So if getting healthy or losing weight are on your list this year, here’s how to make it stick:

1. Change your mindset.  You have to plan to eat differently and to keep exercising the whole rest of your life.  This isn’t about a diet; diets don’t work except in the short run.  Yes you can lose weight but as soon as you stop dieting, you pack on more than you lost.  Diets are unsustainable.  What you really have to do is change your relationship with food.  Food gives you the energy to do what you want in your life - it nurtures you.  Many regular dieters have an adversarial relationship with food.  You have to learn that you eat when you aren’t hungry and why.  Most of us eat when we’re bored, angry, lonely, hurt or happy rather than just when we’re hungry.  Figure out your triggers and deal directly with them - stop using food as medication or therapy.  And add in exercise.  You can’t be healthy just be eating right or just by exercising.  You have to do both.

2.  Develop a specific plan.  The old adage “fail to plan; plan to fail” is at work here.  Psychologists have documents that people who set very specific and measurable goals are much more likely to succeed.  So a plan that says “I’m going to lose 20 lbs in the next 2 years by eating at least 5 servings of vegetables, 1500 calories and 25 grams of fiber every day” is going to help you much more than simply thinking “I need to lose 20 lbs.”  When you plan your exercise, make sure to schedule it on your calendar just like any other appointment.  Again, “I will spend 1 hour at the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 pm” is a much better plan than “I need more exercise.”  Make sure your plan includes getting support from loved ones and friends, and make your goals public - you are less likely to fold if you’ve told everyone you’re going to do it - and how.

3. Track your progress and results.  Weigh and measure yourself once a week.  At first you might find you will gain weight, especially if you are lifting weights at a gym.  That’s OK as muscle really does weigh more than fat - but you’ll probably also find you’ve lost inches at the same time.  Write down everything you eat every day.  There are lots of great ways to track your calories intake on line.  Here are a couple I recommend:  www.sparkpeople.com; www.livestrong.com(Lance Armstrong’s Foundation).  Both have very good databases of foods plus you can add in your own if they aren’t available yet.  That way you don’t have to check the calorie counts and nutritional value of everything you eat.  Both of these programs also let you track your exercise at the same time.  There are also a few smart phone  apps that have been well reviewed: LoseIt! (free for iPhone); Calorie Counter (free for Android and Blackberry); and Livestrong’s Calorie Tracker ($3 for iPhone, Andriod or Blackberry).  This kind of tracking will let you make adjustments as you go along.

So that’s it: understand that you need to make changes for the rest of your life, make a plan, measure and track your progress toward your goals.  Sounds easy, right?  If only.

Good luck making 2010 your healthiest year yet!  Let me know how you are doing.

- for every drink of alcohol, have the same sized drink of water (you’ll feel much better in the morning)
- for buffets, use a small plate and take a small (no more than a tablespoon) helping of everything you want to try
- move into another room … Step away from the food!
- only go back for seconds after you have tasted everything and decided which are really worth the calories
- concentrate your intake on fruits and veggies, but be careful of the dips and sauces
- make a deal with yourself: you can only get another serving of food after you’ve talked to two people you’ve never met before
- if the party is likely to be appetizers and not a real dinner, have some healthy food before you go: lots of veggies and some protein, so you’re not hungry when you get to the party

- Finally, pick one desert, and take a small piece - make it a good one! (And remember, it’s the first bite that tastes the best).

What do you do at a party to keep your intake reasonable?

For the cook(s):

1) Make LOTS of vegetables, and not just squash drenched in sugar.  Make sure there are a variety on the table - multiple colors is a great strategy: green, red,  purple, orange, white.  Try to avoid packaged or processed ingredients in favor of fresh ones, especially in the sauces for the veggies.  Maybe that old recipe for green bean casserole needs an update.

2) Try substituting sweet potatoes for white ones - they have more nutrition and are naturally sweet.  Mash ‘em just like white potatoes.  If your family will revolt without white potatoes, leave most of the skin on them - that’s where all the nutrition is.

3) For root vegetable mashes (potatoes, turnips, parsnips) and squash, try mashing them with low fat buttermilk or plain yogurt rather than cream and tons of butter.  You can still add butter, for that great smooth and creamy feel in your mouth, but you can usually use about 1/4 of the normal amount to keep fat and calories lower without losing the effects.

4) Be aware of how much salt you use in each dish - it can add up fast.  Add it last just before serving and you’ll use less but still get the flavor boost.

5) Serve on small plates - many studies have shown that people fill up their plates, so smaller plates mean smaller portions and fewer calories, and everyone will still get full, I promise!

For eaters:

1) Practice portion control - take very small samples of everything you want to eat so you can get a taste and not miss anything.  You can always get more of whatever tastes good enough that you don’t care about the calories.  Do you really need 2 cups of stuffing AND 2 cups of mashed potatoes?  No. Try starting with a 1/4 cup of each.

2) Don’t eat mindlessly: wait 15 minutes before getting a second helping; it takes your brain that long to get the signal that you are full.  If you still want  more after a wait, go ahead.

3) Don’t eat mindlessly, part 2: for most foods it’s the first taste that’s the best.  Once that craving has been satisfied with one bite, check in with yourself and make sure you are still enjoying it rather than trying to re-create the feeling of the first bite.  If you manage #1 correctly, this won’t be as much of a problem.

4) Don’t miss breakfast or lunch to “save room” for dinner; you’ll be so hungry by the time dinner is served you WILL overeat.

5) Go ahead and have desert - just make the pieces small. 

6) Savor each bite and be sure to thank the chef(s).

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone, and be sure to include the farmers who grew the food in your thoughts and thanks that day.

It used to be that a health conscious parent could hand out apples until the urban myth about razor blades embedded in them scared people off.  No one dares hand out anything except pre-packaged candies anymore.  So what are the “better” choices … ones that you can feel good about but won’t embarrass your kids?

Everyone loves chocolate for Halloween … so here are some better choices for you.  Better is defined as under 200 calories a serving, low or no trans-fats, and less high fructose corn syrup.

Hershey’s Take 5, York Dark Chocolate Peppermint Patties, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Raisinets, Hershey’s Sticks Smooth and Creamy, Nestle 100 Grand, Dove Dark Chocolate Smooth Candies.

For options besides chocolate, try:

100 calorie pretzel snack packs, Werther’s Original Hard Candies or Chewy Caramels, Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers, Twizzlers Pull & Peel Cherry, Jujubees, Life Saver Gummies, Jolly Rancher Gummies, Red Hots, or Jelly Belly 30 Flavors.

For a really healthy option your kids won’t be embarrassed by, try LaraBars.  With only 3 or 4 ingredients (almonds, dates, cherry, for example) you can’t get much closer to a healthy whole food snack.  They are, however, much more expensive than the typical Halloween candy.

If you have kids at home and need some strategies to keep them from gorging on the candy haul all in one weekend, try freezing the chocolate candies and giving them one or two a day.  I don’t suggest you use the candy for incentives/rewards for good behavior (you don’t want to teach them that sugar is a reward food) or to soothe a child having a bad day, but it is great to use them as special treats.  Surprise your kids by putting some candy out when they are having a good day.

And don’t forget to set the same limits for yourself if you have leftover candy, or just can’t resist helping yourself to your kids’ haul …

What strategies have worked for you historically to limit consumption?

Now, in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods we have “food deserts” - places where it’s impossible to purchase fresh food because there are no supermarkets.  But, did you know that there isn’t a SINGLE, national grocery store within the Detroit city limits?  That was news to me.  It simply is not possible to eat a healthy diet from a convenience store.

And that’s what Mr. Williams is helping to change.  He’s helping people be more self sufficient, earn some income and eat better food.  So hats off to Mr. Williams and the GROW Collaborative.  For more details on the project, check out the story from Marketplace on Oct 8, 2009.

So what’s a person to do? 

First DON’T quit exercising.  There are lots of benefits to it and you might just weigh even more if you weren’t working out.

Next, do some research on what you are eating.  Most company web sites tell you the full nutritional information on all their products.  Look for choices with more protein and fiber than sugar and those should be your best choices (the formula I use is g of protein + g of fiber > g of sugar).

Then, get yourself a heart rate monitor, and if your gym doesn’t do it, find a nearby place to have your resting metabolic rate and your aerobic threshold tested.  This way, you can program your heart rate monitor to YOU specifically.  You’ll be amazed at how different the calories use numbers are when you use a counter calibrated specifically for you rather than the averages listed on the cardio machines.  At 52, my AT is 20 beats per minute higher when tested than the charts on the treadmill or stair steppers would have me believe.  But, in class I use about 200 calories fewer than my 30 year old classmates doing the exact same things.  We are all different and you cannot rely on the readout from the cardio machines to give you accurate information.

Once you know how many calories you are really using in a workout, you can calibrate what you eat the rest of the day.  You will often be hungry after a workout.  Try to grab a fruit shake or smoothie with some protein powder in it.  But if you go to Jamba Juice, get the all fruit Peach Perfection, Berry Fullfilling or Cheddar Jalapeno Twist (320, 260 and 250 calories respectively) rather than the Peanut Butter Moo’d (840 calories and 21 g of fat) or the Aloha Pineapple smoothie (500 calories).   You’ll feel best if you can eat something within 45 minutes of the end of your workout. I prefer something under 300 calories, but see what works for you.  Then eat a real meal within 2 hours, but concentrate on whole foods like vegetables and lean protein with a little whole grain.

After that, remember to keep moving during your day.  Just because you went to the gym doesn’t mean you shouldn’t walk the dog or pull some weeds from the garden.

Finally, if you want to reward yourself for working out, don’t use food as your reward. Get a manicure or take 20 minutes to yourself to read something you’re interested in. 

Do it right, and exercise WILL help make you thin, but only if you also pay attention to what you eat.

So we can gorge on these foods now, but what about getting our veggie fix later in the year, when they aren’t so plentiful?  Well, you have a freezer, right?  Use it!  For vegetables, I like to cook them first and then freeze them.  And the way I like to cook them is to grill them: marinate in a little chicken stock, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and thyme or oregano.  Grill until cooked but not mushy.  For desert try grilling peaches (or any stone fruit like plums or apricots): cut in half, remove the pit and place cut side down on the grill.  Serve alone, with vanilla ice cream or yogurt, or with a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar.

To freeze veggie leftovers: coat with olive oil, place in a single layer on a cooke sheet and place in freezer overnight or for 24 hours max.  Once frozen completely, put the veggies in a freezer zip top bab, squeeze or suck as much air out as possible and put back in the freezer.  The olive oil and sucking the air out will keep freezer burn to a minimum.  To use, defrost in the fridge and re-heat on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven about 15 minutes (or until you can smell them).

Yummy.

According to the story, “Bloating and abdominal pain are common symptoms of Celiac disease. And, while it’s normal to pass gas, experts say that people with Celiac disease often have a lot of smelly gas. Increasingly, experts have identified a broad range of additional symptoms that include hair loss, fatigue, canker sores, itchy skin rashes, and tingling in the hands and feet. See the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness for a complete checklist. A blood test is used to diagnose the condition. “  If the blood test is inconclusive a diagnosis can require two endoscopies: one as a base line and another 3 months after eliminating gluten from the diet.

Experts also think that many of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) diagnoses might actually be Celiac.  So if you think you have IBS, a visit to a doctor to check for Celiac might be worthwhile because the treatments are different.

Elimination of gluten is the only treatment for people with Celiac, and it’s hard because there is gluten in soy sauce and many other foods you wouldn’t imagine.  Fortunately, there are gluten free sections of grocery stores all over the country now.

Are there milder forms of gluten intolerance?  It seems there are.  People might not have the full-blown Celiac but still be allergic or sensitive to glutens.  Again, a blood test (IgG and IgE factors) can tell you.  Usual symptoms are gas and bloating, but in children, especially children with ADD, ADHD and autism, the sensitivity can manifest in more extreme symptoms or bad behavior.  Headaches can also be a symptom of a food allergy.

What is your experience with gluten?  Has it been a problem for you?  Have you found good sources for gluten-free foods?

What can you do?  Get tested if you suspect a problem.  Also vary the grains you eat so that wheat is not the only one: learn to love quinoa; eat more brown rice.  Don’t just live on pasta and bread.

For breakfast today I mixed the berries from my garden with some I had bought at the store.  What a difference in taste!  Even their look was different.  The ones from the garden were red all the way through - no hard white top or centers.  That comes from letting them fully ripen on the vine, rather than picking them before they are ripe and shipping them to Chicago from California.

I was in Stockholm once in early July and there were street vendors selling strawberries everywhere.  You could smell the strawberries from half a block away.  One German colleague said he’d never eaten bigger or more tasteless strwaberries than in the US; he said they LOOKED beautiful but had no flavor.  That’s true of alot of our food, unfortunately.

The good news is that farmers markets can provide you with fresh, flavorful food and they have all either just begun or are about to.   

Have you tasted a ripe, fresh-picked strawberry lately?  Go find some and let me know.