Consideration was received for the editing and publishing of this featured article.

New moms deal with a lot of new challenges: breastfeeding, diapering, cleaning, financial stresses, and then there’s weight loss. Everyone gains weight with their pregnancy, so you’re definitely not alone. Like all other moms, you carried another person in your tummy for nine months. After your child’s birth, you’re likely ready to shed some of that weight and get back to your pre-baby frame. It’s possible to exercise your way to your pre-baby weight, but it’s going to take some time, money, and a lot of effort.

Set goals and be realistic

Once your baby is born, you’ll find there’s not a lot of time for extra activities. You’ll be on round-the-clock baby watch, constantly holding, feeding, changing, and comforting your new bundle of joy. You’re going to be tired, especially in the first few months. You may find that there isn’t a lot of time for working out just after you give birth.

If possible, create a goal list. Write down how much weight you want to lose, how much time you’re allowing yourself, and what you plan to do to get there. Be realistic about timing, allowing for enough time to lose the weight. Don’t expect this to happen in the same amount of time it would if you didn’t have a newborn to raise. Instead, plan for double or even triple the time. If you’re able to fit in 15 minutes of exercise a day, without stressing yourself out, this is a great start.

Be prepared

A new baby means new expenses, so after she’s arrived it can be very difficult fitting personal items into your family’s budget. Getting into shape doesn’t require all-new fitness gear, but having workout clothes that fit certainly makes a difference. It’s possible to prepare yourself for a total post-baby body makeover, but you’ll need to be frugal to have it fit into your budget.

You’re going to need the following items:

• New sneakers since your foot size may have changed due to the pregnancy
• Comfortable clothing including a good sports bra
• A water bottle

You may want to invest in a yoga mat, too, if you’re planning to do a lot of floor exercises, like stretching and Pilates. Sneakers tend to be very expensive. You’ll need sneakers designed for working out and that fit very comfortably. To save money, search coupon codes for Nike or another trusted brand. You’ll find that the Internet has some amazing deals on sneakers and workout gear.

Timing is everything

Making time for exercise isn’t easy, especially when you’re making personal time around your new baby. Perhaps you only have a single free hour in the day and you haven’t showered or sat down once. That’s no good. You definitely need to do things to help yourself to relax and remain stress free.

Exercise is a proven stress reducer, but it’s not always going to fit into your new-mom schedule. The important thing to remember is that more free time will come around when your child gets older. Make a schedule, wherein you’re not stressing yourself out or leaving free time for much needed relaxation. Even if it’s just for a few minutes in the early morning, fit in some exercise. You can expand on that time as your child grows.

The bottom line

When it comes to your pre-baby weight, you can get there! It’s going to take longer than it would have before you had children, but it’s worth it because you’ll have more energy for the new baby. It may take several months or even a  whole year, but with the right amount of dedication, you will get there. Once you’ve achieved your goals, why not get yourself a Snappy Canvas coupon code and have some new family photos taken to show everyone how great you look?!

Getting into shape after a new baby is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

When SheSpeaks originally sent me an offer to read Haylie Pomroy’s book, The Fast Metabolism Diet: Eat More Food and Lose More Weight and try the diet for a month, I was really gung ho. Rather than counting calories or carbs, The Fast Metabolism Diet teaches you to rotate the foods you eat each week to induce physiological changes in your body to boost your metabolism. Basically, for four weeks in Phases One through Four, on Mondays and Tuesdays, you eat carbs and fruits, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, you consume proteins and veggies, and on Fridays through Sundays you eat all the above plus healthy fats. Many of the foods from lean proteins like fish and buffalo, healthy carbs like quinoa and brown rice, vegetables, and leafy greens were things I ate normally though not in the way Haylie laid out in her book. I could do this, I thought, and was really excited to learn more about it!

The Fast Metabolism Diet not for me – this month

Then I saw how much planning the The Fast Metabolism Diet would take. I had to make sure I had plenty of “my food” on hand and use Haylie’s recipes to feed my family. I didn’t think that would be too hard because we do tend to eat this way at home normally, most of the time. I also didn’t mind giving up alcohol and diet soda for four weeks and drinking lots more water. These were things I knew I should do for optimal health. (By the way, you do the diet for four weeks and then eat normally and healthfully the rest of the time. Some of Haylie’s customers do another month if they want to lose more weight, or they do a “tune up” once a year or even quarterly.)

I also liked her exercise plan. Beginners can do 30 to 40 minutes of cardio during Phase One (or 45 to 75 minutes if you’re already exercising) two  times a week. In Phase Two, beginners do 20 or 30 minutes of weight lifting. During Phase Three, you can indulge in relaxation and stress relief like yoga, meditation, a hot bath, or even a massage! Easy right?

Then I looked at the calendar. I was faced with Spring Break, two business trips, and another shoulder surgery. (The shoulder surgery was canceled, thank goodness, due to my miracle worker of a kinesiologist, Dr. Paul.) There was no way I could follow The Fast Metabolism Diet on the road or while laid up in bed. Also, while I could do cardio on the stationary bike, weight lifting was ruled out due to my shoulder issues. Also, you’re not allowed to have rice vinegar on this diet! As a Mizkan Blogger who has to develop recipes using NAKANO rice vinegar, this was a problem for me, too, though something I could work around by having my family as taste testers.

Frustrated, I begged my contact at SheSpeaks to let me out of our agreement about doing a trial run of the diet. Instead, I offered to do just a book review of The Fast Metabolism Diet on my blog in exchange for the book.

The Fast Metabolism book and app review

Even though I found The Fast Metabolism Diet rather restrictive, if you’re not traveling for a month, are detail oriented, and motivated to lose weight and eat right, I believe you may have good success with this diet. Much of Haylie’s theories about revving up your metabolism by eating the right foods intuitively made sense to me. What especially struck a cord is her belief that you have to make it easy on your liver to process your food and burn fat. We “poison” ourselves with hard to metabolize foods like alcohol, diet soda, and foods with artificial ingredients, so our livers work overtime in breaking them down. If we can give our livers a rest with healthy whole foods, then it will function better and rev up our metabolism to break down fat stored by the body. Haylie claims her diet theories are supported by her work with domestic animals like horses and cattle and by research, though I would have liked to see some footnotes or a bibliography with references to these studies.

I was also confused about the The Fast Metabolism Diet’s meal plan and how much I could eat. There were sample menus in the book, but they were hard to read since they were printed vertically and in very small print in the book. I had looked around The Fast Metabolism Diet website for some printouts to take to the store and to post on my refrigerator door, but didn’t have any luck.

Then last week, my contact at SheSpeaks emailed me about Haylie’s new Fast Metabolism Diet App, which is available on iTunes for $1.99. (I got a complimentary code to download and review it.) The Fast Metabolism Diet App It helps you keep accountable by keeping track of meals and snacks eaten, daily water intake, and ways to stick to the diet even when dining out. It also helps build grocery lists and plan for meals in advance. Finally, a way to make this diet more doable and practical!

Armed with a easy-to-use app, and assuming my shoulder’s in good shape, I’m going to quickly reread the book at the end of May and will start doing The Fast Metabolism Diet in June. Even with the craziness of summer break, I know I’ll be home and will have added incentive of seasonal vegetables and weekly farmer’s markets and warm weather to exercise outdoors to help me lose some weight. I’m looking forward to it!

The information provided within this review is strictly for the purposes of information only and is not a replacement or substitute for professional advice, doctors visit or treatment. The provided content in this post should serve, at most, as a companion to a professional consult. It should under no circumstance replace the advice of your primary care provider. You should always consult your primary care physician prior to starting any new fitness, nutrition or weight loss regime.

Book and app review: The Fast Metabolism Diet #FastMetabolismDiet is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

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How many calories can you burn in 10 minutes? is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I get a lot of pitches for weight loss, diet and exercise programs all the time – most are a waste of time or the same old thing. However, when I was introduced to Lifesize portions and received their product, I knew that the creators  had developed a way to make controlling food portions so much easier. Lifesize took the idea of portion control and ran with it in a brand new way making it the first weight loss program entirely based on portion control and not on eating certain foods.

“The secret to our system is that we designed the perfect portions for ALL the foods we love to eat,” says Lifesize co-creator, Myles Berkowitz. “The Lifesize portions are big enough to leave people satisfied so they don’t walk around feeling hungry, but they are small enough so that people will lose weight.”

Lifesize portions are different from, and most times bigger than, the portion sizes recommended by many diet experts. The portions were created by Hollywood trainer (and Lifesize co-founder) Steven Kates, based on 20 years of observing the amounts of food people without weight problems ate. He found that how they stayed thin was that they ate whatever they wanted but simply ate less of it. Steven then created food portions that were practical that people can live with for life. His Lifesize portions are the same for men and women.

Does it work?

While I’ve reviewed the materials that come with Lifesize and feel that the product is good quality and the advice sound, I haven’t tried using it yet. Frankly, I’ve been too busy dealing with my recent shoulder surgery and trying to keep up with family and work. However, I’m planning to use it after the holidays since it seems perfect for me as I have issues with eating large food portions, even though I eat healthy foods. I love using a system that gives you guidelines and helps you visualize proper portion control, so I feel that I’d be successful using Myles and Steven’s product and plan.

Also I liked that a recent study done on Lifesize at Colorado State University proved that Lifesize food portions program works.  The study found that even if a person ate whatever he or she wanted, and ate unlimited FREE FOODS (i.e., fruits and vegetables) allowed on the program, following the portion guide, they cut between 400-500 calories a day from their diet and also decreased the amount of food they ate during the day.  In addition to losing weight, the study participants found they lost a significant amount of inches from their waist, hips, thighs, and arms. Makes sense, right?

How does Lifesize portions work?

The  5-Step Lifesize Program teaches you how to portion their food at home or when you’re out and about, and at any meal on any day. Specifically the program focuses on:

• How to portion all your food at home and on the fly
• How many times to eat in a day
• How many Lifesize portions to eat in a meal
• How many Lifesize portions to eat in a day
• How to handle different meals like a Sunday brunch or a business dinner
• How to exercise
• How to use water, snacks and FREE FOODS to stay on track

To view videos, to learn more about the Lifesize system, and to read the founders’ stories, go to their website at LifesizePortions.com.

Win a Lifesize portions weight loss program

Currently Lifesize is available for purchase online at LifesizePortions.com for $79.99, plus shipping and handling. However, I’m giving ONE Lifesize portions weight loss program to a lucky reader.

Giveaway closed. Congrats to Beth P!

Here’s how to win a Lifesize portions weight loss program:

1. Comment below on why you’d like to try out Lifesize portions. Do you want to eat in a healthier way? Are you losing weight for a special occasion? OR????
2. Sign up for my enewsletter for ONE additional entry.
3. Follow @amnichols on Twitter for ONE additional entry.
4. Follow amnichols on Pinterest for ONE additional entry.
5. Spread the word about this giveaway by submitting a link to this post on Twitter for ONE additional entry. You must leave a link to your tweet in your comment so I can check.
6. If you have done any of these additional activities you MUST come back here and leave a comment telling me what you did. I will be checking!
7. Maximum amount of entries is FIVE.
8. You have until  midnight on Monday, November 26, 2012 to enter.

ONE winner will be chosen at random. You must be willing to send me your full name and mailing address so I pass your info on to Lifesize’s PR people. I’ll announce the winner on this blog. I won’t share your mailing info with the public, just your name. If you have a blog, I’ll link back to it when I announce the winner.

The giveaway is valued at $79.99 and is only open to legal residents of the United States, 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. Odds of winning based on number of entries. Up to FIVE entries per person. ONE Lifesize portions weight loss program will be given away. Void where prohibited by law.

By submitting your name and email address, you agree to receive relevant promotional emails and contest follow up communications from This Mama Cooks! On a Diet in compliance with my privacy policy and giveaway rules.

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Disclosure: I was given a Lifesize portions weight loss program to facilitate this review and giveaway. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Lifesize portions weight loss program give away is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Are you looking for strategies to survive this holiday season in a healthy way without gaining weight? Rachel Berman, RD, CSR, CD/N, the Director of Nutrition for CalorieCount.com, has identified some of the unhealthiest holiday foods and has prepared the following list of suggestions for healthy and delicious swaps for holiday beverages, appetizers, desserts, side dishes and more.

Below, Rachel advises that you ditch the unhealthy and dish up better-for-you substitutions. I’ve added a few extra tips to help you enjoy a healthy and delicious Thanksgiving or holiday meal even more!

Non-alcoholic drinks

Ditch it: non-alcoholic eggnog (calories: 343, fat: 19 g for a 1 cup serving)

Dish it: sugar free hot chocolate (calories: 60, fat: 1g for one packet)

Why: Don’t gulp down your calories and fat with eggnog! Research shows we don’t register nutrients the same way from beverages than we would from food. So you’ll probably end up eating close to the same amount at holiday dinner even if you’ve had a couple of eggnogs before. Instead, arm up to a prepackaged sugar free hot cocoa and add some lite whipped cream (15 cal for 2 tablespoons) for a treat post meal.

This Mama’s tip: Try my recipe for Truvia sweetened Exotic Hot Chocolate or serve a Crio Brü, a brewed drink made from roasted 100% cocoa beans

Alcoholic drinks

Ditch it: White Russian (calories: 412, fat: 17 g per 6 ounce serving)

Dish it: “Light” Russian (Calories: 225, Fat: 0g per 6 ounce serving)

Why: Make your own “Light” Russian by subbing fat free milk or half and half for the full fat versions and save on artery clogging saturated fat.

This Mama’s tip: Try using alternative milks like lite coconut, soy or rice milk instead of cow’s milk if you’re avoiding dairy products.

Cold appetizers

Ditch it: cheese and crackers (calories: 306, fat: 16g per 2 ounce and 5 cracker serving)

Dish it: shrimp cocktail (calories: 51, fat: 0.4 g per 5 medium-sized shrimp with cocktail sauce)

Why: Cheese may be a great source of protein and calcium, but the saturated fat content really adds up. Instead, choose a virtually non-fat shrimp cocktail for a light and decadent appetizer.

This Mama’s tip: Forget the shrimp cocktail. Shrimp is awesome on its own with a little lemon or lime juice or flavored vinegars.

Hot appetizers

Ditch it: artichoke dip (calories: 100, fat: 8g per serving of 2 tablespoons)

Dish it: turkey meatballs with Hawaiian sauce (Calories: 65, Fat: 1.4 g per serving)

Why: Artichoke dip can be dangerous because no one eats only 2 tablespoons, plus there are the chips it’s usually served with. Turkey meatballs are a great substitute because they are chockfull of lean protein, pre-portioned, and delicious!

This Mama’s tip: Looking for healthy appetizers? Check out my list of healthy party foods and healthy snacks.

Veggie side dish

Ditch it: green bean casserole (calories: 309, fat: 24.7 per one cup serving)

Dish it: grilled asparagus spears (calories: 84, fat: 5.4 per six spears)

Why: Don’t be fooled by the greenery in the title, green bean casserole with fried onions can be an ominous side dish. Try simply grilled asparagus brushed with olive oil for the benefits of vitamins and minerals, without the excess fat.

This Mama’s tip: Add a little lemon juice, flavored vinegars or a buttery spread to those grilled asparagus. Heavenly!

Potato side dish

Ditch it: scalloped potatoes (calories: 214, fat: 9.8 g fat per 1 cup serving)

Dish it: mashed potatoes (calories: 109, fat: 0.2g per 1 cup serving)

Why: Scalloped potatoes are loaded with calories and fat – so this holiday, opt for mashed potatoes that are seasoned with turkey broth, garlic – and any other fresh spices you like – for a delicious and healthy side dish. Leave the skins on the potatoes for a fiber boost!

This Mama’s tips: Instead of butter and cream, use a buttery spread and no fat evaporated milk or vegetable broth to make your mashed potatoes.

Dessert

Ditch it: pecan pie (calories: 676, fat: 40.8 g, sugar: 39.4g per 129.5g per serving)

Dish it: pumpkin pie (calories: 161, fat: 4.8g, sugar: 15.2g per 129.5g per serving)

Why: Pecan pie is loaded with sugar, so take pride in serving pumpkin pie! Not only is it a holiday staple, it’s a relatively healthy dessert to serve when made with low fat evaporated milk. Plus, pumpkin is full of beta carotene – an antioxidant that promotes eye health and can help fight against heart disease and certain cancers

This Mama’s tip: Try these healthier pumpkin based desserts:

• Gluten Free Pumpkin Flan
• Cheaters Pumpkin Pie
• Weight Watchers Pumpkin Mousse
• Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Coffee shop favorites

Ditch it: peppermint white chocolate mocha with whipped cream (calories: 410, fat: 15g per 12-ounce beverage)

Dish it: pumpkin spiced latte made with skim milk, no whipped cream (Calories: 200, Fat: 0g, per 12-ounce beverage)

Why: Seasonal drinks can be very tempting. But without paying attention, your delicious holiday beverage can be equivalent to the calories in a meal with a significant amount of saturated fat from milk and cream. That doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun! Order a pumpkin spiced latte made with skim milk and skip the whipped cream for a nonfat treat with half the calories.

This Mama’s tip: Try my Skinny Pumpkin Latte.

Making healthier choices during the holidays is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Part of the reason I gained instead of lost or maintained my weight last year was due in part to my heavy travel schedule. (The other was probably due to my food sensitivities and not exercising enough.)

Well, this year already looks like it’s going to be just as busy. This week I’m in Los Angeles with my two kids for the Frigidaire’s Kids’ (good-for-you) Academy event with several other bloggers and their families. (You can follow us on Twitter by searching for the #kidscooking hashtag.) And next week I’m off to NYC.

Keeping healthy on the road

When the publicist for Dr. Wayne Andersen, founder of Take Shape For Life, sent me the following tips of simple actions you can take to avoid gaining weight while traveling, I just had to share. Since it’s directed at people who are doing a Medifast diet, I’ve expounded on several points for those of you are using other diet plans, like Weight Watchers, or are just trying to eat healthier and not gain weight when on vacation or a business trip.

If you travel frequently, you may want to also check out my post, 11 chair exercises to help you stay comfortable and healthy on long airplane flights.

Plan ahead for success

1. Before your trip, make sure you will have enough meal replacements while on your trip. You may want to mail them ahead to your destination to cut back on luggage. (This Mama’s tip: good meal replacements include bars, nuts, protein powders, packets of nut butter, etc.)

2. Find out if your hotel room has a coffee maker, refrigerator, or microwave. This will help you decide what products to bring.

3. See if your hotel has a gym or pool and bring appropriate clothes to get some exercise. No excuses! (This Mama’s tip: Some hotels have special rates at nearby health clubs like 24 Hour Fitness. If there isn’t a workout facility at the hotel, find out if there’s a walking trail, Y or rec center close by. Or indulge in a day of golf or a tennis lesson.)

Travel day preparation

4. Make sure to pack enough meal replacements for your travel day. Always bring an extra in case of layover. (This Mama’s tips: Pack healthy bars, fruit, dried fruit, tea bags, and/or individual packets of nut butters. It’ll help you save money, too!)

5. Remember healthy drinks will not make it through security. (This Mama’s tip: Bring an empty sports bottle. You can fill up at a water fountain in the terminal.)

6. If you don’t want to bring a sports bottle, you can mix drink powders and shakes in a water bottle. Just drink some water off the top before pouring the shake mix in.

7. A Medifast bar is a great snack for the plane. (This Mama’s tip: So are nuts, dried fruit and other types of meal replacement bars. Cynthia Sass, the author of Cinch! likes Larabars. Ask your seatmates if they have any nut allergies before breaking out the peanuts.)

8. If you have a coffee pot in your room, bring oatmeal, chicken noodle soup or instant soups to mix with hot water.

9. Remember to bring you shaker jar! (This Mama’s tip: stop by a convenience store or coffee shop to get some skim milk to mix with your protein powder. You can also get milk in most airport terminals.)

10. Drink lots of water. Air travel is dehydrating!

On your trip

11. This Mama’s tip: If your your hotel serves a complimentary continental breakfast, load up on healthy food like a hard boiled egg – toss the yolk – fruit, oatmeal, skim milk, etc. Or nosh on the goodies you brought with you. I like relaxing with a cup of tea in my room while I get ready in the morning, too.

12. Be aware of your schedule and don’t miss a meal! (This Mama tip: when you miss a meal, you’ll be extra hungry later and may over indulge. Instead, make sure to take some healthy snacks with you. Or head over to Starbucks for an egg white wrap, a mid-day oatmeal snack or a skinny latte.)

13. This Mama’s tip: Get enough sleep! Being sleep deprived will slow your metabolism and may cause you to overeat.

14. Order a salad and appetizer for you main meal.  It’ll probably be the proper portion. (This Mama’s tip: it’s probably cheaper, too!)

15. Remember that alcohol will let down your defenses and is full of empty calories and carbs! It’s best to choose club soda or a diet drink. (This Mama’s tip: Ask your server for lime or lemon slices to give your diet soda or seltzer water a little healthy flavor.)

16. Make healthy choices.  Some days you may have to have both lunch and dinner out, so make the best of it and choose wisely.

17. Don’t worry about losing weight. After all, sometimes the stress of traveling will slow your weight loss. The main objective is not to gain weight!

18. Remember to bring your journal and write down what you’re eating. Keeping track is important!

19. This Mama’s tip: Walk and take the stairs whenever you can. Don’t forget to pack comfortable shoes and good socks!

20. This Mama’s tip: Get back into your regular eating healthy and fitness routine as soon as you get back home. You may need to sleep in the first day though, especially if you’ve crossed several time zones and have jet lag.

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Disclosure: My participation in Frigidaire’s Kids’ Kids (good-for-you) Academy was sponsored by Frigidaire who provided me with travel arrangements to and from Los Angeles to participate.

20 simple tips to avoid gaining weight while traveling is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Today’s guest post is from Daniel Depp, the author of The 30 Day Diet system: a personalized online weight loss program designed to help you lose weight in 30 days or less, change your habits and keep the weight off permanently. He’s a former professional athlete and the successful author of numerous weight loss articles, videos, e-books and publications that have helped thousands of people lose weight, look good and stay that way – even if they’ve failed in the past.

Losing weight and keeping it off

How many people do you know who have lost weight on a weight loss diet or program at one time or another? Probably quite a few, now ask yourself how many of those people have managed to keep it off? I bet it’s considerably less – perhaps nobody.

It might seem hard to believe but it would certainly seem that losing weight permanently is far more difficult to achieve than short-term weight loss. Studies have shown that many dieters are able to lose weight initially, but before long they slip back to old habits and the weight returns to haunt them. Sometimes, they even end up weighing more than when they started!

Why is this? Well, it could be for any number of reasons; inadequate motivation, hunger, bad days, stress. The ultimate challenge is to sustain healthy lifestyle habits without the compliments from friends, family and colleagues, or seeing the numbers on the scale descending.

In order to maintain your weight loss, it’s time to accept that eating healthy and being physically active IS your new lifestyle. Focus on the rewards: lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, sleeping better, getting off medication, feeling energized and confident. Don’t think of your weight loss efforts as dieting as this implies there’s a beginning and an end.

Instead think of it as shifting to a new gear in which you are adopting small and realistic lifestyle changes. You need to continue the behavior that lost you the weight in the first place, and that behavior needs to be sustainable or else weight-regain is inevitable.

The 7 keys to long-term weight loss

Let’s take a look at how the people who have managed to successfully lose weight and keep it off – these dieters have beaten the odds and remained at their desired weight. Remember, the following information doesn’t necessarily show you how to lose weight fast, but more importantly, how to sustain your weight loss until you’re at your target weight and remain there indefinitely.

Back in the late ‘90s, researchers James Hill and Rena Wing set-up the National Weight Control Registry and tracked the habits of over 6,000 people who had lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for more than one year. Their studies showed that these successful dieters lost, on average, 70 pounds and stayed at their desired weight for six years.

They also discovered that they shared seven important habits:

1. Weight losers follow a calorie-controlled diet that is relatively low in fat

Portions should be small and foods such as soup and vegetables are a good idea. Another is to limit the variety of food you eat thus simplifying your diet. Choose calories wisely – don’t waste them on calorie dense food with little nutritional value!

2. Successful dieters have everything planned out

They follow a consistent eating pattern each day that establishes a routine – this set eating plan is the cornerstone of weight loss success. Even your indulgences can be planned out in advance, this way you have something to look forward to and keep you motivated whilst also eliminating many of the cravings associated with being unable to eat junk food.

3. Weight loss maintainers eat frequently, up to five or six times per day and every three to four hours

Nothing kills your diet faster than hunger, and eating regular meals helps control blood sugar while also managing your appetite. Be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day as thirst can sometimes be confused with hunger and those extra fluids will take the edge off your appetite and help your body burn those calories more efficiently.

4. They never skip breakfast

People who are struggling to lose weight seem to forget that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. After all, you haven’t eaten for probably eight or more hours and your body needs fuel for the day ahead. Start eating a healthy breakfast each morning and you’ll notice a vast improvement in your performance. The first meal of the day doesn’t have to be fancy, fixing up a quick bowl of whole-grain, high-fiber cereal with a bit of fruit and some non-fat yogurt will do just fine.

5. Weight loss maintainers do some sort of physical activity for 60 minutes each day

The majority of people who lose weight fast and keep it off walk five to six miles per day. That may seem like a lot but many experts agree that you could get away with less than five miles so long as you take those walks at a high intensity. Add some hills, pick up the pace and boost your heart rate to boost that metabolism and fire the fat burning furnace.

6. Successful dieters regularly take their measurements

They tend to measure their progress often, at least once a week they’ll jump on the scales and see how they are getting on. You’ve got two to three pounds to play with. If the scale goes beyond that number you know you’ve got to tighten the belt by curbing calories and/or increasing activity levels.

7. They limit time in front of the TV

Reducing the time you spend in front of the tube can have surprising results in terms of weight loss. Typically, successful weight losers watch about 10 hours of television per week, which is approximately one third of the American average. This obviously saves time that can instead be spent on working out or preparing quality food, it also means you’re less likely to indulge in unhealthy snacks while watching the latest American Idol episode.

Next stop, permanent weight loss

These seven keys to permanent weight loss have worked for others – and they can work for you, too. Of course it’s vitally important to stay positive throughout any weight loss program and to choose the right one! Sometimes what works for one person, isn’t necessarily the best option for another . It’s best to create a personalized plan that’s tailored to your own needs and preferences.

Before I sign off, I’d like to add one last thing: get realistic. If you want to lose weight permanently you need to take things slowly. Work on changing your eating habits and improving your lifestyle choices. These things don’t happen overnight but by gradually making positive changes you’ll start seeing lasting results.

Sources

• National Weight Control Registry

So you want to lose weight? The 7 keys to long-term weight loss is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I came across some wonderful weight loss and dieting tips from Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D., author of Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. Since it’s a challenging time of year to keep to your usual routines of eating healthfully and exercising, Heidi’s tips will get you into the right mindset for sticking to your weight loss goals.

But first I have a few weight loss and healthy eating tips of my own!

This Mama’s tips to lose weight over the holidays

Relax. The holidays are stressful, because there’s so much to do. Plus, the house is a disster with all those relatives and kids underfoot. Then there are those end-of-the-year deadlines at work. No wonder you’re overeating because you’re stressed out!

Instead, delegate clean up chores to your family. Take some “me time” and make an appointment for a massage or a pedicure. Get organized at work and prioritize what can wait and what needs to be done before December 31st. Get a sitter and go for a date with your significant other or a best friend. Take an exercise or yoga class. Meditate. Listen to your favorite music. Read a book.

Rest. I overeat when I’m tired, as do many people. The best protection is making sure to get eight hours of sleep every night. Take a nap Christmas day and before going to that New Year’s Eve party. You deserve it!

Planning. Fill your house with healthy snacks like veggie sticks, low fat vegetable soups, fruit and sparkling water. Plan ahead by offering to bring a healthy dish to Christmas dinner or your friend’s party. Get in an extra workout before the big company party. Bring your water bottle with you shopping and while you’re running those last minute errands.

BYO food and drink. Don’t be shy about bringing your own dish. We’re all used to people having special diets these days. If someone gives you some grief about it, tell them you’re under doctor’s orders and you have to only eat food on your special plan.

Just say no. Turn down those cookie exchange invites. See if you can just come for dessert instead of the whole dinner, and just have a cup of coffee or tea. (Works great with relatives you can’t stand!) Volunteer to be the designated driver to avoid indulging in high calorie alcohol.

Exercise. If your gym is closed for the holiday, take a walk. Or play a Wii or Xbox workout game. Get the kids to do a yoga video with you. (My daughter loves to do Wii yoga.) Believe it or not, most bowling alleys are open Christmas day, so take the kids (and the grandparents) bowling. Go for a bike ride if the weather is nice. Or challenge the kids to see who can do the most sit ups or push ups during the commercial breaks.

Use those gift cards wisely. Buy yourself some new workout clothes or a fitness game or video.

Get back on the wagon. Did you lose your focus and overindulge or stop exercising? That’s OK, but don’t use it as an excuse to not get back to your healthy habits. Hit the gym. Toss those cookies into the trash. Go to the supermarket and fill the fridge with healthy food. Drink your water!

3 Tips for Avoiding Weight Gain Over the Holidays

By Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D.

The holidays are a difficult time for those of us who both enjoy eating and worry about our waistlines. Chances are good that if you overindulged a bit at Thanksgiving, you are now looking ahead to the month of December with a wary eye - only too aware of the minefield of cookie platters, holiday parties, family dinners, and gift baskets that you will have to somehow navigate.

You know from experience that you cannot get through these trying times on willpower alone. So here are three very simple and proven-effective motivational strategies for ending up in your current pant size on January 1st.

Tip 1:  Acknowledge That You Probably Can't Have Just One.

According to the laws of physics, bodies in motion tend to stay in motion, unless something acts to stop them.  Well, the same thing can be said about human behavior, too  - - including eating.

Your actions have a kind of inertia  - - once you start doing something, it often takes more self-control to stop than it does to just avoid doing it in the first place.  And it gets harder to stop the longer the behavior goes on.  So it's easier to be abstinent if you stop at the first kiss, rather than letting things get hot and heavy.  And it's a lot easier to pass on the potato chips entirely, rather than just eat one or two.

Stopping before you start is an excellent strategy to keep your need for willpower to a minimum.  Consider cutting out all between-meal snacking over the holidays.  The fewer times you start eating each day, the less you'll have to worry about stopping.

Tip 2:  Set VERY Specific Limits.

Before you get anywhere near the cookie platter, the fruit cake, or the cheese plate, think about how much you can afford to eat without over-indulging.  Decide, in advance, exactly how much of any particular holiday treat you will allow yourself for dessert, or at the Christmas party.

The problem with most plans, including diet plans, is that they are not nearly specific enough.  We plan to "be good," or "not eat too much," but what does that mean, exactly?  When will I know if I've had too much?  When you are staring at a table overflowing with delicious snacks, you are not going to be a good judge of what "too much" is.

An effective plan is one that is made before you stare temptation in the face, and that allows no wiggle room.   Studies show that when people plan out exactly what they will do when temptation arises (e.g., I will have no more than 3 cookies and nothing else), are 2-3 times more likely to achieve their dietary goals.

Tip 3:  Savor.  

Savoring is a way of increasing and prolonging our positive experiences.  Taking time to experience the subtle flavors in a piece of dark chocolate, the pungency of a full-flavored cheese, the buttery goodness of a Christmas cookie  - - these are all acts of savoring, and they help us to squeeze every bit of joy out of the good things that happen to us.

Avoid eating anything in one bite  - - you get all the calories, but only a fraction of the taste. Also, try not to eat while you are socializing.  When you are focused on conversation, odds are good that you will barely even register what you are putting in your mouth.

Eating slowly and mindfully, taking small bites instead of swallowing that bacon-wrapped scallop or stuffed mushroom whole, not only satisfies your hunger, but actually leaves you feeling happier.

And that, ideally, is what holiday feasting is all about.

© 2010 Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D., author of Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. You can follow the author on Facebook and Twitter

How to lose weight over the holidays is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

There’s nothing more challenging for someone trying to eat healthy and lose weight than holiday cookie exchanges. If it’s too hard to avoid cookies this time of year, plan your indulgence!

• Decide how many cookies you're going to allow yourself to eat. Maybe you have them on the day you use up all your extra Weight Watcher POINTS.
• Wash down those cookies with something healthy and low calorie like green tea or skim milk.
• Put in an extra exercise session before you indulge so you've already burned up all those calories. Or go for a walk with your friends before or after the cookie exchange party.
• If you’re baking your own cookies, use healthier substitutes like stevia instead of sugar.
• When you bring your cookies home, share them with neighbors and friends. Or bring them to work to share with coworkers. No one said you have to eat them all yourself!
• Encourage your cookie exchange friends to make healthier cookies. Meringues are a good choice as are breakfast cookies.

Today’s guest post from Holly Clegg features a recipe for her Holiday Bars from her cookbook, Too Hot in the Kitchen: Secrets To Sizzle At Any Age. Believe it or not, her delicious Holiday Bars are only ONE Weight Watchers POINT per serving!

An Easy Favorite Holiday Cookie

Looking for an easy holiday treat to bring to work, a party or a cookie swap? Holiday Bars, a fantastic layered bar pick-up, highlight holiday ingredients. Easy to make with a gingersnap crust layered with white chocolate chips, pecans, and cranberries gives you the perfect combination of tart, sweet, spice, and crunchy. You will want to make this recipe year round, and you can, as this quick recipe uses dried cranberries. So, no stress when asked to bring a treat as you can whip up these amazing bar cookies in a matter of minutes.

For more healthy holiday recipes, visit Holly’s website or  The Healthy Cooking Blog.

Nutritional information

Calories 57 Calories from fat 42% Fat 3g Saturated Fat 1g Cholesterol 4mg Sodium 34mg Carbohydrate 8g Dietary Fiber 0g Sugars 6g Protein 1g

Dietary Exchanges: 1/2 other carbohydrate, 1/2 fat

Weight Watchers POINTS = 1 per cookie

This Mama’s tips

• Instead of butter, use a low saturated fat soft spread like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.
• Instead of white chocolate chips, use dark chocolate chips instead. Dark chocolate contains anti-oxidants and may have some heart health benefits as well.
• If you have a nut allergy, use pine nuts (a seed) or sunflower seeds instead of pecans.
• If you eat gluten free, substitute crumbs from gluten free gingersnap or graham crackers instead.

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Picture courtesy of Holly Clegg

Make your holiday cookie exchange party even healthier is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

If you’re interested in learning how high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) value foods like cherries can help keep your heart healthy, go to the Cherry Marketing Institute’s website at 1 p.m. EST, Wednesday, February 17th, for a live heart-healthy cooking class by Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN, dietitian and author of the book, The O2 Diet: The Cutting Edge Antioxidant-Based Program That Will Make You Healthy, Thin, and Beautiful. For every person who participates, the Cherry Marketing Institute will donate $1 (up to $5,000) to the American Heart Association for American Heart Month.

The O2 Diet

I’m giving away one copy of The O2 Diet. Enter my giveaway here.

I had been reading The O2 Diet before I found out about Keri’s online cooking class, and am now even more excited about trying out her way of eating. The book starts off with an explanation of the diet, which is based on the ORAC scale of values determined by the USDA that measure how well a food protects against free radicals.

Free radicals are believed to be the culprits behind many forms of cancer, heart disease, and the symptoms of aging. The thinking is that eating a high-ORAC diet will prevent cancer and heart disease and slow down the aging process by strengthening memory and cognition and improving skin tone and elasticity. Furthermore, a high ORAC value diet should also aid in weight loss, which makes sense since you would eat mostly vegetables and fruit on such a diet.

The O2 Diet starts with a four day cleanse consisting of lean proteins like salmon and eggs and high ORAC value foods like blueberries, artichoke hearts and green tea. You should lose two to five pounds while receiving about 57,300 ORAC points per day. The O2 Diet then gives you a four-week plan builds to build on your initial success and get you used to including high ORAC value foods in your diet.

Like other diets, it IS about eating healthy, using portion control, getting in your water, and exercising. However, I liked that Keri advocates in getting a good night’s sleep (at least seven to eight hours), pampering yourself with facials and scrubs (recipes included in the book) and even getting romantic with your partner.

The book is filled with recipes, tips on how to eat out, menus and shopping lists. You can also download a life journal, shopping list and an ORAC guide on Keri’s website, which also includes reviews, recipes and excerpts from her book.

Win a copy of The O2 Diet

I’m giving away one copy of The O2 Diet to a lucky reader!

Giveaway closed. Congrats to Cyn S.!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Leave your name, email address, and blog URL (if you have one) in the comments below for ONE entry.
2. If you have a blog, feel free to post about this contest on it for ONE entry.
3. Sign up for This Mama Cooks! Review’s RSS feed for ONE entry.
4. Sign up for my enewsletter for ONE entry.
5. Spread the word about this giveaway by submitting a link to this post on Twitter for ONE entry. You must leave your Twitter username in your comment so I can check.
6. If you have done any of these activities you MUST come back here and leave a comment telling me what you did. I will be checking!
7. Maximum amount of entries at This Mama Cooks! is FIVE – leaving a comment here (1), posting about it on your blog (1), signing up for my enewsletter (1), signing up for my RSS feed (1), and using Twitter (1).
8. You have until midnight MT on Monday, February 22, 2010 to enter.
9. ONE winner will be chosen at random.
10. You must be willing to send me your full name and mailing address so I can mail out your book.
11. I will also announce the winner on this blog. I will not share your mailing info with the public, just your name. If you have a blog, I will link back to it when I announce the winners.

The giveaway is valued at $24.99 and is only open to legal residents of the United States 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. Up to FIVE entries per person. ONE book will be given away. Void where prohibited by law. By submitting your name and email address, you agree to receive relevant promotional emails and contest follow up communications from This Mama Cooks! Reviews and This Mama Cooks! On a Diet in compliance with my privacy policy and giveaway rules.

____________________

Disclosure: I was sent two review copies of The O2 Diet, one from the publisher's PR person to review, and another by the Cherry Marketing Institute to thank me for agreeing to check out the online cooking class this week. Publicizing the event on my blog was was my idea and was done voluntarily.

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Get heart healthy with cherries and win a copy of The O2 Diet book by Keri Glassman is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!