Hit the scale only once a week.  Weight fluctuations between two to five pounds are typically normal and should even out over a week’s time.  If you weigh yourself every day you might get discouraged because the scale hasn’t budged, and give up on the diet.  Or you might reward yourself too early before any real weight loss.

Don’t let yourself get hungry.  Have low calorie, low fat snacks stashed where you can easily get them and eat every three to four hours.  Most people’s metabolism drops when their system is low on food.  Low metabolism means your weight loss will slow down. Eat three meals and two snacks a day.  Snacks can be as simple as a few whole wheat crackers with peanut butter, a container of yogurt, or an apple.  Don’t skip breakfast it gets your day off to a good start.  People who ate breakfast lost more weight than people who didn’t eat breakfast, when both were on the same diet. Continue Reading

Walking is a great way to lose weight. Make sure you have the right clothing, the right shoes, and the right attitude.

Autumn is here and that means cooler weather.   You might think a heavy sweater or coat is what you need to keep warm during your walking program, but think again.  Dress in layers, not in one heavy layer.  As you get started during your daily walk you need warmth, but by the middle of your walk you may overheat.   Top your walking shorts with a pair of sweats.  Have a long sleeved shirt over your tank top.  Throw a light weight sweater over the shirt.  If you do get too warm those layers are easily removed. Continue Reading

Eat small balanced meals every 3 to 4 hours. You’ll keep your hunger at bay and your blood sugar on an even balance. Breakfast could be a hard boiled egg, ¼ cup of blueberries mixed into one cup of oatmeal. Lunch is 6 ounces of protein with 2 cups of salad or vegetables. Dinner is the same. If you choose lean beef as your protein decrease the serving size to 4 ounces. Snack three times a day. Snacks include a piece of fruit, low fat cheese, sugar free yogurt, whole wheat crackers, veggies and nonfat dip. Snacks should total no more than 150 calories.

Don’t go it alone. Get a diet buddy. It doesn’t have to be someone who is actually on the diet with you. It should be someone who is supportive but won’t take your excuses for failure. There are also web sites that are supportive if you choose a program like Low Carb, South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers etc. These sites have tips and tricks that will help you stick with the program. Many of them also have forums where you can share your successes or become motivated by other’s successes. Continue Reading

A dieter’s dream is to be able to eat more and still lose weight. You can make that dream come true. Inflammation at the cellular level leaves cells toxic and toxicity interferes with metabolism leading to weight gain.

Inflammation can be caused by stress, pollutants, chemicals and poor eating habits. There are foods that have anti-inflammatory effects. Eaten on a regular basis these foods calm down cells, releasing toxins and trapped fluids. Meaning you lose weight. Continue Reading

Soy beans may be the way to becoming thin for life.  Research at  the University of Illinois has shown that a peptide in soy beans jumpstarted weight loss without a decrease in the amount of food consumed. Originally the research team wanted to show that soy beans were effective as an appetite suppressant but that didn’t turn out to be true. Participants in the study ate as much as they normally did, but lost weight anyway.

25 grams of soy protein is the magic number that triggers weight loss, up to 58 pounds in 16 weeks.   Most participants lost up to 25% of their belly fat and some as much as 50%. Continue Reading

There are really only two ways to lose weight: eat less or exercise more.   To lose one pound you have to either cut 3500 calories from your normal diet or exercise enough to burn off the 3500 calories.

The average person consumes about 2000 calories a day.   Walking for 15 minutes uses about 100 calories.  2000 calories may seem like a lot but it goes quickly.  A McDonald’s Big Mac hamburger has 560 calories, a glass of whole milk 160 calories, a small apple has 50 calories.  Cutting more than 500 calories from your daily 2000 isn’t recommended.  The body has a built in protection system that lowers your metabolism to conserve energy if food consumption is drastically reduced.   If you go on a 800 calories a day program within a week your body will compensate. Continue Reading

It may sound strange but it works.  Don’t eat food that are white.

Sugar is a major trouble maker for dieters.   Eating sugary foods causes the blood sugar to spike which signals the pancreas to make insulin on the double.  The insulin gets the sugar out of the blood and into the organs or, more likely, into fat storage.  Then the blood sugar drops which causes a craving for more sugary food.  Sugar is hidden in processed foods and is used as a flavor enhancer.  Brown sugar is simply white sugar with molasses added.  Check the label on processed foods for sugar, sucrose, or corn syrup. You’ll be surprised to see where sugar is hiding.

Flour is just as bad as sugar, since it is easy for the stomach to quickly digest starch, turn it into glucose, a form of sugar and get it in the blood stream.  Avoid white bread, cakes, doughnuts, and pastries.  Whole grain bread is better for you, the whole grains means more fiber, which slows down digestion. Continue Reading

Alli is one of the newest fat blocking pills on the market. Alli blocks about 25% of the fat ingested, but that fat has to go somewhere. The pill has some unsettling side effects, mainly gas, oily discharge and unexpected fast trips to the restroom. Alli literature says to wear black pants, bring a chance of clothing, and wear a mini pad in case of accidents. Some women are reporting embarrassing incidents even when they stay within the strict fat consumption guidelines.

More fiber in the diet may help with the oily discharge. A fiber like Metamucil added to a glass of water taken by bedtime is recommended. The fiber forms a gel that expands to trap fat and that oily discharge. Continue Reading

There are vitamins, supplements, and over the counter drugs which claim to decrease your appetite, increase your metabolism, or block fat consumption.  But what if you’re through with dieting and exercising:  Are there other alternatives to lose weight?

Liposuction is a surgical procedure which sculpts problem fatty areas like love handles, saddle bags, and protruding tummies.  General anesthesia used to be required.   After the patient is sedated, a long tube is inserted through incisions made in the problem area.  The tube is attached to a vacuum pump.  The doctor rapidly suctions the fat out of the area.   More than one incision may be required. Continue Reading

It’s controversial but many women and men have had the procedure done.  What is it: lipodissolve, a non surgical method of removing fat cells.   It seems like a dieter’s dream.  Walk in the clinic, have a treatment and walk out 8 pounds thinner.  Well not quite.

The procedure was developed in South America and involves the injection of a soya oil based product which dissolves the cell wall of the fat cells thereby releasing the fat.  The body eliminates the fat through normal functions of the liver.  In other words when you visit the restroom. Continue Reading