Thursday, September 27, 2012

How do you stay so skinny??

This is a question I get a lot. Even from strangers. Especially when I'm out and about with my 3 children. And when they find out that my oldest is almost 15 (exactly one month from today!), they give me a look that says ..... (started pretty young, didn't you?). It's not like I was THAT young. I was 2 weeks away from my 23rd birthday when she was born.

But people wonder how it is that I stay so slim being 2 years from 40. This is about the time when our metabolism slows down and we really have to watch what we eat and make sure to exercise. Of course I attribute my size to eating healthy and working out. But I think there is one key thing that helps me over the average person.

I rarely drink alcohol.

Oh, I love my wine and if I go out for dinner with my husband, I will always have a glass. And I have been known to let it all hang out once or twice a year (but no more than that because I just can't handle hangovers). But I really feel like that helps keep me slim.

Almost everyone I know likes beer. It's fun to drink with friends. Go out to the bar or in the backyard around the campfire, on Sunday's watching the game. Whatever it is - it's a fun and common thing to drink with your buddies. BUT - those empty calories add up. And the more you drink, the less you care about healthy eating. Drinking almost always leads to poor food choices. Plus, you're stressing your liver because now it's got to work hard to rid you of the alcohol. If you drink multiple times per week and wonder why you can't get rid of those extra pounds, that could be why. And shedding some excess weight could be as simple as dropping the alcohol from your diet.

You never want to drink your calories anyway. That includes cocktails of any kind, coffee house coffees, fruit juices, and soda. No nutrients - just sugar and calories. Get rid of the calories laden drinks and you could be on your way to a slimmer you!

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