25 Ways To Cut 250 Calories - 1 to 10

Despite what marketers and diet sites may tell you, losing weight isn't easy -- if it were, we wouldn't be sucking in our muffin tops while zipping up our pencil skirts. But you can make weight loss easier with these clever bite-sized strategies to burn more calories and consume fewer of them -- without your stomach noticing!

All exercise calorie counts based on a 140-pound woman.

1. Rethink Happy Hour

Instead of hitting a bar on Friday, schedule a dash-and-drink date with a girlfriend, says New York City-based personal trainer Missy Paris. After burning 222 calories during a half-hour jog, head back to your place or hers and pour yourself a 5-ounce glass of wine. According to a study by the Alcohol Research Group, most bartenders pour 6.2 ounces of red or white, and that little difference saves another 29 calories.

2. Better Your Breakfast Sandwich

Picking up a handheld morning meal to go is fine, but ignore the call of that sausage, egg, and cheese -- the egg whites and veggies wrap will look better on your thighs.

3. Have A Dance Party Of One

Celebrate a good day or bust out of a funk from a bad one by shaking your thing all around your house to your favorite music for 45 minutes. Goodbye 284 calories, hello brighter mood and sexier body.

4. Slurp The Right Soup

Instead of an entire can of clam chowder with oyster crackers, opt for 1 cup of chicken noodle soup with a side salad topped with lots of vegetables and 1 teaspoon oil mixed with 1 teaspoon vinegar. You'll cut back on bloat-inducing sodium to boot.

5. Do Hard Labor

Turn everyday yard work into a workout: Use a push mower, lift heavy bags of mulch, work the wheelbarrow, pull the hose around, and yank weeds or plant flowers. Constantly moving outside will burn 258 calories in 45 minutes, says Portland-based personal trainer Natalie Wessel.

6. App It Up

Make your go-to restaurant dinner two non-fried appetizers instead of one main dish, says New York City-based registered dietitian Ilyse Schapiro.

7. Get Off The Couch 

While watching your favorite hour-long TV show, do this circuit from Los Angeles fitness expert Juliet Kaska. Perform each exercise for 1 minute, and repeat the circuit six times:

· March in place (as fast as possible)

· Sit-ups (as many as possible)

· Jump rope (as fast as possible)

· Pushups (as many as possible)

· Jumping jacks (as many as possible)

8. Slim Your Sammie

Schapiro uses this trick to cut 250 calories from a deli sandwich: Remove half the meat (it's usually piled with two servings worth, she says) and smear on 1 tablespoon of hummus instead of layering two slices of cheese, or spread on mustard instead of mayo.

9. Shop Till You Drop

Hit the supermarket to pick up your weekly groceries (45 minutes of shopping works off 113 calories), then head home and whip up that recipe you've wanted to try. Cooking for an hour torches an additional 168 calories -- just resist tasting!

10. Adjust Your Java

A grande pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks is 310 calories before you add whipped cream -- and it's only available in the fall. Treat yourself year-round and save 250 calories by ordering a tall nonfat caffè misto, and then sprinkling on some nutmeg and cinnamon at the counter to add that seasonal sweetness. Or ask for an espresso con panna: It's a shot of espresso topped with whipped cream for just 30 calories.

By Jessica Girdwain for Shape.com