It's amazing how one little innocent glass of Chardonnay or Shiraz can do so much damage to your waistline but it can if you don't take care. A small 125ml glass of wine contains around 100 calories - the equivalent of over 10 pounds of pure body fat being added to your body if you have one every day for a year.

Wine won't fill you up and it may even increase your appetite and lower your inhibitions so that you end up eating more than is good for you. Many people find that after a glass or two all caution goes to the wind.

If you do like a glass of wine with dinner then you need to make sure that you only have one and that you eat less or (preferably) exercise more to make up for those extra calories. When you find out you have to jog for an extra 12 -15 minutes a day to make up for each glass you might think twice.

As a compromise you may like to

• have half a glass to enjoy the taste without all the calories
• turn your wine into a spritzer to reduce the overall calories
• save your wine drinking for weekends or special occasions

This is a time to use a quality not quantity principle. Why not treat yourself to better quality wines and sip your glass slowly to get the full enjoyment?

And if you have friends round to share the bottle, remember champagne is no more calories than other wines, yet it's hard to feel that you're deprived and "on a diet" when you have a glass.

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small

About the author:

Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach and author of "The Diet Exit Plan". Request her FREE 15 page report "How to lose weight without dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn't want you to know" at http://www.SimplySlimming.com TODAY!