Shrink your Plate, Shift your Weight

Hey, J.J. here. Can you believe how fast the holidays are knocking at the door this year? One minute it's pumpkin spice season, the next you're getting your guest room ready and wondering where their wrapping paper went. And that's when I turned to Wayfair. From bedding and towels to holiday decor and last minute stocking stuffers, Wayfair has everything you need to get your home and holidays together fast. And for way less. With Wayfair, I know I can refresh my guest room in no time. Maybe I'll add a soft new comforter or a few holiday throw pillows. With Wayfair, it's so easy and everything arrives super fast. Plus, there's free shipping for any order over $35 easy and total peace of mind. So whether you're hosting, gifting, or just adding those final festive touches, Wayfair has your back. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, every home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I R.com hey, it's JJ here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order.

Some people think nature is like this, but actually it's like this. That's why Columbia engineers everything we make for anything nature can throw at you. Columbia engineered for whatever.

Welcome to the Virgin Diet lifestyle show.

With your host, celebrity nutrition and fitness expert and New York Times best selling author, JJ Virgin.

What if you could trick yourself into making better choices simply by shifting the way you think about things a bit? Now let's think about this. We're ruled by habits mindlessly making the same same choices every day. And it's these choices, the decision to add the milk to your coffee, to have the afternoon snack pack or two, to have that treat after dinner or not, that make the big difference. After all, it's not the once a year birthday cake that's taking you down. I'm all about making simple shifts. In the sugar impact diet, I have you shift from high sugar impact choices to lower ones. In the Virgin diet, I have you swap the seven foods that could be holding your health hostage for healthier options. And in this show, I'm going to give you some simple strategies, some easy shifts to trick you into better eating habits. Now first off, if it's out of sight, it's out of mind. And here are a few ways that you can use this. First of all, never ever put out a candy dish. Oh my gosh, it's just like that little candy dish is going to go, come here, come here, come here. And when you serve the dinner plates, put away anything that you shouldn't be taking seconds of at a restaurant. The way you can do this is if you get your dinner and you know you only want to eat half of something. Get the doggy bag and put that away before you even get started. Do not make this hard on yourself. And remember, size matters, especially with your serving dishes. Now if you shrink your plate, you'll shrink what you eat. Same with skinnier glasses. You'll drink less. So if you're drinking water, let's get really big glasses though, right? And same with serving platters. So look in your, look in your, and this is, by the way, amazing look in your cabinets. Turns out that the houses in the 50s actually had narrower cabinets than we do now. We used to have smaller plates, we used to have smaller serving platters. We used to be smaller. Just saying. Okay, now next thing I want you to do is I want you to finish last. I want you to be the last one at the table to finish eating. One of the ways you can do this is actually put your fork down in between bites. If you find that you got this death grip on your fork, relax, put it down. Or better yet, eat with chopsticks. Now, one of the things that you can do, too, if you find that you're losing it while you're doing this, stop, get up, go to the bathroom, have a chat with yourself, regroup. And one other thing that you want to do is eat with slowpokes. If you find that you're a fast eater, find some slowpokes, go sit down with them, and you'll watch that you're going to naturally start to pace yourself with them. Okay? Now, another big one is don't invite the enemy to the table, to the house, to your party. Because after all, willpower is a joke. You know, you think, I will get that ice cream because I've got willpower. I'm not going to eat it. That's crazy. I would never do it, do that to myself. It's just mean. The other thing you want to make sure you're doing is avoiding your trigger foods. Now, here's the deal. Too much healthy food, it's unhealthy. So even though almond butter is healthy, a jar of almond butter is not, right? So figure out what those things are that you lose your mind with, and don't bring them into the house. And you know what I'm talking about here, because we've all got 1 10, right? One of the places I see people lose their mind is at the movies. I've heard people say, you know what? I can't even go to the movies without eating popcorn. How do you do that? So here's how you do that. You go to the movies, and you don't bring any money for popcorn. Just bring money for the movie ticket, leave the rest, keep it at home, lock it in the car. Can't get popcorn if you don't have any cash for it, right? Same with if you're going into that morning coffee and you feel like you need to have the muffin, it's a cupcake. Muffin. It's a cupcake, right? Just bring exactly what you need for the coffee. Don't bring the extras for the treats.

Hey, J.J. virgin here. Okay, real talk. So often the holidays sneak up on me. Travel, gifts, hosting, you know, all the things. And suddenly it's like, wait, who spent what and where? And I know I'm not the only one who's looked at a bill in January and thought, wow, that escalated quickly. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or on your phone. Monarch lets you link everything and gives you real time visibility so you're not shocked later. Right now I've been checking the holiday spending category so I don't accidentally start the new year with that dreaded debt hangover. And honestly, just seeing everything laid out is already helping me stay more aware. This season, Monarch does the heavy lifting. It links your accounts in minutes, gives you smart categorization and super clear visuals. Yes, that end of year reset could be a real goal this time. Don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monarch.com with the code Virgin.

This episode is brought to you by Buffalo Trace Distillery. Powerful yet smooth contained but never tame. Proudly going their own way but never going alone. This is the spirit inside Buffalo Trace Bourbon made at Buffalo Trace Distillery. The world's most, most award winning distillery. Buffalo Trace is always perfectly untamed. Distilled, aged and bottled by Buffalo Trace distillery, Franklin County, Kentucky 90 proof, 45% alcohol by volume. Learn more at Buffalotrace distillery.com Please drink responsibly.

Okay, here's one that was interesting because Brian Wansink did a cool study on this where he showed that if you left the remains sitting out there, which seems kind of ick gross, right? But you actually ate less because it gave you a visual cue of what you were up to when what you've already consumed. So he did a study with chicken wings and in one of them he took the chicken wings away after people were done and one he just let them pile up. And when he let them pile up people were like, oh my gosh, I've eaten that many chicken wings, right? So they chilled out on it. The big place I see this happening is at those parties where they're just pouring you a little more wine and a little more wine and a little more wine and all of a sudden you turn around and you're like, oh my gosh, you don't even have a clue how much you've had. And then you know if you've had a lot of wine, you're going to have a lot of other stuff too. So a good rule of thumb there is do not let them fill up your glass of wine until you've Actually finished a glass. Then when you have, before you have the next glass of wine, have two, two glasses of water. All right. Another thing I want you to do is I want you to work for it again. Another study by Brian Wansing showed that if the Hershey's Kisses were set at your desk, you ate more than if they were set at a desk just six feet away. I mean, isn't that crazy that you actually had to get up and go get it, but you had to think about it. I like to apply this to things like pistachios. Heck, if you have shelled pistachios versus pistachios in the shell, you're going to eat a lot less when you actually have to shell them. Artichokes, another great one. You really have to work for an artichoke and then think of things like soups and salads that take a long time to eat and are very nutrient dense and calorie poor. We like that. And I'll tell you, I employ this one with my shakes. And you know, my mantra is start the day with a shake. If you're on the virgin diet, it's a virgin diet shake. If you're on the sugar impact diet, it's a sugar impact shake. It's actually the same shake. And what I do, how I make my shakes is I actually make my shake more like a smoothie mousse. I eat it with a spoon. So I put in some avocado, some extra fiber. I use my, of course, my all in one shake mix, and I make it really thick and I eat it with a spoon. So you can try that one too. Because it's actually, for me, I feel like, oh my gosh, I'm, I'm eating something now you're at a party. Let's think about this. Why are we eating before we eat? You know, you look at a party and they've got these appetizers. What I see with people with appetizers, most of those little appetizers, they are not innocuous. They have 100 to 200 calories. You eat more than you would have sat down and ate at dinner before you even sat down to eat dinner. You're full before dinner. So here's what you do. Do not eat standing up, ever. Only eat while seated when you have a plate that you're managing. So when you're at the party, while you're standing up, keep your hands full. Then you can't pick up the appetizers and don't let someone put one in your mouth. All right, so gals, that's a clutch and a drink. And guys, it's a phone and a drink and that's it. Full hands. No appetizers. Sit down to eat. Never stand up. Now, I know I just gave you a load of tips, so here's how to make sure that you put them into action. Pull out your daily food journal, which is your number one ally in making sure that you're successful on a program, and decide which strategy you're going to start with and put it into practice. Now once that one becomes second nature, then go on to the next one and nail that one. This is going to become your new way of living. That's going to reinforce healthier eating. And you know, if you eat and live like a healthy, lean person, you're going to become one. To get more of my mindful eating tips in a great handout, you can post on your fridge. As a reminder, text 58885 and enter JJMind1. That's the number one space, your first name space, and your email address. Again, you text to 58885 and you enter JJMind1Space, your first name space and your email address. In the Sugar Impact Diet, I help you clear up the confusion around sugar and take back the control that sugar has over your life. In just two weeks, you'll lose your sweet tooth and shrink your waistline. Why wait? Start those two weeks today. Hey everyone, did you like this episode? Be sure to subscribe for the next one and tell a friend. If you'd like world class training and cutting edge information, visit the Virgin Diet.

Hello listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week, I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading. Next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change, or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read. With a whole list of new books and authors to try.

So.

So join us each Tuesday for what should I Read next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website, whatshould I readnext podcast.com to find out more.