Fine-Tuning Your Exercise Program

If you haven't been exercising, starting a safe, doctor-approved program will really help you lose weight faster and more effectively. If you have been exercising, you will want to fine-tune your efforts so that your eating and exercise plans will work together to help you lose weight and keep it off. For most people, a balanced exercise plan should include cardio, which gets your heart rate up to burn calories and improve your cardiovascular system; strength training, which works your muscles to, obviously, strengthen them and build them up so that you burn more calories even at rest; and flexibility exercises, like yoga, stretching and Pilates, which keep you limber and youthful as you're building muscle. I used to focus so much on cardio that I ignored the other two areas, but as I began to lose weight, I saw the value in the three-pronged approach.

An average week of exercise for me looks like this:

Monday--one hour of spinning (LOVE this cardio option as it's non weight-bearing and simply incinerates calories)
Tuesday--50-minute flexibility and tone yoga or Pilates tape
Wednesday--one hour Cardio Muscle class at the gym to burn calories and build muscle strength
Thursday--one hour of spinning
Friday--one hour of Cardio Muscle
Saturday--90-minute outdoor run
Sunday--60-to-90-minute walk with running intervals

That may sound like a lot of exercise to some, but for me, it just feels off to start my day with a workout. Keep in mind that this isn't a rigid plan; some days my schedule keeps me from doing any exercise. (Case in point: I spent 12 hours at Disneyland yesterday and did no formal exercise, but burned PLENTY of calories.)

My point in telling you about my exercise schedule is to show you how I VARY what I do in a week. I don't run everyday because that could tax my joints. I don't spin everyday because I could easily burn out on that. I like throwing in the yoga or Pilates to mix things up. This schedule helps keep me from getting bored or injured, and I welcome the opportunity to try something new as well.

Keep the balanced philosophy in mind for your own exercise regimen--if you try to do too much of one thing, you could get tired of it or even hurt yourself. So try a little variety, and you'll be more likely to stick to it.

Next post: Beware the 1,000-calorie salad!

What I've Learned About Exercise

I've been exercising regularly for 23 years, so I've gone through and ridden out all of the phases, from straight aerobics classes, to cardio kickboxing (still one of my favorites) to Bosu and everything in between. Last year, I started running, which is still amazing to me because I NEVER was a runner. Here's how it started: My husband and I started walking in our neighborhood regularly on the weekends. We used to huff and puff up the hills--and there are many of them where we live--but after several months, we noticed the hills were getting easier. As we lost weight, we were able to walk for longer stretches and take the hills even more easily. Once I had lost about 20 lbs., I was craving more of a challenge to get my heart rate and calorie burn up, so I began to add running intervals halfway up the "big hill" near our house. I'd run to the top, do a little loop until my husband caught up with me, and then we'd continue to walk home.

A few months into this routine, we started taking our daughters out for bike rides--they on the bikes, us on foot since we were teaching our youngest to ride. Well, one of us had to keep up with our older daughter, so that turned out to be me. I found myself running to keep up with her, which made me think, "Hey, I'm running! And I'm not getting tired!" I told this to a good friend, who asked me if I'd be interested in running with her on occasion, since she was training for a 5K. Before long, she had me signed up for the 5K, which I loved doing so much that I did another one a few months ago and am toying with the idea of doing a half marathon in November. Last Saturday, we ran over 8 miles, which astonishes me. Another five and we'd have run the half!

My point is that you shouldn't count yourself out of any goal that you really want. If you take small steps to get there and don't give up, you'll eventually make it. Stick to your smart eating plan, stick to your exercise, and you'll get there--I promise!

Next post: Fine-turning your exercise program

A Few of My Weight-Loss Tricks

As I went through my weight-loss journey, I instinctively changed what I was doing in order to keep the scale inching downward. First, of course, was portion control, followed by upping the fruits and veggies, adding fiber-filled foods, lots of water, muscle-building workouts (because muscle burns lots of calories), etc. Here are a few other things I learned along the way.

1. Look for creative ways to reduce those starchy, refined carbs. Oroweat has come out with a great new product called Sandwich Thins. Whole grain, 5g of fiber (wow!) and only 100 calories each, they're like hamburger buns without all the extra dough. If this is too big a stretch for you, try switching from bagels to bialys and you'll be saving nearly half the calories.

2. Share! Especially when eating in restaurants, this friendly trick allows you to taste, but will prevent you from overindulging.

3. When staring down that cheesecake you really shouldn't have, stop and tell yourself you know what it tastes like--after all, you've had cheesecake before. Do you really need or want it? And if the answer is yes, just have a few bites or a tiny sliver (cheesecake is rich!). And enjoy it!

4. Buy fruits and vegetables in season. They're cheaper, fresher and taste better. You'll never get bored with produce because you'll always be varying your menu. Last night I made a wonderful tomato and peach salad I found in the most recent issue of "Food Network Magazine," made with tomatoes I'd grown myself (how Martha Stewart of me!): Top wedges of tomatoes and peaches with a splash of cider vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sugar. Toss and serve.

5. Add small amounts of fattier, richer foods to your low-cal meals. For example, grate cheese or cut it into tiny chunks before you add it to a salad or atop a bowl of soup. Throw some walnuts into your chicken or tuna salad (chop them up first and you'll get more taste with fewer calories).

There's more, but these should get you started.

Tips for the Night Binger

Do you like to eat at night? Is your day so jammed with activity that you just need to unwind at the end of it with a nice crisp bag of chips, or a few of those yummy soft-baked chocolate chunk cookies? Whether you're a 9-to-5-er or a mom on the go, nighttime can be a dangerous time for many people's diets. Busy people often don't have the time to fix themselves proper meals during the day, so they save up all their eating for nighttime. In fact, using food as a reward for a difficult day or as a stress reliever is quite common. It can feel very soothing to sit down (or stand at the fridge) and eat that sweet, salty, savory, creamy or crunchy snack. Maybe you're the type of eater who likes to snack while watching TV, reading, talking on the phone or answering emails. I remember when I was first married I used to crave a nice chunk of fresh challah bread after dinner on a Friday night, even though I'd just eaten a full meal!

Part of the reason we eat at night is the emotional connection we have with food. The challenge is to break that cycle by seeing food as nourishing, but not a "reward." If you don't eat regular meals during the day, then by the time you get to your "down time" at night, you're probably ravenously hungry and will grab anything that's in front of you. And that's not controlled eating. When you allow yourself to get that hungry, you're no longer in charge--your cravings, your emotions and the physical discomfort of being hungry are in charge. That spells danger!

I suggest breaking that cycle by setting up a healthy eating pattern for yourself. Instead of binging at night, use that time to organize your meals and snacks for the next day. Prepare a large salad or pot of soup to portion off for lunches. Set the table with a bowl, spoon, glass and a box of your morning cereal, ready to go for breakfast. "Prepackage" containers or baggies of fruit, or even set a big bowl of washed, whole fruit in the fridge where you can see it and grab an apple or a peach quickly and easily. (Now that it's summer, I keep a bowl of washed fresh cherries front and center in the fridge--so delicious!) Spoon yogurt into a small bowl or container, top it with a few nuts or a sprinkling of granola, and cover; keep in the fridge. Keep bananas on hand for snacking or slicing onto salads. The point is to set yourself up for success--not failure.

Finally, find other ways to reward yourself at the end of a hard day: take a bubble bath, read a good book or watch that show on the DVR (without the chips on the side), call a friend, exercise, do yoga or meditate. The point is to break your connection with food as "medication" for stress or whatever isn't going right in your life. Then step on the scale and watch those pounds start to melt away.

The Skinny on Protein

In my fridge right now are: a four-ounce portion of leftover teriyaki-marinated grilled chuck steak; two pieces of leftover baked, skinless chicken (coated in beaten egg and crushed cornflakes and topped with a drizzle of honey and a spritz of cooking spray before baking); a large container of fat-free plain yogurt; and a couple of containers of vanilla low-fat soy milk, among other things. Each of these items represents the kind of lean protein I'm advocating you eat to lose weight. Protein is a highly important component of a healthy eating plan. It is crucial to cellular health (particularly red blood cells) and is necessary for building muscle, bone, tendon and ligaments. Most of us get enough protein each day, but I'm more concerned about the type of protein you're getting.

For me, the type of protein that best supported my weight-loss efforts was lean or low-fat protein, in combination with a small amount of healthy fats and high-fiber carbohydrates. For example, a meal of 4-6 oz. of cold poached salmon with a dollop of homemade dill sauce (a teaspoon each of fat-free sour cream, low-fat mayo and horseradish, mixed with a sprinkling of dried or chopped fresh dill), a salad tossed with a tablespoon of olive-oil and balsamic-vinegar dressing, and a slice of whole-grain bread would have it all. Plus, the salmon has healthy omega 3 fatty acids--a bonus!

Yogurt is a great source of protein. Opt for fat-free plain yogurt that you flavor yourself to avoid excess sugar and additives. One of my favorite snacks is fat-free plain yogurt flavored with honey, with a sliced banana and a few walnut pieces on top. It's perfect for after my strength-training workouts to support muscle building.

Believe it or not, peanut butter is another great protein source. Yes, it's high in fat and calories, so you must be careful about portion sizes (no more than 2 tablespoons for a meal; no more than 1 tablespoon for a snack), but it's a nutritional powerhouse, especially when paired with a sliced apple for a snack, or on whole-wheat bread with sliced fruit for a meal. Nut butters have plenty of healthful mono-unsaturated fats, too, so do include them in your diet if you're not allergic!

Next post: Tips for the night binger. (And take a look at my other post from today, which tells my full weight-loss story.)

My Full Story

How I Lost 25 Pounds and Kept it Off

I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I hadn’t been unhappy with my weight. Always a petite girl, I had a much bigger appetite than my small frame could handle and remain svelte. It’s not that I was obese, by any means, but I was always on the chubby side and unhappy with what I saw in the mirror and in photographs. At any given time, I was probably at least 10-15 lbs. over my ideal weight.

When I was 6 years old, I had gained “too much weight in one year,” according to my pediatrician, so he put me on a diet: skim milk, no bread and no sweets. It was extremely restricting and scarring for a child that young, especially since I had a slim older sister who could eat all the Pepperidge Farm cookies she wanted and never gain an ounce. My mother forced me to adhere to the strict regimen, and I took little packets of sliced roast beef and raw veggies to school for lunch while the other kids were eating delicious-looking sandwiches and snack cakes. Talk about depressing!

I instantly developed a strong dislike for my parents’ bathroom scale, on which my mother weighed me every Saturday morning. That contraption would always betray me, and it was stingy with good news. Is it any wonder that I refused to own a scale for the next 37 years? As an adult, when I went to the doctor and couldn’t avoid getting weighed, I became strategic: I wore the lightest-weight clothing possible and took off my shoes, giving myself the best possible advantage. But those scales betrayed me, too. I rarely was happy with the number, but didn’t know what in the world I could do about it. After all, I exercised nearly every day—good, long, hard cardio workouts with the occasional weight-training class—and ate the right foods: a good, healthy, balanced diet, I thought. So why did the scale refuse to budge?

Clothes shopping was always an emotionally fraught experience for me. I didn’t like the way most clothing fit me, and I would practically break down in tears in the dressing room at times. In addition to being short and having a tendency to gain weight around my mid-section, I was short-waisted and big-busted—not a prescription for looking sleek and elegant, which I craved. On top of that, I had no idea how to dress my body type to its accent my best features and downplay those I didn’t like.

After I got married, I almost immediately gained 10 lbs. I was happy, cooking for my husband and making the lifestyle switch from working full-time in New York City to freelance writing from home. The weight crept on, and even after having two babies and quickly taking the pregnancy weight off both times, my weight still stuck at a number that was 10 pounds higher than what my driver’s license decreed.

And exercise? I tried and stuck with it all: step aerobics, kickboxing, Tae Bo, “walking” tapes, outdoor walking, spinning. I enjoyed them, but still the weight stayed on.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally got my act together. First, the TV show “What Not to Wear” came on the air, and I watched it faithfully each week, gaining tips on how to accentuate a waist to make it look smaller and why horizontal stripes are the worst pattern choice for people who want to look slimmer. So my wardrobe improved. But I still wasn’t all that happy with the way I looked and felt.

Then, a couple of years ago, that all changed. My sister-in-law, who was quite heavy at the time and had tried—successfully and ultimately unsuccessfully—to lose weight, underwent gastric bypass surgery. Several weeks after the procedure, I spoke to her on the phone and she told me the weight was practically melting off, mostly because the surgery makes it impossible to overeat—you simply have no room to put the extra food, and if you do try to eat it, you won’t keep it down for long. A lightbulb went on over my head: eat less=weigh less. Simple, right?
I began to slash my portion sizes. No more second helpings, and I ate half the amount of what I ate before. Employing some behavior-modification techniques I had learned years before, I used smaller bowls, spoons and dishes to help me feel like I wasn’t depriving myself. I drank lots of water, and bought myself a digital scale (much to my husband’s chagrin). I weighed myself every morning, needing to see the results of my efforts—I needed the scale in order to be accountable for what I ate. And guess what? Ten pounds came off in about two months like magic. I loved the way that felt. I also loved the compliments I was beginning to get from my friends and family. But I wasn’t ready to stop yet.

Along with lowering portion sizes, I began to modify my diet, incorporating all the sound weight-loss techniques I had heard and seen over many years of paying attention to the subject. I ate lots of fruit and vegetables—being careful about the amounts of dried and higher-calorie fruits I ate, like dates, prunes and bananas. I also began to eat lots of fish—broiled, grilled, poached or sautéed—and lean protein like chicken, turkey, Egg Beaters and fat-free yogurt. (One of my favorite lunches may not appeal to most people, but I absolutely LOVE herring in wine sauce and eat it with fresh veggies—at least two or three kinds—and hummus on Wasa crackers.) I watched my fat and calorie intake, but didn’t go crazy buying “low-fat” foods. I ate judicious portions of nuts, seeds, nut butters and whole grains. I made sure I ate at least two servings of fruit per day. The one food category that I tried to avoid as much as possible is starchy, refined carbs such as white bread, pasta and crackers. I also limited sweets, but found I was satisfied with a bite or two of something sweet, rather than an entire big piece or bowl of it. Shazaam! Another 10 lbs. was gone three months later. Now I was getting compliments from not just friends and family, but acquaintances—even people I saw all the time at the gym or at my daughters’ school but had never spoken to were coming up to me to tell me how great I looked. What a fantastic feeling that was!

At this point, I had a number in my head—a final goal—that I was trying to reach. It wasn’t easy, and it took another few months to reach that goal, with lots of plateaus along the way, but I finally did reach it: a total of 25 lbs. lost. Now I’ll admit, those final two or three lbs. were really vanity pounds—I wanted to be able to say that I had lost 25 lbs., and I wanted to be a certain number. But in reality, my weight fluctuates between that low number and three lbs. higher. And that’s OK. I think that’s really where my body wants to be. I still like the way I look and feel, and I still like the way clothes look on me.

Speaking of clothes, after the first 10-lb. loss, I was amazed at how well clothes were beginning to look on me. Pretty soon, I could no longer wear the jeans I’d been wearing for years—they were hanging off me! I now loved going clothes shopping and was shocked when I saw how low the sizes were on the clothes that fit. I loved what I saw in the mirror, too—and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that way.

Oh, and my husband—the one who didn’t want me to buy the scale—has lost 20 lbs. eating more or less the way I do, and kind of by default because that’s the way I cook now. And he weighs himself every morning, too. He also walks with me on weekends (and catches up to me when I add in sprints and running intervals), and his fitness level has improved dramatically, as well.
In fact, the greatest change for me has been in my fitness level. I started doing spinning classes about five years ago, but when I started losing the weight, I noticed I was able to push harder and stronger through the classes. Even though I’d exercised for years, I never used to run or think of myself as an athlete. But this year I’ve run two 5Ks—coming in at a respectable under-9-minute mile in each—and am considering training for a half-marathon (although I think I’ll tackle a 10K first). This is the same girl who used to get side cramps before running a mile and who got excused from running in gym class. That same girl is thinking about running a half-marathon at age 45?! Preposterous!

As for maintenance, I stick to my weight-loss plan 95% of the time, but I do allow myself a few more healthy calories and a full (small) serving of a treat every now and then. Because I continue to weigh myself every day, I know when it’s time to cut back and when I can allow myself an indulgence, and I don’t get upset if I gain a pound—just cut back the next day, maybe work out a little harder to burn extra calories. Remember: this way of eating is not about deprivation, it’s about learning to manage your weight, just like you’d learn to manage your budget. And I believe anyone can do it.

So to all the people who think the losing weight battle is simply a losing battle, I say don’t give in to that negative thinking. You can do it! But first you need to get real with yourself about your health and fitness goals, your weight, your diet and your exercise habits. There’s no other smart way to lose weight and keep it off. It starts with the first step. Good luck!

Tasty Ways to Eat Your Vegetables

I know that veggies may not always seem appealing. They used to strike me as rather boring and not very satisfying. But since I have to serve veggies to my kids, and since I know I need to eat them myself, I figured out some new ways of getting those vegetable servings in that don't leave everybody yawning.

Of course there are scads of delicious salads that you can throw together in a pinch--or right now, in hot weather--for a quick, colorful meal that's chock full of vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and all the other goodies I keep talking about. Try tossing some fruit in with the veggies to add a new dimension--cubed apples, peaches, dried cranberries and mandarin oranges are some great choices. I also love to throw in some chopped walnuts or pecans--not too many!--for protein, crunch and even more fiber, plus they make the salad taste richer.

Beyond salads, try making your own fresh salsas. You can start with the basic--chopped tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and lime juice--then get creative. A dear friend of mine made a delicious salsa the other day with chopped mango, strawberries, red onion, cilantro and lemon juice. Perfection! She also makes outstanding homemade white bean dip, made with canned cannelini beans, whirred in a food processor with olive oil, garlic, parsley or basil. Serve with whole wheat pita chips. Of course, an excellent "stealth" veggie dish is hummus, which you can buy prepared or make yourself with canned chick peas, olive oil, tahini, garlic, parsley and seasonings--this is great with any kind of raw veggies, so you're getting two for one, plus extra protein, with this one.

One of my favorite ways to prepare cooked veggies is roasting them. This works with just about any vegetable you can think of, but my favorites are carrots, onions, potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and asparagus. I'll often make a roasted veggie medley to go with roast chicken. It's so easy! Just cut the veggies into 2-inch chunks and place on a baking sheet or roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Spray the veggies with more cooking spray, sprinkle with salt and pepper (and paprika, if they're pale veggies like potatoes) and roast in a 425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes (adjust the time as needed according to the density of the vegetable--asparagus only needs about 10 minutes). They're so good and versatile!

On another subject, here's a tip if you're still getting used to gauging the right portion sizes. Go to http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-portion-size-plate for some great portion-control tools. Next post: The skinny on lean protein.

How the Right Foods are Like Rocket Fuel in Your Body

We speak a lot about losing weight, but there are other benefits to following a healthy eating plan. When you're eating all the right foods in the right amounts, it's amazing how your body responds. You have more energy, sleep better, exercise better, your skin glows and you're in a much better mood, for starters. The right foods--fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, nuts, seeds, water--DO act like rocket fuel for your body. Just like exercise releases endorphins, I've noticed that healthful food can have a similar effect. Of course, combine the two and there's no stopping you!

When people ask me how I lost 25 lbs. and kept it off for over a year, I tell them that I changed my whole way of looking at food. I used to think about food in terms of what I could "get away with" eating without gaining weight. Now, I look at how best to nourish my body: Have I had a good balance of nutrients for the day? Do I need more water? Did I eat at least two servings of fruit today? Did I eat a colorful variety of produce? Did I eat enough protein--walnuts, yogurt, fish, chicken, soy milk--to support muscle-building from the Cardio Muscle class I took this morning? Of course, within these questions are questions of satisfying my cravings: crunchy, sweet, creamy, salty. And I can do this by eating a good variety of the right foods. You can, too!

Speaking of the right foods, here's a good tip: If you're on the go and struggling to fit in your daily servings of fruit, stock up on Brothers-all-natural fruit crisps (www.brothersallnatural.com). They're simply slices of fresh fruit that have been dried into crisps (no preservatives), and they're really tasty. They come in a variety of flavors including Fuji Apple, Strawberry-Banana, Pineapple-Banana, Asian Pear, White and Yellow Peach and Strawberry.

Next post: Tasty ways to eat your vegetables! And keep an eye out for the complete story of how I lost 25 lbs. and have kept it off for over a year.

Why I Don't Believe in Diets

Diets do work, just not for the long term. Believe me, I've tried 'em--a whole bunch, from the tuna and roast beef diet to Pritikin (way back when)--and I've lost weight on some of them. But the weight always came back. Why? Diets are not meant for or feasible for the long term. They are restrictive, usually boring and hard to stick to for any length of time. And if you do manage to stick to them, eventually you will go off them and gain back the weight. At that point, it'll be even harder to lose the weight, psychologically and physiologically. So I don't advocate dieting. Instead, I prefer to be educated about what food does to my body and make choices and changes in my eating habits that will be beneficial rather than depriving and punishing. There's no need to deprive yourself when there's a wealth of delicious and healthful food choices at your disposal. A successful eating and weight-loss plan will include a large variety of foods that offer different nutritional benefits for your body and keep you feeling satiated and happy. Food is meant to nourish us, not torture us.

To wit, here's my recipe for Back Bean Salsa. It's so simple a child could make it, yet it's packed with vitamins, fiber and flavor. Stir together one can of black beans, drained and rinsed; one can of diced tomatoes, drained; and 1/4 cup of your favorite jarred or homemade salsa. (You can use low-sodium canned goods if you prefer.) Add chopped cilantro, minced jalapenos and a squeeze of lime juice if you like. Serve on grilled fish with a side of whole-wheat couscous. Delicious and nutritious! Still looking for healthful recipes? I recommend Cooking Light (www.cookinglight.com) for its balanced approach to light cooking.

Next post: How the right foods are like rocket fuel for your body. Oh, and please feel free to comment, complain, suggest, interact with this blog. I'd love to hear from you!

Your New Mantra: "I Am Not a Garbage Disposal"

Say it with me: "I am not a garbage disposal." Very good. This one will really hit home if you have kids. When the little ones have had their fill of mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, French fries, whatever, are you the kind of parent who feels it necessary to "finish off" what they've left behind on their plates or even in the serving dish? Does it feel like a crime to you to throw away any uneaten food, as if it will do much more good in your body than in the trash can? I used to feel that way. In fact, sometimes I feel the guilt creeping in and the urge to finish off a bite or two of that half-eaten pizza slice on my daughter's plate. And then I remember the mantra: "I am not a garbage disposal." Suddenly I snap back to reality: "What am I doing?" And I dispose of the item properly--either throw it away, or wrap it up to save for later. It will do no good in your stomach. It will not save starving children or prevent your family from financial ruin if you eat it. It will only keep you from your weight-loss goals. This is the downfall of so many people trying to lose weight. I find that the mantra really does help because it will pop into your head right at that crucial moment when you're about to cave--and it works! Picture yourself as a giant trash can just piling in the garbage. Not a pleasant thought. Give it a try.

By the way, yesterday a friend sent me the link to a great article about picky eaters: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15eat.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1. Check it out, and you might find there's less of those leftover goodies to tempt you. Next post: Why I don't believe in diets.

Give in to Your Cravings

Sounds crazy, right? I mean, letting cravings control your food choices sounds like a sure recipe for failure. But that's not what I'm talking about when I say "give in." There's a difference between eating an entire three-scoop banana split with whipped cream, hot fudge, a cherry and wet walnuts, and eating a small serving of that decadently rich gourmet ice cream that's calling to you from the freezer. One might argue that you should banish such items from your home--and for some people, that's the only way they're going to have any willpower--but I do believe that most people are able to properly manage their consumption of sweets and treats if they approach it from a perspective of control rather than abandonment. Look at it this way, we all live in the real world. Temptation is all around us, in the multitude of restaurants, fast-food commercials, frozen-yogurt shops and well-meaning mothers all urging us to eat, indulge, give in. So, the sooner we learn how to deal with that temptation, the better off and more successful we'll be.

Yesterday, my family and I went to a wine-tasting/BBQ event. Not only could we taste eight different wines, but there were at least that many different kinds of cheeses we could help ourselves to, plus bread, crackers, fresh and dried fruit--not to mention hot dogs and chips (the BBQ part). If I had completely abandoned my eating plan, it wouldn't have been pretty. But instead, I gave it some forethought and kept my cool. Earlier in the day, I exercised (naturally), ate a balanced breakfast and lunch--complete with lots of fresh veggies and whole grains, of course--and drank plenty of water. By the time the first glass of white wine was in my hand, I wasn't starving or particularly thirsty, just ready. I nibbled on the fruit and cheeses, ignoring the creamy cheeses that would require me to eat crackers or bread with them, grabbed a hot dog with a few chips and called it a day. I consider that a controlled indulgence--not on the everyday eating plan, but nothing out of hand either. And when I stepped on the scale this morning, I wasn't disappointed; my weight had held its own.

You can have the same approach, whether you're you're faced with a tempting unhealthful food or a whole buffet of diet-busters. First, get a lay of the land. Survey the entire table. Figure out what you can reasonably eat and still remain true to your goals. Whether it's 1/2 a brownie and a big bowl of berries, a few bites of your husband's slice of blueberry pie or four French fries--decide in advance what you'll eat and stick with it. Even if your mother is urging you to take a second helping, or "just one more bite because it looks so good," ask yourself if you really want it. Imagine stepping on the scale tomorrow and being pleasantly surprised by what you see. Keep your eye on the prize, and you won't be disappointed.

Next post: Your new mantra: "I am not a garbage disposal."

Be Skeptical, Be Very Skeptical

I have more in the vein of reading labels. When grocery shopping, you need to be skeptical and critical of what you see. For example, I was in a local grocery store today--0ne that focuses on healthful foods, which I'm all about--and spied a jar of coconut oil on the shelf. Now I was raised to believe that coconut oil was akin to lard in its nutritional composite: high in saturated fat, and generally very bad for you, especially if high cholesterol and heart disease are your issues. But here was this jar of coconut oil whose label claimed it to be "healthy" and promoting a good balance of different types of fat in the body. I'm no health professional and I'm not a nutritionist, but I simply couldn't buy it--literally or figuratively. According to the nutrition facts, the coconut oil I was looking at had 12.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. Yet it claimed that the type of saturated fat it provided actually had health benefits. It may have been true, but that warning bell in my head was chiming loudly, and I put the jar back on the shelf. (Of course, the fact that the product cost nearly $23 per jar also helped me make that decision.) I urge you to be skeptical of foods whose labels just don't add up to the claims they're making. Until the scientific community gives it the all clear, stay away. And if you want to learn more about coconut oil, go to http://www.dietriffic.com/2007/10/05/coconut-oil-good-bad-or-ugly/.

Making Sense of Nutrition Labels

I'm a label reader. But I'm not obsessive about it. The important thing, in my opinion, is to know what you're looking for and to glean the right information from those labels. First, ingredient lists: Realize that a product's ingredients are listed in order from greatest to least volume. So if a label lists sugar as its first ingredient, obviously you know where the product is getting most of its weight from--that doesn't make the product a bad choice; it just probably shouldn't be the mainstay of your diet (as in a breakfast cereal or yogurt). But it's fine to use a product that's high in sugar in moderation, say, to sweeten your iced tea or jazz up your whole-grain waffles.

Now, about the nutrition information label: definitely pay attention. Note the amount of fiber in the product and realize that a high-fiber product is almost always a good choice, even it is high in calories and fat. And if it IS high in calories and fat, be aware of what KIND of fat (poly- or mono-unsaturated are best; saturated, not so much). Naturally, if a product is high in calories, you'll want to closely monitor your consumption of it, but some high-calorie foods--such as fresh salmon and avocadoes--are wonderful, healthful choices that will help keep you feeling full and satisfied, plus they're jam-packed with good fatty acids and other nutrients that make them smart choices. In general, foods with long lists of ingredients you can't pronounce are to be avoided or severely limited. Go for the least-processed foods you can find, and you'll be doing yourself a favor. For example, why buy pre-made muffins when you can bake them yourself and add fresh blueberries and walnuts to them (not to mention, make them with a portion of whole-wheat flour instead of refined white)? Same goes for instant oatmeal--buy the box of rolled oats and make it yourself--you'll get more fiber, be able to season it to taste and you'll save money. It's a win-win.

The One Food Group I Avoid

I call my eating plan a balanced one, and it truly is. But there is one category of foods that I severely restrict because the negative effects of eating them far outweigh the nutritional benefits they offer. This group is starchy, refined carbohydrates: white bread, pasta, rice (except brown or other whole-grain rice), crackers--pretty much anything made with refined flour that has 1g of fiber or less per serving. Instead, when I was trying to lose the weight, I opted for whole grains: high-fiber cereals, 100% whole-wheat bread and crackers, brown rice, barley, whole-wheat couscous. Know what? They taste really good and keep you satisfied for a lot longer than the white, refined stuff. The fiber also helps fill you up and move the food through your digestive system more efficiently, which helps you lose weight. Now I know it's nearly impossible to cut starchy, refined carbs out of your diet completely--and really, a hot, fresh bagel is hard to resist--but if you make an attempt to at least reduce your consumption of these foods and switch to whole grains more often, you'll see the weight drop faster and you'll feel better. There are so many delicious whole-grain, high-fiber cereals on the market now (I love Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax) that it's easy to start your day with a tasty breakfast that will give you energy and help you in your weight-loss endeavors. Just watch those portion sizes as you fill up the bowl! And every supermarket now offers a wealth of choices in whole-grain breads and crackers. Start reading ingredient and nutrition labels to make sure you're getting 100% whole-grain products--those that just say "wheat" on them aren't necessarily the real thing. Next post: How to read those labels!

The Scale: Friend or Foe?

When I was a little girl, at my pediatrician's advice my mother weighed me every Saturday morning. Let me tell you, I grew to hate that bathroom scale more than any other object. So, for years afterward I refused to own a scale or step on one unless it was absolutely necessary. For the first 10 years of our marriage, my husband agreed with me--no scale! Then, as I began to lose weight, I saw the value in owning a scale again. I wanted to start weighing myself first thing in the morning, in order to get a "true" weight not influenced by eating, drinking or exercise. I started weighing myself every day, and I still do. Now I know what the weight-loss experts all say: "Don't weigh yourself every day because you'll just get discouraged if the scale doesn't read the way you want it to." But for me, the scale was the perfect way to monitor how my eating plan was working. If I noticed the numbers creeping upward (as they sometimes did), I knew to pay closer attention to my diet, add more fiber-filled low-calorie foods or just trim my portions a bit for the next day or so. If I hit a plateau, I figured out what healthy change I could make to get those numbers to decrease again: do more challenging exercise, drink more water, try a new healthful food. Before long, the scale started to cooperate. I don't believe you should live and die by the scale, but use it as a tool to help you achieve your goals. It's not as easy to "cheat," eat "just a little bit more" or skip your workout when you know you have to step on the scale the next day. Of course, your commitment to weighing yourself is based on the honor system. But who are you doing this for anyway? Oh, and my husband weighs himself every day, too--and he's lost 20 lbs. on my eating plan himself. Just a little more incentive for you.

Exercise: It's a Given

OK, before I continue talking about my eating plan, I want to come clean and admit that I exercise pretty much every day and have done that for several years. While you will certainly lose weight eating the way I did, you will lose MORE weight and be less hungry if you exercise, too. Now I have been exercising regularly since I was 22 (I'm 45), and while it did help my fitness level, it never made much of a difference in my weight. Believe me, I tried it all: kickboxing, step classes, walking programs, TaeBo--you name it. Did they work? Yes and no. Yes, they made me stronger and healthier. No, they didn't really help me lose weight--until I combined the exercise with my eating plan. Then, the pounds started to come off. Today, I exercise about an hour a day, cross-training to get a balance of cardio (spinning, running, walking, aerobics tapes), strength training (Cardio Muscle classes and tapes) and flexibility exercises (yoga and Pilates). I strongly believe that you need to be diligent about both diet and exercise in order to be successful at healthy weight loss; one doesn't work nearly as well without the other. And for me, I could have run to the moon and back and still not lost weight until I got my eating habits in gear.

If you don't exercise, starting out with a simple walking program, climbing stairs in your house or doing a beginner's exercise tape is a good way to ease into it--after getting your doctor's approval, of course. If you're a long-time exerciser, good for you--keep it up! Pretty soon, you'll be able to challenge yourself even more. I found that as I lost the weight I was looking for more athletic challenges, like getting my heart rate up even higher during spinning classes (I bought a heart-rate monitor watch with a calorie-counting feature to help me), and I ran my first two races this year (both 5Ks and now I'm looking for a 10K). Getting the positive reinforcement of seeing the numbers on the scale go down and feeling my fitness level rise made me feel confident enough to do more. It will have the same effect on you.

Next post: The scale!

Fruits and Vegetables and Why They're Important

The eating plan that worked for me is based on a balanced diet, and you can't have a balanced diet without fruits and vegetables. It's that simple. These healthy complex carbohydrates are extremely important because they provide energy, vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and water--all of which are necessary to lose weight, not to mention be healthy and have a healthy digestive system. After I began cutting portion sizes, I was naturally looking for more to eat, so I turned to fruits and vegetables first. Every day, I tried to include and surpass the five-a-day servings of fruits and vegetables, and you know what I noticed? Not only did I continue to lose weight, but I wasn't hungry or irritable. A typical lunch for me is a plateful of veggies--carrots, cucumbers, red pepper, chick peas--eaten with a judicious portion of hummus or another healthful dip, some whole-grain crackers and another lean protein. This lunch keeps me full for hours, and it satisfies nearly all my cravings: sweet, crunchy, creamy, salty. If I want more sweet, I'll have fruit later in the afternoon, perhaps an apple with some peanut butter, or a banana. Summer is my favorite season for fruits because it offers so much variety: berries, melons, peaches, cherries. Try experimenting with the different colorful fresh fruits at your local market to see which you like the best.

Getting Real about Portion Sizes

This blog is about how I lost 25 lbs. and have kept it off for over a year. Now, for me, 25 lbs. is a lot of weight. I'm a small person--only 4 ft. 11 in. tall--so even losing 5 lbs. required a major effort. Yet once I started eating the way I now do, the weight started to come off easily and steadily.

One of the first things I did was to cut my portion sizes. I finally made the connection between quantity of food and calories, which is something that many of us don't want to admit. But think about it: When you take a second helping, you're DOUBLING the calories you're ingesting of that particular food. It finally clicked for me that if I just ate LESS of what I normally eat, I'd be taking in fewer calories and therefore creating a deficit that would cause weight loss. Simple and obvious, but not something we want to think about. So, I stopped filling my cereal bowl to the brim and only filled it halfway. I used a tiny 2-oz. juice glass for my morning orange juice instead of an 8-oz. one. One slice of bread instead of two. Etc., etc. You get the picture. At first, I didn't change anything else about my eating habits except the amounts. And you know what? The weight began to come off. In fact, just by doing this, I lost 5 lbs. in the first few weeks. I also discovered that I wasn't any hungrier than before, and it was more important for me to see the results of my efforts than to get gratification from food. That was a huge revelation for me. It could be for you, too.

How it All Began

Ever since I was a little girl, I was unhappy with my weight. I wasn't obese, but I always leaned on the side of pleasantly chubby. I loved food and learned how to cook at a fairly young age (8?9?), but I never developed a truly healthy relationship with food until about two years ago, when I finally started to get my weight under control and take responsibility for the way I looked and felt. I call it "getting real" about my weight. I couldn't lie to myself anymore about my eating habits, no matter how "healthful" I believed them to be. The proof was in the mirror, on the scale and in my closet: I didn't like what I saw, the sizes I was wearing, pictures of myself. Truth is, I couldn't remember a time when I DID like those things. I wanted to change. And so I did. And I believe anyone out there can change, too. It doesn't take fancy programs, weird diets or anything crazy to make it happen. You can do it, and I'd like to help.