Your Moment of Truth

Let’s get right to the point. Be brutally honest with yourself. When you look in the mirror, are you happy with how you look? If you are, congratulations! However, if you’re like so many of us, you’re stuck in those big-girl pants and as hard as you’ve tried, you’re unable to get rid of them – for good. You can’t even figure out how you’ve allowed yourself to get stuck in those darn pants in the first place. You hate them.

And it isn’t like you haven’t tried to lose weight. You’ve hopped aboard almost every up and down, merry-go-round diet known to mankind. You’ve counted, measured, starved, sacrificed, deprived, sneaked (like you can sneak from yourself), guilted, driven yourself crazy, and ended up with the same results every time: frustrated, feeling like a hopeless failure, and after all that – still carrying around extra fat .

Stop beating yourself up! I’m here to tell you that you may not be the only one to blame for your struggle with weight. And no, I’m not talking about nature vs. nurture. Regardless of your genes, the truth is you haven’t had a fighting chance since birth. Not that you’re entirely off the hook – you’re a big girl (or boy) now and ultimately the one responsible for you. But give yourself a break. The deck was stacked against you – big time! After all, you were birthed from the loins of our culture, and our culture created monsters – food monsters.

And just like all of us food monsters, you were taught to love meat, baby-moo juice, cheese (74% fat), brown-colored white breads, eggs, dried-up cereals, butter, oils, sweetened drinks, fast foods, fried foods, junk foods, packaged foods, processed foods, salty snacks, and goodies of all kinds. Not only that, you want to eat what you want, when you want it, without regard to big, fat consequences – overweight, out of shape, tired, achy, ripe for diseases, and terribly unhappy with how you look and feel.

Breaking the Chains, Building a New You

I agree. It’s tough to break free from those foods you love so much, but let’s face facts. Those are the same foods that hold you hostage in a body you’re just plain sick of. Bottom line for your bottom line: if you have the will and the want to get into those ever-so-cute, smaller pants – and stay there – the way may be easier than you think.

Open your mind, take a deep breath, and be pleasantly surprised at these 10 doable, common sense tips to get you prancing around in those pants:

1. Ask yourself this question: "Which foods prevent cancer?"

Fresh fruits and vegetables, of course. They also prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, digestive disorders, and a plethora of other killer diseases and disabilities. And, they just happen to give you the most nutrition for your calorie buck. In other words, fresh fruits and vegetables are your weight warriors and health heroes, certainly not the meats, dairy products, breads, cereals, fats, oils, and goodies we were taught to fill up on. It makes perfect sense to wrap your day around fresh fruits and vegetables – starting right now – to untrap yourself from those layers.

2. Think addition, not subtraction for losing weight over the long haul of life.

Instead of focusing on what you’re going to "have to" give up like you do with most diets, think about what you "get to" add to your day. Then fill up on those best-for-you foods first – fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains (like brown rice), legumes (black or kidney beans), and raw, unsalted nuts and seeds.

3. For breakfast, graze on enough fresh fruits all morning long to fill you up and keep you satisfied.

Yes, you can get full on fruit! The trick: you must eat enough. Do you think that the 10 fresh, whole fruits I eat every morning would fill you up too? Absolutely! Have fun with this and see how many fruits it takes to fill you up and satisfy your hunger drive.

4. For lunch, fill up on a large, green-leafy salad with 10 different raw veggies.

Make sure this salad is large enough to fill you up. Hint: the small side-salads we were raised with and most restaurant salads aren’t nearly big enough. Use oil-free, dairy-free dressing. Consider chopping the lettuce (not iceberg) and veggies finely. Dress with balsamic vinegar and juice from ½ lemon and toss thoroughly. A diced avocado will add a creamy texture to all the veggies. Chase the salad with a couple of handfuls of raw, unsalted almonds or sunflower seeds.

Know that you will get hungry a couple of hours after eating salad. When that happens, eat! Just make it a healthy snack.

For a change-up lunch, try veggie or bean soup or a veggie sandwich on sprouted-grain bread with avocado or hummus spread instead of mayonnaise.

5. For dinner, fill up on the best-for-you foods first by eating in this order:

First, a medium-size, green-leafy, 10-veggie salad.

Second, steamed vegetables of choice, like green beans, asparagus, or broccoli.

Third, a more filling vegetable, such as potato (yes, you’re free to eat potatoes again), yam, or winter squash. Instead of butter or sour cream, top with pureed avocado, tomato, onion, lemon, and herbs of choice, fresh salsa, or chopped, fresh tomatoes. This is very filling.

Last, if you still have the desire, traditional calorie-dense, fat-laden, nutritionally-void dinner foods, such as meat, fish, or pasta. At least you will automatically eat less of these anti-weight loss foods.

6. Snack on fresh fruit, raw, unsalted nuts, and veggies like baby carrots, grape tomatoes, celery, and cut up cucumbers. Keep healthy snacks with you at all

times – at home, at work, in the car, on a plane, and during vacations.

7. When hungry, eat! No more starving or depriving. Be sure to fill up on the best-for-you foods first.

8. Stop eating when your brain tells you that you’re full and satisfied.

When filling up on fresh plant foods, your brain will tell you to stop eating before you get that over-full, stuffed feeling in your stomach. It takes time to tune into your brain’s signals and stop eating when you’re told. However, with time and patience, you will enjoy the new sensation of lightness in your stomach while feeling totally satisfied.

9. Clean out the bad-for-you foods from cupboards and refrigerator. Don’t bring the bad guys into your house. Trust yourself but please don’t tempt yourself.

10. Wiggle! (if you must)

This is the most important tip of all. When designing a new way of eating, build in flexibility from the get-go. That way the only slip up is to give up. No more guilt or feeling weak and undisciplined. Eighty percent of the time, when meals are routine with no company or special occasion, make the effort to fill up on the best-for-you foods first.

Twenty percent of the time, wiggle (if you must)! Eat whatever your heart desires. Then get right back on track. Caution: don’t wiggle more than 20% of the time. The less you wiggle, the quicker those pants will be yours!

Perhaps you haven’t had a chance since birth. But the good news? You do now. Take self-responsibility and reclaim your body and your life. Follow these 10 top tips to shed the weight and step into your body-dream-come-true. Above all else, you deserve to feel good about YOU!