If the thought of going on a diet gives you shudders, then it's time for a change of plan. Essentially, you need to change your approach to dieting. Dieting is never easy, just try these tricks to make it easier.

. Avoid overeating late at night. they say that late night foods are harder to digest, whether that's true or not, experts say that eating earlier in the day prevents you from getting too hungry losing control and overeating in the evening.

. Eating is a good pastime for a lot of people when bored. To get out of the habit, make a list of 10 non-food related activities to do instead of eating when you are bored, tired or anxious. Good choices include; going for a walk, writing a letter; knitting, sorting out your holiday snaps or phoning a friend.

. Every morning visualize the slimmer, trimmer, new you. It will help you start the day with positive intent and carry on the good work.

To learn about fake weight loss programs and pills and how to differentiate between genuine weight loss programs and fake weight loss programs, visit http://www.weightloss-health.com/Fake%20Weight%20Loss.htm

. Drink a glass of fruit juice or eat a piece of fruit half an hour before meals. the sugar in the fruit will satisfy your calorie cravings and you will end up eating less.

. Learn to differentiate between real hunger and the hunger induced by stress, loneliness and fatigue. the se are amongst the common hunger triggers so before you reach out for the chocolate, work out if a nap, chat or a good cry are what you really need. It it is hunger go for raw vegetables rather than high-fat comfort foods.

. You know you are not hungry but that craving is about to get the better of you. try brushing your teeth instead. It can work wonders.

Lose 5 lbs in a flash- With smart dressing and few grooming strategies, you can really make it happen..

. Try a turtleneck: They make your torso seem longer and your spine straighter. Wide necklines can emphasize slouch.

. Say no to shape-less clothes: Baggy T-shirts, boxy jackets and over large shirts can only drag you down. Instead go in for tailored jackets. Remember, best style follow the contours of your body, cutting in at your waist instead of dropping straight to the hips, and have a bit of padding in the shoulder

. Last but not the least, stand straight and don't over-accessorize.

Must Read: To look for more such easy yet effective weight loss tips (and programs), visit http://www.weightloss-health.com/easy%20weight%20loss.htm

About the Author

Ashley Green: for http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

Also get free tips and tricks on weight loss and a chance to read most popular Weight Loss Programs Reviews at Easy and Effective Weight Loss Tips

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Are you ready to lose some weight? Perhaps you?re surfing for the magic pill that will vanish your weight away. Maybe you?re simply searching for the right information to help you lose and keep the weight off. Whatever the case, here?s some surefire tips to help you with your weight loss.

1. Do your homework. As you start your weight loss plan, take the time to carefully evaluate your situation. What caused the weight gain? Pregnancy? Inactivity? Overeating and binging? Emotions? There are many triggers in our lives that will cause us to gain weight. Some can be prevented or eliminated, some can?t. It?s important as you begin your weight loss to understand and come to grips with the cause of your weight. Be honest with yourself. Don?t cheat on this one. Obviously, you want to have your weight loss become permanent.

In order to keep off the weight in the future, you may have to make some lifestyle changes to stay slim. Don?t give up before you start. There?s usually more than one solution to any weight gain reason. Just remain open-minded, and be willing to change to get the results you desire. Don?t hesitate to read and learn as much as you can about weight gain. It?s really easy to understand, and you may be surprised at what you learn.

2. Avoid Hidden Calories. Here?s an over simplified version of weight loss and weight maintenance? if you eat more than your body needs, you gain weight. If you eat less (reduce calories) than your body needs, you lose weight! While it sounds simple enough, just eat less ?.Right? Basically that?s true. Yet, there are other things that come into play as one is trying to lose weight. One common mistake many people make as they diet is the fact they don?t really understand how much is provided by the food they are eating. This is especially true with eating out and eating snack foods and beverages.

A serving as defined by the scientific communities on weight loss and a serving that your local restaurant provides is most often very different. For example, one serving of bread is typically one slice. Yet, the average bun in a fast food restaurant is actually almost three servings. A single serving of French fries is 15 fries. Just take a guess at how many servings are in a ?Biggie? French fry container.

Also, don?t be fooled into thinking just because a bag of popcorn is small, that it?s a single serving. The same thing goes for beverages. The bottle may contain16 oz. Yet, the serving size may be 4 ounces. Pay attention to actually how many servings of food and beverages you are actually consuming. The amount may surprise you.

I?ll give you an example, my son-in-law who?s 28 was had put on several pounds. His favorite cola is Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew has higher sugar content than most other cola?s. He didn?t have a clue as to how may calories he was consuming by drinking 3 or 4 24 oz bottles a day. When my daughter told him, he was amazed. He replaced the cola with water and went from a 38? waist to a 34? waist in about two months. Be careful, you may be consuming more than you think.

3. Consider Diet Pills Carefully. Maybe one of your diet buddies has decided to buy diet pills, or maybe you've seen or heard a commercial for diet supplements promising easy fast weight loss. If so, please evaluate CAREFULLY! Even the most natural-sounding diet pills or weight loss supplements can be useless for weight loss, or dangerous, or both. Diet pills are very tempting things if you want to lose weight, especially if you have tried several conventional weight loss plans without success. The side effects and dangers of some diet and weight loss pills can vary enormously because many of these pills contain a cocktail of ingredients and because dosage instructions may be inadequate. Possible side effects include: nervousness, tremor, diarrhea, bulging eyes, racing heartbeat, elevated blood pressure even heart failure.

There are some instances when diet pills can be helpful. Usually these are indicated in the truly obese person. For the person wanting to lose 5 or 10 pounds, they usually aren?t necessary. So you may ask, how does the diet pills work to cause weight loss, while I continue to eat the same amount? In recent years, it seems everyone has the PERFECT answer to help with your weight loss. There are almost as many weight loss methods and diet pills available as there are people who want to lose weight.

There are diet pills that stop your hunger so you eat less and burn more fat. There are diet pills that cause the body not to metabolize all the food you eat, so it?s passed out of your system and not stored as fat. There?s combination of these two. As you begin your search for the perfect diet pill, be careful as some can have harmful effects on your body. Diet Pills work by shifting levels of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that control satiety (fullness) and desire for food. Some also slightly increase your metabolic rate - the rate at which your body burns calories.

Examples of weight loss diet pills include:
Diethylpropion hydrochloride (eg. Tenuate)
Mazindol (eg. Mazanor, Sanorex)
Phendimetrazine tartrate (eg. Bontril)
Phentermine hydrochloride (eg. Adipex-P, Ionamin)

4. Monitor/Increase Your Activity - Regardless whether you?re taking diet pills or not to help with your weight loss, it?s still important to maintain a regular exercise program. This is beneficial not only for your weight loss, but also for your overall health. In many ways we in the developed country have a much more sedentary lifestyle than our bodies need. Obviously it?s easier for us than in the era when people had to be very active simply to survive, yet it?s not necessarily healthy for us not to be active. Start and maintain some sort of exercise plan no matter what your age. Especially for the middle-aged and older people exercise play a very, very important role in the quality of health and staying within normal weight ranges.

5. Develop a Plan for Maintenance. Even if you?re taking diet pills to help with your weight loss it?s important to keep in mind, that once you stop the pills, unless you maintain a balance between your activity level and the food you eat the weight will come back. While it may take some time to become accustomed to a change in diet and activity, the rewards are well worth the time and effort spent to reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Hilda Maria is a freelance writer with 5 children who knows the importance of a balanced diet for them. She enjoys providing useful knowledge about weight loss and regular exercise to her readers as well as to her children.

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You may think it's strange to find a How-To article focusing on five easy steps for adding fat to your body. You might say that we already know how to do that: two thirds of the people in the United States are overweight, and one third are considered clinically obese. Obviously we've mastered this topic.

But I challenge that. I think even though we do tend to be overweight and obese as a nation, very few people are aware of how they actually got there. There's not a great deal of awareness of the steps it takes to actually add excess body fat. In other words, we're living with the effects of the obesity plan every single day in our own lives and in our society, and yet we're not really cognizant of the causes. This article is designed to help make you aware of the causes by presenting the topic of weight loss to you in a unique way.

Suppose a billionaire appeared at your doorstep and offered you $10 million if you could add 100 pounds of body fat in less than one year. How could you actually do it in 12 months or less?

Step one to adding body fat: Slow your metabolism. The very first thing you've got to do is slow your metabolism; by slowing your metabolism, you'll burn fewer calories when you're at rest and thus, even if you don't increase the amount of food you intake, you'll automatically add weight and store body fat. The easiest way to slow your metabolism is to stop all forms of exercise. Avoid walking. Spend a lot of time in front of the television. Take elevators instead of the stairs. And certainly don't sign up for any physical activities or spend much time outdoors.

Some of the best strategies for lowering your metabolism include getting a desk job, finding parking spaces as close as possible to the stores where you shop, so you don't spend much time walking across the parking lot, and of course purchasing one of those electric chairs or scooters so that you can get around town without having to walk at all.

Avoiding physical exercise has a second effect: it also causes your body to break down the existing muscle mass that you have today. And by breaking down muscle mass, your metabolism will be slowed even further. This will accelerate your weight gain efforts and allow you to pack on the pounds almost automatically.

Remember that when you don't use your muscles, your body gets rid of them. That's because your body adapts to the level and intensity of physical exercise you choose to pursue. The quickest way to get rid of the muscles that you don't want is to simply stop using them, and your body will take care of the rest.

Step two: Drink lots of carbonated soft drinks. Avoiding physical exercise is only the first step to gaining weight and achieving your goal of packing on extra pounds in 12 months or less. But it won't get you there all by itself ? you've got to assist that effort by altering your diet.

One of the very first things you should do is get yourself addicted to caffeinated soft drinks. You can start by purchasing a 12-pack of any soft drink beverage in grocery stores and consuming it at every possible opportunity, including breakfast. This is an absolutely wonderful way to pack on the pounds, because soft drinks are made with high-fructose corn syrup. When this ingredient is consumed, it spikes the blood sugar in your body. This sends an emergency signal to your pancreas, which produces increased levels of insulin in order to keep the blood sugar levels from going too high. This insulin signal is picked up by the cells in your body, which then remove blood sugar from your bloodstream and, through a somewhat complex biological process involving the liver, manage to store that blood sugar as body fat.

If you drink enough soft drinks with enough frequency, you will be well on your way to achieving your goal of gaining 100 lbs. in 12 months or less.

Step three: Choose high caloric density foods. While you're at it, be sure to purchase foods with very high caloric density. You see, raw, uncooked fruits and vegetables will fill you up before you get very many calories in your meal. For example, it's very difficult to eat 1,000 calories worth of apples at one sitting. Your stomach will simply fill up before you reach 1,000 calories and you won't feel like eating any more. But if you choose processed foods with ingredients such as white flour, hydrogenated oils or saturated fats, you can pack in a couple of thousand calories in one sitting without topping off your stomach. This is hugely important for achieving your weight gain goals.

Fortunately there are a great number of foods available at every grocery store in America that can help you accomplish this. It's very easy to buy them, as most are quite affordable. All you have to do is look for brand-name foods packaged in beautiful boxes with delicious-looking pictures of foods on the front.

If you read the ingredients label, you'll find these foods are made with ingredients like hydrogenated oils, white flour, sugar and other ingredients that have a very high caloric density. It is important that you eat these foods at every meal. You want to make sure your diet consists of things like cheese, fried foods and lots of white bread. As you probably guessed, pizza is an outstanding choice because it not only has a high caloric density from the cheese and whatever meats are on the pizza, but it also has the high glycemic index that accompanies the white flour crust. In a similar way, it's also a good idea to eat lots of sugary breakfast cereals with high-fat cow's milk. This will give you saturated fat from the cows' milk and the high sugar content of the breakfast cereals, thereby adding fat to your body through two different biological mechanisms: fat and refined carbohydrates.

Step four: Load up on junk foods. Junk foods are, of course, another outstanding choice for achieving your goals. A bag of potato chips provides an impressive quantity of dietary fats as well as refined carbohydrates ? and various nacho chips and other snack foods operate in much the same way.

You can also accelerate your weight gain goals by turning to fried foods. Fried foods have very high caloric density and the batter in which these foods are fried is normally made with white flour, so you also get the high glycemic index effects from the carbohydrates in the batter as well as the absurdly high caloric density of the fried fats.

Step five: Visit fast food restaurants frequently. If you had to name an ideal source for the combination of food ingredients that would rapidly accelerate your quest for obesity, you'd have to put fast food restaurants at the top of that list. The more popular the fast food chain, the faster their food packs on the body fat, it seems.

If you were to eat in fast food restaurants at least once a day, you would easily be able to meet your weight gain goal within one year and cash that $10 million check. Be sure to order the largest quantities of soft drinks, fries and hamburgers, because it's quantity that counts here. Aided by menu items from fast food chains, you can pack in as much as 2,000 calories in a single meal! This is going to rapidly accelerate your weight gain efforts, because the average adult human being needs only 2,000 calories per day.

If you can consume 2,000 calories at each meal while eating three meals a day, you can pack on an extra 4,000 calories a day! It takes about 3,000 calories to make one pound of excess body fat, so by eating 6,000 calories a day, you can achieve slightly more than one pound of body fat each day. This means in one week alone you can pack on 7 or 8 pounds of body fat, which would put you well on your way to achieving your weight gain goal. In fact, using this approach, you would probably be able to achieve your goal in 90 days or less.

The high price of weight gain success. Of course, by the time you actually win this $10 million, you will have suffered the devastating health effects of consuming these processed foods, junk foods, fast foods and disease-promoting food ingredients. Yes, you will be $10,000,000 richer, but if you don't reverse everything you've done over the last 90 days, you will soon learn that you can't take it with you. In other words, your life will be shortened if you don't put an end to this weight gain effort and get back to a normal body weight.

Fortunately, reversing your achievement is fairly straightforward. Simply do the opposite of everything that you've followed so far. In other words, start exercising, and increase your lean body mass by engaging in strength training. Spend time walking, swimming or cycling. Find ways to move your body at work, even if you have a desk job. Avoid all processed foods and foods made with high-fructose corn syrup, white flour, refined white sugar and other refined carbohydrates. Remove soft drinks from your diet, avoid all fried foods, snack foods, junk foods and any foods made by food-manufacturing corporations whose packaged foods line the shelves of America's grocery stores.

Once you do all that, your liver function will begin to improve quite rapidly; the hardening of your arteries that was taking place as your pursued your weight gain diet will begin to reverse; your cardiovascular health will improve dramatically; your brain function will even improve. Your pulse will slow, and your body fat will slowly begin to melt off. Your level of energy and vitality will gradually rise.

You will find it easier to sleep at night and get up in the morning. You won't get sick as often, and you'll find that your immune system begins to function the way it's supposed to in a healthy human being. In fact, every function of your body will steadily improve as you shift to a healthy, nutritious diet that avoids processed foods and all of those lifestyle choices you pursued to gain weight in the first place.

Copyright 2006 Truth Publishing

Mike Adams, The Health Ranger, is chief contributor and editor of the NewsTarget Network, a leading independent news source for natural health, nutrition, medicine and other wellness topics. NewsTarget and Webseed.com are leading information resources for consumers seeking independent information on natural health and nutrition. More than 12,000 searchable articles are available at http://www.newstarget.com

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It's amazing how one little innocent glass of Chardonnay or Shiraz can do so much damage to your waistline but it can if you don't take care. A small 125ml glass of wine contains around 100 calories - the equivalent of over 10 pounds of pure body fat being added to your body if you have one every day for a year.

Wine won't fill you up and it may even increase your appetite and lower your inhibitions so that you end up eating more than is good for you. Many people find that after a glass or two all caution goes to the wind.

If you do like a glass of wine with dinner then you need to make sure that you only have one and that you eat less or (preferably) exercise more to make up for those extra calories. When you find out you have to jog for an extra 12 -15 minutes a day to make up for each glass you might think twice.

As a compromise you may like to

• have half a glass to enjoy the taste without all the calories
• turn your wine into a spritzer to reduce the overall calories
• save your wine drinking for weekends or special occasions

This is a time to use a quality not quantity principle. Why not treat yourself to better quality wines and sip your glass slowly to get the full enjoyment?

And if you have friends round to share the bottle, remember champagne is no more calories than other wines, yet it's hard to feel that you're deprived and on a diet when you have a glass.

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small

Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach, slimming club owner and author of The Diet Exit Plan, an 8 week coaching program for automatic permanent weight loss. Request her FREE 15 page report How to lose weight without dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn't want you to know at http://www.SimplySlimming.com TODAY!

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Let me say, Hoodia Works, if it is not working for you there are some things that you can do to boast things along.

First, make sure that you are taking enough of the product. The product must be the real stuff. Don?t take the extracts. Take the whole plant. Experiment with the times of day that you are taking hoodia. Once the right amounts at the right times are going into you system, the appetite will calm.

Second, really watch the types of food you are eating and the times of day they are being eaten. Several small meals daily works best. Eat protein at every meal, such as lean turkey or chicken, fish, no fat cottage cheese and whey protein. Whey protein sweetened with stevia is best. Stevia is all natural and has no calories. I do not recommend soy protein. It can suppress the thyroid gland, which is the most important gland to maintain proper weight. Whey protein is 100 percent bioavailable to the body where soy protein is only 72 percent.

When eating carbohydrates make sure they are complex and low glycemic, such as brown rice, sweet potatoes, green vegetables and apples. You need carbohydrates, but not necessarily at every meal. When eating baked potatoes, the skin must be eaten as well to keep it in the low glycemic range.

Third, do not cut all fat out of your diet or your weight loss will come to screeching halt, as well as your over all health. Dropping dietary fat below 20 percent is not recommended.

Fourth, drink at least 8 glasses of pure water daily to flush toxins and distribute nutrients to cells. Alkaline water is best for weight loss.

Fifth, regular exercise is a no must if weight loss is to be maximized. Both weight training and cardio are needed.

Sixth, eat at least 35 grams of raw dietary fiber daily. Fiber is important to over all health and speeds up weight loss. Also eat a hand full of raw seeds or nuts daily. Both are high in good fats, but also high in calories, so do not over do it.

Fred Fishburne and his wife are owners of ProHealth Nutrition, Inc., a very successful health store in McDonough, Ga. since 1994. Visit them at: http://prohealthnut.com

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Fat gain may not be a reason of depression for many. But sometimes there arises such problems which make you say ?God this is due to fat!? Due to fat gain you will find that your normal life is at stake and if you go on ignoring your increasing body weight, you are sure to become a base for various diseases and problems. Apart form various problems; one of the most significant problems that a fatty person confronts is that of sexual problems. This is one of the most serious problems in one?s life. Accumulation of excess fats in body makes the body lazy and due to which a person tends to tire out soon. This makes him or her ignore their partner?s sexual urges and gradually a relation seems to go astray.

So becoming too much fat may create serious problems in one?s personal life. If you love your partner than why not think of fat loss and regain your fitness. If you are really serious by now, it?s better to act now for some vital solutions. Phentermine can be the best solution for eradicating your fat for good. It?s a diet pill and is found to be very effective in burning your fats. It is usually taken as a single daily dose in the morning and that too in empty stomach. It has been also found that using Phentermine with a balanced exercise and diet is a very appropriate way to achieve the results one desires.

This drug Phentermine targets our hypothalamus gland present in our brain. Due to which, certain neurotransmitters get affected and gradually suppress our appetite. At the same time it manages our body metabolisms too. It is really very effective and one feels the difference within a period of 10-12 weeks. Approved by FDA way back in 1959, it is now readily available in the market.

Side effects like dizziness, dry mouth and constipation may visit your health initially but slowly and steadily as our body gets used to Phentermine, these problems fades. However it is wise to consult your doctor. Phentermine really works in a significant way and can help you a lot in bringing close to your partner and family as well.

Joseph Jones received training as a healthcare scientist. He has been working in the same field and writes informative articles for weight loss subject. To find Buy Phentermine online,Cheap phentermine,Diet pills visit http://www.onlinephentermine.net.

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Safe weight loss is the safest and most effective approach and in order to acquire it naturally, perhaps the two most important factors are dieting and exercise.

Although dieting may be only half the program when it comes to a safe weight loss regimen, the kind of diet is what would make the whole process successful. Where can you find it? Right there in the produce aisle.

Now friends before we go further, let?s go over what a safe weight loss is. It?s about maintaining health while losing weight, it is not about losing weight rapidly; this has never worked and never will.

To acquire a loss of weight that will be effective and at the same time healthy for the body, as mentioned earlier, besides exercise, you need to choose the right substances for food. The very best choices are quite simply our fruits and vegetables.

There is a saying that is known to every culture which goes:? you are what you eat...? What you eat plays arguably the most important role on your overall health and fitness, thus PROPER DIET should be the most important factor of any and every health seeker.

It is well known that fruits and vegetables alone are the substances that possess the abilities to not only provide the necessary fuel needed for day to day activities, but play important and vital roles in

1. Providing the alkaline reserves in the body for balancing chemical metabolism within.

2. Cleansing the digestive and excretory tract as they act as the much needed intestinal broom to sweep these 'pipes' clean to function properly in their duties of nourishing and cleansing the body.

3. Keeping the body fit, trim and in shape WITHOUT the unwanted side effects of toxic and artificial substances such as pills and supplements.

Moreover, is it a co-incidence that these are the very foods divinely ordained as being the food for humans? Today science has verified the accuracy of the Biblical accounts of the dietetic habits of the first men on earth as recorded in Genesis 1:29: ?Every herb bearing seed?and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for meat.?

No one is saying that diet alone will bring about desired results in regards to weight loss. However, it goes without saying that if one subsists on fruits and vegetables, when properly consumed, it will greatly augment whatever exercise one could and should be doing to lose weight.

As a matter of fact, I can go as far as to say you certainly can?t gain weight on fruit. Being proactive cleansers, by nature they would be more of detoxifiers first rather than body-builders for a while when one consumes fruits in large, yet reasonable quantities.

This explains why people lose a lot of weight on going on an all raw-diet. (No one is saying you must go that far, however, it should be food for thought.)

Nonetheless, if a safe weight loss is your goal, it goes without saying that you want to linger more in the produce section than in the snacks aisle or the candy section at the cash-registers. So instead of reaching for some junk food, grab an apple instead.

Our friend in the mirror will be glad you did.

Foras Aje is an independent health researcher and founder of Bodyhealthsoul.com

For more information on Safe Weight Loss Tips, visit his website today.

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At some point in their fitness life, many people find it harder and harder to get motivated for that next jog, yoga class, or weight training session. For people carrying extra weight it can be even more difficult to stay enthusiastic when muscles are burning and it seems like the pounds just are not coming off fast enough. Don?t sabotage your fitness goals by keeping to yourself. A great way to inject that next workout with some enthusiasm is to find a workout partner. Working out with a partner has many benefits and studies have shown that people who work out with someone regularly are more likely to stick to their fitness plan over the long haul.

Exercising alone for many people?is well, boring. If you?d rather have teeth pulled than jog on the treadmill one more time, it?s time to make that workout fun with good conversation, some laughs, or some new activity ideas. Bring along a buddy and chat away. You might even find that you have worked out longer than you had planned. Try taking turns planning the workouts for the week. Challenge each other to keep it interesting. Go somewhere new or try that new class you?ve been hearing about.

Keeping a workout date with a partner can be a great motivator. Knowing that someone else is counting on you to be there can help you get out of bed, or keep you off the couch. A good partner can remind you of your fitness goals and encourage you on those days when it is a struggle to get going. Make a commitment not to cancel on each other and stick to it. Motivate each other by giving one another small gifts when you reach a goal, and call each other in between times to get pumped up for the next workout.

Multitasking is one of those words that should stay at the office, but with the busy lives most of us lead, it can be hard to fit everything we should do or want to do into our weeks. Working out with a friend or family member can allow you to catch up and stay involved in each other?s lives while you both get the exercise you need. If you have children, bring the whole family along. Spend quality time with your kids and try some family activities. Instead of taking the kids out for pizza, go for a hike. Studies have shown that families that make exercise a fun part of their time together are healthier in the long run.

7 Tips To Rejuvenate Your Workout

1. Find A Partner - Talk to your friends and family about working out together. Look for someone at a similar fitness level, and with similar fitness goals.

Other options for a workout partner can be a colleague at work, people at your gym, a personal trainer, or you could even try some of the workout groups online. The President?s Council On Physical Fitness And Sports has groups across the country.

2. Friendly Competition - Once most of those extra pounds have come off, it is common for people to reach a plateau in weight loss. Having a fitness buddy boosts your workout by having someone to compete with. Friendly competition can help you run a little further or do those extra twenty crunches. Just remember not to overdo it, keep it light and fun so that you don?t risk possible injuries.

3. Try Something New - Joining a gym or trying new class can be intimidating. Especially if you think everyone there is going to be lean and fit. Working out and sweating in front of strangers makes many people nervous. Bringing along a friend will give you the reassurance you need to try something new; and variety is a great tool in helping you stick to your fitness goals.

4. Forget About It - Let?s face it: exercise can sometimes be uncomfortable. Muscles burn, feet ache, you get short of breath, hot, and sweaty. It is easy to focus on the discomfort and get discouraged. Having a partner along is a great distraction. The conversation can take your mind off the burn and help you fight the urge to quit.

5. Partner Assistance - use your partner?s weight to your advantage in partner stretches. Vary your workout by participating in activities that require more than one person, such as tennis or team sports. Or build your relationship by learning to trust each other in rock climbing or weight spotting.

6. Four Legged Partners - Take your dog along on your next walk or bike ride. He might need to shed some of those extra doggie biscuits you?ve been spoiling him with, and you?ll both benefit from the fresh air and exercise. If you don?t have a dog, consider getting one, or volunteer to walk dogs at your local animal shelter.

7. Keep It Safe - Working out alone, especially in more remote areas, can be risky. If you get hurt or sick, there may be no one around to help. Exercising alone can also make you a target for crime, and being fearful is no way to enjoy your workout routine. Bring along a partner: you?ll be safer and feel more confident.

Joseph Johnson is a freelance writer focused on informative articles for health and fitness related websites. He is a frequent contributor to http://www.elliptical-trainers-guide.com where he provides many valuable tips on the benefits of elliptical trainers and elliptical trainer reviews.

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In this segment we will be covering the 3 simple rules for weight loss. Notice I said simple. In todays information age, alot of us are suffering from information overload. Since everyone claims to be an expert. It?s tough to separate those who are dedicated to the industry and those who well aren?t.

In the past 14 years that I?ve been involved with the industry. I always felt that someday I would find the perfect ?Diet?. Well I have! It is called moderation. Moderation you say, what?s that? Believe me, I don?t like it anymore than anyone else does. But the fact remains, if we can not practice moderation our bodies will not look as we want it.

The thing that bothers me most is that alot people read my articles, but I have to wonder how many actually go out and follow this time tested advice. Here is an odd example of this question. I recently sold a business to a long time friend. Well he is very intelligent and a whiz at computer programs, and the technical side of it all. If I have a question or problems with my computer, I call him and I listen because I do not have as much experience as he. Now when he runs into a bind with the business. He?ll usually ask me, but normally doesn?t listen.

Why, I do not know. They say knowledge is power, but wisdom can even top knowledge. If you?re afraid or too stubborn to listen to what others have to say, you?re not only wasting your time you?re wasting your life. So let?s all practice a little bit of self taught wisdom. Seek out the best advice you can and trust it.

Rule #1

Ok, now let?s get to it. Again these are really just 3 very simple rules, that if you follow you will make tremendous gains. One is as I mentioned moderation. Or to take it a step further. Counting calories. Many don?t like to count calories, but believe me, unless you are a seasoned pro, you would be amazed at the amount of empty calories one can consume through the day. Here is another tip. Take your body weight and multiply times 10. That is a fair estimate of your caloric needs. So we now know how much food to consume through the day.

Rule #2

Next question is how do I burn off the extra weight that I do have. Very easy. Exercise in the morning on an empty stomach. Exercise in the morning on an empty stomach. and Exercise in the morning on an empty stomach. Also, throw in a few days in the gym or in your home. Grab a set of 10-15 pound dumbbells. Do 5 sets of say 10-12 reps. Take 2 min. rest between sets, and keep your heart rate up. Do some sets for your arms, chest and legs. 5 sets for each body part.

Rule #3

Stay positive and do not give up. Your body is a very large determinant of how people view you. They say alot about first impressions. Well your body is the first thing anyone sees. You owe it to yourself.

I don?t have the room to go into all the details for exercise and gym work. But if you would like more information I go into detail in my New book Insider Secrets. More information is available at http://www.thermoloss3-diet.com - take my years of experience and apply it today.

Joshua Carson is an Author, Freelance writer, and Founder of Sybs. Technologies - a company that is dedicated to energy supplements. His newest book Insider Secrets is available at his web site http//:www.Thermoloss3-diet.com You can also sign up for his free newsletter there.

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It is the fact that slim and trim body gains most of the magnetism. Everyone wants a slim and trim body. To live a healthy life is everyone?s desire. But obesity restricts men and women to life a life without problems. Obesity clutches anyone when there is a difference between the intake calories and burnt calories. Obesity can be effectively treated by regular exercises. Obesity leads to a number of other health related problems.

The advancement in medical science makes it possible to lose weight without indulging into any time spending exercises. A number of diet pills are available to treat excess body weight. Few of them are as under: -

? Acomplia
? Phentermine
? Xenical
? Didrex and many more?

The medical experts are waiting for the FDA approval of this wonder drug acomplia. Rimonabant is the scientific name of acomplia. Sanofi-Synthelabo designed this medicine and is also known as Zimulti.

Acomplia is one of the popular diet pills and will soon be available in the market to treat obesity. Acomplia can be an effectual way to lose weight and it may suppress your appetite rather than burning your body fat. Unlike any other appetite suppressant acomplia may show remarkable results when taken in conjunction with balanced diet and mild exercises. Acomplia can also be used as an effective treatment for unhealthy smoking habits. Acomplia acts as a single medicine to treat both obesity and smoking habit.

Medical experts have studied the side-effects of acomplia. The most common and side-effects of acomplia are as follows:

? Restlessness
? Irritability
? Depression
? Nausea
? Dizziness

Acomplia has lesser side effects than any other diet pills. It can facilitate you to achieve remarkable benefits on weight loss, smoking cessation, blood sugar, and blood pressure.

It is advised to take acomplia by consulting your doctor. Your doctor may restrict you from taking acomplia if you have had serious health problem earlier. You should follow the directions of your doctor while taking acomplia. It is of no use to take a double dose of acomplia to gain quick results. However, it may harm your health.

You should take complete precautions while you consume acomplia. Precautions are an easiest way to stay away from the harmful effects of any medicine. It can be imagined that acomplia will soon bring revolution by treating unhealthy conditions of our lifestyle i.e. obesity and smoking habit.

Joseph Jones received training as a healthcare scientist. He has been working in the same field and writes informative articles for weight loss subject. To find Buy Acomplia, phentermine online, Cheap phentermine, Diet pills visit http://www.onlinephentermine.net

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Do you know what it takes to lose weight, get healthier and realize your dreams?

Awareness, Education, Determination, Action, and Motivation!

That's it! five simple tools in your tool belt of success and you are on your way.

Awareness is essential in that oftentimes we really don't know that some of the little things we are doing are contributing in big ways to our excess weight. For example, do you drink one or more soft drinks in a day? ONE soft drink (approximately 10 ounces) is 120 calories, takes 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise a DAY to burn it off AND is filled with unnecessary chemicals! Switching one's soft drink habit for water can amount to considerable weight loss over the course of a year.

Or are you cleaning morsels off the kids' plates? ONE bite may not seem like much, but many one bites add up to ONE HUGE bite over the course of the day. It all counts!

I speak with so many people who swear to me they have fairly healthy habits. I think we kid ourselves a lot. Do you kid yourself? Is the joke on you?

Open your eyes and take a long hard look at your actions, and look for ways you can easily, and without much effort, improve upon your actions and make them a bit healthier.

Education is essential in that we need to know what is healthy. Today, that is perhaps harder than at any other time in history! There are so many confusing and mixed messages about what is healthy: low carb, low fat, low glycemic and bears, oh my!

I don't know what is the right way to eat; honestly, I don't. I am not a nutritionist, doctor or expert on food, but I am the undisputed expert on what NOT to eat! YOUR vices!!! I don't care how many times you have heard You can eat what you love and still lose the weight -- you CAN'T!!!! If you LOVE food, that in and of itself is part of the problem! I think you should love life, NOT food! Educate yourself on the foods you will eat that are healthy and that work within YOUR lifestyle!

Determination! YOU must be determined to succeed at this and really want to change your lifestyle! It is NOT enough that you just want to LOSE WEIGHT.

What then? you guessed it -- the weight comes back on! You must, must, must make your goal to have a permanently healthy lifestyle and be determined to realize it!

Action! Once you have educated yourself as to what is unhealthy, are aware of unhealthy actions, and are determined to change, all that is left is to take action! Make sure every day that you are taking action -- that is a step in the right direction!

Motivation! Sometimes the going gets tough; that is when the motivated get buff! Make some goals: short-term and long; plan some rewards you are going realize along the way AND make it fun! For example, buy a terra cotta planter and some small tiles, mirrors, large beads or stones -- and then EACH day you stick to your plan, bust your vices and reach your daily goal, glue an item on the planter. By the end of the year, you will have the most gorgeous planter (grout over it, wipe down, let it dry and it will be fabulous!!) AND you'll be, oh, about 100 pounds thinner!

Julia Griggs Havey, eDiets Master Motivator

At eDiets, there's something for every body. Click here to choose from more than 20 personalized diet plans!

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With millions of people making New Years resolutions to participate in the ?Battle of the Bulge? here?s some useful ammo to help you adhere to your weight loss plan, keep you motivated and ensure victory:

1. Enlist

Just as new enlistee signs a contract that commits him/her to their military task and duty, similarly, if your goal is to lose weight, you too should sign a contract with yourself, your trainer, a friend or a loved one. Essentially a contract cannot be broken and there is usually a penalty to do so. A contract places the commitment to paper and the responsibility on you, which will increase your resolve and motivation to the task of losing weight. If you need to, assign a reward for the satisfactory fulfillment of the contract rather than a penalty. For example, if you attain your target weight, write in the contract that you will take a spa vacation to show off your ?new? body. This is a form of positive reinforcement, which gives you an eventual goal to work toward and tends to work better than negative reinforcement like punishment.

2. Recruit backup

For many people the ?battle of the bulge? is exactly that. Give yourself a leg up right from the start and recruit the services of a well-qualified (check credentials) personal trainer or exercise physiologist. These ?officers? are experienced in their field and will offer the correct guidance, training and motivation to conquer the enemy (fat). If you cant afford this service, recruit the assistance of a friend or family member to offer moral support and motivation.

3. Know Your Enemy

To go into battle with no knowledge of the enemy is guaranteeing defeat. With the guidance of your ?officer?, or on your own, find out information on fat loss. This may involve doing some homework on fat metabolism and basic nutrition. Learn about how to ?identify? the enemy by being able to recognize fattening foods and bad carbohydrates and research topics like how to shift the scales toward negative caloric intake. Don?t be afraid of exploring a little of the science behind weight loss - the web is essentially a free of source of information ? use it!

4. Know Thyself

Just as it is important to know and study the enemy, you must also know some information about yourself. Make a list of possible obstacles that may derail the successful implementation of your upcoming battle plan and jot down proposed solutions on how to deal with them. Forecast where you may weaken in your resolve. For example, if you have a weakness for scoffing Ding Dongs at midnight or certain situations make you more likely to eat junk food or drink alcohol uncontrollably like at parties. It may also be very helpful at this point to find out your EAR or Estimated Average (Caloric) Requirement. Your EAR gives an indication of the number of calories your body needs to maintain its current mass, taking into account the subjective estimation of your daily activity levels - for example, exercise participation and physical activity associated with your work. (Click here for a handy caloric calculator)

5. Develop a ?battle plan?

With the help of your ?officer? or with your own ?top secret? information from your research, carefully devise a strategy to follow. Like many successful battle plans, attacks should involve multiple strategies. An obvious battle plan would be to begin a sensible ?diet? to restrict caloric intake, yet does not border on starvation levels. This is decent single strategy attack, but if you really want the enemy on their heels, you need a multiple-strategy attack. Consider using the combined forces of diet and exercise to shift your energy intake levels to less than your expended energy levels. Resistance training will not only greatly add to your energy expenditure, but will also increase your lean muscle mass and as a result, increase your resting metabolic rate. A multiple-strategy approach such as this will greatly increase weight loss over dieting alone. Make a chart using colored pens to designate the multi-strategy attack plan. This will provide you a tactile image of your battle plan and help you stay motivated and in control. Remember the battle may continue for several months or possibly indefinitely, so adjust your plan accordingly and consider making permanent lifestyle changes concerning exercise and eating habits.

6. Set strategic and realistic goals

A successful battle campaign will involve setting goals of smaller victories to result in eventual victory. Setting goals will increase your motivation and adherence to the task and allow for assessment of progress. Sit down and strategize with your trainer or your partner and decide on achievable weight loss goals. Assign a time frame to achieve your ?mini victory? and write them down on a chart. Check off every ?mini victory? as you attain them. A rule of thumb for gradual weight loss that will stay off is to aim to lose about one percent of your body weight a week. The human body does not simply ?let go? of its fat stores ? it gradually releases them when caloric expenditure is greater than consumption. For example, if you weigh 225 lbs, you can safely lose about 2.3 lbs a week. A pound of fat contains 3 500 calories, so 2.3 lbs contains 8 050 calories. So in this case, look to cut about 1 150 calories from your EAR using a combination of diet and energy expenditure from exercise. If your battle plan involves resistance training (it should!), do not place a high priority on scale readings as this may lead to frustration. Resistance training will increase muscle mass (muscle weighs more than fat) and may confound scale readings.

7. Arm yourself!

At this point you will already be armed with a powerful array of non-tactile weapons ? knowledge, moral support and guidance. Now, arm yourself by financially committing to either purchasing quality exercise equipment or a long-term gym membership. Buy a sensible diet book (for example, South Beach Diet) and a journal to write down your feelings, experiences on a daily/weekly basis if possible. Keeping a journal of the types of foods you eat and your feelings/attitude toward eating and exercise will help provide concrete evidence to identify signs of progress or regression and keep you on track.

8. Get out there and fight!

By now you will be prepared enough to face the enemy. Realize that the battle of weight loss is just that and that it will sometimes have to be fought tooth and nail. Use your weapons and resources to stick it out when your resolve begins to wane. Remain committed to yourself and your personal campaign and realize that others ?back home? are supporting you.

9. Monitor your Campaign

Use your resources and the tips in this article to monitor the progress of your weight loss plan. Use a combination of body weight, waist/hip circumference changes and the results of your journal to get the ?big picture?. See if there are any aspects of your battle plan that need ?tweaking? or revision. A highly effective way of objectively monitoring your fat loss and lean muscle tissue gain is to monitor your body composition (% body fat, % lean muscle tissue and bone). Try to find a local personal trainer or fitness service that offers body composition tests. Body composition can be measured by a variety of different methods depending on the sophistication of the service. The simplest and least expensive method of determining body composition is by means of skinfold measurement. Other more sophisticated (and accurate) methods involve the use of Bioelectrical Impedance Assessment (BIA) equipment. For more information on BIA, click on the link at the bottom of this article.

10. Integrate a ?new government? for your lifestyle

Once you have achieved victory and attained your weight loss goal, consider the lifestyle changes that you will need to make to maintain your goal weight. You may need to make exercise a part of your daily routine or continue to follow a sensible eating plan that restricts certain foods, or both. If your campaign was an extended one, you will most probably already have made some permanent changes to the way you deal with eating and physical activity. Also, if your battle plan involved resistance training, you will find it much easier to maintain your desired weight because of an increased muscle mass and metabolic rate. Realize that it was an uphill battle to get to the point where you are and plan to ?do whatever it takes? to keep or even improve your physical condition.

This article has highlighted some basic strategies to help make your weight loss goals more attainable. Use these pointers and you are virtually guaranteed ?victory!?

David Petersen is a Personal Trainer/Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and the owner and founder of B.O.S.S. Fitness Inc. based in Oldsmar, Florida. More articles and information can be found at http://www.bossfitness.com

NOTE: You're free to republish this article on your website, in your newsletter, in your e-book or in other publications provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this note, author information and all LIVE website links as above.

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Take the case of 17 year old Kerry, whose boyfriend casually mentioned to her that he is upset over her being overweight and that all his friends make fun of her. Kerry, who in reality was only chubby, was pretty hurt and started losing her self-esteem. She soon went into guilt pangs for being over-weight and went on a crash diet, skipping breakfast, having only a fruit or two for lunch and slice of bread for dinner. She was petrified of gaining weight and losing her boy friend. Slowly and gradually she became a victim of a disorder called anorexia nervosa.

The ideal image of a woman's body has changed radically in the past years. Like Kerry, most teenage girls struggle to feel good about their bodies. They tend to emulate models on glamorous magazine covers and hoardings without realizing the ill effects of it on their health.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder centred of an obsessive fear of weight gain. Approximately 95 per cent of those affected by anorexia nervosa are female, but males can develop the disorder as well.

Causes:

. Psychological factors such as fear of sexuality at this age. Past negative experiences, perceived loss of control in some aspect of life can lead to anorexia.

. Families that are over-protective or focus on over-achievement can produce an anorexic family member.

. Constantly criticizing one's own body and appearance combined with low self-esteem.

. Societal pressures to look and behave in certain manner at an adolescent.

. Certain personality traits like perfectionism, approval -seeking behavior, and obsessiveness are associated with this disorder.

There is a possibility of genetic pre-disposition that usually becomes apparent at the time of puberty.

Symptoms:

. Excessive dieting, exercising usually beyond a reasonable control

. Significant weight loss.

. Self-perception that is grossly distorted and weight loss that is not acknowledged.

. Avoidance of social gatherings where food is involved.

. Weighing oneself several times in the day and focusing on the smallest fluctuation.

. Misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas

. Decrease in attention spans and concentration.

. Developing of food rituals that allow for eating very little, eating in secrecy, eating food in certain order, excessive chewing.

. Disturbed sleep leading to fatigue during the day.

Must Read: 10 Effective tips to lose weight on hips and thighs at http://www.weightloss-health.com/slimthighships.htm

Effects:

. Girls may experience loss on menstrual cycles (amenorrhea). Disturbances in the menstrual cycle can affect not only fertility but also bone density growth.

. Muscle loss and weakness.

. Lowered resistance

. Digestive problems such as constipation

. Severe dehydration, which can result in kidney failure.

. Feelings of guilt and depression.

. Isolation from friends and family.

. Brittle hair and nails

. Dry and yellow skin.

. Mild anaemia, swollen joints and light-headiness.

. Overuse of laxatives.

. Changes in kidney function, resulting in potassium deficiency, increased or decreased urination.

Must Read: Workout and Exercise schedule for Women Weight Training at http://www.weightloss-health.com/woman%20muscle%20exercise.htm

Treatment:

. The primary goal is to ensure a person's physical health, which involves restoring a healthy weight. This may require hospitalisation.

. Once the physical condition is stable, intensive psychotherapy needs to be put in place.

. Behavior therapy.

. Family therapy.

About the Author

Ashley Green: for http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

Also get free tips and tricks on weight loss and a chance to go through other informative articles targetting various health issues at Healthy Weight Loss Programs.

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.

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Real success comes from enjoying what you do. That will make you stick around enough to see the results. Same happens with weight loss. Many people end up being unsuccessful in their quest to lose weight just because they are force to do things which they inherently dislike. Here are certain tips which can really make you enjoy your weight loss journey!

Most people who are trying to lose weight feel they love food so much, they cant go on a diet or follow an exercise routine. They lament that even if they try to diet and exercise, its emotionally so depriving that they cant sustain it.

So, the trick lies in finding out the things that appeal to you , make a list, and start working on them. Lets take an example to make things clearer. Consider, Julia likes sweets, brownies, Thai food, ice cream and loves dancing: then this is how she can proceed:- First, set priorities and see where health figures in your chart. Is staying healthy and looking good as important to you as buying a new car or having a beautiful house? Look around in the family. Are the elders of the family healthy or do they have a long list of prescriptions? GENETICS MATTER.

. Secondly, understand your tastes. Do you like the rich taste of creamy dairy products? Or, perhaps chicken?

. Buy books on healthy cooking. There are thousands of recipes that can help you cook a delicious and healthy meal which can satisfy your appetite as well as your taste.

Tip: Many people in low calorie food workshops are amazed at how delicious healthy food is. Many foods like brown rice, momos, oat and soy breads, stuffed chapatti, cold coffee with skimmed milk, black salt, whole wheat pasta, chicken made in hung curd, bran biscuits with jaggery, salad with balsamic dressing, or a roast potato and walnut salad with hung curd and mustard dressing, are outstanding.

Must Read: Weight Loss, It's all in your head! Read more at http://www.weightloss-health.com/weightlosshead.htm

. Organize yourself. Many people fail, not because they do not have a will, but because they are too causal about their diet.

. Join an exercise routine that you will enjoy, be it dance, aerobics, salsa or swimming.

. Once a week, let go, as we all need some indiscipline in our lives.

. Open your mind to fun avenues like good music, movies, aroma candles, smart clothes (according to studies, people who are depressed about their body shape frequently stop shopping).

. Being in the company of positive people helps you fulfill your goals!

Make losing weight an enjoyable endeavour. It requires commitment, goal setting and planning. Stick on to wall your specific goal, goal date, reason to lose weight, life once you lose weight and read it every morning. Be loyal to yourself and there's nothing which can stop you from losing weight. Wish you all the best in your endeavour!

Must Read: 10 tips to lose weight on hips and thighs at http://www.weightloss-health.com/slimthighships.htm

Random Tip: Irrespective of the Weight Loss program you follow, you need to exercise daily. It not only keeps you fit but increases your metabolism.

About the Author

Ashley Green: for http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

Also get free tips and tricks on weight loss and a chance to go through other informative articles targetting various health issues at Natural Weight Loss Tips/Programs Article Directory

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.

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I know better than anybody that sitting at a desk all day can take a toll on your body. You don't get much movement and you can get what I like to call spread butt

Here is how you can Tone at your Desk

1.Seated Scissors

Scoot forward in your chair and sit straight. Extend legs in front of you about shoulder-width apart. Point your toes and rotate legs out slightly. Keeping legs straight, cross left ankle over right, then right over left. Alternate legs quickly 40 times or do for as may as you can.

2.Supported Single-Leg Squat

Stand a foot or so in front of your chair with your hands on the desk. Rest top of left foot on the chair seated behind you and lower into a single leg squat, keeping right knee alignes over ankle. Stand up and repeat. Do 20 squats on each leg.

3. Standing Calf Raise

Grab a thick dictionary and stand with the balls of your feet on it (so heels are supported). Holding onto the wall, if necessary, rise up onto your toes, then lower your heels untill they're just and inch off the floor. Press back up and repeat; do 20 reps. For an added challenge do them one leg at a time.

Try and do these every day while sitting at your desk. You will get added energy and feel better. Plus, if you ever find yourself heading for that office birthday cake, do these before you do and your craving will subside.

Jody Branch is owner of http://www.online-weight-loss-resources.com

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Do low carb diets work?

Low carbohydrate diets have become popular in recent years, originally promoted by Dr Atkins. However, studies have shown that these only work well for about 6 months. After this time, other weight loss methods start to produce equal or better results.

Dr Atkins followed the diet he promoted for most of his life, and when he died, he had serious health problems (he weighed 258 pounds - 18 stone 6lb - at his death and had a history of heart disease). You can read the full story on this here: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/02/10/atkins.widow.ap/ . Clearly, it didnt work for him.

How to lose weight without risking your health

One of the major drawbacks of the low-carb diet system is the eat as much fat as you like philosophy that seems to come along with it. As you know, diets that are high in fat lead to clogged arteries, heart disease, obesity... And reducing carbohydrate intake does not stop these effects. Not something I want to risk, anyway.

The energy content of your food can be measured in several ways. The traditional way is with calories, and now we see the same information printed on packets in kilojoules. But regardless of the measuring system used, the fact remains that your weight goes up or down according to the difference between the amount of energy you consume (in your food) and the amount you use (in your day to day life, and with exercise).

Weight for weight, fat contains three times as much energy as protein or carbohydrate. This means that by reducing your fat intake, you automatically reduce the amount of energy you are taking in, so that you can start to lose weight.

Ten easy ways to reduce dietary fat

* Eat as much fruit, salad and vegetables as you like
* Do not put butter on your potatoes, vegetables or bread
* Choose low fat cheese or cottage cheese instead of standard cheese
* Do not eat fried food
* Substitute fruit for snacks like crisps or biscuits
* If you are still hungry after eating your main course, have a piece of fruit or some fresh fruit cut up with low fat yoghurt poured over.
* Remove skin from chicken.
* Cut down red meat and substitute chicken or turkey
* Trim fat from meat you eat
* Substitute low fat dressings or lemon juice for mayonnaise

And a bonus: how to use up your energy intake more quickly

You may know people who seem to be able to eat anything they like, and stay as thin as a beanpole. Others say that no matter if they just look at a cream cake, they put on weight. Why is this?

Not everybody burns food at the same rate, it all depends on your metabolic rate. The ones who stay stick-thin have a higher metabolic rate (they burn their food faster) than the ones who seem to get fat just by looking at fattening foods.

What not many people know is that you can CHANGE your metabolic rate. You can turn up the furnace so that you burn calories faster - and lose weight faster.

How do you do this? By taking regular exercise.

It was once thought that exercise could not help with weight loss, because your appetite would increase to use up the calories you burned while exercising. But studies have shown that exercise actually speeds up the rate at which you burn food. So regular exercise is like a magic button, helping you lose weight more quickly.

For this to work, the key is regularity. You need to do about 45 minutes of exercise every 2-3 days (the rise in metabolism starts to drop after about 72 hours). The exercise should be vigorous enough to raise your heart rate - say, a brisk walk (outside or on a treadmill). If you can, get yourself a portable heart rate monitor and use it, so that you can see that you are walking fast enough (and not too fast - no need to risk a heart attack).

When you get back from your walk, resist the temptation to fill up with fatty foods (yes, I know the cream cake is tempting, but if you want to lose weight...).

So there you are. Ten quick weight loss tips, and a bonus. I have lost a couple of stones in this way, at the right speed (do it too fast, it tends to go straight back on again). Put these tips to the test for a month, and I know you will start to see results, as well. And yet another bonus: you will feel healthier, more energetic, and generally better all round.

Frann Leach is the webmaster of http://www.the-health-site.com and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. More articles on fitness and weight loss: http://www.the-health-site.com/fitness-and-weight-loss

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Looking for Diet Programs on net is like looking for water in an Ocean. But trust me, looking for good Diet Program is like finding a pearl in the ocean. Me and my team have traveled from shore to shore and short listed few highly effective diet programs and weight loss programs. But, no matter what Diet Program we choose for ourselves, we have to be careful about our normal diet habits. This helps us a lot in shedding off the weight and keeps us healthy and happy.

Here are some effective weight loss tips for all kinds of weight watchers.

1) You can lose weight by increasing lean body mass. And the best way to increase lean body mass is through Muscle Building

2) Weight Loss pills do not help in long run. Slow and gradual Weight Loss is the best way to lose Weight

3) Please, never starve yourself. Don't keep yourself Hungry. Starving do not reduce your weight. Instead depletes you of your necessary nutrition which leads to weakness and other illness.

4) Studies have shown children of over-weight parents specially mothers are more like to be obese by the age of 6. Read more about the study at http://www.weightloss-health.com/Obesemotherskids.htm

5) A passionate, tongue tangling kiss is very beneficial. It not only boosts immunity but also burns two calories per minute. So you get to lose weight too.

6) Whether it is weight loss or building muscle tissues, maintain a log. Keeping a log motivates you and help you reach your goal. This way you can monitor your progress.

7) Last but not the least, very important one....PLAN YOUR DIET .I personally think, its quite difficult because for me to control on my favorite dishes and deserts is something next to impossible. To make things, simpler for you: Get a Free Diet Profile depending on the goal you want to achieve and type of body you carry.

To get more weight loss tips and inside facts about weight loss, visit http://www.weightloss-health.com/Weight%20loss%20tips.htm

About the Author

Jasdeep: for http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

Also get free tips and tricks on weight loss and a chance to go through other informative articles targetting various health issues at Healthy Weight Loss Tips and Programs

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.

• 0 comments »

Looking for Diet Programs on net is like looking for water in an Ocean. But trust me, looking for good Diet Program is like finding a pearl in the ocean. Me and my team have traveled from shore to shore and short listed few highly effective diet programs and weight loss programs. But, no matter what Diet Program we choose for ourselves, we have to be careful about our normal diet habits. This helps us a lot in shedding off the weight and keeps us healthy and happy.

Here are some effective weight loss tips for all kinds of weight watchers.

1) Metabolic rate is one thing which is very crucial. Metabolism is a process by which the body burns the calories and convert them into useful energy. High metabolic rate uses up the energy stored in the form of fat.

Know more about Metabolism and how to increase Metabolism at http://www.weightloss-health.com/Metabolism.htm

2) Exercise Regularly. Building muscles also burns the extra calories and helps in keeping you fit.

3) Don't rush in. Lose weight slowly and continuously . Advisable limit is 1-2 lbs per week.

4) Drink plenty of water. It cleans up your body, makes your digestion good and increases your metabolism.

5) Have Low Fat Diets. Avoid oily stuff.

6) Studies have shown children of over-weight parents specially mothers are more like to be obese by the age of 6. Read more about the study at http://www.weightloss-health.com/Obesemotherskids.htm

To get more weight loss tips and inside facts about weight loss, visit http://www.weightloss-health.com/Weight%20loss%20tips.htm

About the Author

Jasdeep: for http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

Also get free tips and tricks on weight loss and a chance to go through other informative articles targetting various health issues at Weight Loss Tips Article Directory

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.

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To maintain a healthy life free from obesity, one needs to effectively manage overweight. One of the main causes of obesity is intake of high amount of calories. But one can keep a healthy life free from obesity by taking calories at a healthy level rather than discarding it for good. Though a numerous overweight remedies exist trying to solve it with some proper medication can work best for an individual fighting obesity.

Creating history on its own, one such medicine is Phentermine. FDA trials have approved as an effective appetite suppressant way back in 1959. So, one can scale from here about its effectiveness and results. It is used for short term treatment of obesity with conjunction to strict diet and exercises.

Phentermine diet pills acts on our central nervous system by affecting the hypothalamus gland present in the brain. This increases our heart beat rate and blood pressure resulting in decrease in our appetite.

Although problems of overdose has been not proved till yet now, but first time users do face a few side affects. Dry mouth, constipation, dizziness and sometimes upset stomach have been recorded. But these side affects are reversible and is adjusted as the body gets used to Phentermine.

Phentermine diet pills are very mild indeed. People suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure faces no problem using it. But it is better to be on the safer side. Take advice of a doctor before adding it to your life. Especially, pregnant women should take the utmost precaution as it may damage her foetus.

This medicine is administered particularly to those people who can follow a healthy diet with regular exercise regimen. Hence, dieticians confirmed that taking Phentermine along with your daily diet and exercise routine is a sensible step for overcoming obesity problems significantly.

An added advantage of Phentermine is that it is now available online. An individual can order online Phentermine anytime from anywhere securely and confidentially.

Joseph Jones received training as a healthcare scientist. He has been working in the same field and writes informative articles for weight loss subject. To find Buy Phentermine online, Cheap phentermine, Diet pills visit http://www.onlinephentermine.net

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Ahh... These are the days of festivities, joy, pleasure and plenty of eating and drinking. Nothing like the holidays! BUT it comes at a price. If you're not careful about your nutritional intake you might end up with extra unneeded weight.

This article will list important do able holiday weight loss tips and supplements that help with weight loss.

1. Take Charge

The first step to weight loss is setting a realistic goal. By using a BMI chart and consulting with your health-care provider, you can determine what a healthy weight is for you. If you plan to lose more than 15 to 20 pounds, have any health problems, or take medication on a regular basis, a doctor should evaluate you before you begin a weight loss program.

2. Are you overweight?

Overweight refers to an excess of body weight, but not necessarily body fat. Obesity means an excessively high proportion of body fat. Health professionals use a measurement called body mass index (BMI) to classify an adult's weight as healthy, overweight, or obese. BMI describes body weight relative to height and is correlated with total body fat content in most adults.

To get your approximate BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 703, then divide the result by your height in inches, and divide that result by your height in inches a second time. (Or you can use the interactive BMI calculator at www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm.)

A BMI from 18.5 up to 25 is considered in the healthy range, from 25 up to 30 is overweight and 30 or higher is obese. Generally, the higher a person's BMI, the greater the risk for health problems, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). However, there are some exceptions. For example, very muscular people, like body builders, may have a BMI greater than 25 or even 30, but this reflects increased muscle rather than fat. In addition to a high BMI, having excess abdominal body fat is a health risk. Men with a waist of more than 40 inches around and women with a waist of 35 inches or more are at risk for health problems.

3. Change eating habits

Dieting may conjure up visions of eating lettuce and sprouts--but you can enjoy all foods as part of a healthy diet as long as you don't overdo it on fat (especially saturated fat), protein, sugars, and alcohol. To be successful at losing weight, you need to change your lifestyle--not just go on a diet, experts say.

Limit portion sizes, especially of foods high in calories, such as cookies, cakes and other sweets; french fries; and fats, oils and spreads. Reducing dietary fat alone--without reducing calories--will not produce weight loss, according to the NHLBI's guidelines on treating overweight and obesity in adults. Eat less and move more. Your body needs to burn more calories than you take in.

4. Increase physical activity

Most health experts recommend a combination of a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for weight loss. Most adults should get at least 30 minutes and children should get 60 minutes of moderate physical activity on most, and preferably all, days of the week. Exercise does not have to be strenuous to be beneficial and some studies show that short sessions of exercise several times a day are just as effective at burning calories and improving health as one long session.

5. De-stress yourself

The holiday season can be stressful and in some individuals this may lead to overeating due to stress further leading to increase in weight. If you identify yourself as one these people and feel the need to eat in between meals then at least eat healthy instead of munching on chips and cookies etc try veggies and fruits.

6. Don't skip meals

Otherwise it will encourage you to over eat at the next meal. If you have to snack in between meals try snacking on fruits and veggies.

7. Food Allergies

Make note of foods you are allergic to. Food allergies disrupt metabolism and thus hinder weight loss.

8. Crash Diets

Avoid them. They are mostly self-defeating and serve only as a temporary band-Aid solution.

9. Drink plenty of water

To flush out the toxins from your body.

10. Tips for Eating Out

Choose foods that are steamed, broiled, baked, roasted, poached or stir-fried.

Share food, such as a main dish or dessert, with your dining partner.

Take part of the food home with you, and refrigerate immediately. You may want to ask for a take-home container when the meal arrives. Spoon half the meal into it, so you're more likely to eat only what's left on your plate.

Request your meal to be served without gravy, sauces, butter or margarine.

Ask for salad dressing on the side, and use only small amounts of full-fat dressings.

No Laughing matter

We're putting on the pounds at an alarmingly rapid rate. And we're sacrificing our health for the sake of super size portions, biggie drinks, and two-for-one value meals, obesity researchers say.

More than 60 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the number of overweight people has been slowly climbing since the 1980s, the number of obese adults has nearly doubled since then.

Besides the above weight loss tips certain supplements may also help in weight loss. Some of these supplements are listed below.

1. GREEN TEA (Popular for weight loss, also a powerful antioxidant)

2. Garcinia Combogia

3. Chromium Picolinate

4. Flaxseed Oil

5. Lecithin

6. L-Carnitine

7. Fennel

8. Fenugreek

(c)Mayur Vibhakar - All rights reserved. http://www.innervibrance.com

Mayur Vibhakar is a health professional and editor of innervibrance.com, a site dedicated to achieving optimal health through natural means. Subscribe to the informative health articles and receive health improving tips, natural product reviews and relevant health information.

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In this age being ignorant is like committing a crime. With so much of knowledge around you, following a trend blindly doesn't confirm the fact that you are intelligent. But the catch here is, GO BY RIGHT KNOWLEDGE. No doubt, internet is flooded with the wrong knowledge and myths that leads you nowhere, but it isn't hard enough to figure out the pearl in the ocean. Every now and then, we see some supplements or pills making tall claims which they down the line do not seem to validate. We will soon establish as we go on reading this article that there is absolutely no substitute for eating healthy and sweating out.

In US, where weight loss has been a part of national consciousness for three decades, several studies have been done to evaluate the effectiveness of various weight loss aids. The major reason why most of these aids escape regulation is because they are branded as food supplements to escape the Drugs and Cosmetics Act that regulates the sale of medicine. Here are some findings:-

1) Starch Blockers: One of the most stupid ways to lose weight, they claimed to block the digestion of starch. Not only is the claim unproven but the users have complained of diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pains.

2) Glucomannan: It also failed on the FDA's yardstick. It promised to reduce your appetite by filling up your stomach but there seem to be no evidence to support it. Glucomannan is derived from the root of a japanese plant name konjac.

3) Spirulina: It is a species of blue-green algae containing some essential nutrients and is pretty safe but again, its effectiveness is still questionable.

4) Magnetic Diet Pills: The US federal trade commission has brought legal action against marketers of these pills. These pills contain a fibre that is been considered to act like a fat-magnet which consumes up to five times its weight in dietary fat. Sorry, it failed miserably!

5) Weight Loss Shakes: MAY BE an answer for short-term weight loss but users have gained weight immediately once they stop using these shakes. These shakes are diet drinks powdered formulas and are substituted for meals. Not only this way to lose weight in unhealthy but also short-term.

6) Bulking Agents: These fibre and gum products promises to control appetite be absorbing liquid and swelling in stomach, thus reducing hunger. But the fact is these bulking agents are indigestible. They can be harmful to the body causing obstructions in the intestines, stomach or esophagus.

---> To learn more about other fake weight loss programs and pills and how to differentiate between genuine weight loss programs and fake weight loss programs, visit http://www.weightloss-health.com/Fake%20Weight%20Loss.htm

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About the Author

Jasdeep: for http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

Also get free tips and tricks on weight loss and a chance to read most popular Weight Loss Programs Reviews at Weight Loss Programs Review

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.

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20 WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT

1. Take it one step at a time

Start by paying attention to what you eat. Cut back on fat and sweets and add more fruit and vegetables. After you have that under control, add exercise. If you hate to exercise try it for only 15 minutes a day at first, then a 1/2-hour. Keep in mind that while you are exercising you are burning calories and not eating. Also, it will be easier if you chose an activity that you enjoy.

2. Find a friend

It is always good to have support when you are trying to lose weight. Find a friend who wants to lose weight and compare notes, weigh-in together and maybe even have a contest.

3. Use weights

Working out weights will build muscle and raise your metabolism so you will burn more calories. Also, muscle takes up less space than fat so you will be smaller ( but probably weigh more).

4. Eat fewer carbs

Don't eat as much bread and pasta and you will see a difference.

5. Set a goal

Set a deadline to lose the weight and write it down. For example, ' By Dec 14/04 I will weigh 150 lbs or less'. Put it somewhere you will see it daily.

6. Give up soda

If you drink a soda or 2 a day you are adding empty calories. If you find it hard to stop completely, cut back at first and drink water instead.

7. Grill or boil

Avoid fried meat, grill and use lots of spices. You will get used to it and probably enjoy it more.

8. Don't buy junk food

When you go shopping, don't go on an empty stomach and you will be less likely to buy junk food. Keep your home 'junk food free' so you won't be tempted to indulge.

9. Eat breakfast

Consume most of your calories early in the day and always eat breakfast. Don't eat after 8pm and not only will you avoid those added calories but you will sleep better.

10. Give yourself a treat

When you tell yourself that you can't have something you want it more. Give yourself a treat once a day ( ie. half a cookie) and you won't feel you are missing out.

11. Use smaller plates

Trick yourself into believing that you are eating more by using a smaller plate.

12. Drink lots of water

Drink water when you are feeling hungry and you will get that 'full' feeling.

13. Don't eat everything on your plate

Many times we eat just because it's there. Pay attention to when you have had enough.

14. Eat five or six meals a day

Eating more frequently will keep you from getting too hungry.

15. Plan your workout sessions

Write your workout sessions in your journal or planner.

16. Stay away from fad diets

Fad diets don't work. If you lose weight fast chances are that you will gain it back ( and more) just as fast. It takes time to put it on and time to take it off.

17. Do several workouts a day

While you are watching TV do crunches and leg lifts.

18. Measure your food

If you decide to have junk food for a snack - be sure to measure and control what you eat.

19. Keep pre-cut vegetables

...and ward off those cravings.

20. Create Good Habits

It is a known fact that when we do something twenty-one times it becomes a habit. Create good eating habits.

Sheila Dicks is a wardrobe and image consultant who teaches women how to look slimmer by dressing to suit their body type. Visit her at http://www.sheilasfashionsense.com to download a copy of her e-book Image Makeovers and get How to Build a Wardrobe free.

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The papers are full of it, the TV won?t stop going on about it and your belly hanging over your waistband justifies it! It?s time to lose weight - but how? There are so many gimmicky diets out there, not to mention 'potions and pills' that will help you shift the weight, BUT you also know from experience that the pounds will pile right back on again the moment you stop. So the question is how can I lose weight permanently?

These ?no nonsense? top 10 weight loss tips tell you how:

1. Eat less and/or exercise more than you have been ? in other words you do need to create a calorie deficit in order to burn more calories than you consume in a day, BUT?

2. Do not starve. You will NOT lose fat if you starve yourself. Most people need only to drop their total calorie intake by 300 kcals a day ? some by more and some by less ? it just depends what the base-line or starting point is ? and it often helps to have someone work that out for you!

3. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you feel satisfied. It sounds simple ? and it is!

4. Eat real food ? not powdered drinks as meal replacements. The process of digesting real solid food actually stimulates the metabolic rate. This is called the 'thermic effect' of food, which cannot be achieved by liquid food or supplements.

5. Be consistent with your exercise which should involve aerobic activities and some kind of resistance training

6. Get your diet 'nutritionally' in order, and your exercise before complaining that it?s your genes, you have 'big bones' or that you have 'a slow metabolism'! Sound nutritional practice and effective exercise is a very powerful combination indeed, and if it?s fast permanent results you want ? then this is what you need to focus on.

7. If you want to lose fat permanently you need to put in some effort and be somewhat self-disciplined. You are the only person you are with 24 hours of every day!

8. STOP looking for short cuts to lose weight.

9. Your aim is to lose fat, not muscle and water. Anything that promises fast weight loss, will give you fast fat gain when you start living normally again! You are aiming to lose 1-2lbs a week, with a combination of effective eating and exercising.

10. Finally, don?t believe everything you read in magazines. If it sounds too good to be true ? it probably is!

Lucy-Ann Prideaux MSc BSc RNutr and Claire Raikes are co-founders of YeartoSlim, a natural weight-loss eProgram which denounces diets, calorie-counting and ?weigh-ins? in favour of sound nutritional education, inspiration and motivation. Get your FREE WEIGHT LOSS MINI COURSE at

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Sound impossible? I think not. You'll find plenty of opportunities to slip these easy weight loss tips into your routine and watch the numbers on the scale go down. If you've already begun to lose weight, these tips will maximize your efforts and speed up results. The bottom line is that one pound is equivalent to 3,500 calories. Whether you make slight changes to your diet or increase exercise levels, a deficit of 500 calories a day will lead to a loss of about a pound a week for you without really trying! Here are some tips you can try:

? Chew a piece of gum. Researchers recently discovered that chewing sugar-free gum all day increases your metabolic rate by about 20 percent. It speeds up the digestive system, burns more calories, and sometimes stops a craving. This method alone could help to burn off more than 10 pounds a year.

? Pack a lunch. Dining out a lot (5 or more times per week) can make you eat more than if you dine out less frequently.

? Sprinkle flax on your cereal. High-fiber, ground flax seed can help curb your appetite and also eliminate calories. You can add it to yogurt, a muffin or your oatmeal. It is readily available in health food stores or online.

? Brush your teeth. Brushing your teeth after a meal seems to send a signal to your body that you?re done eating, and it makes your breath fresh without relying on gum and mints made with sugar that can cause you to crave something sweet. You can also brush your teeth instead of eating when you feel the craving to eat something you know you shouldn?t.

? Get rid of the remotes and other labor-saving devices. You could easily burn a lot of extra calories a day if you stop using the TV/VCR remote, garage door openers, electric can openers, riding mowers, and other things made to cut down on manual work.

? Smell your food. When you really have a craving for something like a fresh-baked cookie, try this little trick to satisfy yourself: Indulge in the smell for 30 seconds and then place a small bite on the tip of your tongue for another 30 seconds. Savoring the smell and taste can help you stay in control of food.

? Post inspirational messages. To keep yourself on track and motivated, place quotes in strategic spots where you might need some motivation: on the refrigerator, TV, dashboard of the car, or your computer. Some suggestions: Eat to Live; Don't Live to Eat and Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

? Eat more soup. Begin your lunch or dinner with soup and it may help you eat less during the main meal. Soup helps curb your appetite and also forces you to eat more slowly. You are more likely to pay attention to what you. Eat soups are that are low in fat and calories such as broth-based soups. Avoid creamy soups like clam chowder or cheese and bacon. Choose vegetable to work in some extra nutrients.

? Drink lots of water. Drinking about eight glasses of water every day raises your metabolism slightly and allows your body to avoid retaining extra fluid. Drink a glass of water before and during every meal and before and after workouts.

? Do not skip meals. Eating small, frequent meals help to balance your calorie intake throughout the day and also keeps your blood sugar level balanced. Instead of eating 3 big meals, try to eat 5 - 6 smaller meals throughout the day. This way you won?t overeat at meals because you?re less hungry. Skipping meals hurts your diet efforts because it causes your body to hold onto its stored food instead of burning it off.

? Stop avoiding exercise. Think about how you can work more activity into your life. Why not park your car farther away from your door at work or the mall? Take the steps to your apartment or office instead of the elevator. Walk to someone's desk in another department to ask them a question instead of e-mailing them. You can even wear a pedometer and set yourself a goal to walk a certain number of miles per day.

? Reduce caffeine intake. Reduce your consumption of caffeine to lose weight faster. Caffeine leads to an increase of insulin in your body that stops the burning of your stored fat. This is a simple chemical reaction in your body that you can change easily by eliminating caffeine.

? Plan Your Eating. Have a snack, such as fruit, an hour before you go to a planned party or dinner. This way you will feel full and be less likely to overeat.

Keep striving for your weight loss goals. The small changes that we make every single day that will make a big change in the long run!

Article by Patricia Kopp. Please visit our site for more easy weight loss tips. We offer a free diet tip newsletter to help you lose weight with recipes, support, and motivation.

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Soon, it will be that time of the year. Thanksgiving through Christmas Season. The time of family gatherings, followed by major partying, is coming faster than you think.

Don't you just hate it when in front of everyone at a party, aunt goes up to you and loudly congratulates you for finally getting pregnant.. when you are not.

Wouldn't it better instead if she had commented that she could barely recognize you as you have lost so much weight.

That tummy sticking out can be a major cause of embarassment. So can the extra pounds that insidiously creep up on you as you layer on warmer clothing. You know how the cold can make you hungrier.

Just because you can cover up, doesn't mean you should neglect your weight.

Hide the tummy with a control girdle and the butt sticks out. Just imagine that situation during the festive season, when you try to squeeze into your beautiful cocktail dress. Only to look like a big fat sausage.

Imagine on the other hand, slipping into that favourite cocktail dress, to find it fits perfectly, no unsightly bulges. Walking into the mall, picking the gown you love off the mannequin and it fits you perfectly. Imagine the look on your guy's face when he sees that you in that stunning gown.

Which reality you eventually face is up to you. You have to start quickly. Start working on your figure right away. Watch what you eat, and get the exercise you need.

Start off with a food diary.

As it gets colder, you tend to get hungrier. You might take small snacks, low fat, low calorie maybe, yet lots of small snacks add up to a lot of calories. Maybe, you get those 100 calorie snack size packs, and munch on those. Finish one pack, feel like munching something, get another pack. Over and over again. By the end of the day, you could have taken 10 snack packs without realizing it. Those 100 calorie snacks added up to 1000 calories, and that is not even counting your regular meals.

Then there are the drinks you take. Alcohol is terrible. Your body treats it like fat. Think about the beer belly.

Then the sodas you consume, the cans of coke and other soft drinks, the sugar you put into your tea and coffee, the calories in every drink you consume.

With your food diary, record down everything you eat or drink each day. Calculate the calories found in each item and total up how much you consumed in a day.

That will be quite an eye opener. Pay attention to what you find in there. Reduce your calories by switching to water instead of sodas. If water is to bland for your taste, put a slice of lemon into the water to flavor it.

Next comes the exercise bit.

Pick a workout that would target your problem areas. If your tummy, hips and the backs of your thighs could use some improvement, go for the Transfirmer system. It whittles down these areas beautifully.

Pick a workout that you can stick to. If you have been sedentary all along, try walking. Power walking. Better yet, go for Leslie Sansone's walk away the pounds and just walk it all off.

The writer is the new webmaster of http://www.aerobictotalbodyfitness.com/ aerobic total body fitness. A resource to help you get in shape through aerobic exercise.

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Recent reports from the ?British Nutritional Foundation? show that obesity is on the rise in not only the UK but all over the world. Statistic?s state that in the 1980?s 6% of men and 8% of women were obese in the UK. However the latest figures for Great Britain state that 42% of men and 32% of women are currently obese.

Are you a statistic?

Ok so we?re all guilty of the odd indulgence it?s only normal but it?s when we start piling on the pounds and notice that our baggy jeans are more like drain pipes that we hope there was a mishap in the dryer! I?m a sucker for junk food and the first to hold my hand up for the many times I have happily binged on treats while sitting contently in front of the television. Therefore I?d be lying if I said my favourite pass time was munching on a bowl of lettuce! Anyone who skips the sausage rolls and cocktail weenies at a buffet table and dives straight into the salad bar is my hero! Strangely enough, I haven?t found that person yet.

So is it we don?t care about our ill health that could arise from eating junk foods or simply we don?t know enough about the health risks? Having researched into the issues of obesity and causes, I have to say I was alarmed by what I would consider good food was actually probably clogging up my arteries as I type this! FACT!

A recent government report estimated that in England 30000 death?s per year were obesity related. Also 12.7% of children aged 2-15 were diagnosed obese in 2002 according to the recent health survey for England, showing the extent of the problem for not only our elders but our future generations.

McDonald?s who are one of the worlds largest fast food chains are currently battling a law suit involving two teenagers who are suing the franchise for ?making? them obese. Surely this should be a wake up call for all those of us who choose a ?Big mac? in place of a ?spud you like?.

Obesity is one of the most visible but until recently most neglected public health problem that is sweeping the nation. I personally am sick to death of all the ?fad? diets that promise weight loss in two weeks, it?s possible but its damaging in the long term for our bodies. Call me a hypocrite but healthy eating is the most effective solution to slimming down and boosting our ?feel good? levels. We all know this but very few of us actually take it seriously and willingly invite fruit and vegetables onto our plates at meal times.

The Media is like a long walk of shame, and we never actually reach the end until we?ve been compared to say Rachael Stevens or pint sized princess Kylie Minogue. We as young woman are vunerable to insecurities and low self esteem attacks. This is not helped by magazines and newspapers who persistently paste glamorous celebrities on their front covers. Ladies captured on camera whilst indulging on a rare burger or chocolate bar are automatically named and shamed and accused of either eating for two or going off the rails! In society today there has never been more pressure on our generation to ?beat the bulge? and there?s practically no magazines that aren?t guilty of printing something ?fat? related.

Dr Gillian Mckeith, Author of the number one bestseller ?You Are What You Eat? promises that her book will make you ?slimmer, happier and healthier? It boasts reality check surveys that you can do yourself and discover how unhealthy you really are. I tried it for myself and let?s just say its put me off my burgers and chips for at least a week! Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day will reduce the risks of developing coronary heart disease and following a healthy diet can substantially reduce the risk of developing heart diseases and cancer. Also increasing the risk of survival after a heart attack. We don?t necessarily have to diet, we just need to eat healthy, and when I say ?we? I mean approximately half of the population!

Are you healthy?

There are a number of body signs that you can use to assess the state of your health. The tongue, described as ?the window to the organs? by Dr Gillian Mckeith, can provide us with a good insight into our health, for example a crack down the middle of the tongue means you have a weak stomach and digestion problems, and a sore tongue is a sure sign of nutrient deficiency. Your head can also give away your health as dandruff on the scalp can be due to yeast overgrowth or deficiencies of EFAs, vitamin B6 or selenium. Cracks behind the ears are a sign of zinc deficiency as are white spots on the nails. These are just a few of the many give-aways that your health is not as it should be according to Dr McKeith.

As well as eating a balanced diet, exercising is Just as important, it raises the metabolic rate so calories are used up faster. To get started, simply start walkingit?s a great way to shift fat!

Unhealthy eating can not only lead to cancers and heart disease but it can also affect our daily lives, such as, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome and indigestion, not to mention depression and fatigue! Many overweight and obese people find themselves in this position due to stress. Stress rears its ugly head everywhere: in the workplace, at home, relationships and of course in the kitchen through the lack of good food! However, many people are unaware that the right food choices can dramatically assist the body in better handling stress. Stress leads to weight gain because it slows the metabolism by degrading its digestive functions through lack of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Caffeine, alcohol, sweets, fatty foods and even spicy foods can all act as powerful stimulants to the body, which are a direct cause of stress. so next time your feeling down and scurry to the cupboard to bury yourself in chocolate, jellies, and crisps DON?T! It doesn?t help your mood and will in fact make you feel worse. In order to de-stress your self try celery, brown rice, cabbage or berries, boring? Yes! But bad for you? No!

Detox!

Not for the faint hearted but guaranteed to make you feel good and lose weight. Our bodies store unknown substances and toxins which make us feel sick or trigger allergies, in its fatty deposits, therefore some of us may be carrying up-to 10 or more extra pounds of unhealthy mucus-harbouring toxic waste! Not nice if you think about it, all the more reasons to start a detox diet today!

If you?re still not convinced to start a healthy eating plan, then seek help! Through following it the only thing you have to lose is weight and for most of us that?s what we aim for when beginning a new diet. Forget slimming pills, crash diets and cabbage soup frenzies they won?t work in the long term as you?ll only put the weight back on as soon as you end the diet. Instead opting to replace some foods in your daily eating routine for more suitable healthier foods can make an impact on your body weight and mind!

It?s not only temporary it?s for a better future for yourselves, not for me or anyone else, YOU!

Remember: ?you are what you eat!?

Leanne Warburton, Liverpool AGE: 16
Amateur journalist

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