Healthy Hollywood: Fab Food Friday – 5 Tips To Stay Slim Like Jennifer Aniston!

The holiday food fest is not over yet! But, that’s no excuse for not thinking ahead on how we can eat better in 2011.

Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Alba know the secret of slim eating – thanks to nutritionist Dr. Connie Guttersen.

She’s the creator of the Sonoma Diet and is coming out with a follow-up book, “The New Sonoma Diet.” Dr. Guttersen’s diet is based on “learning to celebrate food” and making the right choices in the right amounts. There are no diet foods, it’s just “wholesome, fresh and delicious everyday foods that are affordable, easy to find, and even easier to prepare.”

Here are Dr. Guttersen’s five tips to help make 2011 a healthier/slimmer year!

1. Enjoy your meals – Sharing meals with family and friends has been found by research to lead to a healthier eating style and a feeling of being nourished and connected. Sitting at a table (without being in front of the computer, TV, or cell phone) keeps you mindful about enjoying the great flavors in your meal. Savoring your meals and eating slowly has also been found to help in weight-loss because you feel more satisfied with less food. It takes about twenty minutes for your brain to get the message that you have had enough to eat. A glass of wine is a heart healthy way to keep the meals slow and enjoyable.

2. Stop micromanaging your diet and make some smart choices – Being mindful and paying attention to what and how much you are eating is the start to a smart way of eating. Instead of micromanaging the science and foods you eat or over thinking your weight-loss, start with the broad strokes of what it takes to be successful at weight-loss and feeling great. Calories count, but you should not have to count them. Instead, focus on portions, balance, and the smartest combination of the healthiest foods.

3. Make it easy on yourself – The last thing anyone wants to do this new year, is spend more money at the grocery store and more time in the kitchen cooking. Check out the Sonoma Smart Pantry (in “The New Sonoma Diet”) to keep all of the basics, seasonings, spices, and herbs you need to prepare great tasting meals at your fingertips. Stock and organize your kitchen pantry with healthy foods so that less desirable foods – especially processed snack foods – are not visible. This will make it easier to not choose these foods.

4. Exercise for stress relief, a healthier mind, and a trimmer waist – Keeping active will increase your energy, boost your mood and motivation, improve your sleep, lower your stress, and keep you on the best track to losing weight and keeping it off. Don’t underestimate the power of moving! But remember, to really benefit from exercise and feel great, you need to eat smart as well.

5. The Sonoma Secrets to a slimmer, happier, and more energetic you – Commit to a new lifestyle you can’t imagine giving up. Great tasting meals, enjoyable times at the table, maybe with a glass of wine, and a whole new way to think about food. Here are the rules to live by:

-Don’t skip breakfast
-Get enough sleep
-Savor your meals
-Be mindful of the wholesome choices of food you make

For more on the Sonoma Diet and to find healthy recipes & nutrition tips, head to www.newsonomadiet.com.