1. Turkey is good for you. Its a great form of lean protein. Simply choose the white meat (breast) and avoid the skin.
2. Have alternative vegetables. The problem with Thanksgiving veggies is that they often have tons of butter and other fattening toppings. Instead of potatoes, steam and mash cauliflower with just a little butter. Or have steamed green beans. Or roast yellow squash with red onions (mixed with a little olive oil) in your oven.
3. Make you’re own sugar-free cranberry sauce. It is so easy to do. Simply buy cranberries (usually in the produce section). Put them in a pot with a cup of water and cup of Spenda (TM) and cook until the berries pop. Let cool and then store in the fridge.
4. Have whole grain rolls. Bread is okay, but its best if you choose the kind that has nutritional value. Whole grain (whole must be on the package, ie whole wheat or whole grain) bread offers fiber and vitamins.
5. Have a SMALL slice of dessert. It is a holiday so you can have a little treat. Just don’t over do it. If you’re afraid one little slice will lead to more slices, have fresh fruit instead.

The only items you should avoid are stuffing and gravy, but even if you just have a single spoonful that would be okay. Finally, give yourself a single serving size of each item and savor it. Eat slowly. Don’t feel compelled to have seconds because there’s a table full of food. Thanksgiving food is as good, if not better eaten the next day for lunch.

1. Make sure you’re actually hungry. Hunger is a physical feeling, not an emotional one. If you don’t have the physical feelings of hunger (empty stomach, hunger pangs), try chewing gum or sucking on a sugar-free hard candy. It will keep your mouth happy without adding too many calories.
2. Get busy. If you’re bored, do something. Taking your mind off your “hunger” is the best way to keep from eating. If you’re watching tv and feeling hungry, keep the hands busy with laundry or have a glass of water or other low calorie drink.
3. Eat something healthy. If you must eat, make a healthy choice such as fruits or vegetables.

According this month’s Berkeley Wellness Letter, the answer is no. Vitamins are very picky about how they want to be absorbed. Some will only be absorbed when taken with food or another vitamin. And some absolutely will not be absorbed if eaten with with certain foods. The problem with vitamin water is that they tend to be full of sugar and the vitamins are not likely to be absorbed. Which could be good because in some cases you could run the risk of overdoing it. There is such as thing as vitamin toxicity.

Your best bet to get all the nutrients you need is to eat a balanced diet that includes vitamin rich food such as vegetables, fruit and whole grains. Many doctors do recommend a multivitamin for women to help not as a substitute for good eating.

1. Drink more water. I can hear you now. “Huh? Drink more water?” Yes. The reason the body works to retain water is that it isn’t getting enough of it. Drink more and it will trust that water is plentiful and let the excess go. You can citrus (lemon) to your water for more water reducing effects. You can also drink watery liquids such as coffee and green tea which have diuretic effects. But drink them in moderation.

2. Watch the sodium. Today, its hard not to eat too much sodium. Its in everything. Focus on fresh foods and vegetables instead of processed items. Don’t add salt when cooking. Use other spices or salt-free seasonings for taste. If you need salt. add it to your personal serving. I’m not sure why salt is added to sweet baked good, but I never add it when I bake. The cookies still taste fine to me.

3. Eat watery fruits and vegetables. Celery, apples, and tomatoes are a good choice…but any will do.

One of the most difficult aspects of weight loss is dealing with being hungry when its not time to eat. This is often referred to as having the “munchies”. The munchies can completely ruin a diet by adding extra calories. Even just a few calories here and there can add up to gaining instead of losing weight. Here are some tips to get those munchies under control:

1) Choose a 5-6 meal a day diet. This isn’t 5-6 full meals. Its 3 average to small meals and 2-3 healthy snacks. By eating less more frequently you can stave off hunger, keep your blood sugar levels and energy at an even keel, and avoid over doing it. The snacks should be healthy such as a handful of almonds, an apple with cheese, or veggies with  hummus or low calorie dip. My last snack of the day I like to have air-popped popcorn with spray butter (ie Pam) and a popcorn seasoning (it does have lots of salt so use sparingly). Popcorn has lots of fiber and is filling.

2) Know your worst times of day for munchies to attack. For me between 3-5 pm and after 8 are when I really want to eat. By knowing these times are hard, I can make plans to manage the munchies by planning a snack (see #1) or keeping busy (see #3). It also help to figure out if you’re really hungry or just bored. Eating is used to treat all sorts of moods (depression, boredom, etc) and hunger may not be involved at all.

3) Distract yourself. Many see a failure to manage weight as an inability to focus and maintain will power. But telling yourself over and over again not to eat when you want to eat won’t help. You’re still focused on eating and feeling hungry even if you are able to talk yourself out of eating. I find that my best days are usually busy ones. So distract yourself with errands, hobbies, work and other activities during your peak munchie hours.

4) Drink water or another non-calorie liquid. Water is the best as it can fill you up and has no calories or other “bad” stuff. You can have a diet soda but they have salt so limit yourself to one. You can also choose tea or coffee (watch out for the cream and sugar as you don’t want to defeat the purpose), or a broth.

5) Chew on sugar-free gum or suck on a sugar-free hard candy.  This provides the sensation of eating without all the calories.

The munchies are manageable it you know when they’re most likely to attack and have a plan to combat them. Using one or more of the options above should help you avoid giving into the muchies.

If you have other ideas for beating the munchies, please share you idea in the comment section.

As much as possible you want to stay away from Trans Fats (hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated oil, and vegetable shortening), Saturated fat that includes animal fat and tropical oils (Coconut, Palm and Palm Kernel oils). These are bad because they increase the cholesterol that can lead to heart disease.  Its like eating wax. In fact, hydrogenating oil was first done to make cheap candles!

So what’s on the list of fats that are okay to eat? Monounsaturated fats (olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocados, nuts and seeds), polyunsaturated fat (Vegetable oils, safflower, corn, sunflower, soy and cottonseed oils, nuts and seeds) and Omega-3 fatty acids (Fatty, cold-water fish like salmon mackerel and herring, flax-seeds, flax oil and walnuts).

An increase in concern over what we eat has created healthier choices in foods that contain fat. Nevertheless, many food companies are sneaky and aren’t always completely upfront in their labeling. For example a product might say it has no trans fats, but it will have tropical oils. So read labels carefully.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and your fat loss won’t happen that way either. Don’t expect to start eating perfectly and exercising religiously tomorrow. Instead set yourself up for success by implementing at least one supportive habit per week. Make an effort to adopt the premise of “progress, not perfection.” By developing awareness that improvement is measured by your daily progress, you can save yourself a lot of grief and frustration from the beginning. Focusing on small, positive steps in everything you do is a vital component to change. It starts you moving in the right direction and the momentum of your amazing, transforming results will soon follow. With time, commitment and a willingness to continue to take those small steps, failure is not an option.

How to do it: Be mindful of the fact that you didn’t gain it overnight so you’re not going to lose it overnight. A safe and effective fat loss program will yield 1 to 2 pounds of fat loss a week, not 10. As you begin your weight loss journey, aim for 2-3 small improvements each week. Build up to eating more supportively and moving a little more than yesterday. These small changes will add up to big improvements over time.

Beware of supplements and “quick fixes” that promise accelerated fat loss. Instead, plan on losing fat weight slowly. Sure we all want instant results, but it’s impossible to undo a years of inactivity and poor nutrition overnight.

Instead of only looking at the big picture, try to break it down into smaller bites. Set one-month goals, three-month goals, six-month goals and even yearly goals. Carry over each previous goal to make sure that you aren’t stopping one to achieve another. Make sure goals are achievable and realistic and what you truly want. A half-hearted desire will produce half-hearted results.

Remember, life happens and we must face the challenges. Sometimes that means not getting to exercise or eat properly. The difference is we get it. We make it a point to view each situation, each setback as an opportunity to LEARN and ASK, “What could I do differently next time?” Then it becomes a matter of getting back on track as soon as possible. Leave the excuses and blame behind and forget about beating ourselves up – we’re only human. Strive to do a little better today than you did the day before. The key is to stay consistent, focused and take daily action. Make goals meaningful. Our minds cannot differentiate between achieving an enormous goal or a miniscule goal it only perceives success or failure. If you set a goal that is impossible to fail you’ll only be setting yourself up for tremendous victory.

Don’t be too rigid. Telling your self that you HAVE to workout for a set time to feel a sense of completion is ill fated. If you set out to workout for 30 minutes and you only get in 20, you’ll more apt to be disappointed regardless of how hard you worked. If you simply set a goal to go to the gym at least 2-3 days a week and complete your resistance training and cardio you’ll perceive yourself as a winner.

An additional goal idea: Have you ever wanted to participate in a race or sport that you’ve never had the endurance for? Then use that as a goal! When the end justifies the means it’s easier to make it through the rough spots. It’s a win-win situation if you are able to achieve a want and a need simultaneously!

About the Author

Holly Rigsby is a nationally recognized women’s fitness coach, certified personal trainer (CPT) and the author of the internationally popular e-book – Fit Yummy Mummy – Burn Your Baby Fat & Get Your Body Back. Go to http://www.fityummymummy.com to get your FREE copy of her special report: “The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism.”

Since getting the book, I made chocolate granola bars with spinach (its the blueberry bars in the book, but I used chocolate), added squash to macs and cheese, and tonight included cauliflower and sweet potato in homemade chicken and rice soup. And they ate it and liked it! Better yet, I didn’t have to bug them about eating their veggies.

I do include regular veggies as a side and make them eat them. But I don’t have to worry about the one bite they take because I know they are getting other veggies covertly.

The planning and having ready-made puree is a hassle. I don’t like planning or hassles. My solution has been to use baby food. Its already pureed and ready to ad. Plus the small (level 1) size jars are just the right amount for most meals.

Another good book is The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine that uses the same hide-the-veggies strategy. She offers some great recipes and few more puree ideas.

One of the frustrating aspects of losing weight is not knowing how much you should be losing or what it will take to lose it. Perhaps you’ve been eating right and exercising but haven’t lost weight. While there are some variables that can muck things up, there is actually a way to calculate how much weight you should be losing or what you need to do to lose the weight you want in the time you want.

For every pound you wan to lose, you’ll need to reduce or burn 3600 calories. So if you’ve been eating 2000 calories a day  and reduce that to 1400 calories a day, you’ll lose 1 lb in 6 days (2000-14000 = 600, 3600/600= 6 days).

If you add moderate exercise burning 300 calories at a time, you’ll lose that pound in 4 days (600 calories less in diet plus 300 calories burned = 900 calories, 3600/9=4days).

But don’t start thinking that if you cut and burn a few calories is good, cutting and burning more is better.  While it would work and you’d lose weight faster, the chances of you getting sick and hurt also increase. Dieting like most things in life require balance.  Reducing your calories too much (under 1100-1200) would make it difficult for you to get enough nutrients. And its not enough fuel to support exercise. So to be safe and healthy, keep your calorie intake at around 1200-1500. Exercise 3-5 days mixing up your activity to keep it interesting. Take a day or two off to let your body rest and recuperate.

Children born in the year 2000 or later are not expected to outlive their parents according Dr. David Katz of the Yale Preventive Medicine Research Center in New Haven, Connecticut. The reason? Poor diet.

That is really scary, but makes sense. Many foods contain additives and preservatives that weren’t around when I was a kid. They may be bad for me, but having only eaten them for 20 years is different for my children who, by the time they are my age will have been eating them for a life a time.

But if your children are like mine, it is difficult to change their diet. They are picky eaters and like fast food and other “junk”.

Here are some things we have done to improve our children’s health and diet:

1) Make sure they have a fruit or vegetable with every meal as these are the best ways to prevent disease and illness.
2) Limit sugar.
3) Check labels and avoid ‘high fructose corn syrup’.
4) Choose breads, cereals and pasta made with whole grain.
5) Don’t buy any foods with trans fats. (Fortunately, this is getting easier.)
6) Eat meals together.
7) Have them participate in at least one active activity such as soccer, karate, etc.
Discuss healthy eating choices.
9) Give them a multi-vitamin.
10) Pack lunch instead of buying at school.