Are you like me and already thinking of a New Year’s resolution of losing weight and getting fit?  I was doing great until the holidays with all the extra treats that are so readily available and my lack of willpower to avoid them.  This morning I just read a very good article by Marianne Carter – she writes a weekly column for the News Journal.  Marianne talks about all the little bites we consume during the day and how they add up very quickly.  A real eye opener for me!  Here is Marianne’s article:

Sometimes it’s the little things that end up sabotaging our weight loss efforts.

Alice Henneman, a registered dietitian with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, proves that point in her piece, “Little Tastes Can Add Up to BIG Calories Over the Winter Holidays.”

Henneman follows “Holly” throughout her day, and calculates all of the “tiny tastes” she takes in a one-day period. Her point? Those extra calories quickly add up.

Holly starts her day by baking cookies before work — one cookie breaks during the process, so she eats the portion that didn’t get crumbled — 30 calories.

At work, there’s peanut brittle brought in by a co-worker — one small piece can’t hurt anything, can it? Add another 80 “extra” calories.

A quick trip to the grocery store over lunch provides an opportunity for a free food and drink sample — she’s hungry, so Holly adds another 60 calories to her day’s intake.

Back at work, chocolate-covered cherries have appeared in the break room — there’s another 60 calories for one.

Off to a dinner party — a few chips and dip add 75 calories, and who can resist half a glass of holiday eggnog? Here comes another 200 calories.

It’s a shame to leave those 2 tablespoons of candied sweet potatoes in the bowl so Holly finishes them up, and takes in 60 calories.

Peppermint ice cream is being served for dessert. She passes, but then decides to have a “taste,” which contributes another 70 calories.

While it may not seem like a lot, these “tiny tastes” add up to 635 calories for this particular day — and that’s on top of the regular meals and snacks that provide Holly with what she needs to maintain her weight.

These extra calories, if consumed on a daily basis over the holidays, can easily contribute to a pound of weight gain per week during the holiday season. Tiny tastes add up quickly throughout the week to total the 3,500 extra calories needed to gain a pound.

And it’s not just a problem during the holiday season. Tiny tastes can add up quickly at other times, as well.

The calorie balance needed to maintain weight can easily be nudged to an imbalance when you add the little extras that can come into play during the course of a day.

Hennenman provides additional examples — that “little bit” of orange juice left in the carton, the extra bit of cereal in the bottom of the box, the piece of chocolate from your co-worker’s candy dish, the sliver of birthday cake from the break room, the macaroni-and-cheese you “taste” while preparing.

Remember that all it takes for you to gain 10 pounds in a year is to consistently eat 100 “extra” calories per day.

In the same way, a calorie reduction of 100 per day can lead to weight loss of 10 pounds per year. Perhaps paying attention to the “tiny tastes” throughout your day can provide you with a place to start.