Cut 500 calories a day to lose 1lb a week easily.

Eating with intention and awareness call September 9th at 8:30pm ET. It's free. The topic is "Having it all" email rsvp@intensati.com for the dial in number!

3500 calories = 1lb. If you want to lose 1lb a week you have to cut 3500 calories a week or 500 a day.

We can all be enticed by the promise of losing weight fast with quick fixes or extreme diets but the real challenge is to redesign your daily habits so you have a long term transformation instead of the typical ups and downs. This approach is not very appealing because by the time we get to the point the we are fed up and want to lose weight and lose it quick! At this point losing 1lb a week doesn't sound like very appealing, especially if you want to lose a significant amount of weight. But if you are tired of going up and down and ready to make long lasting changes, slow and steady is the answer.

Why I like this approach is because if you take the time to slowly redesign your habits your body will not go into panic mode. If you are used to eating 3000 calories a day and you drop it to 1500 calories all of a sudden your body will react by slowing down your metabolism because it is not getting the excess it is used to.

Look for ways to cut 500 calories from you daily intake of calories. Remember every bite that goes into your mouth counts whether it is off your plate or someone else's, whether you are eating it or drinking it, standing or sitting down or you enjoy it or not! There is a consequence to every thing you put in your mouth. Take your time, eat with intention and awareness and make it fun to look for the extra calories to cut.

Some ways to cut the calories

1. Look for empty calories in your drinks. Soda, juice, sports drinks, alcohol. If you have any of these items in your diet start here! If you drink 2 20 oz bottles of soda a day you are already up to 250-275 cals. Cut this and lose a lb of fat a week!

2. Do you drink or eat dairy products. If you are not using skim milk but 2% or whole milk you can significantly cut calories here. Change your yogurt, milk in your cereal, coffee and cheese to non fat.

3. Look at your portions. If you usually have a large portion of protein and fewer vegetables reverse the portions. Increase your vegetables and decrease your protein to 3-4 oz. This shift will help you decrease the calories, increase fiber, vitamins, minerals and phyto nutrients that are only available in vegetables. If you eat normally eat the skin of the chicken breast take it off and you cut the calories almost in half. With the skin a 40z chicken breast is about 340 cal and without it is about 140.

These are just a few ideas. Take a look at your own diet and see where you can easily begin to trim those 500 calories. If you have been keeping a food journal go back and take a look at it and see where you can shave those extra calories. Make it fun! Be a detective all in the name of love!

My Food for today. I left this morning without having breakfast! Not a good idea when I am on the road, hungry and looking for something healthy to eat. Note to self, be prepared, eat breakfast or pack a snack!

Breakfast on the road choice, a corn muffin

Lunch salad of greens, 1/4 avocado, cabbage, arugula, mixed greens, tabouli salad with olive oil. 1 cup of nonfat greek yogurt with a teaspoon of agave and a teaspoon of raw cacao nibs

Dinner 3 oz of salmon, salad of greens, tomatoes and beans, a tablespoon of brown rice, olive oil dressing.

Water 16 oz

Workout 1 hour weight training

lost 3.5 lbs feeling good. Slowly but surely.

Where can you cut your 500 calories tomorrow? What did you eat today?