Ditch Deprivation: 5 Delicious Foods That Actually Support Weight Loss

Eat foods to lose weight? Yep. Aren’t you tired of NOT eating things you love so you can reach your weight loss goals? I am. The more I think about not eating my favorite chocolate chip cookies, the warm baguette, the salted caramel ice cream or the cheesy lasagna — oh, I could go on and on and on — the more I think about how much I want them. Instead, I find it helps (myself and my clients!) to focus attention on what I CAN do to look and feel good. I can look forward to my bed at the end of the day. I can enjoy drinking water with lemon, green tea and seltzer. I can squeeze in a workout even on tough to schedule days. Thinking about healthy activities and foods actually makes me want to go in that direction, too. When I get a little momentum, and a little positivity from upping my wellness game, I crave the feel good that comes from it. The good news is you can indeed eat foods to lose weight. Here are five foods to lose weight that you CAN chow down on regularly: Avocado Avocado is a best way to lose weight. The great fats help to pull fat out of your cells to use for energy. Guac it up. Slice it in your omelet. Dice it in your salad. Stick to ⅓ of a medium fruit. It’s all you need to rock & roll the benefits. Dandelion Dandelion  is one of those famous detox healthy foods for good reason. It pulls extra fluid from your bod and rids you of unwanted bloat. I love it as a tea, but the greens are also delish in a salad. While I’m at it, greens are also uh-mazing at helping you slim down. They’re full of satisfying fiber and loaded with vitamins which rev your metabolism. There’s a green for everyone. From chard to kalettes and iceburg to arugula, eat ‘em all for maximum results. Citrus Citrus is tops on my weight loss tips list. A squeeze of lemon in your water, a half a grapefruit with breakfast or clementines with your snack offer a great dose of vitamin C and antioxidants. Citrus helps you break down carbohydrates and sugar in your bod and lower insulin levels. Add ‘em to your healthy eating list! Beets Beets are a great addition to your healthy diet, thanks to betalin, a phytonutrient that lowers inflammation and benefits your ticker and detox efforts. If you’re a beet newbie, start with a few bites at a time and increase from there as the fiber may take a bit of getting used to. Dates Dates are a surefire go-to if you must have something sweet, healthy and supportive to your less of you look. Yes, they’re high in sugar and calories. No, you don’t get to stuff your cheeks like a chipmunk. They’re also loaded with fiber (there’s almost 2 grams per date) and they’re great for digestion and your heart. Plus, they’ll help curb your appetite for butter cream. Add them to your healthy snacks list.

3 Best Flat Belly Foods

Are you eating clean but still feeling puffy? If pants that usually fit are not fitting, you can blame bloating. One of the most frustrating situations I see clients face is eating healthy but still feeling fat. All those veggies and your button just popped. I feel your pain. When it comes to feeling puffy, you can blame the extra inches circling your waist on gas and/or rebellious digestion, which can be caused by: overeating eating high fat foods eating too fast chewing gum drinking from a straw sucking on hard candies consuming sugar alcohols consuming artificial sweeteners drinking carbonated beverages Some of our fave healthy foods, like beans, dairy and veggies like Brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower, can even make us bloated. Unfair, I know. Good news for you,  we can get rid of some of your discomfort with a few delicious flat belly foods. 3 Best Flat Belly Foods: Dandelion greens Dandelion greens are great at deflating your bloat thanks to their fiber profile and ability to stimulate the digestive system, moving things along your digestion pathway.  Think, moving along at a nice pace on the highway versus getting backed up in traffic. They also have amazing diuretic properties (can you feel that puff reducing already?), which have earned them a claim to detox fame. Although there is no concrete scientific evidence, they have been linked to cleaning up your liver and kidneys for centuries. Dandelions aren’t just for picking.  Add 1 cup dandelion root tea to your night time routine until your symptoms subside and add into your salad or side veggie rotation a few times per week. Kimchi Kimchi is fermented cabbage and it’s as famous in Korea as peanut butter is in America. Kimchi’s fermentation process loads it up with probiotics, those friendly bacteria that aid digestion, rid your belly of gas and fix the bloated feeling.  Yes, I often recommend a probiotic supplement, but I never want people to skimp on getting nutrients from real food, which is usually the most absorbable form. Nowadays, kimchi is hanging out on local bodega and supermarket shelves somewhere near the pickles. Its exotic presence (think 10th grade science lab jars) is hard to miss. Aim to have at least one fermented food per day. If you choose kimchi, eat it as a side dish (a few bites or a 1/3 cup is all you need), top a salad or saute it up with an egg for a delicious lunch or snack. Bananas Bananas are my go-to bloat-busting tool. The potassium in bananas helps drain your body of water it sometimes likes to retain.  Our bodies often retain water in and outside of our cells due to consuming foods high in sodium. Have you avoided bananas because you fear they’re constipating? Let’s debunk this one: unripe bananas are linked to constipation, but ripe bananas are actually full of fiber and excellent for constipation prevention and relief. I recommend 1 or 2 max pieces of fruit per day.  When you’re feeling bloated, add a banana to your rotation. Have one with a couple teaspoons of nut butter or treat yourself to banana pops for dessert.   Want more? Thought so. You’re welcome!  

3 Cleansing Foods You Can’t Live Without

Your eats can’t always be ideal. Lots of us do a pretty good job most of the time but there’s usually at least a few times a week when we’re snacking on what’s around, eating the Friday pizza or enjoying a menage a trois with Ben and Jerry on the couch. Call me crazy, but I think that’s normal. You can be “normal” but you also gotta clean up the mess that less-than-healthful-just-ate-it-cuz-it’s-delish foods wreak on your system. Calling the internal squeegee, I’m sharing 3 foods that are the Arm & Hammer, Clorox and Lysol of foods (I’m talking results here, without the toxic chemical part). Cleansing foods are foods that flush the GI tract, wake up your digestion, rid you of gunk in your pipes and release super powerful nutritional properties. 3 Cleansing Foods You Can’t Live Without: Artichokes If you know me at all, you know how strongly I believe in the choke. Between the antioxidants, fiber and sky-high vitamin C content, artichokes are famous for soothing your tummy’s reflux, stomach upset, nausea and constipation. Trust me, I know they are a pain to steam to perfection. That’s OK! Frozen and canned in water artichokes are super simple to keep on hand. Pop ‘em in a stirfry or load ‘em on your salad. Garlic That little bulb of garlic that sits on your countertop is a liver cleansing powerhouse of sulfur containing healthfulness. It boosts your immune system, fights cancer and prevents infection. We all need that! (Plus, it keeps vampires away). Smash a bulb and warm it up in a little olive oil over a low heat and grate it into your pesto. Get the smell out of your fingertips by rubbing a metal spoon under running water and cleanse your breath with a chop of parsley (also a cleansing food. Woot woot!). Dandelion root Yeah, the damn yellow weeds that ruin your dad’s perfect lawn actually have benefits! Dandelion root is an amazing digestive aid that promotes peeing (yeah, you want to pee a lot because urine gets rid of toxins). It also cleans the liver and kidneys, and has a role in diabetes, cancer and blood pressure management. You can find these greens at farmer’s markets, and sometimes at your local market, but they’re easiest to get in as a tea. You can even make your own (just make sure you get ‘em from your dad’s lawn for the extra brownie points). Go on and get your cleanse on with artichokes, garlic and dandelion root. You’ll feel healthier and feeling healthier will make you want to do healthy things, like strap on your sneaks and sip down the H2O. They will also have you feeling so good about yourself, that those less-than-healthful-just-ate-it-cuz-it’s-delish foods won’t be as tempting. Go you!