.

“If it was easy to cut calories and lose weight, everyone would be thin,” says health educator Trisha M. Schleicher, who works for Health Promotions at University of North Carolina Wilmington. Schleicher gave us the scoop on making changes to your daily diet to shed some pounds and lose the pudge before summer.

Healthful Eating Tip No. 1: Don’t Drink Your Calories (Part One)
“I encourage my clients to reduce liquid calories,” says Schleicher. Sodas, in particular, pack quite a lot of calories with no nutritional value. But even your juice with breakfast or your smoothie as a midmorning snack often has added sugar. Stick to water (try flavored seltzer), which has no calories, is super-filling and keeps you hydrated.

Healthful Eating Tip No. 2: Don’t Drink Your Calories (Part Two)
If you’re of legal drinking age, know that alcohol consumption can be, well, a weighty issue. We’ve all heard of “beer belly.” Mixed drinks come with plenty of calories too. Even if you mix with diet soda, the alcohol calories are still there. Says Schleicher: “Significantly reducing alcohol intake helps cut late-night ‘drunk munchies.’”

Healthful Eating Tip No. 3: Eat Your Veggies
Schleicher says she also urges people to increase their fruit and vegetable intake.

“Cover half of your plate with something that grows out of the ground,” she says. Pile on the greens, but take it easy when it comes to starchy vegetables, such as potatoes and corn.

Healthful Eating Tip No. 4: Practice Portion Control
Schleicher says most students need to “get a grip on their portions.” Eating with portion sizes in mind, rather than only paying attention to the types of foods you eat, can help you lose weight as well. Make sure your servings of starch (e.g., rice, pasta, potatoes) are no larger than your fist, and that your servings of protein are about the size of your palm.

Healthful Eating Tip No. 5: Don’t Clean Your Plate
Did your parents always make you finish every last bite? If so, you may be in the habit of polishing off food -- even when you’re no longer hungry. Schleicher recommends eating “intuitively.” An easy way to start doing that is by leaving some food on your plate. “Leave three to four bites at every meal,” she says, until you learn to read your body’s signals and know when you’re full.

Healthful Eating Tip No. 6: Don’t Deprive Yourself
“Significantly cutting back on something will just leave you wanting more,” says Schleicher. With this in mind, know that it’s OK to have your favorite “guilty pleasure” snack now and then. Just remember the tip above about portion control. Read packaging to find out how much equals one serving. It’s fine to enjoy two or three cookies, but to devour half the box -- not so much.

Healthful Eating Tip No. 7: Be a Smart Snacker
When you’re not craving cookies, here are some awesome healthful snack ideas suggested by Schleicher to aid in your weight loss and keep you full. (Note: These snacks usually include both a carbohydrate and a protein. Why? Says Schleicher: “Carbs and starches give you energy, while proteins help slow the burn of those carbs down.”) Try snacking on:

• A piece of string cheese and a handful of almonds
• A medium apple with a 6-ounce container of low-fat yogurt
• Half a cup of skim cottage cheese and one serving of whole-wheat crackers
• One tablespoon of peanut butter spread on a whole-grain English muffin

Healthful Tip No. 8: Switch out the Condiments

Some condiments serve up a sneaky load of caloric content. Mayonnaise, for example, typically has 100 calories per tablespoon. But swap the mayo for mustard, and you’re looking at roughly ... oh, zero calories. Not a bad trade, right? Here are some others:

• Instead of dunking nachos in cheese sauce or sour cream, use salsa
• Instead of using creamy mayo-based salad dressings, try fat-free vinaigrette
• Instead of dipping seafood in tartar sauce, use cocktail sauce
• Instead of pouring gravy on meats, try low-sodium soy sauce, Worcestershire, hot sauce or horseradish
• Instead of topping a baked potato with butter, sour cream and bacon bits, go for steamed broccoli, shredded low-fat cheddar and cracked pepper