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I recently returned from an eight day vacation in Dubai. I never thought I would visit the Middle East in my life, so I was determined to make the most of this unique opportunity.

Every meal we had was lavish and indulgent. Every day we drank champagne and cocktails.

And although I logged over 100,000 steps during the week and made great use of the gym at our hotel, there was no denying that my clothes were uncomfortably tight when I got home.

Naturally, I regret nothing. I don’t mind how I look when I’m a few pounds heavier (most people wouldn’t notice), but I wanted to get back to my normal weight because I am more comfortable there. My clothes fit better and I feel more myself.

I’ve written before that I don’t believe in cleanses, detoxes or diets. Instead I rely on my Home Court Habits to get me back into my comfort zone.

But over the years I’ve noticed that there are certain habits I focus on more intently when I’m actively trying to lose weight.

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In this episode Ligaya makes small tweaks to her eating and exercise habits to reach and discover her ideal weight. As a life-long carb lover, she finds a simple rule to keep eating bread and pasta that works for her and rediscovers her love of real food and exercise.

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For the Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup. 

This week how to overcome procrastination, a victory for GMO labels, and why you shouldn’t work before 10am.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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Last weekend I attended a fabulous party. There was excellent champagne, illustrious guests, spectacular food and beautiful live music. The setting was divine, and the cocktails were SO GOOD.

The only thing missing was water. I’m normally pretty good at staying hydrated, but there wasn’t an obvious water station. So to stay cool and keep my mouth from drying out I kept finding myself at the bar.

At least, that was my excuse.

One of the most notorious effects of alcohol is that it effectively shuts down your frontal lobes, lowering your inhibition and turning your mind over to your more primitive impulses.

It is absolutely insane to believe that the best way to keep cool at a party is to have a cold cocktail. It cools you down for maybe 10 minutes and only worsens your feeling of dehydration.

But the part of my brain that considers my long-term happiness was out of commission. My reward pathway had taken over.

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Linda suffers from late night binge eating, despite her healthy eating and exercise habits throughout the day. In this episode we consider a few possible reasons her habit may have developed before finally uncovering the true source of her trouble.

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For the Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup. 

This week Instagram makes food taste better, willpower research is shaken up, and the benefits of cold showers.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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Sweet Potato Succotash

With Spring right around the corner it’s time to bring back nourishing salads. And I’m not talking about uninspiring limp lettuce salads, but hearty, satisfying bowls of color. This creamy sweet potato salad stands on its own as a complete meal or pairs harmoniously with juicy burgers.

In our household we love to create side dishes whose leftovers can be transformed into work lunches. If you’re working 9-to-5, you need serious mid-day fuel to prevent that late afternoon slump (we all know that dreadful crash that leads to junk food snack attacks).

Thanks to the power combination of sweet potatoes, edamame, corn, and pepitas all tossed together in a rich yogurt-based dressing this salad will sustain you throughout the afternoon.

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In this episode of the Foodist podcast Cassie tells her story of going from a chronic dieter to a foodist.

She explains:

• How she was able to stop focusing on nutrients and drop the dieting mindset
• The first changes she made to start changing her eating habits
• Why learning to cook was the key to her success
• The limiting beliefs that she needed to change in order to make progress
• The obstacles she overcame so she could get more exercise
• How she knew she was on the right track despite making only small changes
• Why the psychological benefits of giving up dieting are even better than the physical results

She even emailed me after the show to emphasize her success:

“Since I didn’t really lose weight after finding ST (since I didn’t really need to) and the psychological changes were so huge to me, I feel like I down played the physical changes to my body during our talk. For the first time in my life, I have abs and a well defined muscles – like, I want to wear more tank tops to show off my shoulders and arms! I didn’t tape myself before getting more serious about strength training, so I don’t have any numerical results, and since my physical appearance wasn’t the reason I was working out it honestly feels like my muscle definition just kind of happened… I woke up one day and thought “Holy crap! Where did these triceps come from?! ” And there I go again, making it all sound so easy. I swear I didn’t used to like going to the gym!”

Listen on iTunes

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(Still waiting on approval from Stitcher)

Links mentioned in the show:

• Intact Grains vs Whole Grains
• Foodist Recalibration
• Foodist Kitchen

If you enjoy the show, please head over to iTunes and leave a review. It’s super important to the success of a new podcast, and I truly appreciate your support.

For the Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup. 

This week the pros and cons of fasting, body fat trumps BMI, and how water cuts calories.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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In just over two weeks Summer Tomato will celebrate it’s 7th anniversary. I’m deeply humbled that so many people have trusted me as their guide to getting healthy and losing weight in a sane, positive way.

But every once in awhile I wake up in the morning and all I can think is: good gawd I’m sick of writing about myself!

This is why I’m thrilled today to announce the launch of the Foodist podcast.

Finally, the spotlight is on you guys.

In the Foodist podcast I interview real people on their healthstyle journey so you can see real life examples of how people-who-aren’t-me have managed to find health and happiness without dieting.

There are countless ways to get healthy and lose weight. As a foodist, it’s your job to find the way that works for you. My goal for the Foodist podcast is to show you what has and hasn’t worked for different people, to give you both inspiration and guidance along your own healthstyle journey.

Currently there are three types of episodes on the show:

• Ask Darya: Short 5-10 min segments where I answer simple questions that have been submitted by readers here at Summer Tomato.
• Success stories: Interviews with people who have achieved some type of healthstyle success. I’ll help dissect what did and didn’t work for them along the way. (30-40 min)
• Troubleshooting: Live coaching sessions where I help someone figure out a particular issue they have been stuck on and come up with a solution. (30-60 min)

I decided to make the show audio only, so guests could feel free to share their stories somewhat anonymously. I’ll continue to post the Ask Darya videos here on Summer Tomato.

Subscribe on iTunes

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Give the shows a listen and please leave a review over at iTunes and let me know what you think.

This is an experiment for now, so I need your feedback to decide if this is something I should keep doing. Is there something you’d like to see more or less of? Please let me know.

If you’d like to submit a question or be a guest on the show, head over to the official Foodist podcast page for more details.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

xo

Darya