Lose Weight the Easy Way

Significant weight loss doesn’t always require huge changes. In fact, sometimes just a few simple modifications can make a huge difference in the way those jeans fit. Read on for tips from nutritionist Joy Bauer, author of Joy Bauer's Food Cures: Treat Common Health Concerns, Look Younger & Live Longer, about how you can slash calories and start shedding pounds today!

1. Skip the salad dressing. Try, instead, splashing veggies with plain balsamic or red vinegar, or fresh lemon. If you are not quite ready to take that step, try a low-calorie version of your favorite topping. Look for no more than 50 calories per two tablespoons. You will save a whopping 400 calories per salad!

2. Swap whole milk for skim milk. By switching your one daily cup of the full-fat version with the fat-free stuff, you’ll save 2,450 calories and drop nearly one pound at the end of five weeks.

3. Munch on open-faced sandwiches. If, for five weeks, you omit the top slice of bread on your sandwich, you will save about 80 calories per sandwich. Eat a sandwich a day? Then, you will be saving 2,800 calories and lose about 3/4 pound in five weeks.

4. Stop rushing! Taking time to enjoy a meal means you eat about 60 fewer calories per meal. If you kept that nice and easy pace for all three meals, you would save 6,300 calories at the end of five weeks which translates to a two-pound weight loss.

5. Drink more water. Cut 250 liquid calories out of each day and you will save 8,750 calories and lose about two-and-a-half pounds.

What about you? What small changes have you made that yielded big results? [TODAY Show]