5 Tips For NOT Gaining Weight Over the Holidays:

1. Shrink Your Plate Size! If you use a smaller plate, you can clean your plate, but still eat less. 25% smaller plate, 25% less food! The small dessert size plate is perfect. You can try everything without taking super huge portions.

2. Don’t Party Hungry! If you are headed out to a party, grab a healthy snack before you go. You won’t be famished, and you will be more likely to eat and drink less.

3. Load Up On Protein! Some of the biggest things that can get you this time of year are the sweets. The problem is, if you eat sweets and desserts, you will crave more and more sweets and desserts. If you eat more protein, it helps stamp down those sugar cravings, so opt for the turkey instead of the tiramisu.

4. Choose Your Drinks Wisely! I’m not saying you can’t drink alcohol at all, but remember that most holiday alcoholic drinks are loaded with sugar, and alcohol is a depressant. Not something that is conducive to keeping your trim figure… and eggnog practically causes weight gain from just looking at it!

5. Stay Hydrated! This tip will serve you year round, but is especially important during this dry time of the year (and with all the party boozing). Drink 2 glasses of water for every alcoholic beverage you consume.

Question From A Reader:

Dear Rose,

I’m tired all the time unless I drink coffee in the morning. I can’t seem to lose this 10 pounds to save my life, even though I exercise and eat pretty healthy. I think I have adrenal exhaustion or adrenal fatigue, but how can I tell?

~ Anna, from Chicago

Rose’s Answer:

Seems like everybody’s under stress nowadays. When you’re body is under too much stress it causes your adrenal glands to be exhaustion for being on overload, and it can make it literally impossible to lose weight, cause depression, and cause you to have little to no energy.

80% of all doctor visits in the US are from stress related conditions & 90% all diseases are caused or complicated by stress.

Adrenal exhaustion in the #1 cause of the problems that people come to me for, and I’m not just talking about work stress here.

Stress & Adrenal Exhaustion Causes:

- Weight gain – even on a low calorie diet
- Tired or low energy – rely on caffeine for energy
- Speeds up the aging process – Look & feel older
- Depression/Anxiety
- throws off your hormones
- suppresses your thyroid

I can’t tell you how many of my clients will tell me that they started gaining weight 6 months to a year after a traumatic or stressful event like losing a loved one, or a divorce.

How to Tell if You Have Adrenal Exhaustion:

The stress of the economy, of raising kids, of trying to lose weight, even flying across time zones is stressful to your body, and all this compiled is what is causing our bodies to be in a constant state of “fight or flight” and it’s wreaking havoc on our bodies.

Whether you’re in real danger, or you’re just worrying about something, your body reacts the same. And when your body *thinks* it is in danger, it releases cortisol which turns on the switch to store glucose as fat for reserves for what it thinks is an emergency, instead of using that glucose for energy, thus making us fat and tired.

I can’t tell you how many of my clients will tell me that they started gaining weight 6 months to a year after a traumatic or stressful event like losing a loved one, or a divorce.

Adrenal Exhaustion Signs:

1. Do you ever feel light-headed when you stand up too quickly?

2. Do you crave salt and/or salty foods?

3. Look in a mirror and stick out your tongue. Is it shaky? Can you hold it still? that’s a sure sign. Seriously – I know it sounds crazy, but it’s a tell-tale sign.

4. Are you jumpy or easily startled? If someone jumps around a corner and yells “BOO”! does it always scare you?

5. Do you have difficulty losing weight, even when you exercise and eat right?

6. Do you wake up tired, even after 6 or more hours of sleep?

7. Do you need caffeine to get going in the morning, or to get through the afternoon?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, there is a high probability that you are suffering from adrenal exhaustion (also known as adrenal fatigue).

So what can you do about it?

Healing your adrenal glands takes time, it doesn’t happen over night. When I do saliva testing in my one-on-one practice it usually takes 6 months to a year for them to improve. So this is a process, and requires that you use several different angles or approaches at the same time to help take stress off of them, and then give them what they need to repair and heal. The only thing I’ve ever seen work long-term is using the ‘holistic approach’.

These are just 4 of the many things I’ve used to repair mine…

4 Steps to rebuild your adrenals:

Step #1
One of the things you can do is to switch from table salt (sodium chloride) to Celtic Sea Salt. The reason you crave salt is that your adrenal glands have depleted your minerals, and you need minerals to repair the adrenal cortex. Celtic Sea Salt contains over 80 minerals that your body *needs* desperately. You can use it on your food, or add it to water to make mineral water. Us it liberally, you can’t use too much of this stuff. This is THE best place to get it: http://www.tryvrp.com/

Step #2
Next, try Alternate Nostril Breathing. It may sound silly, but it literally sends a message that calms your body and mind – making you feel safe. It balances the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and flips the switch in your mind that you switched on when you started worrying about whatever you were worrying about. You can check out my video about it here to see how.

Step #3
Another thing to do is to load up on B vitamins. To rebuild your adrenal cortex, B vitamins are absolutely essential. My favorite is Bio-B100 from Biotics Research. They’re a fantastic company, but you have to set up an account to place an order over the phone. Call this number (800) 231-5777 and give them this number: 05TD9354. This will allow you set up an account of your own to place the order.

Step #4
Finally, my “10 Week Transformation Program” is perfect for getting your body back into balance. This program address adrenal exhaustion, and helps to increase your energy and lose fat by getting to the root cause of your weight gain. The “10 Week Transformation” Program addresses adrenal exhaustion, hormonal imbalances, thyroid issues and cleansing your body of toxins. Call 888-898-WELL for more info, or this link for all the details: http://www.rosecole.com/programs/transformation

Please forward this to anyone you know who may be suffering with these ailments or who could benefit from this information.

A lot of the people who come to me think they might be too *old* to get healthy.

What a load of crap. Is anyone ever too old to do something good for their body? One of the gals on my team just lost her great-grandmother who was 92 years old. This fabulous lady would set up a little screen around her and lay out completely NUDE to get some extra Vitamin D from the sun. Isn’t that awesome? So, when people come to me who are in their 40s and 50s thinking they are too old to do something good for themselves, I make sure they understand it is NEVER too late.

Check out this blog from one of my clients: http://fiftylosingfifty.com/

Chuck is 50, and his goal after we started working together in my “10 Week Transformation” Program was to lose 50 pounds. He’s done an amazing job of losing the weight, and chronicling it so we can all follow along. I absolutely love to see this kind of success out of my clients.  I think he’s lost about 40 pounds so far!

Go see how Chuck is doing, and let it inspire you to get your body to its most healthy state – no matter how old you think you are…

I’m so excited – I’m getting ready to leave on a week-long trip with my boyfriend. We’re headed to Jackson Hole, WY for a wedding. And, I just thought I’d take this opportunity to answer a question that I get a lot – how do you maintain a healthy diet while you are traveling?

Honestly, it isn’t that hard. I just prepare ahead of time. It makes my trip a lot easier, and helps me enjoy myself more. But, what do I prepare?

First, I get my vitamins ready. I take 21 of my vitamin bags (that’s enough for 7 days at 3 per day). If you haven’t seen my system for making single dose vitamin bags, check out the free video here.

I eat five meals a day, and because I’m on vacation I like to have the local cuisine – but I only eat out for 1-2 of those meals, and I still make healthy choices.

Next, I do the same kind of thing as my vitamin bags, but for the shakes I drink for both breakfasts and snacks. I just use the Snack Size Ziploc bags, add I make up enough so that I have enough for the whole week. I just pop the dry mix into a water bottle or cup and I’m good to go. It really helps me stay on track.

And finally, I always pack a bag of raw almonds. Every night I take a cup of almonds and cover them with water. Soaked almonds are hands down my favorite snacks, they’re absolutely are delicious, and they give you so much energy for your trip! Check out this free video for soaked almonds.

If you aren’t a fan of almonds, there are a million other healthy snacks out there – you can find a huge selection at Try Sun Foods

Taking these steps before I even leave really makes a HUGE difference in helping me maintain a healthy lifestyle. I recently went to Italy with a few girlfriends, and two of them gained over 8 pounds and needed a vacation from their vacation when they got home because they were so tired. Because I prepared ahead of time, I didn’t gain a single pound! And I still had energy to spare.

Okay, so last week I did my first blog entry. I was telling you how I had fallen off the “bandwagon”, horded a tin of sugary mints, gorged on several deserts. Since sugar is a definite trigger for me, the results weren’t pretty. As of my last post, I was bound and determined to get back on the “program” with my eating and exercise, and thought I was well on my way. Yeah, I was wrong. A full 7 days later, I’m still struggling to get my butt in gear because even though I was doing well, I fell off again.

This is really hard for me to admit – and very, very humbling for me. I have positioned myself as an expert in this field, and here I am struggling with the very things I tell people to do. But you know what, even though it’s difficult for me to put my pride and ego aside, I want you to understand that I am living with the same issues that you are. I *love* sugar. And when I let it get out of control, it’s not a pretty sight.

So, after last week, I went to a birthday party for a friend and ending up knocking back a few drinks. Then, (please don’t laugh at me – cause you know you’ve been there too) they had these delicious looking cupcakes. I decided to have one (even after I asked myself if it was for my higher good – the answer was “no”, but I ate it anyway), and after one bite of it, I only at the top with the icing. The cake wasn’t sweet enough… LOL.

My boyfriend watched me eating just the top of the cupcake with his mouth hanging open in shock. I must have looked ridiculous – but I just didn’t care! Then it was all downhill from there. The Next day at a kid’s party, they had these deep-fried and breaded chicken nuggets. Now normally, I would NEVER have touched these things, but I ate a dozen! Smothered in BBQ sauce! When I let sugar and alcohol in my body, it’s like I can’t help myself.

Instead of dwelling on what I’ve done, and punishing myself for it – I’m going to get back on the “bandwagon” with my eating. There are times that I’m totally on the “program” and choosing what is for my highest good on a regular basis, and times when I am definitely NOT on track. But I’ve learned to dance with this, and I know that once I’m back in a groove that I’ll look back in amazement that I could get so off track.

I’ve been doing this long enough to know that there’s a pattern here. But now when I binge eat or get off of my exercise program it’s so minor compared to where I used to be! I’m saying this because I want you to know that each time you get back on track it will get better and better. The hardest part is just getting started again.

You might be thinking that it sounds easy to just stop eating, or start exercising, but others who struggle like I do, know that it isn’t easy. I’m going to have to bear down, and white-knuckle my way through this to get back on track.

Believe me, the easy route would have been to fib and say I was doing great since last week – but this blog isn’t about looking perfect for me. It’s about truth. And I want you to know that I struggle just as much as you do – there’s no easy solution, and we ALL have to work at maintaining our health!

Here’s a great video I created about how to get back on track with your health.