Back in skinny jeans

Holiday Skinny Tip #5: Don't snack while surfing the web for holiday gifts

During the holidays, many of us will spend more time on the computer because we're shopping for gifts, reading product reviews for gifts we want to buy, or just plain surfing because we're in doors more because it's cold outside.

When you snack while surfing on the web, it is so easy to get into mindless eating and consume far more calories than you intended. You bring a bag of potato chips, a can of nuts, or a box of cookies with you to your desk, and before you know it, the whole bag, can, or box is empty because you were not really paying attention as you visited all your favorite websites and blogs.

One hand was reaching for the food and putting it in your mouth, and the other hand was moving the mouse. The brain was focused on the screen in front of you, and not on the portion size of  the food you just noshed.

When shopping for your holiday gifts online, focus on the shopping and the computer. When your body is hungry, it will let you know. Go for a healthy snack of some protein or fruit, or if it's lunch or dinner time make or get yourself a fine meal, and take the time to savor the food minus the web surfing. Your eyes will enjoy the break as well.

How shopping at Farmer's Markets can help you lose weight

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is shop at a local Farmer's Market. On Saturday, I went to the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building at the piers in San Francisco and took a bunch of pictures. If you are visiting from out of town, this Farmer's Market is one of the best in the Bay Area, and a must go because you'll find a bounty of organic produce, meats, cheeses, and products, and you get to eat looking at the beautiful waters and Bay Bridge. It's fabulous!

Shopping at a Farmer's Market can help you shed that muffin top in these ways:

• Many things sold at a Farmer's Market tend to be void of fat creating ingredients like hydrogented oils, high fructose corn syryp, and processed wheats/sugars because the sellers are primarily from small farms or mom & pop shops who are not mass producing.

• Produce comes straight from the farm so enzymes from the fruit or vegetable are at their highest. The more time between when the produce is plucked from the ground to when it reaches your stomach is more time the vitality of the fruit or veggie has to deplete.

• You are doing a lot of walking and spending time outdoors which helps to burn calories.

• Farmer's Markets are more social than a supermarket so there is more fun. When you're happy and being social you'll do less emotional over eating.

• You get a chance to talk to the people who actually make the product or grow the produce. Educating yourself about what you eating is not only wise but fun.

Lastly, by shopping at your Farmer's Market, you are supporting your local businesses. These people work had and are contributing to the economic growth of your community, so the more you support them through purchases, the more your home town can grow, and that's a win for everyone!

How you can innocently drink 700 calories in one day

Diet Blog has an interesting post "Do Americans Have a Drinking Problem?" on how the Average American has nearly doubled the amount of calories he/she intakes through beverages alone over the past 37 years. I  was curious to see just how many calories one could consume just through drinks alone living in our Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Vitamin Water, soda society.

I was shocked to find that you could innocently consume 700 calories alone and be someone who is generally conscious about what they consume. In this first example, I used Odwalla OJ, milk, a Fuze drink, a basic Starbucks coffee, and a glass of Merlot for dinner. There is no soda, no fat/sugar loaded Frappucinos, or even any fat/sugar loaded alcoholic drinks like a Pina Colada.

Most of the drinks on this list could be considered pretty innocent, and drinks most health-conscious folks  would imbibe. In your head, you could easily rationalize that if you had to have a Starbucks drink that a Soy Gingerbread Latte minus whip is not going to break your caloric bank like a Strawberries & Creme Frappucino would. As well at dinner, one glass of Merlot is better than having a Mai Tai. One at a time, each choice seems like a fairly innocent one, but add them up over the day, and WHAMO! 700 calories and you haven't even eaten any food!  Shockingly as well, you are consuming 112g of sugar. That's pure fuel for muffin top creation.

I was going to add a Jamba Juice drink into this mix because most of us consider Jamba drinks "healthy", but holey moley, those drinks are loaded with calories and sugar, and the lower cal versions use artificial sweeteners which I think everyone should avoid. So, to keep the heart palpitations to a minimum, I left Jamba Juice out.

To relieve the shocking horror, I created another table that lists lower calorie and lower sugar alternatives to the above list.

Holiday Skinny Tip #4: Think Gorgeous versus Gorge

Half of the weight loss battle is mental, so one way to help avoid over doing it calorie wise this holiday season is to start thinking, "Gorgeous versus Gorge." One reason so many of us gain so much weight over the holidays is because of all the gorging of food and alcohol.

No matter your size, weight, or state in life, start putting yourself into a Gorgeous mindset. Look in the mirror and say, "Hello Gorgeous!" When driving, shopping, or waiting in line, smile and think to yourself, "I am a gorgeous woman." Compliment your girl friends, your neighbors, or one of your co-workers and tell them,"Hey, you look gorgeous today." The smile you put on their face will brighten their day and make you feel wonderful.

Now that you are reveling in all this gorgeousness, when you walk into that next holiday gathering or walk past all those goodies in the break room at work, look at all the food and ask yourself, "What would a gorgeous woman eat?"

Holiday Skinny Tip #3: That craving may be thirst not hunger

Those cravings you've been having may actually be thirst for water cravings, and not food cravings. Most people think that feeling parched is the sign that your body wants water. Actually, when you get to the parched level you are heading into dehydration zone which is like the equivalent of going way too long without food for fuel.

Next time you have a hankering for some grub, and you have eaten recently, try drinking a glass of water first and wait about 10-15 minutes. If that pang, goes away, then your body was thirsty, and you took care of the need without any extra calories. If the pang is still around after the water, then go nibble on something small to carry you over to your next full meal.

The important thing to do is drink water. Your body needs water to hydrate, flush toxins, and replenish. Thinking that liquid is just liquid, and that any type of drink will do the same job as water is not true. For example, drinking soda, juice, or coffee, is not going to hydrate you like water will plus you are adding caffeine, sugars, and possibly high fructose corn syrup. And don't even think that egg nog or apple cider or any array of booze is a water replacement either. Oh-no-no-no!

If you don't like the taste of water, then try squeezing some fresh lemon or lime, or add some cucumbers slices like they do at the spa. Or try adding a small slice of your favorite fruit. It's okay to add a pinch of something to help make the water experience more pleasurable. The point is that you are supplying your body with something it really needs and can benefit from.

Holiday Skinny Tip #2: Go trot or trek before feasting

Today, Thanksgiving and tomorrow with all the leftovers, there will be a ginormous amount of eating. Even if you only nibble through the day, you still will be consuming larger than usual amounts of calories because of socializing, and well, there's food everywhere.

Before you feast on that fine meal, go for a trek or trot: walk or run. If you can't do it before hand, if turkey dining is early enough, go afterwards. The gyms are closed but you can still get outside smell some fresh air, burn some calories, and if the weather is nice where you live, enjoy some beautiful scenery. If you have relatives or friends in town, take them with you. The trek or trot is a great way to get some quality time together, and again burn some calories. It's a two-for-one!

Here's one of the sexiest men alive on a trot with his dad Thanksgiving morning.

Holiday Skinny Tip #1: How much weight the average American gains during the holidays and why

For the holidays, from now til January, I am going to do at least one, maybe more, video posts to help people minimize weight gain over the holidays. I'll offer tips, motivation, and inspiration to help you minimize the amount of weight you could gain over the holidays because it's so easy for us to gain weight and/or get off track from our weight loss efforts.

I'm also going to be realistic in that some weight gain over the holidays is realistic and okay. A 1-5 pound gain is not going to kill your wardrobe, and most of it will easily fall off once the holiday madness and food frenzy is done in January. The point is to have balance. Enjoy, partake, and be kind to yourself.

I thought the videos would be a fun community way to help each other to not go crazy and gain enough weight over the holidays to make the muffin top bigger than it already is. Also, admittedly, I am partly doing this for shameless reasons too. I am sooooo close to my weight loss goal of 25 pounds adios that I thought these holiday tips videos would also help me and others like me stay focused during this tough weighty time of year.

In the first video, I talk about just how much the Average American gains over the holidays, and the 3 reasons why along with how easy it is to gain over a pound a week. I also go into details about the emotional influence the holidays has over our eating and drinking. Some of that holiday weight gain can also be tied to calorie loaded alcoholic drinks. If we help each other out, I think we can all get through the holidays having fun, being healthy, and in no need of a straight jacket ;-)