The Weight Loss Fridge

Forget diets. That’s right, we just said it. When it’s time to make a permanent change in your life—the kind you’ll see and feel—then you need to create change from the ground up. One of the best places to begin is in the fridge. But where should your refrigerator rehab start? This list for a Forever Weight Loss Fridge will help jumpstart your new lifestyle.

For many women, dieting involves adjusting eating habits until a certain amount of weight is lost, and then drifting back to the unhealthy habits that triggered the excess weight in the first place. Stop the diet yo-yo and start to make changes that keep you healthier and fitter for life. A smart step is to adopt a clean eating lifestyle that includes foods to support weight loss.

What is clean eating? It’s choosing to consume healthful portions of foods that are non- or minimally processed instead of those that are packaged and processed. The reality is that too many processed foods are loaded with stuff your body doesn’t need. Think sugar, fat, calories, and chemical additives. With clean eating, you’ll snack on a fresh apple rather than artificially-sweetened applesauce.  Learn more in 7 Simple Steps to Clean Eating.

DAIRY

Butter - Real butter is one of the clean eating foods that can be eaten in moderation.

Cheese - Low-fat cheese is also fine in moderation. Stock up on low-fat string cheese for a quick perfectly-portioned snack.

Milk - Choose unflavored, low-fat or fat-free varieties.

Dairy Alternative - If you’re dairy-sensitive, stock the fridge with unsweetened alternatives, such as almond, hazelnut, or rice milk.

Eggs

Greek Yogurt - Reach for fat-free Greek yogurt to benefit from a higher protein content than typical varieties. Choose plain to avoid refined sugars. For a boost of flavor and nutrition, add a handful of berries, nuts, or homemade granola.  Greek yogurt is also a healthier alternative to sour cream in many recipes.

PRODUCE

When buying foods to support weight loss, produce is a must-have, so load up on fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Frozen is an economical choice, too. If you’re choosing frozen, avoid options with added sugar or sauces.

Fresh Fruit

Fresh Veggies

Green, Leafy Veggies - We included these separately because green, leafy vegetables, like romaine lettuce or spinach, are a staple for living a healthier lifestyle. Use them to put together a green salad to enjoy with entrees or use them as a sandwich topping.

MEAT

Lean Poultry - Chicken breasts, ground chicken, and ground turkey are all smart clean eating foods for your fridge.

Healthy Fish - Get your omega-3s by choosing wild salmon, halibut, flounder, tilapia, trout, anchovies, or shrimp. Dig into this Wild Salmon Vegetable Salad with Lemon Miso Dressing.

CLEAN EATING CONDIMENTS/TOPPINGS

Dip - Clean eating dips are tasty with fruits and vegetables. Try Skinny Peanut Butter-Yogurt Dip or Skinny Ms. Ranch Dip.

Hummus - Enjoy fresh veggies with Zucchini Hummus.

Ketchup - Switch out processed brands, which often contain refined sugar, for this Homemade Healthy Ketchup.

Mustard

Salad Dressing - Forget store-bought brands with added refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup—make your own healthy dressing, like this Clean Eating Caesar Dressing.

Salsa (no sugar added)

Foods to support weight loss aren’t just for the fridge! Check out The Forever Weight Loss Pantry to learn how to reboot your pantry for clean eating.

Source
http://skinnyms.com/the-forever-weight-loss-fridge/

The Best Ways to Lose Weight for Prom

Overview

Prom is a special occasion that you will remember for the rest of your life. So, naturally, you want to look your best for the big night. If this includes losing weight before prom, there are a few simple tips that can help you shed pounds and get toned.

Pilates

Pilates helps build strength, endurance, flexibility and coordination. Used by dancers to condition their core and prevent injury, pilates is an 80-year old technique that will tighten and tone your body all over. Unlike traditional exercise techniques that use several repetitions, pilates exercises uses very few, but very precise repetitions to work out the entire body. Pilates primarily uses your own body weight as resistance and focused breathing as you progress through the exercises.

Strength Conditioning

Building muscle and toning your body through strength conditioning will help you look fit and healthy for prom. Use dumbbells, resistance bands or your own bodyweight for exercises to work all of the muscle groups. If using light five-pound dumbbells, perform one set of eight repetitions of each exercise to start. Increase the number of sets of eight reps over time until you can do three sets comfortably and then increase to a higher weight. Check out the American Council on Exercise's exercise library for examples of strength exercises. If you would prefer to use your own body weight as resistance, check out Yoga Journal's pose directory which has instructions for beginners.

Eliminate Cellulite

Whether it’s on your belly, legs or arms, cellulite can make you feel self-conscious. According to the American Council on Exercise, daily cardio exercise combined with two to three sessions of strength training each week, plus a healthy diet, will help diminish cellulite. Beware of quick fixes such as cellulite creams or oils or medical procedures, as they don’t work. A combination of cardio, strength training and a healthy diet, however, will help, according to the American Council on Exercise.

Jumping Rope

It may sound childish, but jumping rope is a fantastic aerobic exercise, burning fat and increasing body awareness all in one go. By burning these extra calories, you will start melting away the pounds before prom. Plus, it’s easy to get started, only requiring a jump rope and your own determination. Start by performing a basic jump, one you probably did in elementary school. Once you’ve gotten the hang of this you can jump backwards, forwards and sideways; vary your foot patterns; bring your knees higher each time you jump; or scissor your legs on the ground.

Jumpstart Your Metabolism

Put your metabolism in gear by eating a healthy breakfast. While it might be tempting to skip breakfast to reduce your calories, this actually slows down your metabolism as it tries to conserve energy. The rise of obesity in America has been linked to skipping breakfast, according to the "American Journal of Epidimeology." Include complex carbohydrates such as cereals or whole grains, as well as healthy fats and proteins such as eggs into your morning routine.

Source

References

• ACE Fitness: Pilates Primer
• ACE Fitness: Exercise and Cellulite
• ACE Fitness: Jumping Rope: Not Just for Kids Anymore
• American Journal of Epidimeology: Association between Eating Patterns and Obesity in a Free-living U.S. Adult Population
• ACE Fitness: Exercise Library
• Yoga Journal: Yoga Poses

Can Pumpkin Seeds Help You Lose Weight?

The Truth About Weight Loss

You may have heard that by eating certain foods, you'll lose more weight. This simply isn't true. No food has the power to spur significant weight loss. To lose weight, you must create a caloric deficit, meaning you consume fewer calories than you expend each day. Then your body will have to tap into your fat stores for energy, thus burning fat. Maintaining this deficit over time, by eating less and being more active, will induce noticeable weight loss.

Potential of Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds are high in fat and, as a result, higher in calories per serving than many other foods. But seeds are also very nutrient-dense, containing ample fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, which makes them an important part of a reduced-calorie diet. When you reduce your calories, you risk taking in fewer than adequate nutrients, so including a small amount of pumpkin seeds in your diet each day can help you avoid deficiencies. In addition, pumpkin seeds are a rich source of fiber, with over 5 grams per ounce. Fiber is an important part of a weight-loss diet because it helps fill the belly and prolongs fullness, potentially leading to reduced hunger and lower calorie intake.

Moderation Is Key

A tenet of healthy eating, especially when you're trying to lose weight, is "everything in moderation." This applies to nuts and seeds because although they are nutrient-dense, they are high in calories. One ounce of pumpkin seeds, which is a standard serving size, supplies 126 calories. This is still lower than many other less healthy snacks, such as potato chips, which have 154 calories per ounce. But, if you overeat pumpkin seeds, you can end up adding many more calories to your diet than you'd planned and gain, rather than lose, weight. Dr. Joel Fuhrman says women seeking weight loss should stick to 1 ounce of nuts and seeds per day, and men who need to shed pounds should have no more than 2 ounces per day.

Pumpkin Seed Preparation Ideas

Of course, you can stick to the tradition and roast pumpkin seeds with a dash of olive oil and salt, or you can get a little more creative. The Food Network suggests tossing pumpkin seeds with the Indian spice garam masala before roasting and mixing in some black currants after they cool; or toss the seeds with some smoked paprika and slivered almonds. Eat the seeds on their own or use them as a topping for nonfat Greek yogurt or a fresh salad.

Source

References

• Life Extension Magazine: The True Potency of the Pumpkin Seed
• Dr. Fuhrman: Nuts and Seeds for a Healthy Weight and a Long Life
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Facts About Healthy Weight
• USDA National Nutrient Database: Seeds, Pumpkin and Squash Seeds, Whole, Roasted, Without Salt
• ShareCare: How Can a High-Fiber Diet Help Me Lose Weight?
• USDA National Nutrient Database: Snacks, Potato Chips, Plain, Salted
• Food Network: Pumpkin Seeds

http://www.livestrong.com/article/286291-can-pumpkin-seeds-help-you-lose-weight/

Avoid the winter weight gain

There is something fun about the onset of winter: digging out all your warm clothes and snuggling up in jumpers. But the downside of all that covering up, coupled with cravings for warm, comforting food, can be that we emerge from winter with an extra layer of body fat. This may be an innate response to the cooler months.
In the days of our ancestors a winter hibernation may have been a survival tactic.But today this is no longer the case. You do need to eat differently in winter, and you do need to take the weather into account for any outdoor activities, but this doesn't have to equal weight gain. Follow these six basic rules to avoid winter weight gain.

Don't live in stretchy clothes

They might feel comfortable, but they allow you to bury your head in the sand. There is nothing like feeling that your pants are a little tight to make you do something about it. It's much easier to take action when you've only gained a kilo or two.
The National Weight Loss Registry in the US, which tracks the habits of those who have successfully lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off for at least a year, shows that monitoring your body is important. This doesn't have to mean weighing yourself. The fit of tailored clothing does the job just as well. So dig out your skinny jeans or fitted skirt, and pay attention when things get tight.

Soup up

Soup made the right way is perfect winter fuel. It fills you up but is also low on kilojoules, provided you steer away from creamy, buttery versions. There are some good ready-made soups on the market, but why not make your own? You get exactly the ingredients you want, you can keep the salt down and boost the protein to make a complete meal.
It costs less to make and almost always tastes better. You can use a bought stock, but look for one that is reduced salt. Then all you need to do is add a host of vegies, a wholegrain such as barley or a legume (chickpeas, beans or lentils) and, for an added protein boost, chicken or lean meat.
Make a big batch and freeze it in individual portions and then you always have a quick, nourishing meal on hand. The best bought soups are those in Tetra packs or from the chilled section. Look for one with the lowest salt content (less than 120 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams).

Get spicy

Spices used in curries and many Asian dishes do more than add flavour. They are rich in antioxidants, have anti-bacterial qualities that fight winter bugs and may even boost fat burning. The fiery taste of chilli comes from a natural chemical, capsaicin, that fires up your metabolism, albeit only slightly.
Takeaway curries can be hit and miss nutritionally: ghee floating on top, fatty meats and lots of added cream will add to your waistline. The best choices are those that have lots of vegies, legumes such as chickpeas and tandoori-style preparation. The healthiest curries are homemade. You can use bought paste and control the amount of oil and type of meat or fish you use and add several vegies. When you do have more time, nothing beats a curry made from scratch. Give it a go one rainy Sunday afternoon.

Walk it off

Stop using the weather as an excuse not to get out and walk. If it's pouring with rain, you're excused. On all other days, get your shoes on and head out the door. Some of us spend as many as eight hours a day sitting and then wonder why we are gaining weight. Back and gut problems are also common from too much sitting. A pedometer helps record how many steps you average per day. Aim to add 30 per cent for the next two weeks. Keep increasing until you hit 10,000 steps a day.

Boost the burn

While there is still much debate about how much exercise we have to do to control our weight, one thing is certain: most of us are not doing enough. If winter sees you heading home most days for a cosy night in watching TV and eating snacks, you'll inevitably stack on the kilos. Walking is a great start, but if you really want to boost your energy you need to get more serious about exercise. The International Association for the Study of Obesity says our hunter-gatherer ancestors expended about a third of their energy intake on exercise.
On average, today we expend only about a seventh of our kilojoule intake on exercise. To increase this to match that of our ancestors, the average woman would have to burn an extra 1500 kilojoules a day. That's the equivalent of two hours of housework, an hour-and-a-half of gardening, an hour-long aerobics class or half an hour of good-pace running. You might not be able to do this every day, but think about ways you can get more intense exercise into your week. The more you move, the easier weight control will be.

Set a goal

Without goals it's easy to drift along intending to change, but never actually getting around to doing it. Try to set a goal for where you want to be next summer. Set yourself a goal for the end of September. Then set monthly goals to pace yourself and ensure you reach the big goal. Finally, set weekly goals that are not based on weight or measurements, but are about what you are going to do that week to ensure you are on track to meet the monthly goal.

Source
http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/weight+loss/lose+weight/avoid+the+winter+weight+gain,7321

Healthy Brown Bag Lunches

Pritikin healthy brown bag lunches not only save you money, they save you loads of calories compared to typical lunch fare. Here's just one example. A Quizno‘s Tuna Melt Sandwich ratchets up a whopping 2,090 calories. Make your own tasty tuna sandwich Pritikin-style (see Tip #1 in this article) for fewer than 400 calories. Yes, you‘ve just erased about 1,600 calories from your diet. Do that every day and you‘d drop about 13 pounds in one month.

Pritikin-style healthy brown bag lunches are much better for you in other ways. A Quizno’s Tuna Melt has 31 grams of artery-busting saturated fat. That’s the equivalent of eating three Big Macs. By contrast, your homemade Pritikin tuna sandwich has less than 1 gram of saturated fat. Oh, how your heart’s gonna love you!

Read on for more tips on making your midday meal scrumptious, money-saving, and healthy. Chances are, you’ll discover some ideas for healthy brown bag lunches for kids, too.

7 Things You Should Pack For A Healthy Lunch

1. Simple, Sensational Sandwiches

Put together a sandwich of tuna (canned – preferably low-sodium, light, and packed in water) with 1 tablespoon nonfat mayo or nonfat plain yogurt, chopped celery, and onions, topped with baby spinach or peppery arugula, on 100% whole-wheat bread.

Or get a great dose of heart-healthy omega 3's by combining salmon (canned, low-sodium) or strips of fresh grilled salmon from last night’s dinner with cucumber, onion, and fresh dill. Stuff into a 100% whole-wheat pita.

Go juicy hamburger-style (and very healthy) with a veggie burger (choose lower-sodium varieties) topped with lettuce, slices of fresh tomato, and mustard in a whole-wheat bun.

2. Veggies, Veggies, Veggies

A veggie-packed lunch gives you lots of food, lots of nutrients, and zippo for calories compared to many other lunch choices. Here are healthy brown bag lunch ideas brimming with crunchy, colorful vegetables.

Fill a big bag of cut-up varieties that you can munch on all day long – baby carrots, celery, radishes, cherry tomatoes, and more. Spice them up, if you want, with a little bean dip. Make your own zesty, low-cal, and inexpensive Mexican-style dip by combining pinto beans, chopped red onion, fresh cilantro leaves, and lime juice in a food processor and blend.

For more veggie goodness, trade your brown bag for a small icebox, like an Igloo, and pack a HUGE salad, like Pritikin Longevity Center alums David and Kathy Heetland of Skokie, Illinois. The couple goes through a bag of greens for lunch a day PLUS, in their salads, diced sweet potatoes, yellow squash, red bell peppers, cucumbers, red cabbage, red onions, and more. Says David: “Pritikin showed us that all kinds of food can go into salads.”

Three heaping cups of salad full of fresh veggies add up to a mere 100 calories.

But boy-oh-boy, don’t let the word “salad” delude you into thinking that all salads are healthy. Three cups of salad with cheese, full-fat dressings, and bacon bits tally up 600 calories and more. The Taco Bell Fiesta Taco Salad packs 860 calories, 46 grams of total fat, 14 grams of which are saturated fat.

For salad dressings that are slimming, use vinegars, lemon juice, fresh salsas, or your own homemade combinations, like wasabi and rice vinegar, Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar, or fat-free plain yogurt sassed up with a little horseradish.

3. Fruit Galore

Like vegetables, fruits are fabulous weight-loss foods because they’re “big” foods, that is, foods that are bulked up by lots of fiber and water. With “big” foods, you’ll be eating a lot of food (which will satisfy your hunger) but not a lot of calories.

Here’s a great example: For the same number of calories that are in a handful of peanuts (about two ounces), you can eat 2½pounds of strawberries (about five of those green boxes that strawberries come in.) Eating “big” foods like strawberries, salads, and other fruits and vegetables can prevent hunger from taking over and taking you places you don’t want to go.

You can even turn fruit into a delicious sandwich. Combine fresh pineapple chunks with nonfat ricotta cheese. Smooth over a slice of whole-wheat toast. Delish!

4. Wrap It All Up

For “on the go” lunches, keep several types of greens and chopped veggies like carrots, onions, celery, and tomatoes in the fridge.

When you’re ready to leave the house, just spread out a large whole-grain wrap. Lavash bread is a good choice too. Top with greens, veggies, and a little balsamic vinegar or low-cal, low-sodium salad dressing. If you have leftovers like roasted chicken, crabmeat, or turkey breast, add them. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Roll the wrap up, and you’re out the door with a big, tasty lunch the size of a small football.

5. Thermos Magic

Soup or vegetarian/bean chili made the night before often tastes even better the next day. To keep hot entrees hot, use an insulated wide-mouth thermos.

In several studies at Penn State University, scientists found that people who ate veggie- and grain-rich soups and stews tended to eat significantly fewer calories overall by day’s end than people who didn’t.

6. South of the Border

It’s scary how much belt-busting trouble you can get into at many Mexican restaurants. One cheese enchilada at On the Border Restaurant, Nutrition Action newsletter recently reported, tallies up 1,600 calories and 53 grams of saturated fat. Yes, 53 grams! Think of it as 20 pats of butter.

Take in a fraction of calories (only about 200) and absolutely no sat fat by making your own Mexican-style bowl of corn, black beans, and salsa. Simply combine 1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained), 2 cups of frozen no-salt-added corn kernels (thawed), and 1 cup of fresh salsa.

7. Baked Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Corn – Warm, Yummy, and Very Filling

Think outside the sandwich. A big baked potato topped with a calorie-light dressing like nonfat plain yogurt, mustard, salsa, or nonfat sour cream weighs in at just 300 to 350 calories.

Enjoy the rich flavor of sweet potatoes? While home on Sundays, cook up a batch. Wrap each one in foil and bake for about an hour at 425 degrees F, or until their luscious, sweet juices start to ooze out into the foil. At work the following week, just pop one in the microwave for a quick warm-up. They’re loaded with taste, and they don’t need any extra toppings. Best of all, they REALLY fill you up.

Craving corn on the cob? Easy! Just microwave it, husk and all, for three to five minutes.

Things You Should NOT Pack…

The Dry Stuff

Rid your pantry of all those chips, crackers, goldfish, Cheetos, cookies, trail mix, and other dry snacks that the food industry has packaged of late into petite 100-calorie serving-size bags. What good are they if you’ve got to rip open three or four before you’re feeling full?

All dry foods, even healthier options like pretzels, dried cereals, fat-free chips, and dried fruit, pack a whole lot of calories into very small packages.

Instead, fill up on water-rich, fiber-filled foods like vegetables, fruits, beans, hot cereals, potatoes, corn, yams, whole-wheat pasta, and brown rice. Foods with a lot of water usually provide a lot of stomach-filling volume, but not a lot of calories.

A whole pound of veggies, for example, adds up to a mere 65 to 195 calories. By contrast, a pound of dried cereal or fat-free chips is packed with 1,600 to 1,725 calories.

The Cheesy Stuff

Since 1970, Americans’ consumption of cheese has risen 350%. That’s a huge problem because there’s nothing worse for your heart than cheese because it’s full of artery-injuring saturated fat. “If you want to die early,” Nathan Pritikin said, “eat a lot of cheese.”

Adding just one ounce of American cheese to a sandwich adds six grams of saturated fat (that’s more than you’d get in a McDonald’s Sausage Patty.)

Calorie-Filled Drinks

We’ve become a nation of beverage bloat, and it’s bloating our bodies. The average American drinks 28 ounces of sugary soft drinks a day (nearly 300 calories), which is nearly six ounces more than a decade or two ago, recently reported the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Liquid calories are especially troublesome if you’re trying to lose weight because they do not quell appetite as much as solid foods do.

The good news: If you replace calorie-laden drinks with no-calorie drinks like water, the pounds will melt off. Studying more than 3,000 children and teenagers, researchers at Columbia School of Public Health recently reported that when the kids drank water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages, their total calorie intake dropped an average of 235 calories each day.(Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, April 2009)

Eliminating 235 calories each day could help most people drop about 23 pounds within one year. 23 pounds! And all it took was one simple change: switching to water.

Turn your water into lemonade (and do it very cheaply) by squeezing several slices of lemon into a glass of icy water. Stir in a packet of Splenda, and voila! Tasty lemonade. Great for your wallet. And GREAT for your waistline.

Source
https://www.pritikin.com/your-health/healthy-living/eating-right/986-pritikin-brown-bag-lunches.html#.VTyYACGqqko

Sneaky Reasons You Pack on Pounds

You don’t have to be a C.S.I. agent to spot the usual suspects when it comes to winter weight gain, but if it were that easy to identify every diet and exercise derailer, we’d all still have our beach bodies in January. Yes, your hibernating instincts tell you to move less and eat more when the temperature drops, but turns out the common cold, down comforters, and a hatred for Brussels sprouts could cause the needle to creep on your scale, too. 

You Sleep Under a Pile of Blankets

It’s tempting to burrow under your flannel sheets when it gets cold out, but don’t get too cozy. Being too warm can actually keep you from nodding off, which can spell bad news for your gut. Columbia University researchers found that people who get less than 5 hours of sleep are 50 percent more likely to be obese than those who sleep 7 to 9 hours a night. But what does your comforter have to do with it? Science shows that you enter and get your best sleep when your core body temperature drops. If your body is too warm, heat dumping can't occur normally, making it difficult to go to sleep, says Douglas Moul, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Clinic. The optimal ambient temperature: a cool 60 to 68 degrees.

You’re Nursing a Cold

Nothing derails your workout routine easier than getting sick—especially when you’re already looking for an excuse to skip the gym—and it turns out that the sniffles themselves may make you pack on pounds. A 2009 review in the journal Medical Hypothesesfound that catching a cold may triple your weight gain. Animals infected with adenovirus-36, a virus that causes upper-respiratory infections in humans, were more likely to gain chub than those who stayed healthy. Same thing seems to hold true in humans, says Richard Atkinson, MD, clinical professor of pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University and director of Obtech Obesity Research Center. Evidence suggests that the bug increases the number of glucose receptors on your fat cells, causing them to grow bigger in size and number and saddling you with up to 35 extra pounds.

Your House is Drafty

Who knew? Insulating doors and windows does more than save you money, it can also help you eat less. As it turns out, eating in warmer temps is better at leveling your cravings, reports researchers from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Women who ate in a room kept at a toasty 81 degrees rated themselves as 20 percent less hungry and ate 10 percent less than those who sat down in a room kept at 72 degrees.

You Turn to Carbs as a Quick Fix

When we’re blue, we unconsciously turn to carbs to deliver a quick hit of the feel-good chemical, serotonin, and we start grabbing them more often during these cold months. “From around October through early March, there are people who go into a hibernating depression. They say they’d rather eat a potato than have sex,” says Dr. Moul. Research shows that seasonal affective disorder can trigger cravings for pasta, potatoes, rice, and that people with SAD can eat an additional 800 calories a day from carbs alone.

Everyone Else is Gaining Weight

The flu isn’t the only thing that’s contagious, being exposed to obesity can make you pack on pounds, too. An oft-cited New England Journal of Medicine study found that you’re 57 percent more likely to be obese if you have a friend who’s fat, and 37 percent more likely if your spouse is chubby. That’s particularly bad news right now, since Americans gain about a pound a year during the winter that they don’t lose later in the year. To make matters worse, researchers fear that the bigger our friends, the lower our motivation to stay in shape. A 2010 study in the journal Obesity found that people are less likely to consider themselves overweight when surrounded by other people who are bigger.

You're a Stress Mess

Between navigating rising heat bills and winter weather warnings, the coldest months spell stress. And when your cortisol levels start to skyrocket, your weight tends to follow. Harvard Medical School researchers found that people who stressed over work, paying off bills, and relationships gained more weight over 9 years than those who kept their cool. Why? Not only do higher stress levels trigger your body to accumulate belly fat, you’re also more likely to self-medicate with the help of Dr. Ben and Dr. Jerry. “When you’re stressed, you don’t think as clearly. You become less attentive to your health, and are less mindful about what you eat,” says Dr. Moul. 

You Hate Winter Greens

Your favorite fresh produce—berries, tomatoes, zucchini—may not be in season for another few months, but that doesn’t mean you should feed on meat and potatoes until spring. An American Journal of Public Health study found that people who ate 2.7 servings of veggies a day were more likely to have a lower BMI 10 years later, so it’s important to get your greens year-round. Luckily, there are plenty of winter veggies worth mixing in your diet. For starters, include cauliflower (1 cup, raw, 25 calories) and spaghetti squash (1 cup, 42 calories). Like all vegetables, they’re high in water content and low in calories, so you’ll feel full, not fat. And if you can get over your childhood fears, add Brussels sprouts to your menu. For only 56 calories, a cup of the vegetable delivers 4 grams of belly-fat fighting fiber and almost your entire day’s worth of vitamin C. 

Source
http://www.fitbie.com/lose-weight/tips/7-surprising-reasons-winter-weight-gain