The holidays are here! It’s time to pull that little black dress from the back of your closet. Between office parties, family dinners and festive gatherings with friends, that LBD is about to get plenty of wear! Or if you’re due for a new outfit, treating yourself to a chic new dress may be just the thing to keep you motivated to make smart choices this month, despite all the temptations that the holidays will bring. Once you have your little black dress ready, follow these top tips to slim down and look — and feel! — gorgeous.

Be a Breakfast Believer

Be a breakfast believer

 

Starting your day with a healthy breakfast is one of the most tried-and-true weight-loss strategies in the book. A small morning meal not only helps jump-start your metabolism and stabilize your blood-sugar level so you don’t overeat at lunch, but it ensures you start each day in the right mind–set — it’s like a daily reminder to eat well throughout the rest of the day. If you’re looking to drop a few pounds before a special event, stick with breakfasts that contain no more than 250 calories and make sure your morning meal includes a combination of protein (to keep you feeling satisfied well into the morning) and high-quality carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, and/or whole grains) to give your body the energy it needs to get moving.

Ditch Liquid Losers

Ditch liquid losers

 

Cut out soda, sugary drinks, and caloric coffee concoctions in favor of calorie-free water and your body will reap big benefits. Trimming extra calories from sugar-packed beverages is a no-brainer way to lose weight. Consider this: If you cut out just one (20-ounce) regular soda every day for the next month, you’ll save yourself 7,500 calories. That’s at least two pounds right there — just from eliminating one daily soda (you’ll see similar results if you cut out sweetened waters, sugary coffee drinks, sports drinks, and fruit drinks)! Not only that, you’ll prevent almost 10 cups of straight sugar from entering your bloodstream. If you’re a constant sipper, you’ll see a big difference in less than a week.

Skimp on starch

Skimp on starch

 

Starches like pasta, bread, and rice are foods that we naturally tend to overeat because we love their familiar taste and comforting texture. As you work towards that little black dress, be extra conscious of how much starch you’re piling on and find creative ways to cut back. Have your favorite sandwich open-faced on only one slice of whole-grain bread. Enjoy pasta or rice as a portioned side dish (accompanying a lean protein) rather than as your main entrée. Measure out your morning cereal and make sure you’re sticking to only one “official” serving. Give up oversized bagels and rolls — and definitely forgo the bread basket at the dinner table. Of course, I always encourage whole-grain options over refined white starch, but remember, the calories in whole grains add up just the same.

Cook yourself thin

Cook yourself thin

 

A Tufts University study found that people who frequently ate their meals at restaurants consumed almost a third more calories per day than individuals who cooked their meals at home. Restaurant meals are notoriously high in calories, thanks to enormous portion sizes and liberal use of high-fat ingredients like oil, butter, and cheese. Commit to brown-bagging your lunch and cooking dinner at home instead of eating out. Easy and portable lunch options include nonfat yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit, chicken or tuna salad prepared with low-fat mayo or vinaigrette dressing and lots of veggies, or a turkey sandwich on whole-wheat bread (pile on lettuce, tomato, onions and roasted peppers). You’ll easily slash calories by cutting back on oil and butter and substituting low-cal condiments for their high-fat counterparts when preparing your own lunch and dinner

Stop the sugar

Stop the sugar

 

Obviously, you’ll save calories when you stop adding sugar or honey to your coffee, cereal, oatmeal, and other foods. However, substituting artificial for real may not be the answer either: Some studies suggest that drinking diet sodas and eating foods with artificial sweeteners also increase the risk of being overweight. Artificially sweetened foods may not have the calories of sugar-sweetened foods, but they keep sweetness on our taste buds and our minds. Plus, some artificially sweetened candies and foods contain sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, which can cause gassiness and bloating in sensitive individuals. So, refusing to satisfy your sweet tooth with sugar — real or fake — can be doubly effective at flattening your belly!

Snack smarter

Snack smarter

 

If you’re looking to fit into that LBD in the near future, I recommend limiting yourself to only one snack a day. Insert your snack at any time of day — whenever you tend to feel hungriest. When it comes to choosing snacks, 200 is the magic number that you’ll want to keep total calories below. To maximize staying power, choose options that contain both protein and high-quality carbohydrates, such as 6 ounces nonfat yogurt topped with berries; 15 pistachios and an apple; a small bag of soy crisps; or a cheese stick and an orange. If you get the urge to munch later in the day, snack on nonstarchy vegetables like sliced cucumber, bell pepper strips, baby carrots, or celery sticks (you can enjoy these low-cal vegetable munchies in unlimited quantities throughout the day).

Close down the kitchen after dinner

Close down the kitchen after dinner

 

There’s nothing magical about avoiding nighttime munching. Despite what you’ve heard, the calories you eat in the evening don’t automatically turn to fat. That said, people do tend to take in a good portion of their day’s calories in the evening hours after they’ve already finished dinner, often as a way to relax or unwind after a long day. So I say it’s best to close down the kitchen after dinner and avoid eating after 9 p.m. Instead of snacking, unwind with a relaxing bubble bath or cup of soothing tea. By setting a hard-and-fast rule for yourself to follow, you’re more likely to cut out your late-night snacking — and see success on the scale!

Walk off a dress size

Walk off a dress size

 

If you really want to get LBD-ready, you’re going to have to commit to some exercise. And you’ll be glad you did! In addition to revving up your metabolism and burning off lots of extra calories, exercise shifts you into a positive mind–set and boosts your energy level. Pledge to do 60 minutes of power–walking (or other cardiovascular activity) at least five times a week. At the end of one week, you’ll have walked off hundreds if not thousands of calories, and before long you’ll be stepping into that little black dress.

Watch sodium intake

Watch sodium intake

 

As it gets closer to your party date, you’ll want to be extra cautious about your sodium intake. Sodium causes us to retain water, which can cause bloating. By cutting out packaged and processed foods high in salt (and keeping your hand off the saltshaker while cooking), you can appear more svelte in your skinny dress, even if you didn’t drop as much weight as you would have liked. And no matter how much you lose, I recommend investing in a great pair of tummy-tucking undergarments (nothing like a little extra help!).

For more slim-down tips and healthy recipes, follow Joy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!

Intro

The holidays are here! It’s time to pull that little black dress from the back of your closet. Between office parties, family dinners and festive gatherings with friends, that LBD is about to get plenty of wear! Or if you’re due for a new outfit, treating yourself to a chic new dress may be just the thing to keep you motivated to make smart choices this month, despite all the temptations that the holidays will bring. Once you have your little black dress ready, follow these top tips to slim down and look — and feel! — gorgeous.