Every week, as part of my Weight Watchers online subscription, I receive an email with great tips and strategies. Some weeks, they are geared to the time of year. Other weeks, they are more geared toward where I am in my weight management goals. They always provide encouragement and lots of great ways to maintain my goals for maintaining a healthy weight with nutritious choices. This is an excerpt from this week’s article, which was just too perfect for the Monday after Thanksgiving!
Have a healthy holiday!
Even in the hectic weeks ahead, you can make small adjustments that will make it easier for you to tackle your weight-loss goals in the new year. The first step toward a healthful holiday season is simple and effective: Don’t use the season as an excuse to splurge. The second is to always be on the lookout for ways to fit healthy behaviors into your life.
Click here to learn more about Weight Watchers Online.
| Challenge yourself to use these easy tricks: |
| 1 |
Always eat a healthy dinner before you go to a holiday party. |
| 2 |
Bring healthy foods to potlucks. |
| 3 |
At appetizer tables, choose two or three of your favorites and put them on a small plate or, better yet, a napkin. Then, walk away. When you’re done with your food, throw away the napkin or take your plate to the kitchen. Avoid large plates. |
| 4 |
At a buffet, cover most of your plate with vegetables and fruits. Then find room for smaller portions of the high-calorie main dishes. |
| 5 |
Watch out for times when you feel guilty for overeating. Just because you slipped up at lunch isn’t license to overindulge all day. Remember: One meal is one meal. One day is one day. |
| 6 |
On the nights you decide to have a drink, limit yourself to one or two. And don’t indulge every night, says Fink. Also, choose wisely-a gin and tonic has 155 calories for 7.5 fl oz, while the same size frozen strawberry daiquiri has a whopping 450 calories. |
| 7 |
If you are drinking, alternate alcoholic beverages with nonalcoholic, calorie-free drinks such as like flavored seltzer. Or, choose wine spritzers, which are half wine and half seltzer. |
| 8 |
Drink extra water to help flush out the excess sodium you consume during rich meals. |
| 9 |
No matter how busy you get, make time for a healthy breakfast. Eating a morning meal will help control cravings later on. |
| 10 |
If baked goods are your holiday weakness, consider hosting a cookie party: Ask every guest to bring one batch of his or her favorite cookies, plus the recipe, and share. This way, you and your family get a variety without having to bake loads. (For extra credit, challenge your guests to bring low-fat or low-calorie cookies.) |
| 11 |
Store healthy snacks at the front of your fridge and pantry, and go for them before you treat yourself to the splurge stuff. |
| 12 |
Just say “no” to packaged holiday candies and cakes! So what if they’re red and green or blue and white-with all the homemade goodies hanging around, you don’t need them. |
| 13 |
Streamline your grocery shopping with lists of the ingredients you’ll need for a week’s worth of quick, easy meals. This way, you won’t be limited to last-minute convenience and fast foods during those nights when you’re dashing around. |
| 14 |
Online shopping is a great time saver, but it means you lose out on the mall walking that usually goes with shopping. Make it up by figuring out exactly how much time you saved (say, 15 minutes per gift), then increase your cardio by that much for the week. |
| 15 |
On heavy-eating weeks, add some strength training to your routine. Building muscle will help your body continue to burn calories while at rest. |
| 16 |
Add health-related gifts to your wish list this year-they could help make for a slimmer, healthier new year. |
 I love it when I see people who I have not seen for a while and they say, “You look great. Have you lost weight?” Because, the answer is “Yes, I have!”
A while back, I made the decision to drop off the 12 pounds that I had slowly put on over the past couple of years. I had clothes in my closet that no longer fit and I felt old and tired. I decided to use Weight Watchers because with their point program, I was able to change portions and ratios of my favorite foods instead of eating “diet food” in a way that would be impossible to manage. The food I eat is generally pretty healthy so what I really needed was a strategy to work around special occasions and pizza with the Little League team.
And now the dreaded holiday season. which for me, runs from Halloween to New Years, is upon us. On top of everyone else’s holidays, our family adds in two birthday celebrations to the season. But this year, I will not be adding on a few extra pounds to drop off in January. Or not.
Here are a few examples of changes that I have made that have been extremely helpful:
Fill my plate with green/orange/yellow vegetables and fruits such as berries and melon, then add the right proportion of lean proteins. It is satisfying, appealing and balanced so I am not hungry.
Using the Weight Watchers meal planner, I “budget” special meals for the week ahead.
If we are going out to dinner or there is a special occasion, I will plan ahead what foods I will eat for that meal and how I will compensate around that meal so that I don’t blow it.
For ongoing events like baseball games, I have charted out meals and how to cut back around those meals. I also bring low point foods in my bag to snack on so that I can eat a small meal of the high calorie, high fat stadium food. I even budget in a cold beer to wash down that delicious grease!
The weight watchers website has lots of great ideas to help with meal preparation and eating out. And by keeping track of all of the food that I eat, it is so much easier to avoid the pitfalls of forgetting what I ate. The system also allows me to track fluids, proteins, vitamins, fruits and vegetables. Daily workouts are also calculated into the point allowances.
Coming back from vacation is so much easier now. I have strategies that help me to avoid making a meal at the dessert table. I am very careful the week before vacation and the week after so I find it reasonable to level out pretty quickly. Its the weight that hangs on after the vacation is over that usually adds “friends” to the party on my hips!
I highly recommend the Weight Watchers system as a resource, a tracking system and a strategy for maintaining weight while keeping a healthy balance of lifestyle and food choices! What have you got to lose? And Keep off?
Click here to learn more about the Weight Watchers Online Program.
 My parents grew up in during World War II and the Depression. But instead of talking about being poor, they instilled in me the importance of knowing what you should spend money on when you have it. High on this list are your feet and your teeth because both are very expensive to replace and directly impact not only the way you feel, but how others perceive you. Growing up, my mom cut corners on other things but I did not have a pair of cheap shoes in my closet.
That being said, there is definitely a price range for great comfortable shoes. So try on a lot of shoes and find what works for you. I think online shopping for shoes is brilliant. The good online stores have so much to choose from and with free shipping both ways, you can really look at shoes at home with your clothes to see if they are right for you. I always try on shoes in the evening when my feet are at their largest size. I walk around in my house, careful not to scuff the shoes. I try them on with clothes to see how they will look. If they don’t fit the bill, I send them back.
Yesterday, I talked about ASGI. They are a great brand that is stylish and well constructed, especially women who have issues with their feet. They come with built in orthotics which can be removed for custom inserts if needed. My good friend, Caroline is married to an orthopedic surgeon. Its a good thing because she is his probably his best patient! She is a huge fan of ASGI and finds Taryn Rose to be a disappointment. Another friend is a runner. She has no issues with her feet but is so very careful. Her feet are very narrow. Her shoes of choice are Ferragamo and Taryn Rose. I have always had trouble because of my very flat feet and prefer Cole Haan, Think!, Helle, Dansko and Donald Pliner. I also love Sofft, which is the brand I will talking about today.
Sofft has flat shoes which are fairly ordinary. What they really stand out for in my book are their low and mid heel pumps with a ton of arch support so that they look and feel great all day. A few of their shoes are trendy but most are more of a modern classic. And for anyone with flat feet or other arch support issues, you will never want to take them off. A couple of years ago, I made Thanksgiving Dinner for 20 wearing a pair of their low heeled shoes…and wore the shoes all day. The only tragedy was that I dropped a big glob of turkey gravy on them so they were stained forevermore.
The Fiorenza is a bold Mary Jane with an oversized strap, patent leather binding, a two-piece squared button and a stacked heel. Available Colors: Black Patent Leather, Chianti Patent Leather, Black Leather.
Check out the Fiorenza by Sofft at Shoebuy.com
 There’s nothing that pulls me out of late-in-the-season-been-there-wrote-that writers block like a great Facebook conversation. And today, it happened! My college buddy and glamour gal, Faith was threatening to throw in the towel and start wearing “teachers shoes!” Holy Wardrobe, Batman, That Would Be a Fashion Emergency! Fortunately, her true friends jumped on in support with lots of great ideas and fashionable balance is being restored to the universe via online shopping…
To listen to the fashion media, there is Jimmy Choo and Uggs. No middle ground. For those of us who live and walk in the real world, there’s a whole underground of reasonable shoes that are fun to wear.
Upon later reflection, it occured to me that it has been quite some time since I jumped in on the topic of “Cute Shoes That Won’t Kill You” So, for the next few days, I am going to look at some great fun and fashionable shoes that your feet will thank you for wearing.
My favorite comfort brands, which include a wide range of styles and price points are Sofft, Think!, ASGI, Cole Haan, Pikolinos, Helle Comfort, Dansko and Taryn Rose. In honor of my friend, Faith, I believe I will start with the ASGI Faith Loafer.
ASGI is a great blend of classic style, fashion forward and comfort. They have great classic loafers and ballet flats, a trendy line of booties and pumps that will make your feet feel better than barefoot. Every pair of shoes has built in orthotics.
The ASGI company philosophy in their own words…
“ Most shoe companies design a look and then place a sole on it. At Asgi we started our shoes from a different place. Your feet. We call it foot-centric design and it means simply that we focused our design efforts on the foot first and then built our shoes from the inside out. We’ve pioneered a totally new way to support your foot. In total comfort. It’s called Soleplex and it’s the most advanced comfort system you will ever see in any shoe. We use only the finest, comfort-enhancing materials available. We love shoes as much as you do. That’s why we integrate the latest colors and patterns into the pods, chassis and the uppers so every part works together to form a comfort-fashion masterpiece.”
And the Faith Loafer…
Little Miss Preppy just let out her s-s-sassy s-s-side! This Faith loafer from ASGI has a reptile embossed leather upper with a sparkling chainlink vamp accent, twin-goring for optimal flexibility, and Soleplex technology, which means this shoe will be with you and then some every step of the way. The orthotic footbed will conform to the anatomical shape of your foot, the chassis will cradle your foot with utmost care, and the “pod” outsole will provide maximum shock-absorption.
Click here to learn more about the Faith Loafer by ASGI at endless.com
GlamourByLBD Note: GlamourByLBD Note: Julie’s Back with great ideas to get your school year afternoons off to a winning start. Check in with Julie Broczkowski and learn more about the Magic Fridge at www.themagicfridge.com Julie is very positive, stylish, creative and just a joy to be around! And we both believe that food should taste great and make you well, not sick!
 When the kids come scrambling through the door, loudly declaring that they are “starving” and can absolutely not wait until supper, here are a few quick ideas to have on hand…
Berry smoothies - buy frozen fruit or freeze your own in single-serving packets, and whiz it up with some milk and yogurt. Add some flax seed oil and protein powder to make a breakfast or occasional meal replacement.
Cream cheese roll-ups - Cream cheese spread on tortillas or thin pitas make a quick snack. Make your own flavoured cream cheese using cinnamon and sugar or a dip mix
Vegetables and fruit - a little dip can go a long way to getting some vegetation into your kids. Use yogurt or low-fat sour cream and low-salt, preservative-free mixes to ease your health-conscience. Make tiny fruit kebabs with toothpicks for a fun change.
Hot pizza dip - on a cool autumn afternoon, make this easy dip. A package of cream cheese spread on a glass pan, top with pizza sauce, your favourite toppings and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400° for 20 min, and dip with chips or pita bread.
If lunches and after-school eating are a struggle, try some of these techniques to smooth the way…
1. Give kids choices - have several baskets with different lunch components, and let the kids choose one from each basket: for example, one for fruit, others for cereal bars, small treats, sandwich fillings, vegetables. Or have each child make a list of all “acceptable” foods that can be put in lunches. Update the list as tastes change.
2. If your child wants to buy lunch instead of brown-bagging, try putting them in charge of the cost. Give a set weekly amount, and let them either spend it on bought lunches or put it in their pocket if they take lunch from home.
3. A la Mary Poppins, try a “spoonful of sugar”… dips for fruit and veggies, a snack-size treat, compromising on bread or spreads if the sandwich fillings are healthy. Try adding food-processed carrots or zucchini to mayo-based sandwich fillings like tuna - if it’s small enough, they won’t pick it out, or maybe even not notice it!
4. Keep variety in lunches - always try new stuff, even if they haven’t liked it in the past.
5. Designate a cupboard and a fridge shelf as the snack zone and/or lunch zone. Kids will know to go there for after-school parent-approved food, and lunch-packing will be easier with everything in one or two places.
A couple of innovative lunchbox ideas:
Instead of sliced bread… make sandwiches with wraps or crackers, or even frozen waffles and hot dog buns. Frozen breads make for easier spreading and stay fresher.
Easy sliced apple idea that doesn’t go all brown in the lunchbox… Wedge an apple (you can get this extremely useful tool at kitchen stores or from The Pampered Chef). Remove the core but don’t take it all apart into the slices. Place it in a plastic bag or small bin and fill the hole with peanut butter or cream cheese and raisins. The spread and other pieces of apple will keep the cut parts from being exposed and going brown.
Recipe for a protein-filled snack bite to pack…
1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup honey
Graham cracker crumbs
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the graham cracker crumbs. Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll in the crumbs and refrigerate. Makes 24.
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