In my 12-year career as a health writer, I’ve discovered many ways to fool yourself into eating more healthfully. These trick-yourself principles, all backed by research, can help you eat less and lose weight. Here’s how to psych yourself slim:

Unplug

Forget about Project Runway, and put down that copy of the latest bestseller. Instead, focus on your food. Chewing slowly and paying attention to the feel and taste of your meal helps you feel full faster and eat less. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, women who concentrated on the taste of their food ate much less than those who listened to a detective story while eating.

Choose Tall and Skinny

Research conducted by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of Mindless Eating, showed that people tend to drink more from short, wide glasses than from tall, thin ones. Apparently, the short glass looks smaller to us — even when it holds the same amount as the tall, thin glass — so we pour more. Prepare your drink in a tall, frosty glass and you’ll probably down less!

Imagine It

Whether it’s your high school reunion or an upcoming cocktail party, pick an event you want to look your best at and keep it in your mind as you make and eat your meals. You’ll eat more healthfully if you’re hoping to look and feel great at an upcoming event.

Go Dark

In another study by Wansink and his colleagues, researchers gave 30 secretaries clear or opaque containers full of Hershey’s Kisses. The secretaries gobbled an average of five treats per day from the clear containers, but just four from the opaque containers. The upshot? We tend to eat more of what we can see, so stow your goodies in opaque containers (and your veggies in clear containers!).

Put Them Away

All done with your scrumptious chicken piccata? No problem — there’s more in the kitchen! If that’s the way your mind works, fix your plate and then stow any leftovers before sitting down to eat. Along the same lines, put the least nutritious leftovers in the fridge and leave out the veggies in case you crave seconds. This same M.O. works at restaurants as well: Ask the server to pack half your meal in a to-go container so you’re not even tempted.

Scoop Small

In yet another study (boy, is this guy prolific!), Wansink and his colleagues gave people either large or small scoops and let them serve themselves ice cream. The result? The ice cream fiends who used the large scoop ate 15 to 20 percent more than those using small scoops. When you serve yourself food, use small spoons instead of ladles and other large utensils and you’ll likely dole out less.

Toss the Techno

Scientists at Fairfield University in Connecticut piped fast and slow music into the university cafeteria on different days. Researchers then counted the bites taken by the diners in the cafeteria. (Do you think the diners wondered why people were staring at them and scribbling in notepads?) The results: People take an average of 4.4 bites per minute to fast music, and only 3.8 bites per minute to slow music. So ditch the disco and listen to soft tunes when you dine.

Back in the olden days, the only way people knew how many calories were in Ye Olde Bigge Mac , how many calories they burned hoeing the fields, or whether their BMI was on target or over the top was to guess. Now, though, we have the Internet, which has tons of free resources for the health-minded among us. As a freelance health writer, I use many of these resources when I’m researching articles, and they can also help you in your quest for fitness. Here are my favorites:

1. The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory : This website is truly amazing. Type in a food, and the site will bring you to a list that lets you further refine you choice. For example, if you enter “beef,” it will bring up all the different cuts of meat, both raw and cooked. Choose one, enter the amount — and you’ll get a spreadsheet listing the number of calories and the amount of everything from saturated fat to vitamin C to selenium. You can use this site to keep very detailed track of what you’re eating and make the best food choices.

2. Wondering how many calories an hour of water polo will torch? InternetFitness.com’s Calorie Burn Calculator lets you enter in your weight and  the amount of time you do a certain activity, from aerobics to shoveling snow, and calculates how many calories you’ll burn.

3. NutritionData lets you analyze recipes and creates a nutrition label for the entire dish. You need to register, but it’s free.

4.  YouTube has more than funny videos of cats — You can also find free vids of cardio workouts that you can use on days you can’t make it to the gym. For example, SparkPeople.com offers this 10-Minute Jump Start Cardio Workout.

(I’ve done this video — it really does kick my low-endurance butt!) Just search on YouTube for keywords like “aerobics workout” or “cardio workout” to find free vids.

5. No need to search the Wendy’s website to dig up nutritional data on its salads: The Calorie King Food Database boasts the nutritional information for over 50,000 American generic and brand name foods, including over 260 fast-food chains.

6. The National Institutes of Health offers this BMI calculator so you can find out whether our Body Mass Index says you’re fit or fat. Just enter your height and weight and the calculator will do the rest.

7. If you’re sick of your workout music mix, check out PodRunner, which offers “free exercise music mixes for runners, joggers, power walkers, cyclists, elliptical trainers, or anyone who can use nonstop, fixed-tempo music when they train.” These free techno and house beats will keep up your energy while you work out.

Lots going on; school shopping, summer activities, my oldest is a very smart chick and is doing dual enrollment. Dual enrollment is where seniors in high school can enroll in college and have it be credit towards their high school diploma and earn college credit as well. Best of all the college credits are paid by the high school. Free college credits…yeah baby!

One of my difficulties is being able to stay in routine with my diet. I get enough movement but my weight does not budge. I know it’s my eating. I do well when I use my free diet plan from Designer Whey  but I am also a rebel not submitting to what works. That part of me is difficult for me to understand. I try to analyze myself to figure it out. Someone said I just don’t value myself enough to be the best I can to myself. I am the best I can be to everyone around me. My family has no idea how well I take care of them because they have never been with out my care.

I saw an ad the ‘The Biggest Loser’ is casting again. What a dream, though they are looking for couples at the moment and I really don’t know anyone close that is as big as me or bigger to see if we could get on the show. I think going away and totally working on me and putting myself first, valuing myself for the time that the contestant are away would change my life. Last season my husband jokingly commented “Why don’t you get on that show”, that hurt a bit and when my kids said “Yea, mom you should go on The Biggest Loser show”…OUCH!!!! It makes me wonder what my family really things of me.

Maybe Designer Whey will bring me to them and teach me the ways of health…lol. Did you know Designer Whey is on FaceBook??? I found out recently. Let me tell you, the people behind this product look amazing! They are beautiful people and really stand behind their products and rightfully so. Ok, I have to put a plug in for Andy because he is my Designer Whey buddy and support. OMGsh Andy, I had no idea you were such a cutie patutie! Whey to Go, keep your health and looks dude.

I will be glad when school starts so I can get back to routine. I need to start my day right now with my breakfast of a wonderful Designer Whey Shake, some fruit and a piece of whole wheat toast. I will get back to what works starting with breakfast. I have been skipping that part for a while now…not good. I need to start right to keep right. I need to carry my 2GO packs in the car like I did before. It’s too easy to stop at a drive-thru when you’re hungry. I need to carry my snacks in the car when I am working instead of a quick stop at a gas station to grab something that is not the best choice.

I have to value myself.

Take Care,
Camille

TBL Winner Helen

Alright, I am going to start right off with the winners…Helen won the Biggest Loser Competition and $250,000. Who knew!!!! Her final weigh in was 117 pounds. Tara came so darn close and as most people expected her to win. And the winner of the $100,000 was Jerry. He was booted off in the second week and the oldest contestant TBL has ever had. He lost 177 pounds! That is true motivation that you can do this at home.

The Biggest Loser Protein by DESIGNER WHEY

The public also got to vote in either Amanda or Erin to next seasons TBL. Amanda won and we wish her luck. To everyone who is going for health we wish you much success in your endeavors and don’t forget to include Designer Whey Protein in your meal plans.

See you next season!

I have been putting off this question. Not sure exactly why but my thought is that I did not want to make ‘goals’ to fail them…but here I go…

What are your specific health goals for 2009 and what hurdles are you concerned about for each goal?

Goals for 2009                                                            

Goal #1 Lose 50 Pounds         

Hurdles- I am my worst hurdle. Not following my eating plan, not sticking to my routines, not exercising, not believing in myself, giving up too easily, giving in to my ‘cravings’, eating mindlessly, no accountability.

Goal #2 Exercise Daily (min. 20 minutes)

Hurdles- Not taking the time, not making it a priority, not figuring out what I physically can do, not having the mindset of ’just do it’, no family support to get moving, not pushing myself, not wanting to sweat or have someone see me sweat, not wanting to be short of breath or have someone hear me out of breath, no accountability.

Goal #3 Take Time for Me

Hurdles- Kids and hubby not seeing that I need time for me and allowing it, not voicing that my family needs to know that mom counts too, not wanting to disappoint by saying, sorry I can’t do that, not demanding that time, not planning ahead that time, not setting aside that time, not even knowing what ‘taking time for me’ means.

Goal #4 Eat Healthy

Hurdles- once again…ME. I do the shopping and the meal preparing, buying ‘treats’ because the kids would want them, buying foods I know I should not have, not taking the time to read the labels, hiding ‘treats’ so kids do not eat them so I can, not being honest about how many calories I really eat, not taking the time to figure out how many calories I am eating during the day. Eating even when I am not hungry, focusing on food, worry about the next thing I will eat before I finish what I am eating at the moment, worrying about the kids being hungry, no consistent menu planning, just eating what I want when I want it, not preparing to eat healthy.

Goal #5 Get my Smart and Healthy Weight Loss Site Done

Hurdles- afraid to fail those who visit my site, not organizing all the information I have learned over the years, not sure of the direction I want to take the site, not wanting to be accountable that what I do works, not wanting to fail my own weight loss goals and having it be known, making sure I have an exact plan for those suffering like I have to follow.

Whoa… I read this like I am reading about another person. But the fact is it’s me. Why do I hold myself back? I know what to do, I know how to do it, and simply I just have to do the opposite of the hurdles.

I need to start declaring my success!

I will lose 50 pounds this year. I will follow my eating plan. I will stick to my routines. I will exercise. I believe in myself. I will not give up. I will not give in to ‘cravings’. I will be aware of what I eat. I will find some one to be accountable to. I will exercise for at least 20 minutes a day. I will take the time. I will make exercising a priority. I will challenge myself to figure out what my limits are NOT. I will get my family’s help. I will push myself, its OK to sweat, its OK to breath hard. I will find an accountability partner. I will make my needs for time to me known to my family. I do count, its OK to say no. I will plan time for me. I will figure out what ‘taking time for me’ means to me. I will shop to buy healthy foods. I will pass up the treat isle. I will read labels. I will not hide treats. I will keep track of the calories I consume. I will only eat when I am hungry. I will not focus on food.  I will let my kids tell me when they are hungry. I will learn to menu plan and stick to it. I will not just eat, I will prepare to eat healthy. I will get my website done. I will not fail those seeking help with weight loss. I will organize the information I have learned by trial and error to what works to be healthy. I will reach my weight loss goals. I will have a plan that works for people just like me. I will succeed with all my goals for 2009. I will do it!

I have to print this and tape it up and declare every day. What are your goals and hurdles for 2009?

Someone said if you want to feel whole eat whole foods. If you want to feel crappy eat crappy foods. I want to feel whole. How about you?

Camille from Michigan

Did you see the Biggest Loser Protein by Designer Whey promo on last night’s show? I did, and I was very excited. I can’t express how happy I am to see my favorite product helping so many people including me! I am finally back on track and am on my way.

I am very disappointed in my lack of keeping up with my healthy me plan. Unfortunately, I gained 10 pounds over the holiday…WHY???? did I do that. Do I not value myself enough to believe I am worth every pound lost?  

This year I need to make myself a priority. Hard to do when you’re a mom of 3 busy girls and a wife to a great hubby; not to mention, taking care of our home, pets and all that jazz. But I must and you must take care of our selves.

My motto for ‘09 is…  In 2009 I will take care of what is mine… meaning me. I don’t know if you have been watching Oprah this week with her ‘The Best Life Series’ or heard of Dr. Oz who heads up the Best Life Series. Dr. Oz asks everyone to answer these questions in his workbook that you can find on Oprah’s website. 

What’s holding you back from getting healthy?

Why are you worthy of getting healthy this year?

What are your specific health goals for 2009 and what hurdles are you concerned about for each goal?

I intend to think about these questions and answer them. Right now I do not know the answers to the questions and when I figure what or how I feel about the questions I will share what my thoughts with you all.  

I just want to say again how happy I am for Designer Whey and the Biggest Loser Protein, it is really cool. Did you catch that the contestants on the show exercise for 8 hours a day and walk 14 miles a day? HOLY MOLY…I need to get a treadmill and hook my computer on a stand on it then walk while I blog and chat. Even have my TV there. Treadmills are expensive and I like a lot of us am limited financially right now. So I have added a treadmill on my wish list for 2009.

I hope this finds you all well and know I am thinking about you heal too. Seriously, add a Designer Whey product to your healthy eating plan. Try The Biggest Loser Protein and keep moving forward.