When you’re facing a car full of grumbling tummies, a stop at the drive-through for cheeseburgers and fries is the usual fix—but certainly not the best fix. In our high-tempo society, the need for food on the fly isn’t going to go away. But neither are those extra pounds if you don’t make better choices for your mobile meals.

To avoid fast-food temptations, Althea Zanecosky, MS, RD, keeps an 8×12-inch insulated cooler tucked in her car’s back seat.

“It’s like having a mini-kitchen in your car,” says Zanecosky, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. “We pack food for every member of the family — bottled water, 16 oz bottles of chocolate milk, juices, nuts, seeds, pretzels, yogurt, fruit, cereal, health bars.

“It saves time, money, and it saves fat and calories. It keeps us from eating mall food or hitting the drive-through for french fries.”

But food on the fly isn’t just about packing a few healthy choices for the road. With the right stuff in your fridge and pantry, you can assemble a healthy meal in about the time it takes you to get through the drive-through.

Convenience foods—anything frozen, canned, pre-cut, pre-washed, and pre-bagged—are good basics for healthy meals, says Lynn Fischer, author of Lowfat Cooking for Dummies and Quick & Healthy Cooking for Dummies. “Try any new product that comes out. Use everything to your advantage.

“Some vegetarian burgers are very good,” Fischer says. “But I don’t go for turkey burgers. Unless you have a butcher grind the meat especially for you, ground turkey often contains a lot of fat.”

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Little Dippers: Set out a “party tray” of vegetables and fruits for your family, Fischer suggests. Mix it up with interesting, lower-fat dips — even melted chocolate and strawberries once in a while for dessert.

Freezer-to-Table Main Dish: “For a dinner that’s ready in seven or eight minutes, start with a frozen healthy meal like Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine,” Fischer says. “They don’t give you a lot of meat, which is good.” If you use a frozen-in-the-bag vegetable dinner, don’t add much meat; keep it the size of your palm, she adds. “Some huge chicken breasts are enough for two servings.”

Speedy Side Dishes: Keep frozen, canned, or fresh veggies on hand to round out a healthy meal. “A lot of frozen vegetables are frozen fresh, right on the spot, so they still have all the nutrients,” Fischer says. “Canned vegetables are also good. And you need some fresh vegetables, like celery, carrots, and tomatoes and fresh fruits like oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, and grapes.”

By making the right choices in advance, getting hungry when you don’t have time to be hungry need not result in meal choices that’ll make you wish you hadn’t been hungry the next time you step on the scale.

When did you decide it was time for LAP-BANDÒ  surgery? Was it a true and telling look in the mirror? An unflattering picture that took you by surprise? Or was it a comment that hurt your feelings?

If you’re like most people, you’ve promised change, only to fall into old habits down the road. 

But this time, it was like a strike of lightning. Your mind, body and soul were aligned. You became focused, determined that nothing—nothing—will get in your way.

It’s this moment that gives you the power, a force so strong and resolute that you feel it in every fiber of your body. Everything clicks.

Next thing you know, you’re researching LAP-BAND, setting up doc appointments and making healthier choices. Maybe you start walking around the block, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from the door so you can get those few extra steps in.

That moment, that power, also gives you the courage to face your demons. Instead of eating during times of emotional upheaval, you journal and explore your feelings. And when temptation calls your name, you firmly turn the other way.

What made it different this time? Why is your resolution sticking this time? What clicked inside?

And how do you keep that moment alive? What keeps you powerful?

Not to frighten you, but the holidays are just weeks away.

I know this because I saw Christmas Trees for sale at Target. And when I see Christmas Trees at Target, it’s time to create a strategy for the holiday festivities.

It seems that holidays=diet disasters. I’m determined not to let that happen this year.

The good folks at MedicineNet.com have come up with the 10 best holiday diet tips of all time. They’re worth repeating, so here it goes:

1.Trim back the trimmings. Go all out and deck the halls with boughs of holly, glitter, and lights, but when it comes to holiday food, accessorize with care. To shave calories, go easy when adding cream sauces, gravy, butter, and whipped cream — additions that don’t add much to the meal, but can add plenty to your waistline. Trim calories wherever you can so you leave the party feeling satisfied, but not stuffed, recommends Carolyn O’Neil, MS, RD, author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous.

2.  Wear snug clothes and keep one hand busy. When you wear snug-fitting attire, chances are you’ll be too busy holding in your stomach to overeat. While you stand around looking posh in your holiday finery, hold a drink in your dominant hand so it won’t be so easy to grab food, recommends obesity expert Cathy Nonas, MS, RD.

3. Chew gum. When you don’t want to eat, pop a piece of sugarless gum into your mouth. This works well when you’re cooking or when you’re trying not to dive into the buffet, says Nonas.

4. Be a food snob. If you don’t love it, don’t eat it, says American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Melinda Johnson, MS, RD. Scan the buffet for foods you truly treasure and skip the everyday dishes that are available all year long. And don’t think it’s your responsibility to sample everything on the buffet. Go ahead and indulge in your personal holiday favorites, then find a seat and, slowly and mindfully, savor every mouthful.

5. No skipping meals. Always eat normally on the day of a party. “People who skip meals to save up calories tend to overeat everything in sight once they get there,” says Katherine Tallmadge, MA, RD, author of Diet Simple. “Eating sensibly throughout the day will take the edge off the appetite and empower a bit of restraint.” Start with a nourishing breakfast, have a light lunch, then a small snack or salad shortly before the event.

6. Check it out. First things first. When you arrive at the party, grab a sparkling water with a twist, and wait at least 30 minutes before eating. This will give you time to relax, get comfortable in your surroundings, and survey your food choices on the buffet before diving in, says Tallmadge. A buffet is an invitation to eat all you can, and unless you carefully scrutinize it and make wise choices, you’re likely to overeat.

7. Add fun and games. Cynthia Sass, MPH, MA, RD, co-author of Your Diet Is Driving Me Crazy, proposes taking the focus off food and getting family and friends more active during holiday parties. Think horseshoes, badminton, sledding, ice skating, or building snowmen. Indoors, try a spirited game of charades, or rent an instructional dance video followed by a dance-off. “The best parties include dancing, so why not make dancing after eating a new holiday tradition for a great form of fun and recreation?” asks David Katz, MD, MPH, author of The Flavor Point Diet.

8. Alternate alcohol with nonalcoholic beverages. Alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories — especially holiday favorites like eggnog. “Cut your alcohol calories in half by alternating water or seltzer between alcoholic beverages,” Katz advises.

9. Skip the appetizers. “Eschew the appetizers rather than chewing on them,” says Katz. If you need a little nibble before the meal, go for the veggies, fruit, salsa, or a small handful of nuts.

10. Limit the variety. Brian Wansink, PhD, author of Mindless Eating, suggests putting only two items on your plate when you go to the food table. Return as many times as you like, but only take two items each time. “Variety stimulates appetite, and if you limit your choices to just a few items and stick with these, it will be easier to control than eating a little bit of 20 different dishes,” agrees Katz.

Since my only other option is to sit at home playing with the tinsel off my tree, I’ll probably give them a try.

What do you do to get through the holidays? Do you give yourself a pass? Do you work in some carefully controlled cheating? Let’s share some strategies.

Healthy family meals aren’t just important for the strong bones and muscles of your children today; the choices you make now will have a great impact on the choices they make years down the road. For people considering lap-band surgery, it could be one of the greatest gifts they could pass down to their children—nutrition skills to ensure they don’t end up in a similar health situation.

Here are some general guidelines for healthy family meals:

1. Serve fruit for dinner, too. Most people don’t eat fruit for dinner, which is why most people don’t get enough in their daily diet. Fruits are very important because they have vitamins, minerals and even antioxidants to keep you healthy, strong and help you fight illnesses.

2. Don’t overcook your vegetables. This will reduce their nutritional value. Consider serving your vegetables raw or just blanch them (boil for about 5 minutes). Kids will especially love blanched veggies because it brings out their colors and makes them a little bit softer. Blanching doesn’t take out nutrients because you are only boiling them for 5 minutes. Just wait for the water to boil and place the veggies in. Put them on ice after the 5 minutes to stop the cooking process.

3. Stick to lean meats and fish. Lean meats and fish are an important part of your diet. However, too much meat can actually cause health problems. This is why adding fish to at least two meals a week can increase your health. Lean meats are better for you because they have less fat and sometimes less cholesterol than the other meats. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of fish: salmon, tuna steaks, haddock, cod, etc. Fish has important fatty acids that are excellent for your body and mind.

4. Be conscious of the fats you use. If you must use real butter, remember that just one pat of it a day is enough – no more. There are other options to choose from than just butter or lard. Add some of these items to your kitchen and your meals: olive oil, avocado, vegetable oil, butter spread made from olive oil, etc. You can also try using spices for your meals instead of fats. Try balsamic vinegar on your salad instead of salad dressing, or vinegar and olive oil. These can make great alternatives to other fatty foods.

Healthy family meals give everyone the energy they need for their days along with the concentration and focus that help them do well in life. Studies have shown that a healthy diet can help to reduce the risks of various ailments, heart disease, stroke, and many cancers. As the parents of children, the choices you make set the stage for that lifelong health.

In our last blog, we talked about how your body’s reaction to stress can hinder progress toward your weight loss goals. Now we’re going to talk about how you can control that reaction.

It’s very possible to keep the levels of adrenaline and cortisol in your body in check when you face stressful situations by practicing simple daily meditation and changing your thought processes. People often feel intimidated by the word “meditation”, but they need not be. Meditation is actually quite easy and can fit into any part of your busy day. This is because anything (such as running, lifting weights, or brushing your teeth) done with complete focus and awareness becomes a meditation.

With time and practice, you will begin to develop mindfulness. Once you learn how to become mindful, any action or thought can become a momentary focus of meditation.

Mindfulness or being mindful is being aware of your present moment. You are not judging, reflecting or thinking. You are simply observing the moment in which you find yourself. You experience the “now”, for what it is. Sport Psychologists use this theory when training athletes to regulate performance anxiety. They use strategies to help athletes focus on the “self in process,” so that they can focus fully on the relevant task of the game, rather than focusing on things in the past and future, which they cannot control. The power is in the present, and if you can learn to turn your attention to the breath, you can tap into the “flow like” experiences that are so beneficial to regulating anxiety. Dan Millman, author and World champion gymnast, describes it best, “What time is it?” “Now.” “Where are you?” “Here.”

Think of your breath as an ocean wave. It continues to come and go, and is always followed by another and another and another. They come. They disappear. You can create a moment of peace and openness in your mind with your breath. Once you develop the ability to calm the mind, and focus on the present moment, the next step is to apply this mindfulness to your daily life.

Just like a physical muscle, mental muscle is something that can be trained and strengthened over time.

When mindfulness becomes an easily accessible state, you can pull it out like a shield against stressful situations. By visualizing ahead of time the things that - normally cause you stress, you can practice responding with mindful breathing and coming back to the breath. That way, when you actually face the trigger, you will be fully prepared to turn your attention to your breathing, short circuit that fight or flight response, and return to a serene and centered state of mindfulness. With time, your cortisol levels will drop, and your body will be able to burn fat properly and efficiently.

Practice this now:

Begin by interrupting your normal daily thoughts. Think about what is going on around you. Then switch your thoughts to yourself and your breathing. Take a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly.

Mentally scan your body. Notice areas that feel tense or cramped, such as your neck or shoulders. Quickly loosen up these areas. Let go of as much tension as you can.

Rotate your head to the left in a smooth, circular motion, leaning your left ear to your left shoulder. Rotate your head to the right in a smooth, circular motion, leaning your right ear to your right shoulder. (Stop any movements that cause pain.)

Roll your shoulders forward and backward several times. Let all of your muscles completely relax.

Recall a pleasant thought for a few seconds. Take another deep breath and exhale slowly. You should feel more mindful and in control.

When we’re overweight, it weighs us down—and I’m not talking about the obvious.

It weighs down our hopes, dreams and desires. Extra weight keeps us from doing the work we were put on this earth to do.

The media doesn’t help much.  I was watching a re-run of Friends. It was a flash-back episode and Monica was dressed in her fat suit. This usually skinny smart, intelligent, successful woman turned into a blithering idiot when extra pounds were added to her.

Famous people adorn covers of magazines, all skinny and happy and perfect. And let’s not forget the fashion world’s obsession with the Size 0.

It’s like we’re living in a world where only the skinny can succeed.

Nonsense, I say. If Monica on Friends was a blithering idiot when she was fat, she’ll be a blithering idiot when she’s skinny.

If you can sing a melody so enticing that it puts birds to shame, then you’ll sing an enticing melody whether you’re fat or thin. If you can write the next great American novel, a healthy BMI is not necessary for success. It goes for just about any talent or ambition.

So answer this question:  When I’m skinny, I’ll….

Now answer these questions: What’s keeping you from starting on that journey now? What are you waiting for?

Go. Now. Toward your dreams.

Continuing research into the connection between one’s mind and body shows that stress has as much impact on your waistline as dieting and exercise. Recent studies have shown that your perception of stressful situations can affect your body’s ability to burn fat.

Emotional eating and the too-busy-to-exercise lifestyles of people under chronic stress are major contributors to obesity. But researchers are finding that changes in the body triggered by stress, such as elevated cortisol levels, can cause insulin resistance and weight gain. During times of tension, levels of cortisol and adrenaline rise, triggering the release of stored sugar and fat into your bloodstream for a surge of energy. Once the stress has passed, cortisol stimulates cravings for carbohydrates and fats to replenish the calorie stores in preparation for the next challenging situation. You reach for more food, and your waistline suffers.

Our bodies are hardwired to react in a fight or flight response to stressful triggers in our environment. It was evolutionary valuable for our bodies to respond to danger with a surge of energy, in case we needed to outrun a saber toothed tiger. Today, this response is often triggered by nothing more than a troubling thought, resulting in negative emotions of anger or fear, and an increase in blood pressure, a tightening of muscles and tendons, and the stopping of digestion. This automatic response can be harmful to our bodies if it is maintained for long periods of time, and it can ultimately lead to weight gain by keeping the cortisol-appetite response constantly elevated.

Making things worse, weight from stress is primarily gained around the waist. Fat stored in this area is easily accessible for the nearby liver to quickly convert it into needed energy. When this energy is never actually needed, the fat continues to accumulate.

In our next installment, we’ll look at ways to prevent this effect from hampering your weight-loss goals.

In our last blog, we talked about the cravings for comfort food that is high in refined carbohydrates like chips, cookies, donuts, and fast food. In this edition, we’re going to equip you with some real-world tactics to deal with the ever-present threat that these cravings pose to your nutritional goals.

1. Plan meals and snacks ahead of time. This enables you to know precisely what you’re eating and going to be eating, which will help you keep your snacking habits in check at work, at home, and with friends. Also, since snack food is typically not very good for you, planning for snack times with nutritious alternatives will help you stick to your diet.

2. Allow yourself to cheat. Allowing yourself the freedom to indulge in your craving every fifth or sixth day will go a long way toward helping you stick to your nutritious diet in the long run.

3. Make sure you’re getting enough B vitamins. Folks with low levels of B vitamins in their diet are more likely to succumb to carbohydrate cravings—especially women exhibiting symptoms of PMS.

4. Avoid artificial sweeteners. The chemicals in artificial sweeteners can adversely affect your blood sugar level. Additionally, these sweeteners, such as NutraSweet and Equal (aspartame), Sweet’N Low (saccharin), and Splenda (sucralose), have no nutritional value and can end up making you crave carbs even more.

5. Limit your intake of artificial sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols are neither sugar nor alcohol. Sorbitol, Mannitol, Xylitol, Erythritol, Isomalt, Lactitol, Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH), and Maltitol are all considered sugar alcohols and nutritive sweeteners because they still provide calories, but a lower ratio than actual sugar. These sweeteners have the same effect as the artificial sweeteners mentioned in No. 4—they can result in bigger cravings. True sugar alcohols are part of a balanced diet and occur naturally in fruits and vegetables.

You don’t always hear about these tactics, but they’re important to remember in your long-term effort to eat a healthy balanced diet.

The genius who created the 100 Calorie should receive some sort of sparkly prize. What a wonderful way to control portions!

Of course, for the portion to actually be controlled, you have to actually stop at only one of those packs. (My weakness is the Chips Ahoy calorie packs? If I’m not careful and mindful of what I’m doing, I could eat six of them in one sitting.)

The 100-Calorie snacks we see dotting the shelves of our favorite grocer is a sign that America is finally waking up to the idea of portion control. In recent years, portions have gotten out of control. Add that to the “clean your plate” lessons we were taught when we were little, we have a recipe for obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a host of other weight-related illnesses.

The good folks at the Mayo Clinic created a nifty slide show that illustrates proper portion sizes. Check it out here.

After the Lap Band procedure, your stomach will only be able to hold 4 to 6 ounces of food at a time. It’s important to make every bite count. And that’s where portion control really counts.

The only visual I need is my hand. Three ounces of lean meat is about the size of my palm. A cup of veggies and a medium size piece of fruit is about the size of my fist. The length of index finger is about 8 ounces of liquid. A handful of nuts is about an ounce.

It took me a long time to eyeball my food and create a portion control plan that worked for me. Now my body knows when enough is enough and I can push my plate away satisfied.

A few months back, I decided to cut all foods that contained High-Fructose Corn Syrup out of my family’s diet.

I failed. Miserably.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is in everything. I couldn’t even find non-organic bread without that ubiquitous ingredient.

I guess I wasn’t the only one revolting against the additive.

The Corn Refiners Association recently launched a PR offensive. They claim that HFCS has gotten a bad rap. A series of commercials do their best to dispel the “myths” of HFCS. The commercials are meant to be lighthearted, but they make me wonder: If HFCS was not harmful, why all the effort? And where is the backlash against the additive coming from?

Let’s start with the basics: What is HFCS? Eating Well magazine had the best description: “HFCS is a manmade sweetener that’s found in a wide range of processed foods, from ketchup and cereals to crackers and salad dressings. It also sweetens just about all of the (regular) soda Americans drink. HFCS used in foods is between 50 to 55 percent fructose—so chemically, it’s virtually identical to table sugar (sucrose), which is 50 percent fructose.”

The backlash against HFCS: Dr. Andrew Weil, a proponent of natural and organic foods, says it best:  HFCS contains 14-percent fructose, much more than regular corn syrup. “I’m concerned that it has disruptive effects on metabolism, because the body doesn’t utilize fructose well, and humans have never before consumed it in such quantity,” he states on his web site.

What the American Medical Association (AMA) says:  At a meeting in June 2008 in Chicago, AMA delegates backed a resolution that argues that there’s no scientific proof that high-fructose corn syrup deserves the blame for obesity more than sugar or other caloric sweeteners.

“At this time, there is insufficient evidence to restrict the use of high-fructose corn syrup or label products that contain it with a warning,” AMA board member William Dolan, MD, says in an AMA news release. (You can read the article here.)

But don’t run out and consume as much HFCS as you can. To quote the article cited above: “The AMA says it isn’t thrilled with the level of research on high-fructose corn syrup, partly because there isn’t a lot of research on the health effects of high fructose corn syrup and also because of industry funding for much of that work.”

The bottom line: If you’re considering Lap Band surgery—or you recently underwent the procedure—it’s important to remember that every bite of food should be packed with nutrients. Most surgeons and nutritionists agree that HFCS does not add any nutritional value and should be avoided.

Stick to whole foods like fruits, veggies and lean meats and you’re more likely to meet all your nutritional requirements.