I overheard a quote in my circuit class the other day: "You build a strong body in the gym; you build a lean body in the kitchen." And it’s absolutely true. It’s much easier to stop yourself from eating 2 oz of tortilla chips than it is to run for 30 minutes (300 calories in both instances).
Whenever I find that my waistband is getting a little more snug than I’d like, I turn my attention to my diet. I often realize that in addition to not paying as close attention to my portion sizes, one of the mistakes that I’ve been making is not eating enough non-starchy vegetables. A loose definition of Non-Starchy Vegetables are those veggies that grow above the ground. Examples are tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, green beans, summer squash, and peppers.
In addition to vegetables having lots of essential vitamins & minerals, they also have a high water content & lots of fiber; two things that will not only fill up that space in your stomach, but also help you feel satiated.
So add a vegetable to your meal to lose some inches – better yet, make sure you eat it first. Do be careful though, of supplementing vegetables low calorie appeal with added fat by dousing them with butter or salad dressing. It’s okay to add some – just not a lot.