I have a friend who is determined to lose weight and be healthy. She works in the healthcare industry and knows what she needs to do — reduce calories and increase her physical activity.
She had lost 20 pounds since January and was on track with walking every evening, and making healthy choices during the day like eating smaller portions and more fruits and vegetables. She was just shy of her goal of losing 30 pounds total — the amount her doctor had recommended. Then summer came around and she stopped losing weight.
In fact her weight started slowly creeping up just about the time the temperature was rising in June.
“The problem is ice-cream. And all frozen, sweet things. I just crave them in the summer and I really can’t stop myself. I have to have it every day.”
How bad could a little ice-cream be anyhow? I mean you know it’s good for your soul, but how about your body? Why was my friend being so hard on herself for eating ice-cream every day?
After all, it’s summer!
So I did a little research about ice-cream. It turns out it depends on what kind you are eating, but the range, on average, is 150 to 260 calories per serving. Well that doesn’t sound too bad, right? So what’s a serving of ice-cream anyhow?
Here’s where I almost lost it! A half a cup! What? Not in my house it isn’t! ½ a cup is like one tiny little scoop from the tiniest scooper. You know the little balls of ice-cream?
In our house we deal in piles of scoops, as in making a pyramid of scoops in a large bowl. If I handed my crew one little ball of ice-cream they would laugh in my face! It’s really hard to just eat ½ cup of ice-cream. And remember, my friend mentioned that she likes anything sweet and frozen, which means milk shakes, frappes, etc. When I looked at the calories for those delish combinations of my favorite things (coffee and ice-cream) I was aghast! Between 400 and 460 calories, at McDonalds, Starbucks or wherever I looked. 450 calories is almost a third of what I should be consuming for an entire day of meals! I have nothing against any of these products other than the fact that they can be expensive both in price and calories.
So if my friend (or any of us for that matter) is eating bowls of ice-cream, or other frozen sweet treats every day, that does add up to tip her energy balance scale. So what are some other ways we can all get our fix of sweet and frozen, in a healthier low-calorie way to supplement cutting down on ice-cream portions? The solution: Frozen smoothies made with plain yogurt, ice and fruit to sweeten, and frozen fruit treats. Not popsicles or paletas with added sugar, but simple, homemade treats that you stick on a wooden skewer or popsicle stick and place on wax paper or plastic in the freezer at home or work.
These are popular with kids as well and they can help you make them. Grapes, strawberries, bananas, or any fruit you like work great. Another special treat is to make little piles of blueberries or raspberries (my favorite) on wax paper, on a cookie tray. Then glob just a teaspoon of plain yogurt over the blueberries to make little frozen clumps of yummy tart and sweet.
This way you get your servings of fruit for the day, and beat the summer heat, all while satisfying that afternoon and evening craving for something cold and sweet. Save the bowl of ice-cream, and the double chocolate chip Frappuccino for special occasions, and make the healthier, less filling decision to eat frozen fruit because Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta! (Your Health Matters!)
