The Solution To Spanx...Part 3

It's 15 below here in the Midwest and all I want to do is drink hot chocolate and eat chocolate covered donuts (not the good kind...the kind that have way too many preservatives and are rock hard therefore surviving for many months in my pantry). My body is in hibernation for the long cold winter and my bones ache from the dry cold. It's difficult rousting my body in motion to perform any type of activity, including climbing the stairs to go to bed. I have been staying up too late, eating too much and moving my body too little. So I leave you with the last post in which the Solution To Spanx will be completed. I know what I should be doing, I just don't feel like doing it, okay? So here we go...

In our first post, we gave advice on how to better your diet to sustain your weight and live healthy. The second post covered exercise and keeping your body fit and now we are going to talk about the last three items in our Top 10 .

8. Get Enough Sleep and Reduce Stress

Lack of sleep and extra stress can make some people eat more. When you are tired your brain chemistry is off or something...okay, so I am too tired and hungry to research this one, so why don't you just head over to Web MD or Google it to get the facts. And stress...don't get me started. How does anyone function under severe stress and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

9. Wear Clothing Appropriate For Your Body Type

Many women could look 10 pounds lighter simply by wearing figure flattering styles. So for those of you who want to skip the dieting and exercise, learn how to use clothing to your advantage (and yes, this even works with swimsuits). Stay tuned for our Figure Flattery weekly feature for tips on how to look good in your clothing. Go ahead, keep eating those donuts.

10. Schedule time to exercise and plan your meals

The biggest obstacle to leading a healthy lifestyle is lack of planning. Find the best time of day to exercise. Don't force your body out of bed at 5am for a run if you are not a morning person. Plan your meals and shop with a list to reduce the "bad" foods in your pantry - you'll at least have an alternative to eating those donuts or making that last minute dinner trip through the drive through.

Whew! It feels good to have that three part post out of the way. Here's to healthy living for the rest of the year! Good luck to all of us sloths who must endure the cold, darkness of the North. And to those of you who live in the warmer parts of the world...feel the warmth of my jealousy radiating from the Midwest.

The Solution To Spanx...Part 1

So you spent a good portion of the holiday season hanging out with friends and family, avoiding excercise, and eating way too much food? Join the club. Now comes the wake up call. Another year has passed and a new one is beginning. Are you happy with your body and how you look in your clothing? Do you need a jump start to get you on the path to better health? As promised, we will share our Top 10 plus a few extra tips to get you moving through the month of January. Buh bye Spanx!

Our first three tips involve some simple modifications to your diet. Focus on what's going into your body and pay attention to ingredients:

1. Eliminate refined sugar and sugar additives in your diet. The average person should not consume more than 12 teaspoons of sugar per day. Consuming too much has been linked to obesity, cancer, diabetes and other health issues. The simplest approach to kicking this habit is by cutting out all high sugar, low nutrient foods. For example, soda and fruit drinks, sweet tea, and candy. An occasional treat is permitted, just don't include these items in your daily meal planning. Also, pay attention to added sugar in your foods especially cereals, salad dressing, and sauces. If sugar is the first ingredient, pass it by, especially if it is high fructose corn syryp. Other sugar additives include maltose, sucrose, dextrose, fructose and molasses.

2. Add protein to each meal and you won't be hungry in an hour. It takes your body longer to digest and process protein and we use it more readily than other nutrients to build muscles and repair tissue. Meat is an obvious source of protein, but you can also get it from fish, nuts, beans, eggs, dairy products (especially cottage cheese). The average active person needs about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.

3. Reduce or eliminate processed carbohydrates (yes, sugar is a carb). You've heard it many times before - don't fill up on bread or chips before your meal particularly if it is made with white flour. These types of carbs are easily converted to sugar in the body and that sugar is stored as triglycerides (and we're not talking about the good kind). Look for bread and pasta made with whole grain and learn to like it. If you can't live without the good stuff, reduce your carbohydrate intake by 1/3 - 1/2 at each meal and fill up on fruits, vegetables and protein instead (for example, have a 1/2 cup of white rice with your chicken instead of a full cup).

We hope these tips will get you off to a good start and be sure to check with your doctor if you have any health concerns. Web MD is a wonderful resource for healthy eating and is well trusted. HelpGuide.org also has another great resource for healthy eating. We are not health experts (remember, fashion is our penchant) but we do take care of our bodies and know quite a bit about staying in shape. Let us know if you have any other related tips on healthy eating!