When I moved from the Bay Area to Colorado in 1991, I found that I didn't need to up the diet ante in the spring to get ready to display my fleshy wares in a summer bathing suit. Summer in the mountains - for me at least - consists of good hiking boots, hiking shorts and a ratty t-shirt. No problem with that bit of extra flesh around the waist or on the thighs. But when it's 17 degrees out for 20 straight days in January and/or February, I begin to crave that special turquoise blue water of the Caribbean, the long lazy days in a bathing suit in the hot sun, alternately reading trashy novels and napping in a chaise lounge; the look of my cuticles getting plump and healthy again and that first breathtaking plunge into the cold healing waters of the salty Caribbean. And right now is when I start thinking of reconfiguring myself into a sleeker and slimmer self.
No diet fads for me, of course, as many of you already know, so if you are interested, let's just concentrate on the following Eight Steps which I will probably start in mid-November. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Right before the Holiday Gobble Fest.
Stop focusing only on calories: It is never good to be hungry because the body will thinks it's starving and will keep every single molecule of that Pringle on our burgeoning waistlines. So eat enough food throughout the day. Secondly all calories are not equal: For example a Pringle calorie is just awful, because of the trans fats, empty calories (no nutrition) and the addictive quality of the chip. Any chip, actually. However, some fats are actually good for weight loss, like CLA or MCT from coconut oil. So the lesson here is to focus not on calories but the actual foods you are eating.
Eat high protein foods: For weight loss, this seems to be the best for most people for two reasons: 1) Protein satisfies the appetite more than carbs and 2) protein is a stick to your ribs kind of food which will keep you happy longer. If you are a meat eater, go for the lean meats and fish. If you are not a meat eater, go for the fish, eggs, lentils, beans and nuts. Don't do many grains and if you do, make them whole and healthy.
Eat low glycemic foods: To make it really easy for you, just think no sweet stuff. Sweets release a lot of insulin into the body and the message that insulin gives to the body is "Keep all that fat on your body because a famine is coming!" There are glycemic charts to be had everywhere, but if you want one, I have one that I can give you. Of course the low GI foods are proteins, vegetables, some fruits, nuts and legumes.
Eat lots and lots of raw foods: This is key to losing weight and feeling great. Keep baby carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers - the list is endless - raw, cleaned and ready to eat in baggies in the fridge and have something fun to dip your veggies in. I make an onion dip - use one package of Simply Organic French Onion Dip Mix with a pint of sour cream - or buy one or two of the many dips that Whole Foods offers.
I have always considered salads to be an "all you can eat" phenomena. I have a huge and lovely wooden salad bowl that I fill up with tons and tons of greens, raw veggies, nuts, seeds and sometimes some bleu or feta cheese or sausage and dress with my own EVOO and Balsamic/lemon dressing. It's a whole meal for me - a bountiful, smorgasbord of wonderful, healthy, cracklingly crunchy freshness - and I do this quite often. It satisfies me on many levels, one of which is that since I am a volume eater, I like the feeling of the endless largesse of The Really Big Salad. Besides, it's visually gorgeous with the greens, yellows, reds etc.
Graze: This is a particular issue for me: I tend to have maybe a piece of buttered millet toast with tea in the morning for breakfast, (at 6AM) then take a green protein smoothie for mid-morning or lunch and that might be it until I get home. But that's not enough food for me, because when I get home I am ravenous for a five o'clock dinner where I find that, in my panicky, hungry state, I tend to eat far too much. It's all good healthy food, but a lot of it. Healthy snacking is the way to change this bad habit of mine, but if you leave home like I do most days, it takes some prior planning, getting your snacks purchased and prepared then all nicely bagged up before you run out the door for the day. Grazing keeps blood sugar levels balanced and prevents that "I gotta eat!" feeling that I often feel at 4 or 5 PM. Apples, pears, nuts, celery with almond butter, last nights protein, etc. The list is endless. I am working on it.
Keep only healthy food in the house: I know this is a problem for many of you, esp. if you share the house with young children. But if that Pringle or Fig Newton or Costco-sized bag of Pirate Booty is there in the house, you will eat it. I guarantee it. So, out with the bad and in with the good. Just keep the temptations away. You will be much happier and like yourself more.
Curb your alcohol intake: Alcohol piles the weight on. It is a fast sugar and really messes with your metabolism, insulin response, glycemic index and, yes, your resolve. Just don't mess with it if you want to get bathing suit ready. There are plenty of Margaritas and Cervesas-con-limon-por-favor once you get to Cancun. Just visualize this: See yourself sipping that first Margarita, imagining just how smashing you will look with your newly tanned and resculpted body!
Chew your food: Eat slowly, savor and chew thoroughly. This gives a message to your body that "food is coming"and not to worry. You will also find that you will eat far less if you do it consciously. It's nice to eat at the table rather than in front of the TV watching the six o'clock news. This will paralyze both you and your digestion.
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