Top 10 Mistakes Dieters Make

1. Eat too little or infrequently. Keep moods and energy up, hunger satisfied, and metabolism in high gear by eating three meals and two to three snacks a day. Don't skip breakfast!
2. Eliminate all fruits. Extremely low-carb diets that forbid fruit are punishing and invite cheating. Stay on track with moderate portions of fiber- and nutrient-rich strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi, grapefruit, or peaches.
3. Eliminate fats. Several studies at Harvard and elsewhere prove that low-fat diets result in weight gain. To lose weight, you need to increase your consumption of good fats (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats).
4. Get snacks out of your kitchen. Snacking helps with weight loss. Make sure you replace commercial baked goods, candy, chips, crackers, cookies, and pretzels with healthy snacks such as hard-boiled eggs, cheese, celery, nuts, sugar-free gum, homemade "slow-carb" bars and muffins, protein shakes, cucumbers, yogurt, and sugar-free JELL-O.
5. Splurge away from home. Your healthy eating program is a way of life. Try to stick to your new behaviors and habits everywhere you eat--at restaurants, friends' homes, and while traveling.
6. Consume lots of artificially sweetened foods and beverages. Artificial sweeteners trigger cravings for additional sweets in some people. Others gain "false fat" or bloating caused by the body's inability to digest sugar substitutes.
7. Count calories. Hormone (insulin) levels, not calories, are what determine your metabolism -- the rate at which you burn fat. Eat balanced meals to keep your insulin levels steady and your metabolism working efficiently.
8. Eat lots of commercial low-carb products. Many companies have jumped on the "low-carb" bandwagon with high-calorie, low-nutrition snack foods that will not help you change your eating habits or lose weight.
9. Adopt a rigorous exercise routine. Exercise is important, but daily activity that you enjoy and can sustain over a lifetime is more important than killer workouts that are hard to stick with. The name of the weight-loss game is adopting habits that become second nature.
10. Load up on protein, eliminate carbs. Protein-loading has serious health risks, and few people can stay on radical high protein, low-carb diets long term. Switch to a balanced diet that features healthy amounts of protein balanced with lots of high-quality "slow carbs" -- carbohydrates that convert slowly into blood sugar.

Burn Extra Calories: The 10 Simple Steps

1. When you first wake up, commit to 10 minutes of continuous exercise. Choose only three movements and perform each in succession without stopping for 10 minutes. For example, you can perform modified push-ups on Monday, followed by crunches for your abs followed by stationary lunges. On Tuesday, you can perform free-standing squats with hands on hips, double crunches for abs and close-grip modified push-ups (hands 3-inches apart) for your triceps. All in 10 minutes! Just take a quick breather when you need it.
2. Perform timed interval walking in your neighborhood or at lunch. If it takes 10 minutes to walk to a certain destination near your office or in your neighborhood, try to make it in eight minutes. You can also do this first thing in the morning before work as well as on your lunch break.
3. If you have stairs in your home or in your work place, commit to taking the stairs a specific number of times. Tell yourself that you'll take the stairs six or eight times (no matter what).
4. While seated, perform some isometric exercise to help strengthen and tighten your muscles. For example, while in a seated position, simply contract the abdominals for 30 seconds while breathing naturally (see the video below!). You can also tighten and contract your legs for 60 seconds. Perform about three sets per area. You'll feel your muscles get tighter in just three weeks if you perform this a few times per week.
5. For about $15, you can invest in a pedometer. It's a small device you can carry that records the amount of miles you walk per day. Each week simply try to add just a bit more to the mileage. For example, let's say you walk one mile total during the day in the normal course of activities. Simply try to make it two miles total the following week. Just make a game of it. You'll burn more calories. You can get a great on in this
6. Tired at night and just want to sit in front of the TV? Try this technique: take periodic five-minute exercise breaks and perform some muscle-stimulating and calorie-burning exercise. For example, take five minutes and perform only ab crunches. Then, when it's time for another five-minute exercise break, perform modified push-ups for five minutes. Then for a final five-minute break, perform stationary lunges. Try to do as many as possible in five minutes and try to beat your amount of reps during each subsequent break. It won't seem daunting because it's only five minutes at a time, split over a 30 or 60 minute timeframe. Instead of rest breaks, you'll take exercise breaks. You don't really need to watch that new commercial do you?
7. How about performing one exercise movement per day for 7 to 10 minutes? For example, Monday: free-standing squats for seven minutes. Tuesday: chair dips for seven minutes. Wednesday: crunches and hip lifts off the floor for seven minutes. Thursday: modified push-up for seven minutes. Friday: stationary lunges for seven minutes. It's quick, simple and teaches consistency.
8. Want things even simpler? Take the longest route every time you have to walk somewhere -- even if it's to a co-worker's office.
9. Double-up the stairs. Every time you take the stairs, simply take a double step or every other stair. It will be just like lunges and the Stairmaster combined. Great for the legs and butt.
10. Perform any of the above with your spouse or a friend. I'm sure you can find someone who is in the same situation. The support will give you more motivation and you just may find that you can create even more workout time for yourself.

10 Ways to Break an Exercise Plateau

1. Get a workout partner. Find someone who has similar goals and try to work out with this person at least twice per week. If you know you have to meet someone at a specific time, you're bound to be accountable.
2. Hire a personal trainer. For five to 10 sessions, hire a personal trainer and make sure he/she trains you once or twice per week. You'll get the benefit of a structured workout program, as well as someone to monitor your progress and motivate you to achieve a more fit body. If you can't afford it, convince a friend to join you and pay for joint sessions with the trainer -- this will lower the price tag.
3. Plan a vacation to a warm climate. Like a destination where you can have fun and snorkel, swim, bike ride or go hiking.. Also, write down a few goals related to what you want your body fat, scale weight and measurements to be when you go on the trip. Planning for your vacation will be a constant source of motivation.
4. Join a club. There are many runners and walkers clubs, charity walk events, etc. Find one that appeals to you. The camaraderie and scheduled activities will be something you look forward to.
5. Exercise 10 minutes daily. 10 continuous minutes of exercise each day Monday thru Friday. The exercises are purely calisthenics, so all you need is your own body. For example, on Monday, perform a set of bent knee pushups followed by a set of abdominal crunches. There's no waiting between sets; you simply perform one exercise followed by the other for 10 consecutive minutes (make sure you warm up briefly before starting). On Tuesday, perform lunges and curls with dumbbells or cans. Wednesday, jump rope or walk briskly for 10 minutes. Thursday, repeat Monday's routine. Friday, perform all the exercises from Monday thru Thursday in succession.
6. Work out in the morning. If you can manage three morning workouts per week you'll accomplish several things. You'll stimulate your metabolism for the rest of the day, decrease your appetite and, most importantly, start your day with success.
7. Consider getting some equipment for your home. You don't need a fully operational gym -- just some dumbbells, a jump rope and maybe a workout tape for when you can't get to the gym. Remember, we're looking for every opportunity to keep you on the right track.
8. Scale back on workouts. If you find yourself slipping into an exercise funk, cut back on your workout time. For example, if you've been consistently exercising for an hour three to four days per week, cut back to 20-25 minutes and less days. This simple technique will keep you consistent and won't be mentally intimidating.
9. Plan your meals for the week. Try to cook healthy foods in advance. This sets the stage for nutritional success and is a deterrent to the "I'll just pick up a burger and fries" mentality. Allowing yourself some liberties on the weekends - but planning your meals for the week - will further guarantee success without suffering.
10. Pick one activity you want to get good at and focus on it. Something like improving your time on the treadmill, making your abs stronger, improving flexibility, being able to use heavier dumbbells. One goal can sometimes keep us focused and motivated.

Three foods to fight cancer

The three foods to add to your diet that could help lower your risk for breast cancer.

Cabbage: The American Association for Cancer Research presented a study at a 2005 meeting that found women who ate cabbage four or more times per week were 74 percent less likely to develop breast cancer. Additional studies found that cabbage may also protect against lung, stomach and colon cancers.
The secret ingredient seems to be sulforaphane, a phytochemical in cabbage that works by stimulating cells to eradicate cancerous substances. You can substitute other cruciferous vegetables like kale, turnip greens, cauliflower, broccoli or Brussels sprouts, if you don't like cabbage.

Vitamin D: A report presented at a recent meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research showed a connection between increased vitamin D intake and reduced breast cancer risk. The study found vitamin D to lower the risk of developing breast cancer by nearly 50 percent.
You can get vitamin D is from a nice glass of milk; however, high concentrations of vitamin D are also found in some seafood, like cod, shrimp and Chinook salmon. Eggs and sunshine are also great sources of the D.

Tea: Tea contains flavonoids known for their antioxidant effects. One recent study, analyzing the lifestyle habits of nearly 3,000 people, found a link between consuming flavonoids and reducing the risk of breast cancer.
Postmenopausal women consuming the most flavonoids were 46 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who got the least.