Ok I recently took a trip to Zion National Park (don’t worry, I’ll post the pics in another blog). Anyway Saturday night after arriving and having dinner, we decided to stop by the Sports Bar next to the hotel to find out what happened that day in College football. That was the weekend that Missouri beat Oklahoma, so it was kind of a big day. But that’s not the point.

While I was sitting at the bar watching the games and highlights from the day, a lady from the restaurant next door stopped by to socialize and sell jewelry to the people at the bar. Again not the point. Actually there are two points. One she was really, really fat! Morbidly obese for sure. Now I’m not judging, since I feel that I’m uniquely equipped to help all fat people to lose weight. But here is point two.

While I was watching the games, she got up went behind the bar and poured herself a cup of coffee. She refilled one of those Starbuck’s, largo, grande, super huge (whatever they are called) cups. Again, no big deal.

But then she reached across the bar and grabbed five of those little restaurant half & half containers. And she slowly ripped the top off and poured each one into her coffee. The weird thing is (and I’m staring at her now, there might as well not have been any TV’s on ’cause I can’t stop watching her), a strange calm came over her as she poured each container of half & half into her coffee. It was completely ritualistic, she grabbed each creamer, took the top off of each one, and poured it exactly the same way. It seemed to be happened almost subconsciously. But there’s more…

After she put the five containers of half & half into her coffee she reached across the bar to grab three more. She put eight containers of half & half in her coffee! Now her process caught my attention after she poured the coffee, so I don’t know if she also added sugar. But do you really believe that anyone who adds 8 containers of half & half to their coffee doesn’t also add sweetener?

Here’s my point. This lady’s behavior was so habitual that I’m certain she isn’t even aware of what she is putting in her body. If you were to ask her to write down everything she ate in a day, she’d include the food but not the coffee.

I was so intrigued by watching this behavior that I grabbed a container of half & half before I left the restaurant. I had to know how many calories she added to her coffee. Turns out that each container is 3/8oz. So eight containers is 3oz. of half & half. That is 118 calories. I know that doesn’t sound like much but get this. It was 10pm. Do you really think that was her first cup of coffee that day? Don’t you think that anyone who drinks 20oz. of coffee and 3oz. of half & half at 10pm also starts their day off the same way?

So let’s say she does this twice each day, that’s 236 calories. If she had an additional cup mid-day (just to get through her day), that would be 354 calories. Remember she works in a restaurant so she has access to coffee and those little containers of half & half all the time. Ok I know I’m making some assumptions now, but I’ll make some more to give her the benefit of the doubt…

Let’s assume she exercises daily and each day she consumed perfectly balanced meals with the perfect amount of calories and nutrients to fuel her body. Even if that is true if she has two cups of coffee with half & half each day, she’d gain 24.5 pounds in a year. If she had three cups of coffee each day, she’d gain 36.8 pounds in a year (remember I’m not including any sweetener in these figures). So even if she was living an ideal healthy lifestyle she’d still end up morbidly obese after a couple/several years of adding half & half to her coffee.

Now I know that you’re sitting there reading this saying to yourself, “but I don’t drink coffee” or “I drink my coffee black”. That’s not the point. The point is this lady is completely unaware of the impact that one simple, somewhat subconscious behavior, is having on her health.

What’s important is for you to look at your day and determine if there are any habits that you engage in on a regular bases that result in as little as 236 – 354 empty calories entering your body.

Right now, sitting there the answer is probably no (remember this is habitual and relatively sub-conscious behavior). But pay attention to everything you put into your mouth and see if you can determine the little things that are making losing weight so difficult for you.

Remember it’s the little things that can make a huge difference.

Ok I recently took a trip to Zion National Park (don’t worry, I’ll post the pics in another blog). Anyway Saturday night after arriving and having dinner, we decided to stop by the Sports Bar next to the hotel to find out what happened that day in College football. That was the weekend that Missouri beat Oklahoma, so it was kind of a big day. But that’s not the point.

While I was sitting at the bar watching the games and highlights from the day, a lady from the restaurant next door stopped by to socialize and sell jewelry to the people at the bar. Again not the point. Actually there are two points. One she was really, really fat! Morbidly obese for sure. Now I’m not judging, since I feel that I’m uniquely equipped to help all fat people to lose weight. But here is point two.

While I was watching the games, she got up went behind the bar and poured herself a cup of coffee. She refilled one of those Starbuck’s, largo, grande, super huge (whatever they are called) cups. Again, no big deal.

But then she reached across the bar and grabbed five of those little restaurant half & half containers. And she slowly ripped the top off and poured each one into her coffee. The weird thing is (and I’m staring at her now, there might as well not have been any TV’s on ’cause I can’t stop watching her), a strange calm came over her as she poured each container of half & half into her coffee. It was completely ritualistic, she grabbed each creamer, took the top off of each one, and poured it exactly the same way. It seemed to be happened almost subconsciously. But there’s more…

After she put the five containers of half & half into her coffee she reached across the bar to grab three more. She put eight containers of half & half in her coffee! Now her process caught my attention after she poured the coffee, so I don’t know if she also added sugar. But do you really believe that anyone who adds 8 containers of half & half to their coffee doesn’t also add sweetener?

Here’s my point. This lady’s behavior was so habitual that I’m certain she isn’t even aware of what she is putting in her body. If you were to ask her to write down everything she ate in a day, she’d include the food but not the coffee.

I was so intrigued by watching this behavior that I grabbed a container of half & half before I left the restaurant. I had to know how many calories she added to her coffee. Turns out that each container is 3/8oz. So eight containers is 3oz. of half & half. That is 118 calories. I know that doesn’t sound like much but get this. It was 10pm. Do you really think that was her first cup of coffee that day? Don’t you think that anyone who drinks 20oz. of coffee and 3oz. of half & half at 10pm also starts their day off the same way?

So let’s say she does this twice each day, that’s 236 calories. If she had an additional cup mid-day (just to get through her day), that would be 354 calories. Remember she works in a restaurant so she has access to coffee and those little containers of half & half all the time. Ok I know I’m making some assumptions now, but I’ll make some more to give her the benefit of the doubt…

Let’s assume she exercises daily and each day she consumed perfectly balanced meals with the perfect amount of calories and nutrients to fuel her body. Even if that is true if she has two cups of coffee with half & half each day, she’d gain 24.5 pounds in a year. If she had three cups of coffee each day, she’d gain 36.8 pounds in a year (remember I’m not including any sweetener in these figures). So even if she was living an ideal healthy lifestyle she’d still end up morbidly obese after a couple/several years of adding half & half to her coffee.

Now I know that you’re sitting there reading this saying to yourself, “but I don’t drink coffee” or “I drink my coffee black”. That’s not the point. The point is this lady is completely unaware of the impact that one simple, somewhat subconscious behavior, is having on her health.

What’s important is for you to look at your day and determine if there are any habits that you engage in on a regular bases that result in as little as 236 – 354 empty calories entering your body.

Right now, sitting there the answer is probably no (remember this is habitual and relatively sub-conscious behavior). But pay attention to everything you put into your mouth and see if you can determine the little things that are making losing weight so difficult for you.

Remember it’s the little things that can make a huge difference.