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By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Do you struggle with food cravings?  This is a giant barrier to weight loss success. It sets up a negative cycle of initially “battling” the craving, giving in, overindulging, feeling like a failure, and giving up. Sound familiar?  I’d like you to try my easy “5 Ds” to help manage your food cravings. They really work!  DELAY – DISTRACT – DISTANCE – DETERMINE – DECIDE. Delay: Postpone eating for 10-15 minutes when you feel an urge. You’re not saying “no” – just stopping to think before you eat. You’re not ignoring the thought but dealing with it. While you’re delaying your decision, the next D makes it easier… Distract: Try a non-food activity to give you something to do (so you don’t watch the clock for 10 minutes!). Often the wave of desire to eat disappears in a few minutes when you keep your hands busy without food. Clean out a drawer, call a friend, brush your teeth, surf the web, or even learn to knit! Distance: It’s important to ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Why do we always hear so much about “cutting liquid calories” for a healthier diet? It’s because most of these sources contain loads of calories without any nutritional benefit. Liquid calories are a hidden source of sugars (and calories) that shock most people when they see the numbers. Did you know that a 20-ounce soda has about 16 teaspoons of sugar? A daily soda adds up to 50 pounds of sugar consumed in a year! That’s not good news for your waistline or your teeth. You might be surprised to know that juices – even 100% fruit juice – contain about the same amount of sugar as soda. You always want to eat your fruit, not drink it. When it comes to choosing liquids, stick with water, seltzer, unsweetened tea or coffee, and low/nonfat milk most of the time. Think of juices and sodas as a special occasion treat if you enjoy them, but work on eliminating these drinks from your daily intake. What about alcohol? Alcohol contains nearly the same number of calories ...