Blake Snow

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Tagged holidays

6 tips to avoid holiday weight gain

This guest post is written by Iris Thieme, and I endorse everything she says.

1. Eat a large, healthy breakfast and lunch

Studies have shown greater success in weight loss when the bulk of calories are consumed earlier in the day, by waiting 4-5 hours between meals, and by waiting 12-15 hours between dinner and breakfast the next day. However, most parties and dinners happen in the evening, so on the days when there is no party, focus on eating more in the daytime and less in the evenings. Also, if your household is like mine and wants to eat non-stop from the time they get home from school until they go to bed, you might need to find other things to do to avoid joining them – brush your teeth, chew gum, eat some fruit or go for a stroll. Continue reading…

Why I love Valentine’s Day after years of shrugging it off

Valentine’s dinner with kids at home beats crowded restaurants

Like any red-blooded American, I grew up observing Valentine’s Day, albeit casually. I traded candies with classmates, chocolates and stuffed animals with crushes, and used to take my wife to “romantic” dinners at crowded restaurants.

It was not an enjoyable experience, especially the latter. A few years after marriage, my wife and I started eating Valentine’s dinner on another day the week to beat the crowds, but that didn’t feel right either.

Then one day nearly 10 years ago, my wife proposed a radical idea: “Why don’t we stay home and cook a nice candlelight dinner with the kids and celebrate all kinds of love, not just romance?” By this point, I didn’t really care since nothing seemed to work. “Sure,” I said. Continue reading…