NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 09: Alison Sweeney attends the OK! TV Launch Celebration at Lavo on September 9, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/FilmMagic)
We recently sat down with Alison Sweeney, host of “The Biggest Loser” and the new leader of California Almonds’ team of lifestyle experts, for a talk about health and holidays. During our chat, one thing became clear: No Christmas miracle will save your weight. Whereas many resort to telling themselves that during the holidays calories don’t count, Sweeney don’t buy into that theory — and it shows in her food choices and way of raising her children.
“Getting carried away and looking at it like ‘Oh, I’ll figure it out later,’ is not a good idea,” she tells us. Her go-to snack at holiday parties is vegetables — just that. She wants to set a good example for her kids, she says.
“I have an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old and I want to instill in them healthy nutritional values. I want them to be used to making healthy choices themselves,” Sweeney, who also is author of “The Star Attraction” and “The Mommy Diet,” says. But that doesn’t mean cutting out fun, period. “I don’t want them to feel like they can never have something indulgent, but [I want them to] also know how to control their portions.”
She doesn’t understand why people would ever lie to themselves about what is healthy and what is not.
“You need to arm yourself with the information. If you want to eat [whatever you feel like eating] go for it, but go in knowing what you are really eating and how many calories are really in it. Don’t let them fool you, don’t fool yourself. Be honest with yourself about what you put in your body and maybe you will make better choices. At least you will make educated ones.”
On Twitter Sweeney asked people what their 2014 healthy goals are. She shared her favorite answers with us:
“Some of the ones that I loved hearing people talk about were wanting to make healthier choices with their children. What can we do together as a family to work out?Lot’s of people responded that they want to get more sleep, which is definitely something I need to work on.I liked people talking about finding time to work out. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing — if you can’t make time for an hour-long workout that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything. You can still find ten minutes to do some squats or lunges. Get something in.”
