Sweating the Small Stuff

My friends, I'm sure you're familiar with the phrase "don't sweat the small stuff". I've been thinking about this lately and the thing is, sometimes, I think we should sweat the small stuff.

"Small stuff" like, walking past the free samples at Trader Joes or asking for non-fat milk at Starbucks can be pretty easy to overlook when thinking about our diets. I've often found myself thinking "oh, a little bite here and a little bite there, it'll never make a difference!" but actually, it does. More than you think.

What things are you putting in your mouth without even thinking about it? What unnecessary additions are you adding to your meals when you probably wouldn't notice the difference were they missing? How many times have you purchased a "large" because you would be "saving" money, not once thinking about the fact that you just purchased a bunch of extra calories? How many of you drink your calories, not counting it as a meal?

I live with a man who loves to crunch numbers more than anything and gets pure thrills out of finding a bargain or a deal. It is physically painful for him to think that I might want to order a "small" when it's so much cheaper (per unit) to order the "extra large". But I don't WANT the extra large! I always exclaim. If I get an extra large I will only eat/drink it all! (I can't stand waste) Take a look at how many extra calories you are adding (and paying for):

Small Starbucks Hot Chocolate w/Cream =330 calories
(Without Cream = 240 calories - ask yourself, is the taste of cream worth 90 calories to me? )
Large Starbucks Hot Chocolate w/Cream =551 calories

That's more than 200 calories! I'd rather have a small and then eat a banana later.

A couple months ago we took a trip to Costco where we observed what can only be described as "a feeding frenzy". It may or may not have looked something a little like this:

Really. They had lots of samples out and people were staggering all over the place, nibbling, and chewing, swooping in to a table and filling both hands with their samples. It was madness. Had these people never eaten before? I wish I could tell you that we refrained from the frenzy but alas, we joined in. Yum! Crab dip. Ooh! Brownie bites. Yes! I'll sample 700 kinds of sausage. Cheese? Don't mind if I do... We were going to go out for dinner but after our binging we were too full on samples to even find something proper to eat!

Don't get me wrong, it's fun to sample things. I just want us to be more aware. Those "samples" ended up being a meal! There are choices that we can make, the small stuff, that can help you be just a little more active in your quest to be more healthy. It's a step, a small step, but a step nonetheless, in the right direction.

For example:

*choose low-fat or non-fat milk when drinking coffee/hot chocolate 

*say no thanks to the cream

*order in small sizes and eat again later

*walk past the free samples if you're not sincerely interested in trying the product

*bring healthy snacks to work so you aren't tempted to buy something (usually fast and not so healthy) on your breaks

*drink more water! it makes you feel fuller and keeps you hydrated

*choose a side salad instead of fries OR share them

*say no to mayonnaise on sandwiches - tomatoes, cucumber, olives are all very juicy, you don't need spread

*say no to extra cheese

*avoid cream based salad dressings and get dressing on the side

*choose broth/tomato based soups instead of creamy ones (do the same for pasta)

*remember flavored waters are NOT always zero calorie - choose ones that are

What small stuff do you sweat? I'm sure many of you have little tricks or ideas that can be added to this list and I would truly love to hear them. Please share them with us so we can apply them in our own lives.