Dr. V's Top 7 Ways to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain, Goal Setting - Jillian Michaels Podcast Summary - December 16, 2011

In this week's free weekly podcast, Jillian and Janice discuss setting goals, Dr. Katja Van Herle ("Dr. V") stops by to discuss her top seven ways to fight holiday weight gain, and Jillian talk with a caller about her insecurities.

Jillian starts out the podcast discussing goal-setting. She wants 20 seconds of silence to start the show, but Janice just can't do it. Jillian says one goal is to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, as Janice was uncomfortable with the silence.

With New Years' resolution on the horizon, we have to learn to address change, which is scary.

1. Define your goals. Don't just say you'll "get healthy." Define it. Does it mean that you want to reach a certain weight? That you can run a half marathon?

For any goal, start out with a goal pyramid. At the top of the pyramid, write in your specific goal: "I want to run my first 5k," or "I want to meet a smart, intelligent mate."

2. Form an emotional attachment to your goal. Achieving goals isn't easy. Often, we lose motivations because the necessary actions and behaviors to achieve a goal are unpleasant. Take Jillian. She hates broccoli and hates working out. She watches the clock waiting for it to end. How does she do it? She has an emotional connection to feeling good, looking good and feeling strong, healthy and energized. She's willing to put in the work because she associates it with the ultimate goal of feeling successful and confident.

Write down all the reasons that your goal is worth it next to your goal on your goal pyramid. You can accomplish anything if you know why you're doing it and you feel that it's worth it.

3. Create a roadmap to achieving your goals. Start out with immediate goals that you can do today. Go to the bottom of your goal pyramid. Write down what you can do in this moment to make your life better. Then work your way up the pyramid writing down what you can do in a week, a month, etc.

Give yourself at least three months for any goal. If you have more difficult goals like starting your own business, you may want to give yourself a year or more.

Addressing your immediate goals may include making time to reach your smaller goals. You may have to reprioritize your activities to make time. Expect it, plan for it and you'll succeed.

You have to take small steps to get down the road. Remember go to back to your reasons for starting on the journey in the first place.

4. For each goal, make a corresponding reward. The reward shouldn't be destructive. If you're losing weight, don't reward yourself with food. Instead, schedule a pedicure or other incentive so you have positive reinforcement.

How do you stay on track with your diet and exercise during the holidays? In no particular order,

1. Stop the extra toppings. Sauces, gravy, butter, whipped cream, salt - these are danger areas! These things smell wonderful, but the nutrition of food goes down when you add these toppings with extra calories and bad fats.

You can use scented candles and spice kits that will fill your house with aromas to get the feeling of holidays without the food smells.

Dr. V warns about adding salt. Salt will give you extra water weight. Don't add it. Holiday food has a ton of salt already. If you avoid adding salt, your taste buds will adapt and you won't want or need to add salt.

2. Watch the drinks. Watch all of the drinks, not just the alcoholic ones. Alcohol isn't great for the liver, but there are also a lot of empty calories. Eggnog and punches also have a ton of empty calories. You can have a fast food burger for the same calories as eggnog. Drinking sugary drinks will make you hungry because they are quick carb rushes.

3. Wear tighter clothes. Dr. V has tried this and heard from her patients that it works. If you feel a little strapped in, you will be more aware of what you're eating. People tend to feel full sooner and eat less. It does work.

4. In food preparation, avoid nibbling. Even if you're just waiting around for the food and you're not the cook, avoid nibbling by chewing gum. Dr. V doesn't recommend gum chewing in general, but it works at the holidays. If you're not a gum person, you can try salt-free sunflower seeds instead.

Before you go to the party, have a whole piece of fruit to stave off nibbling. It satisfies your appetite and provides fiber. Dr. V prefers apples and pears because they have more fiber, but pick a piece of fruit of your choice.

5. Don't fast all day before the meal or party. People think they can eat more if they save up for the big meal. If you don't have breakfast, your metabolism slows down. Then when you do eat, you gorge. You'll eat far more if you fast because your brain and stomach aren't communicating. Your metabolism is slower so those extra calories are going to your hips. You can't trick mother nature.

6. Hydrate. Hydration is one of the most important things you can do, all of the times. During the holidays, you need more fluid. You body is still trying to acclimate and regulate temperature. You lose moisture through your lungs because of colder air.

If you're dehydrated, your brain will go for a quick sugar fix. Stay hydrated to avoid those cravings.

7. Manage stress. Stress causes cortisol production, which increases fat around the abdomen, increased blood sugar and increased fatigue. Exercise will build endorphins in the brain and stop the stress. Get exercise any way you can. Regular sleep is also important, but exercise is critical.

Do whatever you can do to manage stress when you have downtime: sex, meditation or whatever works to relax you.

For more from Dr V., visit her website.

Mariette calls to ask about her career and her weight gain. She lost 80 pounds in eight months through diet and exercise and is now a personal trainer. She's worried about gaining the weight back because of her stress and everything she has going on. She thinks that people are judging her at the gym while she's working because she's gaining weight. The gym thinks she's not getting enough business because she's gaining weight.

Jillian warns that there are people who won't look beyond the surface to hear Mariette's story and want to learn from her, but there are people who will.

Also, Jillian senses insecurity that Mariette is projecting outward. Mariette says she doesn't feel good enough. She was always overweight and still doesn't feel good enough even though she's lost the weight. Jillian says that she's not getting to the root of the problem. Mariette is replaying a pattern of not being good enough.

Jillian pushes Mariette to get to the root of her insecurity, but Mariette doesn't cooperate. Jillian recommends doing work to discover the root of her feelings of inadequacy, not just how she's replaying them. Journaling and thinking will help. Therapy will also help.

It's not about the pattern that's repeating in Mariette's life; it's about her and why she's replaying this pattern in her life by seeking out situations that will reinforce her feelings of her inadequacy.

Jillian encourages Mariette to redefine her life with her accomplishments, not her past.