Keri Glassman MS RD CDN - The slim calm sexy diet : 365 proven food strategies for mind/body bliss

To all of the slim, calm, and
sexy women I am so very blessed
to have in my life

Thank you to Maria Rodale and everyone at Rodale who tirelessly puts their energy and efforts into making millions of lives better and healthier each day.

To everyone at Rodale Books, Womens Health, and Mens Health, thank you all for providing me with a place to share my passion and wisdom. I am honored to be part of such an extraordinary team. To Michele Promaulayko, you are an inspiration, a friend, and a rock star editor in chief!

To Dave Zinczenko for the opportunity to be part of such an incredible place and project, and Steve Perrine for your belief in this book (and me!) from our very first meeting. To my editor Ursula Cary, I am truly going to miss our working sessions. You are beyond amazing at what you do. And, to Debbie McHugh for keeping us on track! A huge thank you to George Karabotsos, whose brilliant design direction makes all things beautiful. Also, thanks to Mike Smith, Erin Williams, Chris Krogermeier, Ayla Christman, Rainer Hosch, Beth Bischoff, Thomas MacDonald, Susan Hindman, and Maureen Klier for all of their hard work.

To Karen Rinaldi and Shannon Welch for getting me involved and for supporting me on Slim Calm Sexy Diet and my other books.

Allison Keane, thank you for your friendship, your incredible diligence, and for being the amazing you.

Sarah Mahoney, you are my writing partner rock. On to the next! You are a dream to work with and I have the utmost respect for everything you do. Therese Baran, thanks for being the foodie that you are and creating recipes that I cant get enough of. Thanks also to Rachel Cosgrove, Mandy Ingber, and Jenifer Nyp for their incredible fitness expertise, and to Nancy Kalish for pulling it all together.

To the team in my office, thank you for your passion, commitment, and energy for our incredible field as well as all of your friendships. Karen Rogers, my director of operations, thank you for running the show and letting me do my thing. I appreciate everything that you do and no one could do it better. Lara Metz, Stacia Helfand, Amanda Buthmann, and Tiffany Mendell, you are gifts to the field of nutrition! Also, thanks to all of the interns who put so much energy into assisting me on this project, especially Joey Damommio.

To everyone at WME, including Strand Conover, Jeff Googel, and Bethany Dick, and Chloe Leeson for all of their hard work. Mel Berger, no books would happen without you. Thank you! Ken Slotnick, there are no words!

To my parents, once again, thank you for your neverending, utmost support and always being there.

Thank you, Brett Glassman! And, of course, thank you to the loves of my life, Rex and Maizy, for making everything all good every day. I LOVE YOU!

As a nutritionist, I have a ringside seat to what makes some women feel slim, calm, and sexy, and others feel fat, frumpy, and frazzled. It doesnt matter if youre 5, 10, or 50 pounds overweightwhen youre unhappy with your body, youre miserable. And I know exactly how this feels.

As a kid growing up in the Boston area, I loved gymnastics and worked extra hard to get the slender, muscular body I envied in the other girls. On the drive home, Id be so famished that my mom would take me to McDonalds, where Id feast on Chicken McNuggets with honey-mustard dipping sauce. My nutrition habits continued to yo-yo. I certainly wasnt obese, but just before I went off to college, I looked in the mirror with dismay. Im fat, I thought. I was zeroing in on body parts I didnt likemy tummy, my thighs.

My initiation into the worlds biggest clubwomen on a dietwas by way of the Scarsdale diet. Between the grapefruits and the dry toast, I lost 15 pounds in the last few weeks of my summer vacation, and I went off to college skinnier than ever and feeling invincible about food. Then I downed big bowls of sugary cereal, late-night pizzas, and giant chocolate chip cookies. I usually had a bag of Swedish Fish in my pocket. I was still playing sports, but I fueled myself with not-so-smart snacks. As a result, I spent most of my college years weighing between 15 and 20 pounds more than I wanted to. I didnt like the way my clothes fit or the way the extra weight made me feel.

I moved to New York City, and I spiraled further into the yo-yo diet trap. I felt like I was either starving or overeating, but I wasnt sure why. I was fascinated by health magazines and found myself reading up on nutrition news whenever I could. I decided I wanted to study it more seriously, and enrolled in the masters degree program at New York University. As I learned how to interpret nutrition research, the basic components of food, and even micronutrients, my outlook on diet shifted dramatically. The science of nutrition had suddenly becomepersonal. After years of thinking, I cant eat the cake, I cant eat the cake, a switch flipped, and I thought, I can eat blueberries!

I now saw the world of food as my own personal board game, like Candy Land but tastier. It wasnt that I swore off cake, exactlyin fact, I didnt make a conscious decision to say goodbye to any foods. I just started saying hello to more of them. I found myself experimenting with delicious new foods, from kale to salmon to cashews. I tore through the produce aisle the way some women work sample sales or flea markets. What hidden treasures would I find? Kumquats? Bok choy? Star fruit? Lemongrass?

Before long, I was slim. Effortlessly. The scale was in the right place (give or take a few pounds, which, I promise, is totally normal). I fit easily into my favorite jeans, month after month, even year after year. I was no longer at the mercy of whether or not fried wontons were served at cocktail hour or how fast the waiter brought a new bread basket. I had finally stepped away from the black-and-white world of seeing food as bad or good. I knew I could have extra bread, if I wanted. In fact, the more I learned about food, the more empowered I became.

I enjoyed my workouts at the gym and my runs, focusing on my strength and times instead of every little fat bulge, imperfection, or how many calories I burned.

And you know what happened? I relaxed. I felt calm and in control, even in the face of total chaos. I was in charge of my own fork, dinner plate, and any other aspect of my life. I nourished myself with the right foods, and in turn, I lookedand feltamazing. Self-confident. Sexy. I was finally the real me. I felt amazing, and there are even those days when I feel downright fab! Even after two kids, I feel better than I did 10 years ago. (Of course, we all have bad days, and Im no exception. But Ive learned to take those bumps in strideand you will, too.) Some of my self-assurance, of course, is just part of growing up and settling into a wonderfully full life. But most of it was learning what to eat, when, and why.

My own slim, calm, sexy journey took several decadesand while I cant give you age and experience, I can give you the tools to find empowerment through food and find your perfect balance within. At Nutritious Life, my practice in New York, I work with thousands of clients and watch them flip the switch, just as I did. Today, I share my passion with an even broader audienceon TV, in magazines, and in published booksand I cant wait to share it with you.