Feel Fuller

Eat lower-calorie foods that are high in fiber to help fill you up. Fiber-rich foods are high in volume, so high-fiber foods can make you feel fuller longer without adding too many extra calories. Fill up on high-fiber foods such as whole-grain cereals, berries, and black beans and you can lose weight without feeling deprived and hungry.

Drink lots of water and include water-rich foods. When you feel as if you are starving, pound a quart of water and see if that helps kill the urge to eat. You can also eat foods that have a high water content, which will help you feel full — these include soup, fruit, and vegetables. For example, sometimes I use two bags of lettuce to make my salads. Or I have three veggie sides at dinner — steamed spaghetti squash, grilled eggplant, AND mashed cauliflower.

Get some sleep! While doctors have long known that many hormones are affected by sleep, it wasn't until fairly recently that appetite entered the picture. Research has shown that leptin and ghrelin, two hormones that regulate appetite, are both directly affected by how much sleep we get. Have you ever experienced a sleepless night followed by a day when, no matter what you ate, you never felt full or satisfied? That's because of leptin and ghrelin; together, these hormones work in a kind of "checks and balances" system to control feelings of hunger and fullness. Ghrelin stimulates appetite, while leptin sends a signal to the brain when you are full. When sleep is restricted, leptin levels go down and ghrelin levels go up. Lack of sleep can also trigger the release of cortisol, a nasty stress hormone that is responsible for storing abdominal fat. So it becomes apparent that anyway you look at it, lack of sleep can set the stage for overeating and weight gain.

Don't panic. You can and will lose weight. Even if you are eating more than your daily calorie allowance, you can still lose — it just might take a little longer. Exercise is key: Working out harder and more often will help burn the extra calories you might take in if you have a bad day. I know that when I indulge one day, I work out extra hard the next.

Don't Give In to Emotional Eating

The next time you are really hungry, or at least think you're really hungry, stop yourself from heading to the fridge and ask yourself the following questions: When was the last time I ate? Was it more than three to four hours ago? Is my stomach growling? Am I light-headed? If the answer to these questions is no, then you aren't hungry at all; you are engaging in emotional eating. Time to go for a walk or figure out some other nonfood activity!

Binge Eating

How to Beat Binge Eating


If you're inclined to binge, the most important thing you can do for yourself is to examine the emotional reasons for it. I know that processing such emotions is hard and takes time, but there are some good techniques that can help you modify your behavior and combat binge eating while you work on the underlying issues.

Banish binge foods from your environment. Don't buy or let into your house whatever you're prone to bingeing on — whether it's cookies, chips, or ice cream. After all, you can't eat what's not there.

Decorate your fridge with images that motivate you. I have two pictures on mine: One is a photo of my cellulite, and the other is of Olympic swimmer Dara Torres. Let me tell ya, there is nothing that will turn you off to eating too much like pictures of cottage cheese on your butt.

Call a friend. The next time you want to stuff your face, reach out for support and try talking through your feelings instead of anesthetizing them by bingeing.

Try taking up a hobby. Keep yourself occupied so that rather than medicating yourself with food, you'll distract yourself with something productive.

Do something to screw up your binge. In other words, pamper yourself with something that's positive rather than self-destructive. Get a mani-pedi. Take a relaxing bath. Go to the gym. There are many places to go and activities to take part in that'll also lead you away from the temptation of food.

It takes time to break a bad habit, so it's good to have some techniques to fall back on when life gets the better of you! Remember to take it one day at a time. If you do end up bingeing, work out a little harder the next day. Every day is a new one — got it?

Eat Right

When I tell you to eat right, I'm not just talking about eating the right foods. I also want you to sit down and eat your meals properly. Don't eat while standing up, in the car, or when you're on the go. If you sit down at the table, take your time, and relax while you eat, you'll be less likely to snack on a bunch of junk between meals.

Fiber

Fill Up on Fiber

We've all heard about the benefits of fiber for digestive health, but did you know it's also good for your metabolism? Soluble dietary fiber traps carbohydrates to slow their digestion, checks the rise of glucose after meals, and keeps insulin levels low. It can also help lower cortisol levels and aid in the body's natural disposal of excess estrogen. As if all those positive effects weren't enough, soluble fiber's sticky quality helps drag cholesterol out of the digestive tract, lowering your LDL cholesterol (the "bad" kind).

Another bonus is that most sources of soluble fiber also provide insoluble fiber — the kind that keeps things moving in our digestive tract. How do you know if you're getting enough fiber in your diet? Well, there are a couple of pretty obvious symptoms if you're not:

You're constipated. You should be having at least three bowel movements a week. If not, keep your chin up and try adding more fiber-filled foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, to your diet — see if that doesn't fix the plumbing!

You're often hungry. You could be hungry for a number of reasons, including emotional ones, but lack of fiber is a likely suspect. Fiber helps you feel full, and if you're not getting that warm, fuzzy, fullness feeling, it may be because you need to eat more — you guessed it! — fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

So fiber can help keep you regular and make you feel full. The FDA also considers it to be a powerful fighter against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease as well as digestive disorders and obesity.

As a general rule, you should eat as many organic veggies and as much salad as you possibly can (dressing on the side, please!). This will help make you feel full and keep you from overeating other, more calorie-dense foods. Fill up!

Finding Fiber

Sure, eating more fiber sounds like a great idea, but how do you realistically work it in to your day? First, always choose whole-grain products like whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, and grains like bulgur and quinoa instead of white rice, white bread, and other refined-grain products. Also, follow these tips:

Start the day with whole-grain cereal.

When appropriate, eat vegetables raw, because cooking can reduce fiber content.

Avoid peeling fruits and vegetables when you can, because the skin contains a lot of fiber. (Just be sure to buy organic fruit so you can avoid nasty pesticides.)

Add beans to soups, stews, and salads.

Keep fresh fruit on hand for snacks.

Calming Hunger

5 Ways to Calm Hunger Pangs

Do you start getting hunger pangs at 11:50 a.m. in anticipation of lunch? We've all been there. The cause is the hormone ghrelin; released when the stomach is empty, it sets off a chain reaction in the body to make you hungry. In general, you want to keep levels of ghrelin low during the day so you can keep hunger in check. Apart from an empty stomach, there are several factors that can raise ghrelin levels, including drinking alcohol, eating too few calories, and eating greasy, fatty foods. Here are some strategies that will help you manage these triggers and keep your ghrelin levels from rising:

Have a substantial breakfast. One study showed that people who ate a higher-calorie breakfast produced 33 percent less ghrelin throughout the day and felt satisfied for a longer period of time. Try a whole-wheat English muffin with organic peanut butter, a cup of strawberries, and some low-fat yogurt.

Choose complex carbs and get more fiber. Insulin and ghrelin go hand in hand. When insulin goes up after you eat, ghrelin goes down. If you eat the wrong kind of carbohydrates — refined carbs such as white bread and pasta — your blood sugar rises dramatically. In response, your body releases a surge of insulin to clear that sugar from the bloodstream. The insulin does its job very efficiently, and the resulting low blood sugar causes hunger sooner. These constant blood sugar ups and downs can wreak havoc on your metabolism, so it's best to eat complex carbs and fiber, which delay the release of sugar into the bloodstream so that insulin levels are kept stable and you feel full longer.

Eat on a schedule. Research has found that ghrelin levels rise and fall at your usual mealtimes, so eating on a schedule prevents spikes in ghrelin. If you're running errands and are away from the kitchen at one of your typical mealtimes, carry a small bag of almonds or other nuts with you — you can eat a little something to keep your stomach satisfied until you can get home and have a real meal.

Emphasize high-volume, low-calorie foods. Levels of ghrelin remain high until food stretches the walls of your stomach, making you feel full. High-volume, low-calorie foods, such as salads and soups, reduce ghrelin levels long before you've overeaten. All green veggies and any foods with a high water content count as high-volume, low-calorie foods.

Eat protein. Protein-rich foods can also suppress ghrelin levels — they help create a long-lasting feeling of fullness. Try adding whey protein to a low-calorie smoothie. (If you're sensitive to gluten, just be sure to check the ingredients list; some whey protein products contain gluten.) One study found that whey brought about a prolonged suppression of ghrelin.

No Food Before Bed

For most of your day, the object is to keep ghrelin levels low — you don't need any extra diet-endangering hunger! But at night, you do want ghrelin levels to rise. Your body requires ghrelin to move effectively through all the necessary phases of sleep. Without the proper progression, you won't get to stage 4 sleep — the phase of deep sleep, during which you get a big pulse of growth hormone — or to the REM sleep that helps protect levels of leptin, the hormone that tells your brain you're full. To keep ghrelin levels up at night, don't eat after 9 p.m. Close down that kitchen after dinner and get restful sleep!

Fiber

Fill Up on Fiber

We've all heard about the benefits of fiber for digestive health, but did you know it's also good for your metabolism? Soluble dietary fiber traps carbohydrates to slow their digestion, checks the rise of glucose after meals, and keeps insulin levels low. It can also help lower cortisol levels and aid in the body's natural disposal of excess estrogen. As if all those positive effects weren't enough, soluble fiber's sticky quality helps drag cholesterol out of the digestive tract, lowering your LDL cholesterol (the "bad" kind).

Another bonus is that most sources of soluble fiber also provide insoluble fiber — the kind that keeps things moving in our digestive tract. How do you know if you're getting enough fiber in your diet? Well, there are a couple of pretty obvious symptoms if you're not:

You're constipated. You should be having at least three bowel movements a week. If not, keep your chin up and try adding more fiber-filled foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, to your diet — see if that doesn't fix the plumbing!

You're often hungry. You could be hungry for a number of reasons, including emotional ones, but lack of fiber is a likely suspect. Fiber helps you feel full, and if you're not getting that warm, fuzzy, fullness feeling, it may be because you need to eat more — you guessed it! — fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

So fiber can help keep you regular and make you feel full. The FDA also considers it to be a powerful fighter against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease as well as digestive disorders and obesity.

As a general rule, you should eat as many organic veggies and as much salad as you possibly can (dressing on the side, please!). This will help make you feel full and keep you from overeating other, more calorie-dense foods. Fill up!

Finding Fiber

Sure, eating more fiber sounds like a great idea, but how do you realistically work it in to your day? First, always choose whole-grain products like whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, and grains like bulgur and quinoa instead of white rice, white bread, and other refined-grain products. Also, follow these tips:

Start the day with whole-grain cereal.

When appropriate, eat vegetables raw, because cooking can reduce fiber content.

Avoid peeling fruits and vegetables when you can, because the skin contains a lot of fiber. (Just be sure to buy organic fruit so you can avoid nasty pesticides.)

Add beans to soups, stews, and salads.

Keep fresh fruit on hand for snacks.

Arm Flab?

Fight Flabby Arms With These Moves


In this August heat, I bet you want to wear less to stay cool. I'm not talking about exhibitionism but about revealing your arms in tank tops and sleeveless dresses! Not ready to bare them quite yet? Well, it's time to sculpt some sexy arms that you'll want to flaunt!

First, a brief anatomy lesson: Your biceps are the prominent muscles in the front of your upper arms, and your triceps are the horseshoe-shaped muscles located in the back of your upper arms. Biceps help you bend your arms, and they assist the muscles of your upper back in pulling and carrying. The triceps muscle's primary function is to extend the elbow and straighten your arm, but the triceps also assist the chest and shoulder muscles in throwing and pushing.

Two great exercises for working these muscles of the upper arm are dumbbell biceps curls and triceps kickbacks. Check them out:

Dumbbell Biceps Curls


Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, your palms facing your sides. Exhale, and keeping your elbows locked against your rib cage, curl both arms three-quarters of the way up to your shoulders, rotating your wrists as you lift, so your palms end up facing your shoulders.

Hold for a beat, focusing on squeezing your biceps. Inhale, and slowly lower your arms to the starting position; repeat.

Triceps Kickbacks

Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your sides, and stand with your feet hip-width apart, with a slight bend in your knees. Bend forward from the waist so that your torso is nearly parallel with the floor. Bend both elbows so that your upper arms are locked at your sides and parallel to the floor (your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor).

Keeping your upper arms still, straighten your forearms behind you until the ends of the dumbbells are pointing toward the floor. Hold for a beat, then inhale and slowly lower your arms to the starting position; repeat.

Overcoming Genetics

Sometimes genetics hands us down problem areas. If you inherited Aunt Sue's flabby arms, don't despair — you can get them trim and toned, but it's going to take some work. In addition to doing strength-training exercises that target your biceps, triceps, and forearms, try participating in activities like kickboxing, skiing, swimming, and tennis — they require you to use your arm muscles in varied ways while also giving you a chance to have fun. Can't beat that!

Sodium

Beat the Bloat: Sodium 101


You know sodium best as table salt, but salt and sodium are hidden in all kinds of products, including processed foods, frozen and canned foods, fast foods, condiments, and more. You've probably heard that excess sodium can raise your blood pressure, but you may not realize it has negative effects on weight loss too.

When you eat something salty, any excess sodium is deposited just beneath the skin, where it attracts water, which is retained by your cells. Not only can this leave you feeling puffy and bloated, but it can hamper your ability to lose weight. Your body needs a steady flow of water in and out to effectively metabolize fat, and if the water gets dammed up in your cells, your ability to burn fat slows.

Now, don't make yourself crazy over sodium intake, because there is sodium in everything — you can't avoid it completely. And you wouldn't want to — sodium plays an important role in the body, and we need it to survive. Just be conscious of how much you're eating, and minimize it where you can. Here are some tips to get you started:

Read labels to check the sodium content of the foods you're eating. I recommend that you aim for around 1,000 milligrams a day to maximize your body's fat-burning potential and lower your blood pressure; 1,500 mg a day, however, is probably more realistic.

Replace processed foods with fresh foods.

Avoid packaged and canned foods.

Be wary of sodium-laden condiments (soy sauce, mustard, table salt).

Cut down on processed meats (hot dogs, jerky, bologna, corned beef).

Use miso and canned or smoked seafood with caution.

Steer clear of anything pickled (including capers, sauerkraut, and relish).

Consider salt-free flavoring alternatives, like garlic, lemon, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pepper, and spices.

Water Consumption

As I'm sure you know, water aids in every aspect of body function. Particularly as a facilitator of the fat-burning process, it is a vital part of any diet and exercise program. As a general rule, men should consume 120 ounces of water a day, and women should consume 80 ounces. I recommend distilled water because it's sodium free, but other forms of noncarbonated water are also fine, as long as they have no sodium. Again, read your labels.

Tips for Appetite Control

7 Tips for Controlling Your Appetite

Don't skip meals. You should be eating three square meals a day, plus one snack, and spacing your meals throughout the day so that you don't go longer than four hours without eating. This will keep your blood sugar levels and hunger hormones stable.

Drink tons of water. When you feel as if you're starving, pour yourself a huge glass of water or grab a bottle of seltzer — it will help quell the urge to snack.

Sleep! Two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, regulate our appetite, and both are directly affected by how much sleep we get. These hormones work in a kind of "checks and balances" system to control feelings of hunger and fullness. Getting eight hours of shut-eye each night helps the hormones work properly, which in turn will help curb your appetite.

Examine your hunger. The next time you feel hungry between meals, consider the last time you ate. If it was less than three to four hours earlier, your stomach isn't growling, and you're not weak or tired, you're probably emotionally unsatisfied in some way rather than genuinely physically hungry.

Think about what, besides eating, soothes you. Steer yourself toward positive feelings of self-worth and you'll choose activities and behaviors that inherently contradict self-loathing and self-destructiveness.

Don't panic. You can and will lose weight. Even if you're eating a little more than the meal plan calorie allowance, you can still lose — it just might take a little longer. Exercise is also crucial. Working out harder and more often will help burn the extra calories you might take in if you have a bad day.

Do not beat yourself up! Sometimes we slip up, and that's okay — healthy living is not an all-or-nothing proposition. I'm here for you, and I know you can do this. Believe in yourself and try to incorporate my suggestions into your life, and let's see how you do.

If food commercials on television make you feel hungry and drive you to snack uncontrollably, record your shows so you can skip the commercials. Or keep a few magazines close by so you have something to zone out with until the commercials are over. Or, you can always drop to the floor and do a few stretches or sit-ups to regain control and remind yourself why you're doing my program — I'm not joking!

The Right Stuff

Get the Right Tools for the Job


So you've cleared your cupboards of hormone-disrupting processed foods and stocked up on fresh vegetables and fruits, organic meats, low-fat organic dairy products, and whole grains. Excellent. You've replaced high-calorie cooking methods like frying with low-calorie methods like baking, roasting, and steaming. Awesome! Now let's take a closer look at another aspect of healthy cooking: your cookware.

Believe it or not, the pots and pans you cook your food in can have an impact on your metabolism. Some choices are better than others, and I'll start with the good ones:

Cast iron. This classic material conducts heat well and can even add a little iron, an essential nutrient, to your food. Cooking experts recommend seasoning cast-iron pans with vegetable oil so foods won't stick to them.

Porcelain-coated cookware. Pots and pans coated with porcelain are naturally low-stick and easy to clean.

Stainless steel. An alloy of iron and other metals, stainless steel is nontoxic and doesn't react with acidic foods.

Glass. Glass cookware is great for baking and roasting and has the advantage of being microwave safe.

What I'm not so crazy about are pans with chemical nonstick coatings like Teflon. For years, nonstick pans had a great rap because they made cleanup easier and required less butter and oil for lubrication. But in recent years, organizations like the Environmental Working Group have spoken out against Teflon because it contains the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which may be released when Teflon is heated. The Environmental Protection Agency has labeled PFOA a likely human carcinogen, and some research has linked it to abnormal levels of thyroid hormone, liver inflammation, and elevated cholesterol. The maker of Teflon has committed to phasing out PFOA by 2015, but until then you're better off using healthy alternatives.

Spouse Issues?

Getting Your Spouse to Live Healthy


Q: I'm trying to make healthy changes in my life — with what I eat and with exercise — and my husband isn't helping. He continues to live a very unhealthy lifestyle, and I can't get him to join me. What do you suggest?

A: It's sad how many times I've answered this question. In fact, the number one reason people cite for quitting any type of weight-loss or health regimen is their responsibilities to their spouse.

At the beginning of a relationship, we often enter into a silent agreement with our partner about how things will be and what roles we will play. If one person starts to make changes — positive OR negative — it can be very threatening to the one who doesn't want to change. That usually just means that he or she feels insecure at the prospect of your transformation in general. Such a transformation can be very scary to the other person, who may worry that you will outgrow the relationship and leave him or her for someone or something else.

Most likely, your husband has no idea that this attitude is undermining your resolve. Sit down with him and talk about how you feel about what is going on — and be sure to reassure him of your love. Give examples of how his behavior has sabotaged your efforts. If he reacts defensively, which is a distinct possibility, give him time and be reassuring.

I know this stuff is easier said than done. It's much easier to avoid this type of confrontation for fear of judgment, rejection, or abandonment, but you have to be brave and remember what is at stake. The bottom line is this: Do not let anyone or anything get in the way of your leading the happiest, healthiest life possible!

Are You Making Excuses?

It's also important to be honest with yourself about how much your partner is really affecting your attempts to lead a healthier life. Many people blame their partner when they themselves should take on more responsibility. It's easy to blame someone else when you don't make it to the gym in the morning, but is it really that person's fault? If you have a clear goal, your motivation and determination must come from within — not from an outside source. The support of your loved ones is invaluable, but those who always lean on someone else to motivate them will never succeed.

Belly Buldge

How to Get Rid of Belly Bulge


Q: What is the best way to get rid of belly bulge?

A: Contrary to what you might think, getting rid of belly bulge is all about diet and cardio rather than strength-training exercises that target the abdominals. This is because belly bulge results from excess body fat, not lack of muscle. The best way to reduce the bulge, therefore, is to reduce your body fat, and we all know what that requires — eating right and exercising, baby!

It is possible to carry extra water weight in your tummy. To get rid of this, try cutting your sodium intake to 1,500 mg a day and increasing your water intake. This will help you reduce water retention and lessen a bit the spongy appearance of belly fat.

But really, it comes down to healthy eating and consistent exercise. Stick with it, kid — it'll come off. Just keep at it and be patient with yourself.

Another Thing to Look for on Labels

I know you're probably very aware of the fat and calories on your nutrition labels, but how about sodium? Sodium can not only raise your blood pressure and slow your metabolism but also bloat you up. You know sodium best as table salt, but it's hidden in all kinds of products, including packaged foods, fast foods, frozen foods, canned foods, and condiments. When you eat sodium, any excess is deposited just beneath your skin, where it attracts water, which is retained in your cells. This makes you look puffy and feel bloated. You don't have to make yourself crazy over sodium — it's in everything, and you do need it to survive. Just be conscious of how much you're getting, and cut back where you can.

Micheals on Carbs

Are You Eating the Right Carbs?

From Jilian Micheals

Humans simply cannot function without carbs. Carbs give us energy; without them, we couldn't think, walk, dance, drive, or do anything. We need them to live. That said, some carb sources — such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans — are healthy and nourishing. Others — such as refined grains and added sugars — are pure evil. It's important to know the difference between good carbs and bad carbs so you can get the nutrients you need while keeping your blood sugar levels stable.

One tool that some dieters use to evaluate the quality of carbs is the glycemic index (GI), which ranks foods according to how quickly their carbohydrates break down and release glucose into your blood. Foods with a low GI value are deemed "good," while those with a high GI value are "bad." The problem with the GI is that it paints only part of the picture; it doesn't take into account the amount of carbs you'd actually eat.

The carrot is a perfect illustration of how the GI can give a good food a bad name. The form of carbohydrate in a carrot turns into blood sugar very quickly, giving carrots a high GI value. But if you step back to get a fuller picture, you see that the total quantity of carbs in a typical serving of carrots is low, so their effect on your blood sugar isn't that dramatic.

A better way to judge a food's carb content is to look at its glycemic load (GL), a measurement that takes into account both its glycemic index value and serving size. My site has a handy chart of the serving sizes and GL values of common foods, and you can also check out the Glycemic Index Web site to find the GI and GL values for just about any food.

Good carbs — the ones that have a GL value of 10 or below — take a long time to digest, creating less of a need for immediate insulin release in the bloodstream and thus helping stabilize your blood sugar level. These foods, which include leafy green vegetables, some types of beans, many whole fruits, and nuts, also contain important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are essential for good health. These are the kinds of carbs that our bodies are designed to consume. Remember, though, that carbs are just one component of a healthy diet, and that balance is key. My advice is to include some fat, protein, and carbs in each meal.