Guest Author - Kris Bigalk

Over the past year, I've lost thirty-five pounds of baby weight. Here are some of the steps I took to cut calories. To find out more about calorie counting, and how many calories you need to cut to lose weight safely, see the link at the end of the article.

1. Drink only non-calorie liquids with no sweeteners (regular or artificial)
Examples include coffee and tea (caffeinated and decaf), and water (carbonated and flavored with no sweeteners). Recent research has shown that women who drink diet sodas and other artificially sweetened products actually gained weight.

2. Limit high-fat dairy products (cheese, ice cream, etc) to one serving per day.
It may do a body good, but it does a body better if it's skim or low-fat. You may have noticed cheese is in everything from pizza crusts to snack crackers, and it's always a calorie booster. Cutting out or avoiding high-fat dairy can cut calories fast, but remember—you can't substitute more low-fat dairy for the high-fat you're cutting out. Make it an equal amount.

3. Eat pre-packaged low-calorie frozen meals to keep track of calories more easily.
This is an easy way to diet, since we twin moms can usually spare 3-4 minutes to microwave ourselves a Lean Cuisine meal.

4. Don't eat every time your babies eat (don't eat your babies' leftovers).
You're not wasting food if you throw out your babies' leftovers. If you eat their food, you are sending it straight to your own waist. So if you're serious about losing weight, don't eat their food. Leave the fishy crackers and graham cracker bears for the kids.

5. Eliminate deep-fried foods from your diet.
It's amazing how many calories are added to any food product when it is deep-fried, or even pan-fried. Bake, broil, boil, or roast – these methods of cooking don't add extra calories.

6. Eat one vegetarian, low-starch meal each day.
If you try to fill 75% of your plate with low-starch veggies for one meal a day, you will probably lose weight. Fix yourself a big salad with low-cal dressing, or prepare some frozen veggies and season them with low-cal seasonings.

7. Buy snacks in 100-calorie packs; this helps control portions for the whole family.
Yes, they're more expensive this way. But you have to set priorities – is it more important to have more snacks that will make everyone heavier, or more important to have portion control so you and your family can maintain a healthy weight?

8. Have a "soup and salad" lunch each day.
One easy, fast lunch is soup and salad. Stick to broth-based or tomato-based soups that contain at least some veggies. You can buy some excellent frozen soups, or some quick microwavable sippable cans. For the salad, just pick up some premixed greens, pour in a bowl, and add dressing.

9. Make breakfast your biggest meal, and get your groove on afterwards.
Eat a balanced, nutritious breakfast, and within 20 minutes of eating, get some exercise. Clean up the living room, dance with your twins to the Barney show, or do some laundry. You'll get a double metabolism boost from eating and then exercising right away, and it will keep you energized throughout the day.

10. Don't vary your diet too much.
Recent research has shown that people who eat a large variety of foods tend to gain weight more quickly than people who eat the same thing every day. So, there's something to be said for monotony – it also makes it easier to grocery shop.