In light of quite possibly the most common New Years Resolution, I asked my resident nutritionist,  Health Coach Quinn to share her important information with the ESEMA community on our blog. Not only are her recommendations truly healthful, they are sensible and sure to result in resolutions kept this year.

The Only 10 Things You Need To Know About Weight Loss – after the jump

Quinn is a Health Coach, the creator of Kitschy Kitchen web show, Cooking Party host and FITrition Deluxe teacher, and emotional eating expert. She works with women of all ages to help them change their relationship with food…forever. She is a wealth of knowledge! See her advice for ALL year below.  Check her website here.

The Only 10 Things You Need To Know About Weight Loss

1.  DRINK UP.

Drink water, lots of it.  Or herbal teas, those are great too.  Often times we confuse thirst for huger and run right to the fridge.  When you start to feel an inkling for a treat, tap into your body and decipher if you are really hungry or if you’re actually bored, stressed, worried… or just thirsty.  Water not only hydrates the system but it also very cleansing.  It helps to flush toxins and purify the system so make sure you are drinking at least 8 cups a day.  Herbal teas can also help to calm nerves, headaches, cramps, and stomach aches.

• TIP: Keep a water bottle with you at all times, have it on your desk at work and in your purse when you are on the go.  Having water on hand will keep you fuller, focused, cleansed and make your skin positively GLOW.
• TIP: Immediately after waking up in the morning drink 2 cups of water at room tempurature.  It will get your system going better than coffee… and is MUCH better for you.
• TIP: Drink some comforting herbal teas while doing one of those things that usually ignites a snack attack.  Keep some tea bags in your purse. You can always find hot water where you’d otherwise find a snack.

2. STEP AWAY… FROM THE DIET FOOD!

“Foods” like diet sodas, 100-calorie snack packs, anything low fat, no fat, reduced fat… they are all programmed to destroy you.   Only eat real food. Real food grows on a plant (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds) or comes from an animal.  Real food is nurtured by the sun.  Real food is NOT processed, packaged, pasteurized, chemicalized, homogenized, or well, bastardized in any way. It has nothing is added to it, and nothing is taken away.  If the majority of your diet is real food you will never have a problem with your weight. Or, in other words, if it wasn’t food 100 years ago—it’s not food now—It’s a food-like product designed to hypnotize and addict you.  Real foods have one ingredient.  They are ingredients you learned to identify in kindergarten…and they should be the bulk of your diet.

• TIP: Shop the perimeter of the supermarket or go to your farmers market for items that are fresh and in season.  When there pick up one new veggie a week to experiment with what you like.
• TIP: if it grows on a plant= eat it.  If it was made in a plant= avoid it.

3.  FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW.

Not all calories are created equal.  The calories in chips and cookies have a very different effect on your body from the calories in, say, kale and carrots.   Foods that are fried, processed or made with white sugar/flour have a detrimental effect on your body in the form of internal inflammation, which leads to weight gain.  OK, you know junk food is bad, but the truth is that “diet” foods wreak havoc on your system too!  When fat is removed, sugar is added, which is actually worse!  And when calories are replaced with artificial sweeteners you are essentially drinking poison that your body has no idea how to metabolize.  These chemicals mess with your brain chemistry making you more hungry. So, forget the low fat, low carb, and food pyramid schemes.  The food industry, in general, is not out to make you healthier, it is out to make money.  When looking at food labels, re-focus your attention onto ingredients rather than fat & calories, and choose natural foods—your body knows exactly what to do with them, and it will thank you.

• TIP: Read the ingredients on the back of your food.  Just because something seems healthy doesn’t mean it is…. Your whole wheat bread just might be hiding high fructose corn syrup.
  TIP:  If you can’t read it, don’t eat it.

4.  BE A DETECTIVE.

Notice your emotional connection with the food choices that you make.  Begin to examine your cravings. Are you craving foods because you saw them?  Or because your body genuinely want them?  What sparks the cravings?  Stress? Boredom? Loneliness? Or maybe it’s a food addiction.  For instance, sugar is like the [insert street drug] of the food world.  Are you eating things just because some celebrity eats it, or some nutritionist on TV says you should? Begin listening to your unique body and feed it what YOU need.  Your body is a sophisticated, high-tech piece of machinery that is rarely wrong.  If you wake up craving bread and cereal—take that as a message that you are carbohydrate person—and eat carbohydrates.  Just eat whole, complex carbs that breakdown slowly inside the body like steel cut oats, brown rice, kasha, quinoa or millet.  Or if you crave ice cream out of the clear blue, take that message that you need to incorporate more good sources dairy into your diet like full-fat yogurt or raw cheese.  Listen carefully, your body will always find a way to tell you want it needs.

• TIP: Keep a food journal.  Keep track of what you are eating, why you made the choices you did, and what else was going on at that time. See if you can identify any patterns in your eating.

5.  GET YOUR Zzzzs.

Lack of sleep decreases the hormone leptin, which tells your brain when you are full.  If you haven’t had enough sleep you’re setting yourself up for weight gain in two ways because A) your brain doesn’t get the message that you’ve eaten, so you’re likely to just keep going, and going and B) you have low energy, which instinctively makes your body crave things like sugar and caffeine in order to rev up … and thus begins a vicious cycle.

• TIP: Pick a bed-time and stick to it with the same tenacity that you stick to events like meetings, movies, or dinner plans.  If people ask why, tell them you are on the sleep diet.  They might all want to try it.

6.  NO MULTI-TASKING DURING MEALS.

This may be one of the hardest habits to break… but  it is the most important thing to conquer.  When you are eating, you are just eating.  That’s it.  No TV, cellphone, computer, magazines…. Just you and chewing.  Eating is how you nourish your body, it should be a special event, not another thing on your “to-do” list.  As another coach/friend of my says “Would you be on your blackberry during sex?  Then why are you on it during meals?”.  The thing is– when you are distracted you are bound to eat way more than necessary.  If you take time to really focus on your meal, and make it an event, then you are going to feel more satiated and less likely snack, binge, or overeat.  Take the time during your meals to slow down and chew.

• TIP: Find a quiet place with NO television, computer, newspaper, magazines or even cell phone.  Give yourself a full 30 minutes to eat your meal.  Take the whole time to chew and think about your food.  Notice the taste, texture and smell.   How do you feel?  When do you know you’re full?  Do this at least once a week.  The practice should start to roll over into other meals as well.
• TIP: Focus on your chewing.  Chew until you can’t chew any more.  Your food should be the consistency of a smoothy before you swollow.  This will help you feel fuller on less food.  It will also greatly increase your digestive function and decrease bloating, gassiness, constipation and other IBS symptoms.

7. PENCIL IN SOME PAMPERING.

Your body is designed for survival.  Throughout evolution it was imperative for humans to be able to hold onto body fat, it keeps us warm, insulates our vital organs, and is a source of energy when the going gets tough.  Stress triggers hormones in our brain, which in-turn tells our body to hunker down and protect itself against rough times ahead.  That used to mean draught, famine, or attack.  Now those stressors might be work, traffic, or demanding obligations.  But the brain still activates those same S.O.S hormones, making us (literally) hold onto fat for dear life.  When you find yourself overwhelmed with modern life, find a moment for yourself to get some restorative rest.  Take deeps breaths, a quick walk, stretch, or drink some hot tea to relax.  Stop to think about what needs to get done and just do ONE thing at a time.  Plain and simple–take care of yourself. If you don’t take care of yourself in the little ways, it’s less likely that you will take care of your health and manage weight in the long term. Giving yourself some time to relax will help to melt away the pounds.

• TIP: Schedule one hour per week that is just for YOU, and do something that you love.  Once that feels comfortable, bump it up to 2 hours.

8. EAT. A LOT. Skipping meals (especially breakfast) will flip your body into famine mode so it’s super important to eat, eat, EAT!  Not getting enough calories will actually lower your metabolism. Studies show that people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.  Skipping meals causes your blood sugar to spike and crash, messing with your moods and energy levels.  Find time to sit down and eat a balanced breakfast each day.  It sets your metabolic tone for the day and protects against binge eating due to starvation later in the day.  It is vital to properly fuel your body and eat enough beneficial calories in order to have good metabolic function.  It’s just really important to make all of those calories count!  Again–your diet should primarily consist of plant-based foods, which are naturally power-packed with vital nutrients.  When your body is getting what it needs from each meal, it’s practically impossible to eat too much because whole foods just keep you more satiated from meal to meal. Pretty soon, portion control will actually because a concern of the past!

• TIP: To find the best breakfast for you do a Breakfast Experiment.  Eat something different each day for 5 days.  Notice how the different meals make you feel.  Which gives you more energy, focus, and keeps you fullest for the longest?

9.  GET PHYSICAL.

Any type of movement will amp up your metabolism, reduce stress, and aid digestion—the holy trinity of wellness.  Humans evolved with an active lifestyle.  We did NOT spend millions of years before now sitting behind desks.  Honor your roots by breaking a sweat in some small way each and every day. The single easiest way to boost your metabolism and burn some cals, while you’re just bumming around with your gals is to have muscle mass.  It is like having a high interest savings account; it does work for you when you’re not even thinking about it! The mitochondria in your muscle cells turn oxygen and calories into energy.  The more you have, the more you burn at work AND at play!  You don’t need a fancy gym membership to tone up!  You can do some sit-ups when you wake up, chair dips while watching TV, lunges while cooking dinner, or simply take a walk during your lunch break to get some fresh air.  Find something that you like to do, and get in motion.

• TIP: Get on-to, or off-of the subway a couple stops earlier and walk to where you are going.  It will help get your blood pumping in the morning, and on the flip-side will help you relax after a long stressful day.

10. EAT EVERYTHING.  Don’t avoid any major food groups. There are only 3 macronutrients in the world:  Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat.  Everything you could possibly eat is made up of some combination of those 3 things.  Avoiding any one will cause major problems.  Look at the fat-free craze that began in the 80s… Americans are 50% fatter since we stopped eating fat!  And who do you know that stayed on a no-carb diet for an extended period of time?  Diets are a four-letter word.  They never ever work because they are all about deprivation (who wants that?!?).  Hunger is your body telling you that it needs nutrients.  In fact, most people who are overweight claim that they are always hungry—and it’s true!  They could be literally starving because they are not giving their body what it needs.  Instead they are giving it empty calories. Your body needs proper fuel and balance for function at it’s maximum potential. So, eat everything, as long as it’s real food, and you can never fail.

• TIP: Weight loss is not about reducing calories. It is about increasing nutrients.  Add color to your diet especially green and orange, they are the most nutrient dense foods in nature.

From breast pain to nausea to mood swings and back aches, such discomforts are more than just a nuisance, but signals from your body that something is out of balance and needs to be addressed. The only physiological components to a menstrual cycle should be moderate blood flow with the same number of days between cycles. Taking the time to address these symptoms now won’t only improve a woman’s quality of life, but also may prevent future reproductive problems. If you would like to take control of your menstrual cycle, understand it (and your fertility – to either prevent or promote pregnancy), Chinese Medicine has a variety of ways to alleviate common discomforts associated with menstruation.

The main cause of PMS according to Chinese medicine in liver qi stagnation, which is a pattern most commonly caused by stress. Some women are more susceptible to developing this pattern than others, and likewise the severity can also vary greatly.  Although the foundation for this pattern is based on a relative excess, or stagnation, in the body, it usually pairs itself with a relative deficiency that needs to be nourished.  The delicate balancing act of simultaneously nourishing and draining can be accomplished through the advice and treatment of a licensed practitioner.  Acupuncture, herbal medicine and dietary changes can help treat the root of cause of many common complaints associated with PMS.

Key Points to Consider when Trying to Reduce PMS

1)  Get plenty of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s)

• Fish Oil, Fish, Flaxseeds, Whole Eggs, Raw Nuts, Evening Primrose Oil

• Smooths hormonal function and facilitates ovulation

2)  Eat Organic Produce and Hormone Free Meats

• Meat is necessary for a healthy cycle, but the added hormones can interfere with your body’s natural endocrine rhythm.

3)  Increase Cruciferous Vegetable Consumption

• Broccoli, Cauliflower, Beets, Carrots, Kale, Cabbage, Collards

• Increases the body’s ability to metabolize Estradial, therefore decreasing breast tenderness, weight gain, moodiness, and low libido

4)  Take a High Potency Multi-Vitamin

• Increases bio-available nutrition, strengthening the whole system

5)  Dairy

• Avoid completely for scanty, painful or clotted menstruation

• If consuming, only take in moderation and of high quality (hormone free)

6)  Avoid Coffee, Alcohol, Nicotine

• Depletes nutrients in the body

• Green tea is OK in moderation while trying to alleviate PMS

7) Acupuncture & Herbs

• Regular acupuncture treatments can effectively regulation a woman’s cycle and reduce uncomfortable symptoms

• Herbal formulas safely and effectively address the root cause of imbalance

**Please note that the above suggestions should be tried over the course of 3-6 months before significant and permanent results can be expected. Likewise these are not meant to diagnose or treat any specific condition(s).