Losing weight often equates to making slight modifications to a lifestyle. An extra 100 or 200 calories per day over what the body needs will ultimately add up to an extra 10 or 20 pounds over the course of a year. Conversely, losing 10 or 20 pounds over a year’s time only requires one to burn 100 to 200 calories more per day than are ingested. Making a few simple changes can make a big difference over the next year.

Think Before You Drink

It is easy to consume extra calories throughout the day by drinking them. The average can of regular soda has roughly 150 calories. Flavored coffees are another potential source of calories. Simply reducing the intake of these types of beverages from two each day to one per day or every other day can shave up to 200 calories per day from one’s caloric intake which would add up to 20 pounds in a year.

Drinking a glass of water 30 minutes prior to a meal can reduce food intake during that meal and shave about 50 calories from each meal due to feeling full sooner. This one simple change may be all it would take to lose roughly one pound per month without any other changes.

Walk Instead of Watch TV

For a 150 pound person, walking will burn roughly 238 calories per hour while watching television will burn 68. Simply taking a casual 30 minute walk each day instead of sitting around watching TV will use an additional 85 calories each day. This would be almost enough to lose 10 pounds in a year.

Do You Want Fries With That? NO!

Be smart when eating out. One order of large French fries from McDonald’s has 500 calories. Many restaurant meals are loaded with calories. Order the eight ounce sirloin instead of the twelve ounce. Divide your meal in half and share with a friend or take the other half home. Saving calories when eating out will go a long way toward eliminating extra weight over time.

Small adjustments over time can add up to big results when it comes to weight gain and weight loss. A few hundred calories here and a few hundred there can be the difference between being fit or being obese. Don’t let a few little things get in the way of a lifetime of being healthy. These small changes may not bring instant results but will work over time and help to keep the extra weight off.