Get a Smaller Waist With 2 Small Changes

Turns out you don't have to completely overhaul your life in order to fit into your jeans better. Researchers recently pinpointed two simple strategies that could help you get a smaller waist.

Part 1: Just walk an extra 500 steps every day. Part 2: Trim a mere 100 calories from one meal each day (that's roughly equivalent to eating one less tablespoon of butter, drinking three fewer sips of soda, or leaving three or four bites at a meal). Pretty simple, right?

Simple Ways to Lose Weight Without Even Trying
In a study, overweight people who were coached to do exactly that ended up doing big favors for their waistlines. Not just because they removed a few extra calories from their day, but because embarking on this simple plan inspired them to make even bigger changes. They turned into overachievers, cutting 300 calories a day from their diets and walking an extra 1,450 steps per day. That translates into shedding about a pound every 10 days or so. And it was their commitment to baby steps that really got the ball rolling. (Get slim quickly and healthfully with the online version of the diet best-seller YOU: On a Diet.)

Slim Down Secrets
Bottom line: If the thought of big change keeps you firmly glued to the couch, think about smaller changes you can make to help your body be healthier. You never know, the "no big deal" approach might be the perfect way to start yourself off in the right direction. And if things snowball from there, so be it, right? Need more help busting through your diet excuses? Try one of these simple ways to lose weight:

• Too hot, too cold, or too dark out? Start this easy walking program in your living room.
• Too hungry? A healthful snack before meals may curb overeating.
• Can't stop the cravings? This incredible edible turns off junk-food cravings all day.