Four years ago, when I decided that I was going to finally lose weight and this time it would be for good, I knew that the only way I was going to do it was to ditch the diet mentality and see it as a lifestyle. This meant finding a balance.

Let's close Stress Awareness Month by reclaiming our food bliss -- and therefore our health. It's clear that we must intentionally defend ourselves from the unhealthy choices that surround us in order to find peace and satisfaction.

A healthy lifestyle is a long-term process, not a short-term pledge of perfection. Therefore, I prefer to think of eating and physical activity as a pendulum instead of a yo-yo.

Nutrition, medical and culinary experts share their tips on how to mindfully eat chocolate for greater enjoyment and better health.

Having spent decades bouncing back and forth between my strict diet du jour and the "I blew it, screw it, eat everything in sight and start again on Monday" program, I am honored to share with others the tips and tools that helped me crack the diet/binge code once and for all.

The problem with this "good" and "bad" idea or thinking about food and eating is that it leads to weight gain over time. You end up on that yo-yo cycle. Even if it is not a ton of weight, you gain and lose that amount over time and you simply train your body to weigh more.

The key to thriving in this land of abundance is to recognize the paradox and relearn to use your natural cues of hunger and satiety to guide you. I like to introduce people to mindful eating by teaching them to ask the question "Am I hungry?" before starting (or continuing) to eat.

The moment you become aware that you are eating mindlessly, it's hard not to "see" it anymore. When you sit on the coach robotically eating chips or at a bar popping peanuts into your mouth, you recognize the behavior right away. This little inner voice speaks up and says, "Hey, I am mindlessly eating right now!"

The holiday season provides the perfect ingredients for overeating. Run yourself down physically by not sleeping, exercising, eating when you're hungry, or consuming nutritious foods.

Usually, people either gain a lot of weight this time of year, or they deny themselves what they'd really like. Either way, they're miserable. Instead, the key to permanent weight loss is learning how to eat what you'll want the rest of your life -- in a way that will maintain a healthy weight.

The key to thriving during the holidays (and beyond) is to love food more. While this advice may seem counterintuitive, when you love to eat, it pays to act like it! By eating mindfully, you'll eat less while enjoying it even more.

Halloween candy showed up in August (as though we needed to get a jump on our holiday shopping!) and will still be on sale in November. So what is the trick to eating what you love when it is everywhere?

With the holiday season coming, many people give themselves permission to stuff not only a turkey, but also themselves. When an attitude of overindulgence prevails, how do you summon the strength to say "no" to the extras?

If I were to ask, "When is the best time to relax?" you'd probably say, "When you're feeling stressed." True, that would be the best time to intervene with relaxation. But when is the best time to utilize relaxation in all its calming potency? The answer may surprise you: right before you eat.

Without a doubt, the eat-repent-repeat cycle must be resolved -- but calling it "addiction" takes away the power to change and prevents you from learning to use food in an enjoyable, moderate way.

Misinformation about weight loss abounds, and anyone who's tried to diet knows it. We begin strict diets with the best of intentions, but they ultimately result in feelings of failure as we boomerang back to our original weight, or -- even worse -- gain more.

Eating mindfully is a shade of grey, not a black or white extreme of overeating or dieting/restriction. When you are eating mindfully, my clients, readers and friends find that they naturally ramp up the pleasure and minimize the pain.

To this day, I use the essential nutrition advice that my mom bestowed upon me. She simply wanted me to practice mindful eating. As a mother and nutritionist, it's a value that I now work to instill in my own children and clients.