Count Your Steps - Pedometers Motivate Walkers

How many steps do you take per day? How many should you take?
6000 Pedometer Steps for HealthRob
Sweetgall of Creative Walking, Inc. points to the Harvard Alumni Study that showed walking even 1 mile a day reduced death rates. The most benefit came at approximately 6000 steps per day. For most people, that is the equivalent of walking for an hour a day. These can be accumulated steps throughout the day rather than one long walk.

10,000 Steps for Weight Management
Many people already get in 3000 or more steps just with daily activity, and are still gaining unwanted weight. To burn off extra calories for weight loss, walk 10,000 steps per day most days of the week.

Pedometers Help Motivation
Pedometers used to get a bad rap because they are not accurate for measuring distances for most people, due to uneven strides. Stop thinking distance and and start thinking steps. Wearing a pedometer all day, you can see how many steps you are really getting in, and aim towards your goal of 6000 or 10,000 steps a day.

Suddenly you start finding ways to add in steps:

• Parking further from your destination
• Taking the stairs rather than the elevator
• Adding a stroll to your breaks and lunches
• Enjoying an evening walk with your loved ones

Today's Pedometers
Fueling the step counting movement are new pedometers that display steps and count them accurately. Models also have the usual distance calculation, and many also calculate calories burned and have a time/date or stopwatch feature. For distance and calorie models, users must enter their stride length and weight. Tiny and comfortable, they are meant to be worn all day, every day, as motivation to keep moving.

An Hour a Day Needed to Keep Weight Off

How much do you need to exercise to maintain weight loss? A new study suggests that you need almost an hour a day (55 minutes) to keep off weight once you lose it.

The study followed 201 overweight and obese women who lost 10% of their body weight with a low calorie diet. Those who burned 2000 calories a week in exercise were more successful in keeping off the weight for two years than those who burned 1000 calories a week in exercise. For those who walk at a moderate exertion, this means walking about an hour a day rather than only 30 minutes a day.

An hour a day of moderate-intensity walking can help weight loss, and now we see that you need to keep up that activity to keep the weight off.
Beyond walking more, the women who kept the weight off also stayed with their program of calling their weight loss counselor and modifying what they ate.

3 Fresh Ingredients for Summer

Summer is the season for cooking fresh and fabulous feasts. The summer months bring ripe and juicy produce that nearly falls off the vines, farmers markets in their fullest glory, and perfect weather for celebrating the bountiful harvest in your very own backyard. Three starers are tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Delicious and versatile, this trio is also incredibly healthy.

Tomatoes: Although commonly regarded and categorized as a vegetable, the tomato is really a fruit, a very healthful one. Tomatoes are known for being exceptionally high in lycopene, a carotenoid that has antioxidant properties and may help prevent cancer and heart disease. Eating tomatoes with fat (try to chose a healthy fat like avocado, olive oil, or nuts) increases your body's ability to absorb the lycopene.

Besides that famous carotenoid, tomatoes are also a rich source of vitamin C, folate (folic acid), riboflavin, and chromium, each with its own health benefits . For the tastiest tomatoes, grow them yourself or buy them from a farmers market or road-side produce stand. That ensures that your tomatoes are fresh from the vine—and healthier, too. Although tomatoes that have been shipped from across the country are still technically tomatoes, the flavor and texture doesn’t even remotely compare to those that are freshly picked. Select tomatoes with a deep rich color and smooth skin and store them on the countertop where they’ll keep for a few days. Do not refrigerate tomatoes as it changes the flavor and texture.

Cucumbers: Boasting a unique and refreshing flavor, cucumbers (technically fruits) make a cooling snack for hot summer days. They’re also a good source of water, fiber, and nutrients like vitamin C. But the real nutritional benefits come from the skin, which contains minerals like silica, potassium and magnesium. Silica is an essential component of healthy connective tissue—important for your skin, bones and joints. So eating unpeeled cucumbers is essential. Unfortunately, when conventional growing methods are used, the peel also contains the bulk of the pesticide residue, too, and conventional cucumbers should always be peeled to reduce your pesticide exposure. So you'll reap the greatest health benefits of cucumbers if you buy organic ones.

Besides providing vitamins and minerals to your body when you eat them, cucumbers can also supply nutrients to the skin directly when applied externally. Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and caffeic acid are two compounds in cucumbers thought to prevent water retention. Applying cucumber slices over the eyelids can help relieve swollen eyes and other minor skin irritations.

Choose firm, medium to dark green cucumbers that are unwaxed and organic, and store them in the refrigerator.

Bell Peppers: Available in practically all shades of the rainbow, bell peppers all start off green, then ripen to their eventual shades of red, yellow, orange, and even purple. (That's why green peppers are the least expensive; they take less time and care to grow.) When they ripen, they become sweeter, especially if allowed to ripen on the vine in the sunlight. They are excellent sources of the antioxidants vitamin C and beta carotene and also contain good amounts of Vitamin B6.

Select peppers that are firm and smooth, have fresh-looking stems and no wrinkles on their skin. Store them in the crisper of your refrigerator, where they will keep for a week. They can also be frozen (whole or chopped) and added to soups and stews throughout the winter. And you may want to consider buying only organically produced bell peppers.

Improve Your Body Image

Working on your body image is a very difficult and a life time job. Many of us have spent years comparing ourselves to models and Hollywood stars and we're so used to putting ourselves down that it's a difficult habit to break. You can start with these steps:

1. Stop nitpicking. When you pick your flaws apart with all the intensity of a brain surgeon, you only increase your anxiety at not being perfect. Try to see your body as a whole and concentrate on what you love about yourself. Start by taking a walk and feel how your body moves. Swing your arms, feel the power in your legs and take a moment to appreciate how strong your body is.
2. Eat. Food isn't the enemy and, in fact, eating regularly will actually help you with your weight loss goals. Remind yourself that you really can control yourself and eat healthy. Start by cleaning out your kitchen and getting rid of foods that are too tempting to have around. Then stock up on healthy options so you always have something to nibble on.
3. Get real. No one is perfect and, unless you're at a model photo shoot, you'll notice that perfect bodies are few and far between. The real world is not Hollywood where those stars spend millions of dollars on their body upkeep. Start by doing some real people-watching. Notice all the different sizes and shapes you see. We're all unique and that's what makes us interesting.
4. If you can't say anything nice... Think of the negative things you say to yourself each day. Would you say that to your best friend? Your child? Your worst enemy? Write these thoughts down and, each time you think them, remind yourself you don't deserve that kind of treatment anymore than your friends do.
5. Find the perfect jeans. Okay, so this one's pretty tough. But, filling your wardrobe with clothes that make you feel good can go a long way towards improving your body image. Start by going through your closet and giving away anything that doesn't fit well or that makes you feel worse about your body.
6. Exercise. It's a proven fact that people who exercise have a higher self-esteem. The more you exercise, the more you'll build confidence and appreciate your body. Try to get some activity every day and you'll boost your mood as well.
7. Lighten Up. Are your imperfections so important that they deserve all that attention? When you find yourself obsessing about your body, ask yourself how important it really is. Remind yourself to stop taking things so seriously because, trust me, no one else is.
8. Take it with a grain of salt. The media shows perfect bodies all the time but that perfection is usually due to lighting, tailored clothes, professional make up artists and airbrushing. Put a moratorium on celebrity magazines for awhile and focus on the real people in your life.
9. Get a life. If you obsess about your body, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about it. If you have a well-rounded life, you'll have interesting things to talk about instead of the 2.31 pounds you gained. Start by getting back to a hobby you've given up or just doing something you truly enjoy - learn a new language, reading a book, walking the dog etc.
10. Treat yourself well. You only get one body and one life. Imagine yourself at 80 years old - do you think you'll care about the size of your thighs? Most likely, you'll be so glad they still work that you'll thank them--saddlebags and all. Each moment that passes is your life--how do you want to spend it?

How to get your cravings under control

At 10 am it’s chocolate, by noon it’s fries, at 3 pm you can’t live without that Coke, and by 9 pm you’re spoon-deep in a tub of ice cream. Sound too familiar? If you feel like you’re constantly craving one food or another, it’s very likely that you’re simply not eating properly.

First, you may just be hungry. Do you get enough calories from protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates? Do you eat at regular intervals? When you’re hungry you’re more likely to crave high-calorie, high-fat foods. Cravings are also often related to dips in blood sugar levels, which happen when you don’t eat regularly enough. If you experience a dip in blood sugar, you’re likely to look for a quick fix in the form of chocolate or other candy.

Eating regular, well-balanced meals, with plenty of low-fat protein (eggs, fish, lean meat, legumes) will ensure that your blood sugar levels are stable and that you are getting the calories you require throughout the day. This can make a huge difference in getting your cravings under control.
Smart snacking on fruit, nuts, seeds (pumpkin, sunflower etc.) chopped vegetables, homemade soup, yogurt or low-fat cheese will also help you prevent a mid-afternoon blood-sugar slump and the cravings that accompany it.

Kin mind that lack of certain nutrients can lead to cravings. For example, lack of protein may cause you to crave ice cream, lack of carbohydrates may cause you to crave fries. The same goes for micronutrients – chocolate contains zinc and magnesium, so your afternoon Hershey’s bar may simply be satisfying a physiological need for more broccoli. Although, if you’re craving chocolate sometimes no other food will hit the spot – there’s a reason Hershey’s doesn’t make a Broccoli Bar!

When people want to lose weight or change their eating habits, they often deem certain foods “forbidden”. This may seem noble, but in reality it’s just a set-up for cravings. Saying “I’m never going to eat any chocolate at all” is a sure-fire way to end up craving it a week later. It’s better to have the occasional, planned treat than to deny yourself a food altogether. Restricting a certain food group, such as carbohydrates, also pretty much guarantees a craving. For example, if you eliminate bread from your diet for an extended period of time, it's bread that you’re most likely to crave.
Staying interested in what you’re eating is key to preventing cravings. A monotonous, boring diet in which you only eat certain foods will inevitably lead to cravings.

The problem with many cravings is that they get out of control when you don’t satisfy them initially. For that reason, it’s best not to eat "around" the food you are craving. If you really feel like having a piece of candy, have it. Don't try to substitute it with a range of other foods if you think you'll end up eating the candy anyway. If you obsessively avoid the food you’re craving, you’re also far more likely to binge on it eventually than you would if you have a small amount when you first crave it. But be warned, this advice can be dangerous if you ignore the “a little” part. If you know you can’t stop at a little, it’s best not to start at all.
If you are facing a craving that a small portion won't fix, try putting the 'Four Ds' into practice.

• Delay for a few minutes and the urge will pass
• Drink water
• Deep breathe
• Do something else to take your mind off eating

Everybody experiences cravings now and then, whether for physical, emotional or any other reasons. It’s nothing to stress about and nothing to feel guilty over. The most important thing to remember when dealing with cravings is not to let them get out of control – learn to recognize what’s going on with your cravings at a physical and an emotional level, and try to prevent the craving if you can. If you can’t prevent it, remember that sometimes satisfying your craving a little, before you go craving mad, is the best way to respond.

Eat for your body shape

One essential health factor that has been dangerously overlooked throughout the years: body shape. Your body shape is the single most powerful predictor of your future health.

The fruit tree of health knowledge begins with determining whether you are an apple shape woman or a pear shape. Chances are you already have an idea. The most precise way to determine your shape is by using a tape measure. Grab the tape measure and measure your waist and your hips, then come up with the ratio. If you are a pear then it's your thighs, butt and hips that acquire the extra cushion. The more apple shaped you are the larger your waist size is going to be relative to your hips, and the much greater your health risks are when it comes to chronic inflammation, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
The critical difference between the two shapes lies in the type of fat you have and where it's stored. What's extraordinary about the difference in body shape is how nature has really made that kind of fat two completely different organs depending on where the fat is stored.
Pear-zone fat is passive and actually protects against heart disease, the smaller your waist and the bigger your hips, the smaller your risk of heart disease. Apple-zone fat, on the other hand, is harmful. Apple shaped women have visceral fat, the very active fat. This type of fat is an actual gland that releases chemicals and hormones right to the liver. If too much starts to get stored in the liver and in excess in the abdomen, then their waist size gets larger, their insulin level goes up and inflammation occurs.
While apple-shaped women need to be very careful and alert about the many health risks associated with their body shape, they are not alone. Pear-shaped women also face serious concerns of their own. Osteoporosis, eating disorders, varicose veins and cellulite are all great health concerns for pears. Although pear-zone fat is actually healthy, once it's there it's extremely hard to get rid of. The good news for apples is their fat comes off much faster and easier.
Whether you are an apple or pear the best solution to taking control of your health is to follow a nutritious , exercise and minimize large amounts of stress.

Women need to throw away the scales and use the tape measure to measure their health. The key is to think about long-term health. This means eating elite foods. These foods will protect you from heart disease, diabetes, cancer and osteoporosis and that's what you want.

Your body is continually changing and with these transitions new health concerns constantly arise.
There are no pears about it. When it comes to taking control of your health the apple does not fall far from the tree. Understanding your body shape can help you become alert to all the health risks you may be facing and guide you toward making the vital changes you need to stay healthy.

Kick Start your Metabolism

There are lots of things you can do to turn your body into an efficient fat-burning machine, and they don't include depriving yourself of foods you love, resorting to unhealthy gimmicks, or taking expensive “fat-melting” supplements that fail to deliver what they promise. All you have to do is avoid a few common mistakes, and include some simple ways to boost your daily calorie burn. Metabolism DON'TS

• Don’t reduce your calorie intake too low. The fact that you gain weight easily is proof that your body likes to shift into fat-storage mode at the drop of a hat, and going too low on calories is one of the easiest ways to trigger that reaction . Don’t fall for the mistaken idea that the less you eat, the more you’ll lose—that’s just not how your body works. Staying within your recommended calorie range will keep your internal furnace stoked so that you have more capacity to burn stored fat.
• Don’t skip meals. Going too long between meals affects your body chemistry in ways that can make weight loss more difficult. Most people can manage their hunger and avoid cravings and overeating by spreading out their calories into four to five small, well-balanced meals or snacks during the day. Try not to go more than four to five hours without eating something.
• Don’t short yourself on sleep. More research is showing that chronic sleep deprivation plays a significant role in weight gain. Your body needs plenty of “downtime” for the internal housekeeping that keeps your metabolism in good working order. The occasional late night won’t hurt you, but consistently sleeping just one hour less than you need may slow down your weight loss considerably.
  Metabolism DO'S
• Build muscle! This is the most important action you can take to maintain a high metabolic rate while trying to lose weight. Strength training prevents you from losing a lot of muscle along with the fat you lose when dieting. If you don’t strength train regularly, up to 30% of the weight you lose could be muscle tissue. Considering that a pound of muscle burns about 3 times more calories per day than a pound of fat even when you’re sitting still (and up to 15-20 times more calories per minute when you're physically active), you can see the problems this can cause. If you lose 20 pounds of weight (and 30% of that weight loss is muscle—seven pounds), you’ll be slowing your metabolism and your fat burning capacity down by a significant amount. A simple strength training program twice a week can limit your muscle loss to almost zero, and keep your metabolism running high.
• Stay as active as possible. The more you use your muscles, the more calories you will burn. Moderate exercise like walking can burn three to six times more calories per minute than sitting still, and high intensity exercise like interval training can burn more than 12 times as much. Likewise, the more you vary your daily activity and exercise, the more you keep your body on its fat-burning toes.
• Don’t just sit there. If you’re watching TV or sitting at your desk, get up frequently to do a few exercises. Keep those resistance bands and dumbbells nearby at all times—you can fit a complete strength training workout into the commercial breaks of a one-hour TV show. Ditch your chair and sit on a stability ball (or a stationary bike) instead—even fidgeting can help!
• Exercise in the morning or in frequent bouts. Both strength and cardio exercises boost metabolism by increasing your calorie burn even AFTER your session is done. You can get the most out of this perk by starting your day with a workout or by incorporating multiple exercise sessions into your day. Longer or intense workouts have a greater "after burn” but even a 15-minute walk will make a difference.
• Try interval training. The harder you work, the more calories you will burn both during and after exercise—plus your fitness level will really improve. Studies show that exercising as intensely as you can, for at least 10 minutes per day, produces the best results. Interval Training is an effective way to increase the intensity and duration of your workouts without running yourself into the ground or risking injury.
• Include mental exercises. One of the most important (but least recognized) factors in keeping your metabolic fires well stoked is managing stress effectively. Chronic stress disrupts the hormones that regulate everything from appetite to fat storage, and can defeat even the best exercise and eating plans. The more effort you put into recognizing and handling stress, the better off you’ll be. Include some time in your schedule every day for relaxation exercises, yoga, journaling, and other stress management activities.

And Most Importantly…Make exercise and healthy eating FUN! Experiment frequently with new exercises and recipes, or anything that keeps you interested and adds some spice to your program. Well, don’t stop there. The more variety you can put in your diet and your exercise routine, the more stimulating it will be. That makes it easy to put your best efforts forward, and get a major metabolic return on your investment.

Low-carb doesn't mean no carb

A recent study found that people who followed a low-carb diet lost more weight than people who ate a low-fat diet.What's more, they enjoyed lower cholesterol levels to boot. So, was Dr. Atkins right? Should people ditch their fruit for a filet mignon?

"Not so fast," says Pam Ofstein, director of Nutrition Services for eDiets."Low carbohydrates shouldn't mean no carbohydrates," she said. "While a low carbohydrate plan can help with weight loss, a lot depends on the types of carbohydrates and the quality of other foods included."

The study, conducted by researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, found that both low-carb and Mediterranean diets were as effective as low-fat diets. Appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the two-year Israeli study is one of the largest and longest of its kind to compare the effectiveness and safety of common weight-loss approaches.The study followed 322 moderately obese subjects. Participants ate a low-fat, Mediterranean or low-carbohydrate diet.

Those following a low-carb approach recorded the greatest weight loss -- averaging 10.3 pounds. Those assigned to the Mediterranean plan came in a close second losing an average of 10 pounds. The low-fat group dropped the least amount with 6.6 pounds. Encouragingly, almost 85 percent of participants actually stuck to their diets.In addition, the low-carb approach seemed to have the best overall impact on cholesterol, while the Mediterranean approach seemed to be the most effective for controlling blood sugar.

While the results were eye-opening, there are some things to keep in mind, Ofstein said. Carbohydrate foods such as whole grains and fruits are fiber-rich and have a low glycemic impact. Including them daily can help you lose or maintain weight as opposed to eating refined carbohydrates and foods that contain low nutrient density. And of course, exercise is important to any healthy lifestyle.

"As we know with a majority of weight-loss plans, if you follow them and include activity, you can lose weight," she said. "Weight-loss plans can be individual, and what works for one person may not be the best fit for another."Choosing an approach that works means finding a food strategy that satisfies you and that you can stick to in the long term -- which is the first step toward a lifestyle change that will help you lose weight and live healthier. A trained and accredited nutrition professional can help you match your own preferences with the right diet.

Five Steps to End Emotional Eating

If you tend to give in to emotional eating, there are a few tactics you can use to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track.

1. Identify Your Triggers
2. Recognize Hunger Signals
3. Limit Trigger Foods Simply stop stocking your fridge and pantry with the foods you binge on.
4. Don't Skip Meals Skipping meals almost always leads to over-eating.
5. Create Alternatives to Eating Whether it's a bubble bath or curling up with a good book, planning other activities will help you relax and avoid binges.

Don't Give Up When you trip up -- because you will (We all do!), don't give up. Forgive yourself and start over the next day. Learning from your mistakes and focusing on the positive will go along way in ensuring your continued weight loss success.

Mediterranean Diet

According to the Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, the Mediterranean Diet was introduced in 1993 by Oldways, Harvard School of Public Health and the World Health Organization. It is based on the traditional foods eaten by people living in the Mediterranean region, especially Greece.

This diet includes: olives and olive oil whole grains, mostly in bread and cereal rather than pasta very little red meat fish and seafood some cheese, but less milk lots of vegetables legumes and nuts red wine People who live in this region of the Mediterranean tend to eat a diet high in fat, but they also have a much lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer than people in other parts of the world.

This is unusual, since most high-fat diets are correlated with a higher incidence of disease and death. This difference could be due to the use of olive oil rather than other types of fats. Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat that keeps your arteries healthy. More than likely, though, the difference is due to the whole diet, not just the olive oil. The Mediterranean diet is also very high in fiber and antioxidants from vegetables, legumes and nuts -- much higher than the typical Western diet -- and low in saturated fat. Very little red meat is eaten in this region and milk consumption is limited as well, except for some cheese and yogurt.

How to Start a Mediterranean DietYou don't have to live in Greece to eat a diet that will help to keep you healthy.
The base of the Mediterranean Diet Food Pyramid is made up of foods like whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, potatoes and rice. Fruits, legumes, nuts and vegetables make up another large share of your daily diet, along with smaller amounts of cheese, yogurt and olive oil. Poultry, fish and eggs are eaten weekly and red meats are only eaten about once per month. Oldways also suggests you drink six glasses of water every day, along with moderate consumption of red wine for some people.

The Mediterranean pyramid even allows for one sweet treat every week. You can follow this healthy food pyramid by using these tips to transform your diet into a Mediterranean type of diet:

• Replace the oil you use now with olive oil. You probably don't want to add more calories to you diet so use olive oil in place of butter, margarine and other salad dressing oils. Olive oil is good for cooking too. Don't butter your bread, then dip it in olive oil.
• Eat vegetables -- lots of vegetables. This just can't be stressed enough. Every healthy diet includes lots of vegetables. Many people in the Mediterranean eat a pound of vegetables every day. Green and colorful vegetables are low in calories and high in antioxidants. Prepare Greek vegetarian dishes several times each week.
• Choose whole grains. Eliminate the refined white bread and pasta from your diet. Whole grains and cereals are high in fiber and delicious. Potatoes and polenta, which is made from corn meal, are also commonly used as starches in the Mediterranean.
• Eat poultry and fish. Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids that are good for your heart and your brain so it may be one of the reasons this diet protects your health. Plus, fish is low in total fat and low in calories so it makes a great source of protein. Poultry and eggs are also acceptable protein sources. Bake or broil your fish or chicken, don't deep fry them. Deep fried foods don't fit into this diet at all.
• Limit red meat to occasional consumption. Red meat has a lot of saturated fat that is bad for your heart so there isn't much room for steaks and hamburgers in this diet, only about one meal per month. Instead of a greasy burger from a burger joint, make your own ground turkey burger on a whole grain bun instead. Add lettuce, a slice of avocado and tomato and you won't miss the red meat.
• Discover legumes and nuts. Legumes have lots of fiber, protein and nutrients and can be used in a main dish. Choose fava beans and other dry beans. Nuts such as almonds, walnuts and cashews make a delicious and healthy snack.
• Enjoy fresh fruits as dessert. Avoid sugary pastries, cakes and cookies. Fruit is lower in calories and high in fiber and nutrients.
• Yogurt and cheese are sources of calcium. Choose some low fat yogurt and cheese every day. You could make a yogurt dressing or try a healthy salad with tomatoes and feta cheese.
  Drink water and wine. The Mediterranean pyramid includes six glasses of water every day and a glass or two of red wine. Water is good for everybody, but don't drink red wine if you are pregnant, under-age or if drinking alcohol puts you or others at risk.

Are You an Emotional Eater?

If you eat in response to your feelings, especially when you are not hungry, you are an emotional eater. Emotional eating means your emotions -- not your body -- dictate when and/or how much you eat.
Are You an Emotional Eater?You are an emotional eaters if you answer yes to any of the following questions:

• Do you ever eat without realizing you're even doing it?
• Do you often feel guilty or ashamed after eating?
• Do you often eat alone or at odd locations, such as parked in your car outside your own house?
• After an unpleasant experience, such as an argument, do you eat even if you aren't feeling hungry?
• Do you crave specific foods when you're upset, such as always desiring chocolate when you're feeling depressed?
• Do you feel the urge to eat in response to outside cues like seeing food advertised on television?
• Do you eat because you feel there's nothing else to do?
• Does eating make you feel better when you're down or less focused on problems when you're worried about something?

If you eat unusually large quantities of food or you regularly eat until you feel uncomfortable to the point of nausea, you may be suffering from binge eating disorder.
How to deal with Emotional Eating - TOMORROW!

How to eat right for weight loss

Weight loss is just not easy. But there are some fairly simple changes that will greatly improve your chances of weight loss success. If you're serious about changing your lifestyle, these steps will get you there.
The key is to dedicate yourself to these changes and do them consistently. By following these steps ... you may find it's a little easier than you think!
Step 1: ELIMINATE RED MEAT: By building your meals around fish and poultry, you can keep temptation at bay by eliminating many poor fast food and restaurant choices, which are over-sized and high in fat.
To keep your shellfish, fish, chicken, and turkey diet-friendly, be sure to choose the right preparation method (see #2). Be wary of creamy, high-cal condiments that come with entrees, like tartar sauce or special sauce on grilled chicken sandwiches.
If you can turn into a vegetarian - that's even better.
Step 2: CUT OUT FRIED FOODS: Keep your choices truly healthy by grilling, baking, roasting, broiling or boiling them.
Keep things interesting by adding fat-free condiments to your usual fare. A tangy barbecue sauce will give boiled chicken a kick. Lemon-herb dressing will complement broiled fish deliciously. Salsa is best.
Stock your spice rack is with plenty of herbs and spices so you can doctor up your favorite dishes to your own taste without adding any additional fat or calories. Plant an herb garden and you'll never run out!
If you often eat fast food, forget that combos even exist; they seem like a better deal, but they're just not worth the extra calories! Stick to a grilled chicken sandwich and a side salad when you're on the run.
Step 3: START WITH SOUP OR SALAD: Having a salad or cup of soup for starters can be an at-home habit that pays off in pounds-lost. They can curb your hunger, prevent over-eating, and help you stay in control of portions.
Choose a broth or tomato-based soup like minestrone (rather than a cream- or milk-based choice). Vegetable soup made with broth, stock, or tomato soup is ideal, because the veggies will help fill you up and give you a fiber and nutrition boost.
Step 4: LIME IS THE KEY: Drink a glass of plain water with juice of half a lime squeezed in with lunch and dinner instead of colas. No salt or sugar added. Believe me it works wonders.
Step 5: FINISH WITH FRUIT: Instead of reaching for the cookie jar or helping yourself to dessert after meals, make a point to finish off with naturally-sweet fruit instead of sugar laden treats.
Not only will you save fat and calories, you will also have the added benefit of extra vitamins, minerals and fiber. Few of us eat as much fruit as recommended.
In time, you will become accustomed to foregoing sweets and you'll look forward to your healthier treat just as much.
Step 6: OUST ALL COLAS FROM YOUR LIFE: If you drink regular soda, you may be surprised at just how many additional calories you're taking in. Fevery 20 ounces of Coca-Cola you drink, you're consuming 250 calories. Drink several glasses a day and you can easily down 1,000 liquid calories.
If you're attempting to consume around 1,500 to 1,600 calories a day in order to lose weight, you've almost blown your entire calorie budget on soda!
When you think about how many calories you eat on average and then add in those empty calories, you'll realize what a waste drinking these sugary drinks is -- literally -- they go straight to your waist!
If you drink a lot of soda, think of how many calories you'll be saving if you trade it in for diet soda or water. Hundreds? Even thousands? Remember, every 3,500 calories saved equals one pound lost!
Just say No, to even the diet ones. There is a controversial issue about artificial sweeteners' indirect effect on weight loss that might surprise you.
In the mid-1980's -- when the safety of artificial sweeteners was often headline news -- a study was published in a medical journal that suggested artificial sweeteners cause one's appetite to increase.
Step 7: DRINK UP THAT H20!I know it sounds like a broken record, but it really is important to drink enough water every day. Reach for the rule-of-thumb goal of eight glasses per day.
Plus, drinking water more often will help you with tip #6 . You won't have time to drink soda! You may even find you crave water instead of soda once you begin drinking it more often.
Try going a day or two with no soda and then sit down to a glass; you'll probably be shocked at how overly-sweet it tastes.
Step 8: KEEP A FOOD DIARY.There is no better tool for weight management. Keeping a food journal consistently will show you your trouble areas, the foods that get you started on a binge, the worst times of day, etc.
I'd suggest you keep a detailed food diary for at least two weeks to accurately reflect your habits. Step 9: LEARN ABOUT NUTRITION. Learn all you can about nutrition online, through books, or by taking a nutrition class at your local community college.
Step 10: GET MOVING! We're not talking chugging your way through a one hour aerobics class right away, here. Simply get outside and take a brisk walk for 10 minute every other day. That's all you have to do right now.
Remember, any activity is better than no activity. When you feel more comfortable, add 10 minute increments and/or walk more often.

Eat Slowly & keep diary to Lose Weight

These amazing findings come from two separate weight loss studies. Food diaries are not a new concept to help lose weight, but the fact that participants in an Oregon study who recorded their daily intake lost twice as many pounds in six months as those who didn’t keep a diary is pretty persuasive. The study was published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

As far as eating slowly is concerned, researchers at the University of Rhode Island asked 30 women to eat the same pasta-based meal on two different occasions. The first time the women were told to eat as fast as they comfortably could. The second time they were instructed to take small bites, put down their spoons between bites and chew each mouthful 20 to 30 times. When eating slowly, the women consumed 70 fewer calories from the same meal and felt fuller and more satisfied afterwards. One possible explanation: eating quickly doesn’t give appetite-related hormones time to kick in and signal the body that it’s had enough, so the faster you eat, the more likely you are to overeat. The study was published in the July 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

5 Reasons Why People Fail at Weight Loss

Why do so many people fail at losing weight? Is it because they are lazy? Maybe, maybe not. Is it because they are addicted to food? Not really. Is it because they aren’t good at exercising? No. Failure at weight loss stems from a few factors, some of which we don't even realize:
1. People don't truly realize that they overweight. They see the thin person inside them. They still think that they are the same as they were in their college days. Their mind simply refuses to see the kilos they have piled on after their new job, last pregnancy, illness or whatever. Wake up. Have you seen your latest photograph? Does it look like some one else and not you? Its time to open your eyes to the new changed you!
2. People don't truly understand the risks of being overweight. Why would anyone want to lose weight? Most would say to look like the current six-pack ab superstar. Looking better certainly is a benefit of losing weight, but this shouldn’t be the sole reason to lose weight. Being overweight for a long period of time kills thousands of people each year. Studies have shown without doubt that losing body fat will improve and lengthen your life. Knowing the dangers of being overweight is a tremendous motivator to not only lose fat, but to keep it off.
3. People don't commit to permanent lifestyle changes. So many people think of a "diet" as something temporary - you start and then end after some time. When they are on a "diet" they restrict themselves so much that they are miserable. Sooner or later failure is inevitable because of the unreasonable demands of most "diets." Some of these diets force you to only eat certain foods (e.g., no carbs, special soups etc…) You, like myself, have probably tried them before. The key to losing weight long term is to make gradual lifestyle changes you can stick to forever.
4. You are constantly either gaining fat, or losing fat. There is no in-between. Some people justify binging or giving up because they hit a small road-block. This isn’t an all or nothing game. For example, when I was overweight, if I ate an unhealthy lunch, I’d not eat for the next 3 days. Or I’d say, I’ll start eating healthy on Monday since I’ve already eaten poorly this weekend. Every person at times eats too much. The successful people will not let a road bump completely derail their entire lifestyle change. If you are not implementing positive lifestyle changes and losing weight, you are gaining weight.
5. Most people don't realize what they consume each day. So many overweight people eat extra calories and fat without realizing it. It’s tough to know if you are gaining weight or losing weight each day unless you are keeping an eye on what you’re consuming. The best way would be to keep track of your consumption.