Everywhere we look there are savory food temptations ready to derail our healthy food intentions. My personal struggle during the holidays is homemade Italian cookies as I outlined last week.

[Candy canes don't do it for me anymore. I prefer sophisticated sugar treats now that I'm a big boy:)]

Just say no to the goodies? Ha, not likely, and I think I speak for the majority of us. So how exactly can we survive the holiday food traps and not swell up like a balloon?

Try these useful tricks to help keep your sanity and more importantly the excess pounds off and make one less resolution (weight loss) in 2010. (more…)

At this time of year there tends to be a lot of leftovers in the fridge, cookies in tins and jars, and sweets out on display in living rooms as a result of holiday festivities.

In my extended Italian family, instead of rhyming off all of Santa’s reindeer, I would go around the cookie trays and name all the homemade delectables that family members would offer up. Come Panatone, Pandoro, Caggionetti… now amaretti, pizelle, terrone, and on nuchata, sicilian cannolis and biscotti.

[You either like Venetian or Sicilian when it comes to cannolis. There's nothing more polarizing in an Italian cookie argument.]

Don’t worry about pronouncing them, “just try one” would be the answer from my family. As if cravings weren’t difficult enough to handle without 20 different homemade dessert varieties staring me in the face!

Where do these urges come from?

Cravings can result from many different factors including: (more…)

There are countless weight loss articles providing you with tips to avoiding food temptations. Sure, having healthy food choices on hand is one way to fight the urge to reach for an unhealthy snack but… temptation is everywhere! Vending machines, grocery check-outs, lunch rooms, shopping mall food courts, need I continue? Finding something high in fat, sugar, and calories is far easier than we realize.

[An artisty take on Adam and Eve's apple temptation story. If this isn't photoshopped then double kudos to the photographer!]

It seems advertisers have been utilizing images of tasty dishes to persuade people to buy their products forever. However, do I really get week in the knees when I see a picture of a succulent, juicy, well-seasoned burger? Not even close and it sounds like I may not be alone. According to researchers in the Netherlands, food temptation might in fact strengthen one’s self-control. (more…)

Usually the words “Food Taboos” or “Food Fears” make people quite squeamish and uncomfortable. Perhaps it invokes religious images of animals being slaughtered or maybe it reminds you of the second challenge on the TV show Fear Factor when each contestant had to ingest a batch full of live insects? Joe Rogan, you sick bastard!

[Forget food fears, how about a giant spider descending on a city near you! Just kidding, it's a sculpture making stops in various places around the world by French sculptor Louise Bourgeois]

Unfortunately, being afraid to eat is all too common in those struggling on their own fat loss journey. I can remember grabbing a bagel from the breakfast bar at a conference and receiving this snide remark from a female in line:

“Oh my god, how can you eat that bagel? I’m too afraid to eat one!“

“Hi my name is Mike, and you must be Debbie? Debbie Downer?“

[FYI: I have a personal rule about knowing at least a person's first name before I criticize them and their actions.]

Should I have eaten that bagel? Probably not since it’s full of unrefined carbs and low on fiber but being afraid of food really caught me off guard. Did this bagel fall on the floor? Was this bagel laced with poison?

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