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No matter how hard I try during the holidays, I end up eating everything… Then for the next month I’m binging on any junk food I can find until that day where I can’t take it any more, which consequently was this week. Eating junk food just make me feel gross, sluggish, and slows down my metabolism. So what do I do? Change my diet and add more fat-burning foods into it. Here are some foods that contains the right nutrients and compounds to stoke your metabolic fire. Feed your metabolism with these and you’ll be sure to see a difference!

Whole Grains
Your body burns twice as many calories breaking down whole foods (especially those rich in fiber such as oatmeal and brown rice) than processed foods.

Lean Meats
Protein has a high thermogenic effect: you burn about 30 percent of the calories the food contains during digestion (so a 300-calorie chicken breast requires about 90 calories to break it down).

Low-Fat Dairy Products
Rich in calcium and vitamin D, these help preserve and build muscle mass — essential for maintaining a robust metabolism.

Green Tea
Drinking four cups of green tea a day helped people shed more than six pounds in eight weeks, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports. Credit EGCG, a compound in the brew that temporarily speeds metabolism after sipping it. To up your intake, keep a jug of iced tea in the fridge.

Lentils
One cup packs 35 percent of your daily iron needs — good news, since up to 20 percent of us are iron-deficient. When you lack a nutrient, your metabolism slows because the body’s not getting what it needs to work efficiently. Make sure you get enough iron!

Hot Peppers
Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their kick, heats up your body, which makes you melt additional calories. You can get it by eating raw, cooked, dried, or powdered peppers. Add as much cayenne or hot sauce as possible to soups, eggs, and meats.

Add these fat-burning foods to your diet and you’ll see how they speed up your metabolism!

You’ve heard of Farmville or Words With Friends, but have you heard of the Health Seeker Game? It’s a great interactive Facebook game to help you lose weight! Imagine that! Now you can collect points for reaching your goals and communicate support with friends over Facebook. Check it out and let us know what you think!

I was watching the Today Show today and came across a segment about “veganizing” your diet. See now, I love meat and cheese and the thought of giving those up seems ridiculous to me, but there may be a point to this whole vegan thing.

Vegan meals have been linked to a boost in calorie burning and a recent study of nearly 38,000 adults by Oxford University found that meat-eaters had the highest BMIs for their ages and vegans had the lowest, with vegetarians and semi-vegetarians in between.

But even if you aren’t interested in giving up meat, fish and dairy completely, eating plant-based meals more often can definitely benefit your health and waistline. Try eating vegan meals for 5 days of the week and allowing yourself meat on the weekends. See how your body feels and if you notice a difference.

Here are 3 simple tricks to transforming your meat-filled dishes into veggie delights:

1. Replace Meat with Beans or Lentils—In nearly any dish, it is very simple to replace 3 ounces of meat, poultry or seafood with a half cup of beans or lentils. These replacements provide protein, minerals, and bonus fiber, and also keep you satisfied and full longer. Try black bean tacos, veggie chili with kidney beans, or veggies sautéed in extra-virgin olive oil tossed with whole-grain pasta and cannellini beans.
2. Swap Eggs for Tofu—Instead of an egg scramble, why not try a tofu scramble? Throw some sautéed spinach, onions, red bell peppers, and mushrooms into the mix, and you’ll have a filling and fast meal. Or try some sliced extra-firm tofu and use it to make a breakfast sandwich.
3. Trade Dairy for “Creamy” Plants—Start by trying dairy-free items such as ice cream made from coconut milk, and creamy dressing made from tahini. In the right combinations, ingredients like roasted and mashed cauliflower, pureed nuts and seeds, avocado, silken tofu, and coconut can also mimic the rich flavor and velvety texture of dairy products.

Maybe vegan is not the right decision for you, but it might not hurt to try for a couple of weeks and see how it make you feel.

Instead of resolutions, why not stick to applying some healthy habits into your life? These 10 are easy to administer and won’t leave you with regret.

1. Prioritize sleep—Sleep is just as important for your health as getting exercise, fresh air and good food, explains HuffPost blogger Russell Rosenberg, Ph.D., CEO of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and chairman of the board of the National Sleep Foundation. “It’s an important piece to the overall health puzzle.” Sleep depravity has been linked to serious health problems including memory impairment, decreased alertness, high blood pressure, stroke and obesity, to name a few.
2. Improve your posture—Proper posture can, among other benefits, cut back on the abnormal wearing of joints that causes arthritis, prevent back and muscle aches, and decrease stress on the ligaments that hold the spine together, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
3. Use your vacation days—The average American leaves three vacation days unused at the end of the year — the U.S. actually ranked as one of the most vacation deprived countries. Taking a vacation will help with stress and allow you to relax and spend time with yourself and your family.
4. Kick the diet soda habit—Two studies presented this past summer suggest that diet soda may be associated with a wider waist in humans, and that aspartame (the artificial flavor that makes the drink sweet) raises blood sugar in mice prone to diabetes
5. Remember to breathe—“Practicing regular, mindful breathing can be calming and energizing and can even help with stress-related health problems ranging from panic attacks to digestive disorders,” Dr. Andrew Weil says.
6. Stop snacking just to snack—Mindless eating at work can add up. Several reports have found that Americans add nearly 600 calories to their daily intake from snacking alone.
7. Take makeup off before bed— Washing your face at the end of the day may seem like an impossible chore — but it’s worth it. “The powder and chemicals in makeup truly can clog pores and add to microscopic inflammation if they are ground into your skin by the pillow every night,” says Jessica Krant, founder of Art of Dermatology in New York City.
8. Do 10 minutes of yoga a day—Yoga is linked to easing symptoms of conditions such as back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, fibromyalgia, and breast cancer. Take a yoga class in 2012, or pop a yoga DVD in. Just 10 minutes can do wonders.
9. Bike or walk to work once a week—Biking or walking to work can  have serious health benefits. Even as little as five minutes of biking a day can stave off weight gain for middle aged women, and even once or twice a week, can result in higher energy levels, lower stress levels, and decreased frequencies of becoming sick.
10. Do one thing a week only because you want to—Take time for yourself. Do something you like.

Make these 10 habits part of your healthy lifestyle this year!

An article recently published in the New York times has confirmed that the majority of New Year’s resolutions are doomed to failure. According to research, 80 percent of those who make resolutions on January 1 have given up by Valentine’s Day. Nutrition experts say that two-thirds of dieters regain any weight lost within a year, and more than 70 percent of people who undergo coronary bypass surgery fall back into unhealthy habits within two years of their surgery. Why is this and does this mean you shouldn’t make New Year’s resolutions?

The reason our resolutions don’t work is because we don’t have a “why” behind our goals. If you want to make a change, find out your most compelling reasons why you want to accomplish something or make a change in your life. Discover your BIGGEST WHY and you will much more likely achieve that goal. Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want it? Will it make you a better person? Will it make you healthier, so you can live longer and spend more quality time with your children and grandchildren? Once you know your “why,” your goal has weightier reasoning and perspective, and just doing it becomes so much easier.

When you determine your “why”, here are a few things to remember when trying to accomplish your goals:

• Small and easy to achieve without much extra effort. For example, start by adding just 10 more minutes of exercise per week (as opposed to the lofty goal of an extra hour, five days per week!).
• Specific and behavior-focused. ”Eat 3 servings of veggies each day” is a specific behavior that you can observe and measure while “eat healthier” is not easy to define.
• Designed with a reward in mind. Hold off on purchasing that new jacket, gadget or smart phone app until you meet your goal of exercising five days per week or completing your first marathon this spring.
• Taken on one at a time. Overhauling your entire lifestyle at once can be too intense. Don’t be afraid to focus on eating healthier foods first,and start to exercise later (or vice versa).
• Reviewed and revised often. Revisit your goals at the end of each week to see how well they’re working for you. Don’t wait for the entire year to pass before you evaluate your progress or add in a new challenge.

When we are trying to lose weight and change our eating habits, the obvious choice is to reach for a salad.  It seems like a great option until we count up the calories of all those extra ingredients thrown in, such as croutons, bacon, dressing, ect. All salads aren’t bad for you, but there are swaps you can make to ensure that your salad will benefit your waistline.

SWAP CROUTONS FOR CRACKERS

Instead of loading your salad with buttery croutons (even wheat croutons), instead opt for crumbling two saltine crackers over your salad for a 25-calories crunch, or better yet, try water chestnuts and jicama.

CHANGE UP YOUR CHICKEN

Anytime you see a salad with crispy chicken on the menu, stay away. “Crispy” is a code for “fried” and “panko-crusted” just is a fancy ways of saying the chicken has been breaded. Instead, choose grilled chicken. It has all the same protein, but with about 250 fewer calories.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT CHEESE

Blue cheeses like Stilton, roquefort, and gorgonzola may be good sources of calcium and protein, they’re also high in calories and saturated fats. When choosing what cheese to put on your salad, choose feta or goat cheese.

FORGET THE CRANBERRIES 

Dried cranberries are delicious and loaded with fiber, but the dried version has seven times more calories that the same amount of fresh fruit. Stay away from the dried fruit and  use mandarin oranges, strawberries, or grapes to trim about 60 calories.

DRESS RIGHT

Vinaigrette may seem like a great idea for a dressing, but a ladle full packs almost as many calories as a cup of spaghetti topped with marinara sauce! Keep it healthy by drizzling a little olive oil and red wine vinegar.

DON’T GO NUTS

Nuts are good for you in moderation, but don’t go crazy with them. They make be healthy, but they also have tons of calories and fat!

Salads are fresh and healthy, but they can be sneaky so make sure they are not loaded with extra calories!

You arrive at the family ‘get together’ and all those goodies on the table just won’t fit into your new healthy lifestyle. But how do you you avoid the sometimes awkward question, “Are you on a diet?” …or should you avoid it? A recent article by New York University looked at the difference between telling others about your weight loss plans versus keeping the diet a secret—and found the majority of people who announced their plans did not meet their goals because the recognition they received is perceived as an accomplishment.

Prevention Magazine discussed these results with New Jersey-based nutritionist Erin Palinski and asked for her advice when it comes to sharing your weight. Here’s what she suggests:

“It is true that some people have more success with keeping their intentions to lose weight to themselves. Not only does the recognition of your efforts perhaps decrease the motivation to continue to improve your health/weight (since you already received positive recognition for the effort to try), but many people find coworkers, friends, and even family members sabotage their efforts at times, even unintentionally.

For instance, those who announce they are trying to lose weight may have friends or family tell them they have done so well with their weight loss efforts for a few days, that it’s okay to splurge. Or they may think the individual is depriving themselves and offer tempting foods to the person trying to lose weight.

I have many clients who find telling those around them their intention to lose weight can be defeating. Others will constantly ask them how much weight they have lost, may comment on every morsel of food they put in their mouth, or even comment on their rate of weight loss not being fast enough. These comments can be discouraging and over time decrease motivation and make the individual feel as though their efforts are ‘not good enough’ so why bother?

I often advise clients to only tell friends and family members they feel will be supportive of their efforts, weight loss goals, and intentions. I also like to have my clients tell those around them they are trying to eat healthier, and make healthy lifestyle changes rather than saying they are working to lose weight to help avoid some of these situations.”

What are your thoughts on this new study? Do you think that telling your friends and family about your diet helps hold you accountable, or hinders your diet?

Like most Americans this Thanksgiving, I consumed my weight in turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. It was delicious, but definitely wasn’t as satisfying when I realized I couldn’t fit into my pants the next day. To get my body back on track I have decided to detox this week, and by detox I’m not talking about a calorie-deprivation diet.

Exercising, cutting out alcohol and refined sugars, and eating a healthy diet does wonders. Here are 5 healthy foods with natural cleansing properties. Include them in your next meal and get rid of that extra junk left over from the big feast!

1. Lemon water. Lemons are a great source of vitamin C, which is known to help the body detox and burn fat. Dr. Frank Lipman recommends drinking water with lemon every morning as a way to alkalize the boy and and help with digestion.
2. Dark leafy greens. There’s a ton of ways to get leafy greens into your diet — eat them raw, throw them into a broth, add them to juices or sauté them with a touch of olive oil.  Leafy greens boost chlorophyll levels  in the digestive tract, which helps the body get rid of environmental toxins like smog and herbicides.
3. Fresh fruit. Get some fruit. It’s full of vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and just about any other good thing you can name. Can’t think of a better way to wipe out the butter from the holidays then a nice heaping of fruit.
4. Ginger and garlic. Ginger and garlic are good friends to the liver because they help get ride of free radicals that are built up in the body. Make yourself a healthy stir-fry and don’t be shy to season it with these two liver-loving foods.
5. Green tea. You definitely want to be drinking a lot of liquids right now, and green tea is a great choice. It’s high in catechins— a flavonoid — which speeds up liver activity and increases the production of detoxification enzymes.

The Toneitup! girls are bringing home the holiday cheer with their new Christmas themed workout routine. Having trouble getting in the holiday workout spirit? Look no farther. All you need is a set of five-pound dumbbells and you’ll be sure to work off those candy canes with this awesome workout!

Shape Magazine recently sat down with Monica to talk about her album and new life with her husband, Shannon Brown of the Lakers, and during the interview, confessed to putting on 11 pounds of “happy weight!” I don’t know if the whole “happy weight” thing is true but if you are going to blame your weight on something it might as well be love (we wouldn’t want to hurt chocolate’s feelings). But anyway, she gave 6 healthy tips to Shape Magazine’s readers and we thought we’d pass them along!

6 Healthy Tips

1. Watch the salt. The singer hasn’t sworn off the salt-shaker entirely saying, “I’ve been more conscious of my salt intake, sugar intake, making sure I’m not eating as many processed foods.”
2. Au Revoir fried food. Monica is from Georgia, “so I love to deep fry, but I’ve learned to alternate between baking and grilling. So just moderation has helped me to find the balance.”
3. Water, water, water. Hubby Shannon Brown is the drink pusher at their house. Monica admits, “I have to press myself to drink a lot of water. My husband has taught me a lot about how important it is… For me it’s hard to get down a gallon a day, but I try. I watch him get down two so I always push myself to try to get down one gallon.”
4. Fitness should be fun! With three young boys it’s easy for the newly weds to stay moving, but to keep activity levels up the couple, “spend[s] a lot of alone time walking, jogging, hiking, doing things like that that are fun and you don’t think about the fact that you are working out.”
5. Music motivates. Monica loves the StairMaster but, “whenever you want to do an hour on the StairMaster you need something that’s going to take you away so you can feel empowered and continue to tell yourself you can do it.”
6. Find your favorite fruits and veggies. Monica told us she always has fruits and vegetables on hand, but the two she loves most, that you will always find in her fridge, are cherries and pickles. “I don’t know why I love cherries and I love pickles. I eat about two or three Claussen pickes a day. Those are just things I snack on.”

Hope you enjoyed these tips, and let us know if they are working for you!