Glam Slam: Diet Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making

How are your New Year’s Resolutions going? You know, the ones to eat better and be healthier? If you need some inspiration look no further than “The New Sonoma Diet,” by Dr. Connie Guttersen. Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Alba are fans of the “Sonoma” eating plan, which includes vegetables, fruits, lean meats, fish, whole grains, and nuts. Hey, it seems to be working for these gorgeous ladies! Here, Dr. Guttersen goes through the diet mistakes you may not know you’re making.

Skipping Meals
It sounds like it would be a solution to just starve and watch the pounds melt away. The truth is, you will gain this weight back and possibly even more much quicker. Nobody wants to live their life on a deprivation diet, this is why 98% of diets actually fail. Your body is amazing. Over time it can actually outsmart diets by conserving how much energy it expends to compensate for the starvation. Diets that deprive in unhealthy ways can slow down your metabolism making it even easier to regain those lost pounds. Starving actually leads to unhealthy balances in the body that leave you feeling drained and more prone to a weakened immune system.

Excessive Counting, Weighing and Measuring
Most of us already have enough to worry about. We have jobs to do, spouses to keep happy, children to raise, a home to maintain, and a life to live. The last thing we need is a demanding food regimen that turns mealtime into a stress-filled ordeal of complicated rules and “diet dishes” that nobody likes. Keeping track of nutritional categories such as “carbohydrate,” “protein,” and “dietary fat” just isn’t the way normal folks go about planning their meals. No diet will work if it’s too complicated, too challenging, or too boring. It’s not enough for a diet to be scientifically sound, it has to work in the real world. Everything about The Sonoma Diet is enjoyable, simple, and satisfying and most of all, realistic.

Cutting out snacks between meals
Eat snacks every day. Protein rich snacks like hummus with veggies, non-fat yogurt with fruit, or even homemade veggie chips are a great way to stay nourished all day.

Skipping breakfast
You may think you are saving calories by skipping breakfast but the reality is you may be packing on more pounds. Studies find that people who skip breakfast tend be heavier and individuals who eat breakfast, especially a well balanced nutrient rich choices tend to be slimmer, more active and have healthier diets overall. A good solution is whole grain toast with a nut butter and sliced fruit. Another quick idea is steel cut oats, either a 5-minute option, which is now available, or make some ahead and store in the fridge.

Banning Booze
A glass of wine a day reduces your risk of heart disease and may help prevent or relive the effects of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and even osteoporosis. A good glass of wine adds to the enjoyment and the very act of choosing wine, opening it, pouring it, and drinking it slows down the whole eating process which is just what you want. Plus it enhances your enjoyment of a healthy meal and embodies the Sonoma spirit.

Drinking your extra calories
While we do need to stay hydrated, the choices of what you hydrate will make all the difference. Drinking your calories in juices and other sweetened beverages can add up to about 250 calories each day. While many appear to be energy enhancing and vitamin rich, the truth is you just don’t need the extra calories from beverages.

Never allowing healthy indulgences or treats
The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to make it part of a healthy lifestyle you can stick to long-term. There are many foods that offer pleasure beyond health: dark chocolate, your favorite cookie recipe or dessert, a glass of wine or even your favorite dark chocolate covered nuts. Choose wisely, enjoy your foods and keep their portions in balance with the rest of your meals. Deprivation has never proved to be a successful tool for long-term healthy weight loss.

“The New Sonoma Diet” is available now.