4 Small Changes That Can Help You Achieve Big Weight Loss Goals

I had a roommate in college who always left a few bites on her plate. "It's my diet," she would joke. Years later, I can only imagine how many pounds she kept off her behind that way. It sounds too simple, but it's true. Just a few too many calories, over time, causes weight gain; cutting back a small amount, over time, results in weight loss.

I'm guessing you'd rather talk about the weight loss. So take just 100 calories: It's easy to shave that much out of a day and hardly even notice. Here are a few ideas:

• Choose a 6-ounce carton of light yogurt in place of your usual 3/4 cup ice cream snack.
• Fill 2 corn tortillas in place of a 10-inch flour one when you make soft tacos or burritos.
• Enjoy a "spritzer" instead of your usual 2 glasses of white wine. During your next night out, fill each glass half full with wine, then top it off with clear diet soda.
• Ask for sugar-free syrup and fat-free milk in your decadent coffee drink. My fave is a sugar-free, fat-free hazelnut latte.

If you're thinking "So what? How can 100 calories matter?" Here's why it does: If you skim 100 calories out of each day for a year, it could result in the loss of more than 10 pounds!

The math goes like this: 3,500 calories equals a pound. Consuming 100 calories less than you need, every day, for 365 days, results in 36,500 fewer calories each year. Divide that by 3,500 and you get just over 10 pounds.

I bet many of you have great ideas for easily cutting 100 calories. So please comment and tell me! In the meantime, try leaving a few bites behind.