The holiday season can be a challenging task for those who are trying to stick to their diet, wanting to start a diet, or those who are trying to keep unwanted weight creeping into a new year’s resolution, again.  We tend to over analyze the upcoming holidays, silently committing not to overindulge making deals and comprises, “if I do this then I can have that”.    The word diet should not be categorized as mechanism for losing weight but an over all way of life.  By changing your diet habits, you may swear off “being on a diet” for good.   So if you start to change you diet habits, weight gaining or losing will be a hindsight to the bigger picture of the dreaded self sacrifices we face particularly this time off year.

1. Water does a body good.  It is suggested that we drink at least 64 fl. oz. of water a day and for good reason.  Water helps flush unwanted toxins quickly from our bodies while helping ward off hunger pains.  Have you ever felt hungry just a few moments after eating a meal?  Chances are your body is more thirsty than hungry.  Sometimes the signal our brains sends to our stomach is not that it wants more fuel but instead it needs fluid to flush the fuel into our system, and before you grab the diet soda, drink 8 oz of water and let it sit for 20 minutes or so.
2. Eat smaller portions more. The fact holds true, when you eat 6 to 8 small meals a day your body burns more calories with less effort.  How?  Well your body is a moving machine, it was not intended to sit for long periods of time, nor the food it consumes.   So when you are eating every three hours or so you are sending a message to your body that it needs to hurry up and burn the food consumed to prepare for the next meal.   So for those of you who are a one to two meal a day eaters, it’s time to break that habit.  Here is an example of my 6 mini meals.   1. low fat yogurt/tart apple 2. half cup of whole grain cereal 3.4oz baby carrots and celery 5. whole sandwich of unprocessed meat on white or wheat bread, and yes all the fixings 6. small dinner, by this time after feeding my body all day with good food and water I eat half of what I would have normally.
3. Low sodium foods. This is a vital key in maintaining your weight and a healthy heart.  When you lower your sodium intake by half of what you are used to, you can drop 3 pounds alone just in water weight and with drinking all that new goodness all the sodium build up in your system will flush right on out.  Although this means when you do attend the parties during seasonal gatherings, skip the meat and cheese tray, processed meats are like eating a spoonful of salt.  No thanks.
4. Low fat dairy. Milk does a body good, low fat does even better.  Calcium, Vitamin A & D, and beta carotene are three great attributes found in dairy, promoting your immune system and healthy skin.  Do note  on choosing low fat options versus fat free to avoid unnecessary sugar and carbohydrates.  If you are a cheese lover choose lighter color cheeses, like mozzarella and Monterrey  jack, stay clear from triple creams and the cheddar family.
5. Eat chocolate. Okay now hold on before you grab a king size Hershey bar read further.  Eating small amounts of dark chocolate can help reduce high blood pressure, can elevate mood, and curb over indulgence of sweets.  Dark chocolate has less sugar than milk chocolate and has a deep rich finish.   When you hit the party buffet, skip the dessert tray, and be sure to pack a couple of ounces of bittersweet, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate,  an ounce or two is all you need.
6. Shop. Window that is….trying on outfits that almost fit but not quite help motivate a better you.  This doesn’t mean picking a size that you could wear when you were six, be kind and reasonable to yourself.  Or if you are like me and have hoarded everything you have bought over the years thinking I will fit into that again, hang your priced possession in eye’s view to remind yourself on a daily basis what the end goal is, then once a week try it on see where you stand.
7. Moderation is key. We all have those days where the only thing to make life better is a big juicy greasy burger from our favorite dive.  Just keep it down to a once of month festivity, not a weekly or daily.
8. Avoid Alcohol. For the non drinkers, this is not even an issue, but for the happy hour attendees this could be a hard sip to swallow.  Alcohol contains high levels of sugar, carbohydrates, and calories and no skipping meals all day to allocate alcohol calories does not count.  Now I am not asking you to swear it off entirely,  just be conscientious what you consume.  Blended cocktails can pack a high caloric punch some as much as 1200 calories, while just a couple of micro brews is the equivalent of a whole loaf of bread, now that hurts.
9. Be a groupie. It is said we consume less in front of a crowd, not wanting our inner hot dog contestant to show.  This can also keep your mind off the buffet line and the food out of your mouth because you are too busy using it to make conversation.   It is also more likely than not when you see others eating less, more healthy options you tend to do the same.
10. Don’t Stress!! I know, I know, with this economy, lack of jobs, no pay raise in sight how can you not?  Well just keep all things in perspective.  Are you to blame for the entire nations economic struggles?  Most likely not, in other words take control of the things you actually can control and heed no worries about the things you can not.  Over analyzing about issues beyond your control tends to slow down the overall productivity of your body and mind.  So deep breaths and a great sense of humor in life is the greatest weight loss tool of them all.

Keep in mind that these tips are designed for a gradual lifestyle change and if you stick with it over time without much effort you will lose weight and keep it off.  For the yo -yo minded dieter who look for the quick fix heed my warning that the weight will return and more times than not, two fold.  So steer clear from pills, powders, and sprays and give your body praise for sticking with you this long, feed the mind as well, it does wonders.