The Diet Cereal Killer

Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

Healthy, nutritious and delicious - cereal can add pounds to the old rusty weight scales.  

Is that morning robe fitting a bit more snuggly these days? If your morning starts with a bowl of cereal, it may be the culprit of weight gain.  Here's how to ensure that healthy nutrition doesn't explode into your pants, thighs and that morning robe:

All cereal bowls are not created equal. 

Tomorrow morning, fill your cereal bowl as you would normally, then grab the 1-cup measuring cup.  

Next, check the cereal box label to determine the recommended serving size which can be as little as 1/4 cup for granola-type cereals and as much as 1 1/3 cup for some varieties of cornflakes and puffy cereals. Using your measuring cup, measure how much cereal you deposited into your bowl.  

With some cereals containing 200 or more calories per serving, an accidental double-serving can turn those breakfast calories into a T-bone steak meal or even a pack of Hostess Ding Dongs weighing in at 368 calories per serving.

If you discover that your bowl holds more than you thought, try switching to a smaller cereal bowl.  Better yet, stick the measuring cup into the box and you'll always know exactly how much cereal you are eating.

All cow juice is not created equal. 

The grade of milk that you drown the cereal with can also pack on unwanted pounds - particularly if you're using more milk than the cereal box label recommends.  Whole milk weighs in at 160 calories per cup vs skim milk which contains 1/2 the calories.  If you can't cozy up to skim, try 2% then after a week graduate to 1% and then try the skim OR stick with the 2% or 1% which is a healthier Diet Deal for your Calorie Buck. The recommended serving for milk on cereal labels is generally 1/2 cup.

Labels Provide Great Diet Guidance

The cereal box Nutrition Facts:

- lists the calories in the serving of cereal

- recommends the type of milk to eat with the cereal plus the total calories

- lists other valuable nutrition information such as fiber content and fat grams

Sugar Ant Warning

Another pound-adding technique involves sugar lovers who can't help but add more sugar onto their pre-sweetened cereal.  If cereal is pre-sweetened, try to refrain by slowing cutting back on the added sugar - a similar technique that we illustrated with the milk above.  For unsweetened cereal, a teaspoon or two of sugar will do.  Or, try adding a bit of no calorie sweetener.

Cereal & Snack Time While Dieting

A serving of dry cereal makes a nutritious snack and is all the rage where college students are concerned.  However, it's wise to grab that measuring cup rather than eating from the box as calories add up quickly when in comes to cereal.

Calories in Cold Cereals

How many calories in cereal?  Here are just a few, based on 1 cup serving size unless noted.

In Summary

Don't become a victim of the Cereal Diet Killer. Ensure recommended serving size, use low fat, skim or fat free milk and when eating pre-sweetened cereal, don't become a sugar ant by adding more.

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