Whether you are still feeling bloated from everything you ate on the Fourth of July or you’ve been hitting the Dublin Mudslide a little hard to beat the heat, you may feel totally disgusted with your bikini body summer eating habits right about now. No worries! Redeeming yourself is a lot easier than you think.

Drink Water
You know that feeling you get when you want to eat something but you don’t know what you want? That means you’re not really hungry. It could mean you bored, agitated, or excited. In the middle of this sweltering summer, though, it most likely means you’re thirsty. If you’re actually hungry, you’ll know exactly what you want. Then you should eat! If your stomach seems confused, it’s trying to tell you it wants water. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Those cheese fries won’t make a thirsty body feel better, and you’ll be racking up a lot of unnecessary calories in the meantime.

Don’t Throw a Good Day Away
So you were off to a pretty good start. Maybe a veggie omelet for breakfast, a salad and a sandwich for lunch but then a half-dozen cream puffs or a bag of Reese’s Pieces found their way into your mouth. If you’ve got an all-or-nothing personality like me, you’ll feel miserable at “ruining” your good eats and drown your sorrows in a double cheese pizza, believing all hope is lost anyway. But it’s not! Everyone needs a guilt-free treat, at least once in a while. If you fall off your balanced eating plan, get right back up. Keep your later meals for the day a bit lighter to compensate.

Pack Your Own Lunch
You’re stuck at work or your internship for the whole glorious, sun-filled day. How do you feel better? The gals get together and order lunch, of course! A steady diet of lunch-time take out is draining your wallet while racking up calories. Brown bag something you feel good about eating and stick it in the fridge. It’s always more satisfying to eat a lunch you make yourself. Plus, there are no hidden calories and no hidden costs. Read More »

There have been countless instances where I’ve found myself shoveling nachos, ice cream or third helpings of dessert into my mouth. Realizing my own utter gluttony, I’ll drop the spoon or the cheesey chip and think, “What in god’s name am I doing?” Because the truth is I’m not even hungry. I’m bored or annoyed or just craving something that has nothing to do with food.

It took me years to identify any of this as emotional eating. I think because almost all of my girlfriends experienced the exact same thing. We’d even declare Sunday as the “Day of Eating” which made it OK to binge on the “bad stuff,” i.e. s’mores, pizza, bagels with cream cheese, to list a few. And the next day, of course, we’d all be at the gym, furiously working off the excess calories.

Looking back, I see how incredibly unhealthy and unbalanced this was. Yet, so many people turn to food to comfort themselves. In order to forget feelings from sadness, anxiety, loneliness or boredom, they reach for high-calorie, sweet, salty and fatty foods. And usually, they wind up eating way too much, which of course contributes to weight gain and guilt.

The good news is, all of us can regain control of these habits and get back on the healthy path. Read More »