The days are short, the temps are cold, and there might even be snow and ice around. What's a healthy foodie to do to burn enough calories so we can eat more?

Winter activities can include shoveling snow and clearing off your car, but unless you live in upstate New York or Minnesota, you probably can't count on that as an everyday calorie-burner.

If the footing is not too slippery, get out and walk in your home neighborhood, or at work during your lunch break. You actually burn more caolories in the cold -- from your body just trying to stay warm -- so outdoor exercise can be very effective. Just be sure to wear a moisture-wicking layer nearest to your skin, cover your head, and wear gloves or (my favorite) mittens. 

And there's a good reason why gym memberships spike this time of year. It's not only new year's resolutions, or maybe not even mostly about that. People just don't like to spend a lot of time outside when it's dark and cold, and a good fitness facility can really be like a second home. You'll meet new people -- if you want to -- and get the advice of fitness professionals to meet your personal needs and goals. 

Give these things a try  -- you'll be glad you did, if only because the more calories you burn each day, the more you can eat!

 

How did you do over the difficult holiday period? If you weighed before Thanksgiving, where did you end up today, 1/1/10? My total weight gain is about 2 pounds--and frankly, it happened Christmas weekend. (Up until then, I was holding steady.) Over the past week, I haven't been able to do anything about it. But starting Monday at the latest, I'll try really hard to get back to my pre-TG weight.

Let's resolve to make 2010 our healthiest ever! 

 

Going to parties? Eating at restaurants? Family feasts to attend (and/or host)? Candy turning up from Santa? Too busy to exercise, too stressed to sleep enough? The list of challenges to our health over the next six weeks or so is very long indeed. What's a healthy foodie to do?

Let's start with the parties. If it's potluck (or even if it's not and you know the hosts well enough to bring a dish to add), my strategy is to bring something that is going to improve the health profile of the buffet table. Truth be told, I almost always bring a veggie dish because so many parties would have nothing vegetable if it weren't for my contribution. The idea here is not to forego all holiday treats -- there'll be plenty of that -- but to make sure you can balance some of the high-calorie goodies with more nutritious dishes.

My veggie dishes are always appreciated and get eaten as fast as anything else on the table! I'm not saying bring cut up celery and carrots (not that there's anything wrong with that), but instead, use your imagination with winter veggies such as Brussels sprouts, acorn or butternut squash, or year-round favorites like broccoli or green beans. Just don't add cream of mushroom soup or other fat-laden ingredients.

This week, Dr. Andrew Weil posted lists of party appetizers to avoid, and those that are better for you.
The good ones:
1. Crudites--Yes, the cut-up raw veggies, but without unhealthy dips. Weil suggests a yogurt dip, and I would add hummus as a good-for-you dip for veggies.
2. Mixed nuts -- Nuts are filling and very tasty; be careful not to go overboard though, since they are full of calories. Go for unsalted nuts if at all possible. You won't get as thirsty for more caloric beverages (why do you think bars put out bowls of salty snacks but to make you drink more?), and too much salt is not beneficial to your health.
3. Smoked salmon -- because of its high Omega-3 fatty acid content. It's tasty too, but of course also expensive. You won't be tempted to overeat this because there's probably not going to be a whole lot of it!
4. Grilled figs and blue cheese -- kind of an odd choice (who has access to fresh figs this deep into November?), but he recommends figs for their vitamins and fiber along with "a little bit" of the cheese for calcium and protein. Sounds good to me!

Those to avoid? Dips, cocktail franks and mini-meatballs, anything fried, and foie gras.

Not much to report the past few days. I have not been as careful this week as last, so I'm not losing any weight--just trying to be stable until Monday when I'll do another push. I am so close to my goal weight that it's hard to be strict about another couple pounds.

Weekends are still the biggest challenge. Today I took my mom and two of her friends to tea. The food that comes with tea service is anything but normal healthy-foodie fare, not to mention the healthy foodie on a weight-reduction eating plan. Oops, again. My husband and I also have plans to dine out with friends Saturday night. So you see why I say, my best hope is to hold on to the loss of last week and start in fresh on Monday, or probably Sunday. 'Taint easy, is it?

I'm happy to report that the scales had good news for me this morning--2 pounds lost in Week 1. That may not sound like a lot, but two pounds a week is the healthiest pace at which to lose weight, or so I have been reading for years. And the other thing is, I don't have that many pounds to drop overall. Even so, losing just a few pounds is not at all easy! Tonight my husband is out so I'm just making myself a Lean Cuisine with steamed Brussels sprouts, and since that is soooo low in calories, I might have a small glass of wine as a treat. Complete deprivation of treats is not healthy, either. (P.S. -- The photo is not of me--it's clip-art)

The week started pretty well, and I managed not to backslide over the weekend. Along with eating out, weekend indulgences also throw out roadblocks to keeping my weight where I like it. Hmmm, could those two be related? :-) What made this weekend OK was eating out only once, on Friday night, and it definitely was indulgent. But I got right back on track Saturday and have been OK since then. Tomorrow I'll weigh in and report on what the scales have to say.

Friday was tough--I had lunch at Wild Ginger with a friend, and then my husband and I went downtown for drinks at Tonic and dinner next door at Local 127.
Eating away from home has always been the hardest thing for me with weight loss (or even just avoiding weight gain). I try to order light and healthy, but still....And the cocktails at Tonic are empty calories, pure and simple. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," ha, ha.
All I can say about the eating-out conundrum is to minimize doing it at all, when possible, and make up for the meals out by being extra-good when you get back to your regular eating plan.
We're eating in tonight--Saturday--so tomorrow I will get up my courage to step on the scale to see if the one pound I lost between Monday and Friday is still gone.

I must confess that the scale has not moved yet, which tries my patience, to be sure. But I will stay the course. It would happen faster if I cut calories more drastically, but that is not sustainable and would violate all my healthy foodie principles.

Breakfast might be my favorite meal, and I find it easy to make it a healthy one. Oatmeal used to be one of my least-fave foods until I learned how to enhance it with berries, nuts, dried fruits and chopped apples--along with Splenda, my sweetener of choice. I add vanilla soy milk or skim milk instead of water and maybe a little cinnamon. Good stuff.

Another favorite breakfast is a toasted whole-wheat English muffin and fruit: in summer, it's cut-up canteloupe and blueberries; in winter, I have a half grapefruit. The easiest brekkie for me is cold cereal with bananas, berries and skim milk. Yogurt and granola work well, too. There are lots of low fat, high fiber, fruit-centric choices!

Start your day with a 300-400-calorie breakfast and you won't be tempted by donuts, pastries, vending machine treats and all those empty calories floating around.

If you're not already active, this is the perfect time of year to change that. More often than not, from now until late November the temperature outdoors is beautifully condusive to walking, which most physicians attest is the best form of exercise for most people. Get into the habit of doing some walking every day and by the time of cold weather, you'll want to keep doing it. If your day is too busy to get in more than 15 minutes at a time, it still adds up if you do 15 minutes before work, 15 at lunch and 15 after you get home. You can do it!

 

Since we don't like the "d" word when it comes to weight control or weight loss, I'll just call it my eating plan.

Day 2 has been a busy work day and I didn't have much time to think about food. Instead of snacks, when possible I was able to chew a little sugarless gum or drink water or mint tea with Splenda. Thus far my calories through B/L/D have toted up to about 1200, so I'll still be able to have a little bedtime snack--probably a 150-calorie chocolate pudding cup (Kozy Shack brand, I think).

But what am I giving up? Wine, which is one of the things that I DON'T have on this eating plan that I usually do let creep into my meals or snacks when I'm not paying close attention. When I need to lose a few pounds, wine becomes just a weekend treat and not an everyday drink with dinner. That goes for any other alcohol. Other foods that I give up or cut way back on include jam on my morning toast/english muffins, bread and other starches with dinner, and almost all sugary treats.

I already eat lots of veggies and fruits, so the weight-loss plan doesn't do anything different there.  

And finally, Mary Ann and I both agree that it's important for our health -- and yours, gentle reader -- to monitor weight and change any bad habits when we've gone a few pounds (say 5) over where we ought to be. Otherwise, 5 pounds becomes 10, which morphs into 20, and pretty soon it's a catastrophe!