Author: Lisa Goldenthal

So I counted my calories and dodged the cookies. I knew that all that extra sugar was a problem, but what I neglected to check was all the stuff I was eating to stave off the hunger and keep me from wanting the treats!

The protein bars I ate were high in calories and sugar, the crackers I chowed down on in the afternoon were high in fat and carbs, and the popcorn I snacked on in the evening would have been a healthy snack in moderation, eaten earlier in the day, and without the extra butter. Yikes!

• Avoid sitting for prolonged periods of time like when watching games or when eating.

• Start each day with a game plan, just like a great coach going into a big game. Track your food intake and activity level.

• Drink water as much as you can! Your brain can sometimes confuse thirst with hunger.

• To alleviate the potential negative side effects of the season, try working out in the morning so won’t get distracted later in the day by any holiday plans. Also, get plenty of rest and maintain an organized list so you won’t be stressing about what to do first.

• Always have an emergency bag of healthy food that requires no refrigeration and can be readily eaten as is.

• Remember there is always time and opportunity for a workout. Plan your workouts for the week and write them in your schedule like a boss, make sure they are a part of your day.

• When the party is over, it is time to dump the junk!

• ‘Enjoy the holiday, but don’t let it go from a day of indulgence to a month of indulgence that leads to unwanted habits that continue beyond the holiday season.’

Personally, I feel life is too short. I love my favorite foods once in a while. a few weeks ago… I had a health scare that turned out to be nothing, but the reason I am sharing this is because I feel we all need to enjoy our life.

It’s part of being human. It’s normal. It’s ok.

But the problem with diets is that you usually have to GIVE UP your favorite comfort food!

They expect you to toss your potato chips, your toast with Nutella, your bag of Dove chocolates, and your Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Though we know deep down inside that we shouldn’t attach emotions to food, we do. The smells, the tastes, the warmth, whatever reminds us of a time we felt safe, happy, or loved.

And guess what, just because you’re dieting doesn’t mean that you won’t want your comfort food.

Eat Your Comfort Foods AND Wear Your Skinny Jeans.

Those two things may seem mutually exclusive, but they don’t have to be.

I want you to think for a moment about your favorite comfort food. Recall the smell. Feel it between your fingers. Now, the taste. Is it sweet? Salty? Tangy?

Whatever it is, it’s something you might crave to calm you down, perk you up, improve your mood, celebrate, or just help you feel like you’re in control of something, anything!

Think about how you feel when you take a bite. Where does that bite transport you? Do you feel safe, warm, loved, happy? There is an emotion attached to that comfort food. You may not be able to explain why it makes you feel that way, but it does!

Now, for just a moment, imagine that I told you that you can’t have that food anymore! You’re on a diet, and that means no more of whatever food gives you that warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of your belly.

There is something about being told “no” that makes us want it even more. We begin to crave our comfort food. We lament the diet. If only we didn’t have these restrictions! If only we could have just one bite!

That’s usually the tipping point. When you get one bite, you can’t stop. Cheating on your diet becomes giving up. Why bother? You already ate a whole cheesecake. How can you go back?

Now, let’s scratch that whole scenario and work from the view point of making healthychanges that can INCLUDE your favorite comfort food.

Dieting doesn’t allow comfort food but PERMANENT weight loss from power habits that change your life without sacrifice ALLOW your favorite comfort food AND your favorite jeans!

Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? It means that 80% of the time, you stay on track, while 20% of the time, you can have foods that are outside of your typical, healthy meal plan.

What’s so magical about this rule? It means that a brownie on occasion is perfectly ok! It also means that if you usually eat healthy, it’s ok to join your family for pizza night.

When you aren’t restricting yourself to a completely “perfect” diet, then you will find yourself a lot more willing to make the changes you need to stick with a healthier lifestyle.

A little wiggle room in your diet will lead to wiggle room in your jeans!

Well just like any other Friday or any day of the week, it’s all about your daily progress.

A new client recently told me about her frustration with dieting.

She would start off each day the same: a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with fresh strawberries, water with fresh squeezed lemons. Then she would have hot tea as her mid-morning snack. For lunch: a diet shake and a salad.

(You see where I’m going with this, right?)

By afternoon, she was ready to eat anything in sight. And she did. Cookies from the lunchroom, soda from the snack machine, some stale M&Ms from the bottom of her purse that her daughter had dumped there . . .

It was a downhill spiral from there.

You know what I told her? “Diets are so 90s.”

So many people get out of bed with the best intentions and get back in bed angry with themselves. They feel like they have failed. Why? Because they are looking at weight loss as a diet instead of a lifestyle change.

Sacrifice SUCKS!

We’ve all been there before. A little nibble of something savory. A lick of something sweet. And pretty soon, we’ve downed a full sleeve of Girl Scout Cookies.

Put down the Thin Mints and let me tell you something really important about yourself: you are not a failure because you like sweets. You can still lose the weight and eat a cookie.

You may gasp and look at me suspiciously, but it’s true.

One of the craziest things that we do to ourselves when we set out on a weight loss journey is to make certain foods taboo. “I can’t eat birthday cake. I’m on a diet.” “I’ll just buy ice cream for the kids (and stare at them envious of their metabolism). I’m on a diet.” “I’ll just drink my coffee black with anger in it because I’m on a diet.”

You know what should actually be taboo? The word “diet.”

You don’t have to make any food taboo. You just have to trim the excess!

And do it gradually or your brain is going to rebel. Make small incremental changes on one or two things at a time so your body can adjust.

How? Leave the whip cream off the drink! This is a change you might notice the first couple times, but you will soon get used to it.

The best part? As you work your way through the day trimming excesses—but maintaining tastes that you enjoy—you won’t hate yourself when you go to bed. Why? Because it’s something you can stick with. You won’t eat grape skins for breakfast and a whole extra cheese pizza for dinner. And you won’t have the disappointment that you can’t stick with a “diet.”

Focus on what you CAN do with your new lifestyle. This is better than banning foods and considering yourself on a diet. Diet implies restriction, but a lifestyle change is a path to a healthier you.