My granddad used to say, “You probably won’t run from one bee, but you dang sure will run from ten.” His old saying really applies to what I call “one bee” calories. These are calories we hardly ever think about when we are consuming them. Sort of like a single bee buzzing around you. You may swat at it, but mostly you just ignore it.

When I was just starting to lose my weight, I discovered I was consuming an average of 300 “ignored” calories everyday. That’s 2100 unaccounted for calories every week. That was like eating a whole extra day’s worth of calories! These “one bee” calories were enough to make me gain another pound every two weeks!

To have an extra pound show up on your scale you’d need only to consume 1814 calories of high calorie dense foods or as much as 4082 calories of low calorie dense foods.

I discovered most of these unnoticed calories were in condiments. Things like ketchup, mayo or a slice of cheese, different salad dressings or sauces I cooked with. All of these “add on” calories were secretly sabotaging my efforts to lose weight.

OUCH!

For example at dinner, I’d start with a healthy salad and pour some Thousand Island dressing on it, which added 354 calories. I’d eat a piece of meat loaf covered in ketchup and never considered the calories. I was using 10 to 12 servings at one sitting. That was at least another 180 calories. So in just one meal the condiments added up to 534 additional calories! That doesn’t count and jelly I used on my breakfast toast or the Bar B-Q sauce I used at lunch.

It was then I began to see these “one bee” calories as an angry swarm out to sting my weight loss efforts. I knew I had to do one thing… RUN! I started cutting back and discovering healthier alternatives to my normal assortment of condiments. You can too.

Take a look at the “one bees” you are currently ignoring. Check the labels for calories and the serving sizes on all the condiments you use. Then check to see how much you are really using every day. Even if you keep using them and cut the amounts in half it will make a difference in your weight loss efforts.

Some high calorie condiments:

Mayonnaise – 100 calories per tablespoon

Jelly – 50 calories per tablespoon

Barbecue sauce – 95 calories for a ¼ of a cup

Ranch dressing: 150 calories for 2 tablespoons

Some low calorie condiments alternatives:

Hummus instead of mayo – 27 calories per tablespoon

Purée some fresh fruit for jelly like spread – 20 calories per tablespoon

Use yellow mustard – 9 calories per tablespoon

Make your own Ranch – 1 packet of dry Ranch mix, 1 cup yogurt,

1 cup buttermilk – 20 calories for 2 tablespoons

Some high calorie snacks:

Raisins – 50 raisins has 78 calories

2 soda crackers and 1 tsp of peanut butter has 120 calories

A Snickers candy bar (regular size) has 280 calories

8oz bag of Potato Chips has 1242 calories (and 1192 mgs of salt!)

Some low calorie snack alternatives:

Strawberries – 1 cup of halves is 49 calories

10 Wheat Thins crackers – 93 calories

An “Oh Yeah” candy bar (regular size) has 190 calories and 6 grams of protein

8oz bag of POP Chips has 100 calories (and only160 mgs of salt)

Bonus Chain Breaker Tip:

We’ve been conditioned to cover up our food with condiments. So much so that we’ve forgotten what the natural flavors are of what we are eating. For the next week try eating your meals without any condiments. Allow your taste buds to savor the natural taste found in your foods. Who knows, you might like it better without all that stuff on it. If you go back to using condiments cut the portion used in half. Also seek out healthier lower calorie alternatives.

What you believe about yourself… it all comes true.

Believe the best!

Tim 2 Taylor

Author of “Fat As My Dad”

Weight Loss, Health & Fitness Motivational Speaker

www.fatasmydad.com

Here is my related Infographic:

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