Make this one change for the next two weeks and watch your waistline shrink.

Buy a gallon jug of water and drink from it all day until it is empty. Then fill it up with purified water (or get a new one) and do it again tomorrow.

Everyone thinks they drink “a lot” of water, but if you don’t have that gallon jug you can be sure you are not drinking enough.

Dehydration will make you tired and feel like you need to eat when food is not what your body needs. Drinking a lot of water will also help you daily detoxify and clean out your system. You will thank me!

If you want , throw in a lemon slice in it for a bit of flavor.

A gallon…at least…do it!

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I was pretty excited to read it since being effortlessly thin is my specialty (or at least, being thin with less effort).

Alas, most of the “secrets” are neither secret nor true nor effortless. Exercise, for example, isn’t a secret nor effortless. Plus, I know plenty of thin people who don’t exercise.

One secret jumped out at me as being completely wrong: “they don’t skip meals.”

In fact, the quality that all truly effortlessly thin people share is that they eat whenever they want, whether that be one or six times a day.

They eat when they are hungry, not when it is a mealtime.

They eat when they are hungry, not because they just woke up.

They eat when they are hungry, not because it is time for their lunch break.

They eat when they are hungry, not because they have dinner plans.

Just yesterday, I had a late breakfast and a late lunch and didn’t feel like dinner. Big whoop!

On the other hand, I have known lots overweight people who eat at least three meals a day because they have been conditioned to do so. Some aren’t even aware that they have a choice about when or how often they eat. Some can’t even conceive of not eating dinner even if they aren’t really that hungry.

As long as the meals you do eat are of high quality and make you feel great, skipping meals is no problem.

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If you ask me, apples are the number one food for weight loss.

They fill you up. They are delicious. They keep you hydrated. And they are very low in calories.

Want more proof? Check out this article from USA Today about a study in which participants who ate a whole apple before lunch ate 200 calories less of their meal than those who ate either nothing or the equivalent amount of applesauce or juice.

I recommend keeping lots of washed apples on hand both at home and at work. My slim mother keeps a cooler with some apples in her car at all times. If you are one hell of a ‘mo on the go, try those packets of sliced apples from Costco.

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The solution? Put a stereo in there!

Mine is a simple portable speaker system that I can plug my iPod right into.

It is a small change that will make a big difference in how you feel about cooking!

Now I don’t dread spending some time in the kitchen making food that will help me continue to look and feel great!

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Hordes of rockers, from Mick Jagger to Beck, are very slim. But do they count calories, spend hours (or even minutes) at the gym, or avoid dessert?

NO!

I know the secret to their slimness. The best part is that you can channel it to get just as slim yourself!

Passion! Rockers live very passionate lives. They have passion for their songs, their instruments, their parties, and every other aspect of their lives.

They put so much energy into their endeavors, that eating is usually very low on their list of priorities. In fact, they are often so engrossed in their pursuits that they forget to eat or only eat just enough to tide them over so that they can get back to work.

Now, imagine that is you! Imagine you are really excited about everything you have to do and feel stimulated and engrossed most of the time. Do you think you would feel the need to eat excessive amounts of food? Do you think a cupcake would sound as appealing as it would if your life was ho-hum?

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Maybe they were all on strict diets limiting their refined sugar intake!

Quelle horreur!

Well, I’m here to say that the subsequently beheaded queen was on the right track…at least for getting slim.

You should let yourself eat cake or whatever favorite food that has always been on the top of your “Do Not Eat” list!

Disclaimer: I don’t mean you should eat A cake. But, some cake, sure!

Some cake won’t sabotage your weight loss. In fact, it will help keep you on track.

It makes it easier to stay on track with the majority of your eating choices if you let yourself indulge here and there. That’s how to stay slim for the long term. Take me, for example. Now that I let myself eat cake when I feel like it, I often don’t finish the entire piece. And I’ve been able to maintain my weight for a while now.

Imagine how wonderful it will be when you are able to eat some cake and still be thin!

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If you are like me and hate working out alone, I suggest joining a class!

I have been an exercise class junkie since kickboxing class at the Y when I was in high school. Since then I’ve taken exercise classes in Yoga, Pilates, spinning, cardio hip-hop, step and even striptease, belly dancing, and treadmill. Some I only tried once (treadmill) while others I continued for weeks (belly dancing), months (spinning), and years (hip-hop). Currently I take kettlebell group classes regularly and dabble in Bosu, Bikram Yoga, and dance.

There are so many benefits to group exercise that I have to make a list:

1. Extra motivation from classmates.
2. Accountability both to show up and to work hard.
3. Ability to make friends, meet people, and create community.
4. Sense of being part of a team.
5. Chance to share the experience with a spouse, friends, or family.
6. Guidance and program design from an experienced trainer.
7. Opportunity to try out a new kind of exercise.
8. Fun music.
9. Affordability, especially in comparison to personal training.

While I love group exercise, I’m very picky about my classes. I have to mesh with each class and instructor. Most classes will let you do the first session free or you can drop in for a small fee and see if it is for you.

If you want to try kettlebells, here’s a quick reminder that my next Kettlebody Small Group Training Camps begin on September 29 at Trolley Barn Park in University Heights. You can try the first session risk-free before you commit to the four-week camp.

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A lot of people think it is hard to eat out a lot and lose weight.

Au contraire!

All you gotta do is get your server to take the plate away before you overeat.

Even if you’ve only eaten half of your meal.

When you are satisfied, you are DONE. When you start to feel the food sitting in your stomach, you are DONE. When you notice that the last few bites don’t taste as good as the first ones, you are DONE.

Then, when the waiter comes to refill your water glass or to check on the table, say “You can take this away now.”

If your waiter is nowhere to be found, you may need to beckon a busboy or a different server to clear your dish.

I like to do this without announcing to my table that I am done. I find that when I do, I am met with annoying comments like “you’re done already? you’ve hardly eaten! aren’t you going to finish? didn’t you like it?” Instead, the plate is gone before anyone can open their mouths. And if someone has something to say about it after, well it’s too late. I usually just say that I wasn’t that hungry or I had a late lunch or something that can’t be argued, and then I change the subject.

One thing to keep in mind is that restaurant food is often very rich. Chefs add extra oil, salt, butter, cheese, etc, to make the foods more flavorful, so a small amount may be all you need to be satisfied. Don’t be afraid of eating only a little bit of your food.

And remember, say no to doggie bags!

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Well, I could have left. But there were back-to-back 2-hour episodes of Trading Spouses on TV, and I just couldn’t miss a moment of it.

The worst part was that I hardly had any food at home. I had planned to run out and grab some lunch, but I couldn’t tear myself away from the boob tube (yes, I am fit and a couch potato!).

At one point, about two hours in, I decided to check my cupboards for something to eat. I knew if I waited until the end of the show, I would binge uncontrollably like a starving cat. All I could find were corn tortillas and coconut milk. Luckily, that’s all I need to make my soon-to-be famous coconut chilaquiles!

I whipped it up during the commercial breaks, and was comfortably satisfied after eating it.

The moral of the story: don’t let yourself get too hungry…it’ll often lead to unhealthy foods in unhealthy amounts!

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And is it just me or are Whole Foods patrons the worst parkers in the world? I fear for my life and my Civic’s fenders whenever I have to go there!

The solution? Amazon grocery!

I just did the math and found out that my beloved quinoa flakes are $1.60/pound LESS from amazon than from the bins at People’s Grocery. Add the gas I’ll save from driving all the way to Ocean Beach (which is not on the way to anything) and the time saved, and it’s a no-brainer for me.

Also, you save an extra 15 percent if you subscribe to a product. That means they’ll automatically ship it to you periodically (as infrequently as every six months).

I went in with a few people to join Amazon Prime which gives me free two-day shipping on most items  for a small flat fee, so it’s been really great for me.

The drawback is that you usually have to get a large quantity of an item so it’s not so great for trying new things. But if you know you like it and it makes you feel good, order it from amazon and it’ll make healthy eating a little easier to do!

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