Sadly there is no miracle pill that will allow you to eat anything you want and still lose weight. If you want to burn calories you have to increase your metabolism and the trick to that, is eating the right things frequently.

Understanding What You Need To Do

The concept behind eating to lose weight is really quite simple. Your digestive system and your metabolism need to be kept working. To achieve this you have to eat regular small meals with only a short time between them.

When you miss meals or try to “starve” yourself to lose weight, what actually happens is your body goes into energy conservation mode. You will experience an initial weight loss, but your metabolism will slow down, and you will burn fewer calories. So, in effect, crash dieting and skipping meals hiders rather than helps you experience weight loss.

The general recommendation is that you have a small meal or snack roughly every four hours during waking hours. This helps to keep your body operating at its peak efficiency. Although this sounds great, sadly you just cannot eat anything and still lose weight. It is important that you select the correct meals and when combined with some sensible exercise the increase in your metabolism can be pretty impressive.

What Should You Eat?

Boosting your metabolism requires you to eat the right food. Most of the normal healthy choices will work well, but you must avoid the following:

1. Too Large a Portion. When preparing small meals for weight loss, have a look at the recommended portion size and reduce it. If for example you have a half bowl of breakfast cereal, it will help, but one and a half will not.

2. High Sugar Content. Sugary foods can actually send the body into conservation mode. It is important that you steer clear of sugary food. Watch out for hidden sugars, if it contains syrup, glucose, fructose or almost anything ending in”ose” it is sure to have added sugars. Avoid, white bread, cakes, muffins and pastries.

3. High Cholesterol Food. If it is fried, or heavy you will feel sluggish and unwilling to do any exercise.
   

If you follow these rules. It is possible to eat several times each day, boost your metabolism, achieve a healthy weight loss

While medical science has failed to substantiate the grapefruit or celery diets, it has known for a very long time that these foods are good inclusions in a healthy diet. They also tend to be rather low in calories. Celery is even quite high in fiber, which can help reinforce the body to burn more calories during it’s digestion.

So, what does this mean to you if you’re looking to boost your metabolism? It’s fairly simple. Celery and grapefruit alone won’t really help you kick start your calorie-burning machine, but it would be smart to include them in an overall program.

Before you rush out and buy every grapefruit at your local grocery store, stop, breathe and put an emphasis on that “overall program.” The best way to really tweak your metabolism is to consider your health all the time. To really make it work as you’d like, or closer to it, you need to:

Eat smarter.

While it’s impossible to change your metabolism, it is feasible to massage it a bit. This can be achieved by eating smarter. Consider more frequent, smaller portions throughout the day. Little meals every four to six hours can really help here. By all means include grapefruit, celery and other super foods, but don’t forget that “healthy” means healthy balance.

Move.

This four-letter word goes a long way when metabolic boosting is desired. To really kick-start your metabolism, you have to move. Get up, exercise, clean the house, garden, play with the kids – just do something! The more you move, the harder your metabolism has to work.

Build muscle.

The more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn on a daily basis. Building lean muscle mass is key to boosting metabolism. This doesn’t mean you need to make yourself look like a weight lifter, but toning and shaping up can very much help you along toward your goal.

Boosting metabolism with “super foods” is possible, but not in the way many diet plans tout. Eating nothing but a certain fruit, vegetable or meat will end up hurting you in the long run. Consider a smarter path by looking at the overall, big picture. There is something to super foods, but they alone will not give you the results you desire.

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Whether you’re a first time dieter or one who has been going around and around the track for years, you’ll be happy to know that it is possible to pick a plan and stick to it until you get to the weight you want to be.

The first tip is to try to choose a diet plan that’s not too strict for you. You know the kind – some have special limits on carbs, protein, or anything that’s the color white. The ones who lose weight long-term have to learn to live in a world where nothing is off-limits, but moderation is key.

Other diets have plans where you’re supposed to start and stop again and again until the weight comes off. This can get tedious and send you on extreme highs and lows emotionally and physically as your body is forced to adjust to the new circumstances.

Instead, try to find a plan that shows you how to eat healthy for a lifetime. If you know it’s okay to sometimes have a special treat, or indulge in a glass of wine, then you won’t have to go form one end of the spectrum to the other – you’ll be on a balanced course that’s safe for your body and easy on your emotions.

Fasting and binging (even on healthy foods) is a sure way to develop poor eating habits and it can confuse your body because it’s being given mixed messages. One minute you’re devouring pound after pound of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein, and carbs – and the next you’re surviving on nothing but hot water with honey and red pepper mixed in.

Before you choose any diet, evaluate it for a lifetime plan. Could you exist without ever eating another morsel of sugar again in this lifetime? Could you turn away bread at every meal for the next thirty years?

Some diets make it seem like their rigid plan is one you could adhere to forever, but caving in could cause you to regain more weight if you get discouraged and give up for good.No diet plan is 100% comfortable when you’re used to being able to eat with freedom from careful consideration.

Still, there are many plans that offer sensible ways to eat where you never have to leave an entire food group off of your plate. Don’t follow a fad – instead, follow your heart and make up your mind to you feel comfortable implementing into your life.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Chop 1 medium fully ripe tomato for each serving of pasta. For example if you’re feeding four for dinner, chop four tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and set aside. Cook your choice of pasta until it’s nearly done. Add ½ cup frozen peas for each serving of pasta and add to the pasta just a minute or two before you remove from the heat. Strain the pasta and the peas. Chop a handful of basil leaves. Add the chopped tomatoes with their juice and basil leaves to the pasta and peas and toss well. Sprinkle each serving with one tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add a tossed green salad with low cal or no cal dressing and dinner is done.

Tequila Chicken Breasts.

Use boneless, skinless, chicken breasts. For four servings: make a marinade of the juice of three limes, you can add a bit of lime peel to the juice if you wish. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon of crushed chili peppers or more if you like spicy food, a clove of chopped garlic, and 4 chopped scallions. Combine with ½ cup of tequila. That sounds like a lot, but remember all the alcohol will evaporate during cooking, you just want the flavor. If you don’t want to use tequila use white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar instead. Place the marinade and the chicken breasts in a plastic bag and marinate for at least an hour, up to over night. When ready to cook remove the chicken from the marinade and bake. You can also grill the chicken breasts. Serve with a black bean, corn and tomato salad and a couple of toasted tortillas.

Oven Roasted Veggies

You’ll need 1 to 1 ½ pounds of veggies for each person. Select from carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, winter squash, green beans, zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, sweet potatoes, and small new potatoes. Clean and scrub veggies. Cut into similar size pieces, two inch cubes work well. Dry veggies off. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray such as Pam. Place veggies in pan drizzle with one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a variety of herbs: oregano, parsley, sage, tarragon, and basil are just a few. Bake at 350 for about an hour until veggies are soft but not mushy. You can also grill the veggies. Just leave them whole or sliced in two. Serve with crusty bread.

Stir Fry Beef with Oriental Vegetables

You’ll need about a pound of sirloin steak for six servings. Thinly slice the raw steak. It’s easier if you place it in the freezer for about 30 to 45 minutes before slicing. Clean an assortment of vegetables. You’ll need 3 pounds for six servings. You can use snow pea pods, string beans, mushrooms, scallions, bean sprouts, asparagus, or broccoli. Slice the vegetables into equal sizes. Put a tablespoon of cooking oil in a large sauté pan, or wok if you have one. Place the steak in the pan and sauté turning quickly for a minute or two until desired doneness. Remove from pan. Stir fry the vegetables until brightly colored and crisp but not cooked through. Add the steak back to the pan. Add a few dashes of soy sauce. Toss then serve over white rice.

Baked Pork Supper

Spray baking pan with Pam or other nonstick spray. Season 3 boneless pork chops about ½ pound each with salt and pepper. Slice one head of red cabbage, one red onion, and 3 or 4 apples. Finely chop 3 garlic cloves. If you have sage on hand, add a tablespoon of fresh, or one teaspoon of dried, to the chopped cabbage mixture. Also add the chopped garlic cloves. Squeeze the juice of a lemon over the mixture. Toss well and place in baking pan. Place the pork chops on top of the cabbage mixture. Bake at 300 degrees until pork is no longer pink and cabbage is soft. Cut each chop into four equal pieces. Each person receives three slices of pork. Serve with a fresh fruit salad.

Can you really just by thinking about it? Well studies have shown that athletes can improve their game through the technique of visualizing the correct sequence of muscle movements. During the process of visualization it seems that even though the muscles don’t move, the brain sends electrical impulses that mimic the impulses sent when the action is physically carried through. That is practicing by thinking about it.

People who want to are often their own worst enemy. Looking in the mirror they chide themselves for their flabby thighs or stomach over hanging the belt. They don’t see that they’ve lost weight, they just see how much more weight they should lose. This mind set just re-enforces their poor self image. Then when a caramel swirl cookie beckons, they figure why not, they’re fat and flabby anyway.

Want to know a better thought process? Think of your body the way you want it to be. If you have a picture of your former thinner self, use it as a guideline. That’s the real you. Whenever you’re tempted by a double chocolate brownie think of the thin you.

You can use your mind to control your eating habits. If you’re tempted to eat, just delay gratification for 15 minutes. In most cases when the time has passed, so has the craving.

Visualization can be used as a substitute for eating. Think of a place where you feel safe and happy. Perhaps it’s the beach with the waves rhythmically pounding the shore, the sand underfoot, and the sun glistening off the water. Smell the salt air and feel the cool breeze ruffling your hair. When you feel an eating binge coming on, close your eyes and picture your safe place. You are turning your attention away from the momentary satisfaction of eating, to the longer term satisfaction of losing weight, by focusing on a pleasant memory.

Remind yourself you are in control of your food, not the other way around. Give yourself permission to have whatever you want. Deprivation as a diet doesn’t work. It’s like when someone says DON’T think of a pink elephant, the first thing you think of is — the pink elephant. If you tell yourself: I can’t have pizza, I can’t have pizza, I can’t have pizza, the more you’ll want the pizza. Give yourself permission to have the pizza, but just a small taste. Thank about what you like best about the pizza. Savor the crispy crust, the tang of the tomato sauce and the flavor of the cheese, then stop eating. You’ve had the taste of pizza, you don’t have to eat the entire portion.

Use the barter system. There are times when you want a forbidden food so much it’s almost painful. Decide in advance an exercise you will do for a certain length of time in exchange for allowing yourself the forbidden food. It could be walking for 30 minutes, 100 tummy crunches, or riding a stationary bike for 15 minutes. When you have just got to have that cappuccino mocha, do the exchange first before you have the mocha. Don’t’ say ‘well I’ll have mocha and when I get home tonight I’ll walk for 30 minutes,’ that doesn’t work. The trick is that you have to do the exercise first. A lot of time it’s just not convenient to exercise. For example: you might be at the office. Exercising works to decrease your appetite so when you finish you might not even want that mocha. And if you do have the mocha, you’ve worked off a lot of the calories with the exercise.

You don’t have to radically change your lifestyle or your eating habits to lose weight. Small changes in your daily routine can add up to major changes on the scale.

We all know that drinking water is good for you, but can it also help you take off the pounds? Yes if it’s ice water. If you drink an 8 ounce glass of ice cold water, your body burns up 25 calories to get its temperature back to normal. If you drink only 4 glasses of ice water a day, you’ll lose 12 pounds in a year.

Exercise in the morning, not at night. There is evidence that exercise raises your metabolism about 10% for 4 to 6 hours afterwards. If you exercise at night, a portion of the time your metabolism increases is when you’re sleeping. That’s when you burn the least amount of energy. Change your exercise to the morning and that 10% increase will burn off more energy.

Have a cup of soup before dinner. Soup takes longer to eat and fills you up before you get to the main course. Stick with the broth based soups and away from cream soups.

Where ever you drive, park your car at the far end of the parking lot. You will be amazed at the extra walking that squeezes into your day. Extra walking means more calories burned. Of course stay safe, if you’re in a dark neighborhood park close to your destination and under lights.

Take the stairs if you only need to go up a few flights.

Eat a salad 15 minutes before your dinner. It’s takes about 20 minutes for your tummy to signal your brain that it’s full and has had enough food. If you can kick start the timer by having a nice green salad first, you’ll feel fuller faster.

When you eat out, eat half of what’s on your plate: half of the appetizer, half of the salad, half of the entrée, half of desert. Odds are you’ll be just as satisfied and you’ll have cut the calories in half. If you eat out once a day like most people do, you can drop a couple of pounds a week with just this one change.

If you want something to snack on, drink a glass of water. Sometimes the urge to put something in our mouths isn’t hunger but boredom.

Exchange your potato chips, corn chips and other fried snacks for pretzels. The fat content in pretzels is far lower than the other snacks. And you still get the crunch.

Don’t drink fruit juice, eat the whole fruit instead.

Exchange one fatty item in your diet for a nonfat item. For example instead of whole milk use skim milk; instead of regular mayonnaise use nonfat, instead of full fat cream cheese use nonfat.

So you’ve decided to join a fitness center to get the exercise you need for your weight loss programs. There are basics every and any fitness center should have.

Safe equipment and safe instruction

The equipment should be well maintained and stowed properly. Free weights, jump ropes, fitness balls and such, should all be secured and not just lying about. Instructors should be close at hand to demonstrate and monitor correct usage. First time users should be guided through the proper use of any equipment. If there are safety features, safety belts, or required harnesses to use certain equipment, they should work and their usage should be enforced by the staff. Sloppiness leads to an unsafe workout environment.

Cleanliness is a high priority

Locker rooms shouldn’t smell like, well, locker rooms. The shower area should be disinfected regularly. Used towels should be in laundry containers or out of sight. Jacuzzis and swimming pools should be at the proper temperatures and tested on a regular basis. Equipment should be wiped down after usage. The staff should encourage clients to use sanitary towelettes to wipe hand rails, bars and seats on equipment after usage. All areas should be properly ventilated, heated and cooled. Neatness counts and shows a respect for the members.

Qualified staff

Make sure the staff, trainers and instructors are qualified. Do they make the members feel comfortable during their work outs? Does the staff push members beyond their limits by encouraging them to do more sets, lift heavier weights, or go faster than is safe. Do they know the correct methods of using the equipment? Is the staff paying attention to the members using the equipment or just standing around? Is the ratio of staff to members appropriate? The lack of adequate staffing and a lax attitude can lead to accidents.

Crowd control

There is nothing worse than getting psyched up for a workout and then having to wait for the crowds ahead to finish. It’s not good for the member’s outlook and it’s not good for a body to have to stop and start because equipment isn’t available. A member shouldn’t have to rush through a set of exercises because there’s a line forming behind them. If group classes are offered there should be room for each member of the class to move freely without worrying about being kicked in the head.

Child Care

If the center offers child care services is it licensed by the state or city if required? Is the area monitored by adults? Does it maintain a satisfactory ratio of adults to children. Is the area clean? Is it well lighted and have appropriate toys?

Safety outside the building

The exterior of the building should be well lighted and so should the parking lot. Many facilities get the most usage in the early morning, when it can be dark and after work when it’s dark. If possible the reception area should have clear visibility of the parking lot in case of problems. The staff should keep an eye on the exterior spaces for signs of loitering and unwelcome visitors.

Joining a fitness center can motivate you to stick with your exercise programme. But there are so many to choose from, how can you narrow down the field?

Determine what your goals are for your fitness program.

Do you want to lose weight, get in shape for an athletic event, improve your chosen sport or establish a life long fitness routine? Knowing what you want from a center will help you choose the right center. Take a few minutes and think about your goals.

Friendly or firm — philosophy counts

Do you want a congenial atmosphere where the trainers are your friends and gently motivate you towards a fitter and firmer body? Or do you need the no nonsense ‘let’s get going’ approach? Or perhaps you prefer the camaraderie of your peer group pushing you to greater fitness. The atmosphere of the center will influence your enjoyment of the program and if you enjoy the program you’ll be consistent in your attendance.

Visiting the center’s website will give you some insight into the center’s philosophy. Better yet visit the center itself. While you’re there take a moment and look at the members and the interaction between the members and the instructors.

Location, location, location

It’s important in real estate and it’s important for your fitness center. Choose a center that offers what you want and what you need, but also consider its location. If you have to travel out of your way, the odds are you won’t do it when you need it the most. Pick a center that is either close to home or close to work. That way you can work in your work out without spending as much time traveling to it as you spend using it.

You gotta have it

If racquet ball is your favorite sport, then your fitness center has got to have racquet ball courts. If your heart is set on circuit training then the right equipment and instructors have got to be available. If swimming is your preferred method of getting fit, make sure your center has a lap pool. You might think it doesn’t matter, but in the long run, it will. You will be more likely to make excuses not to go, if the center doesn’t offer what you need.

Amenities

Spa, massage, swimming pool, sauna, and Jacuzzi are all wonderful amenities but will you use them? And will they be available when you want to use them? While the appeal of having the day’s tensions and stress massaged away sounds wonderful, will you actually the service? Or would onsite day care be more useful to you? Most centers have busy time periods before the work day and after work, will the amenities you want to use be too busy? If your idea of the ideal workout includes a steam and sauna followed by a quick refreshing dip in the pool, make sure your center has them.

Show me the money

Memberships fees can range from a few dollars a visit to thousands per year. Make sure the center you choose fits within your budget.

Exercise combined with a few changes in your diet can melt off the pounds in no time. But if you think exercise means hours sweating in the gym, think again. As with any new exercise program check with your doctor before proceeding.

Studies have shown that walking at a brisk pace has the same benefits to your heart as jogging, with less stress to your joints. Walkers are less prone to injuries than joggers. A brisk pace means that you can talk while you’re walking without gasping for air. If you can sing a tune you’re going too slow. You should be able to keep up the pace for 30 to 60 minutes without a lot of stress.

If your goal is to lose a pound a week you have to either increase your exercise to burn up 3500 calories or decrease your food intake by 3500 calories. On a daily basis that means a change of 500 calories. Walking a mile takes the average person 15 minutes and burns up 100 calories. So you’d have to walk about five miles a day, or spend an hour and fifteen minutes walking to lose a pound a week.

You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to start walking. A good pair of walking shoes is essential, but other than you don’t need much of anything else. Wear loose clothing of natural fibers, so if you sweat, the moisture will be wicked away from your body and evaporate. Wear sun block and a hat.

You can walk at any time of day (or night for that matter). Some people prefer the morning because it gives them a boost of energy for the day. Others prefer at the end of the day so they can unwind.

Start your walking program with a 15 minute walk for a few days in a row. Then gradually increase the time by five minutes. By the end of two weeks you should be up to 30 to 45 minutes a day. You’re burning 200 to 350 calories without any changes in your diet. After six months you’ll have lost from 12 – 20 pounds. If you want to accelerate the weight loss,walk faster, cover more ground in the same amount of time.

If you decrease the amount of food you eat by 200 calories a day you double the weight loss. 200 calories isn’t really that much of a sacrifice. For example regular salad dressing has about 100 calories per tablespoon; a serving size is two tablespoons, so substituting nonfat salad dressing would save 200 calories. A 3.5 inch bagel with two tablespoons of cream cheese is about 400 calories. Eat half of the bagel instead of the whole one, and you’ve saved your 200 calories. A glass of whole milk is 150 calories, skim milk is 90, if you drink 3 glasses of milk a day you save 180 calories by switching to skim.

There you have it: an easy way to lose weight, increase your fitness level and strengthen your cardiovascular system and all you did was take a walk.

1. Eat breakfast. This meal gets you off to a good start in lots of ways. It’s been shown the people who eat breakfast while on a diet, lose more weight than ones who don’t. Your breakfast doesn’t have to elaborate. Have a half a bagel spread with low fat cream cheese or peanut butter and a piece of fruit. Two hard boiled eggs, a glass of skim milk and a few crackers. A fruit smoothie made with nonfat yogurt, fresh strawberries and orange juice.

2. Make lunch your big meal and dinner a light supper. You need energy to get you through the busiest part of the day. Food eaten in the evening just sits in your tummy and makes you feel heavy. Make it a rule not to eat after 8 PM every evening.

3. Exercise before you eat. Exercise boosts your metabolism and decreases your appetite. You don’t have to go to the gym, a brisk 20 minute walk will do it. You can exercise inside as well. Try going up and down the stairs, running in place, doing 15 minutes of Pilates or your favorite exercise regime. Take your break at work and use it to stretch.

4. Eat every four hours. That means three meals and two snacks for most of us. Keep the snacks low calorie. The idea is to keep your blood sugar on an even level. You won’t be starving and give in to the candy machine.

5. Decrease the level of stress in your life. Stress causes an increase in the hormone cortisol, which is linked to fat storage. When you feel stressed take a time out to meditate, practice deep breathing or just think about a happy memory.

6. Make sure you’re getting your vitamins and minerals, taking a daily supplement to boost what you’re getting from your food can be a good idea. There are studies that show calcium has fat blocking properties and vitamin C helps with insulin production.

7. Picture yourself at the weight you want to be. Don’t belittle yourself with the weight you haven’t lost but congratulate yourself with the weight you have lost. Keep a positive body image.

One key point discussed, is that the method is equally effective for everyone and not just for those with diabetes.

Interestingly, it is a refinement of the same method used at Champneys, a famous Health Resort, that I often attend when I want a bit of R & R.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away but it also keeps the pounds off as well. Any type of apple will do, just eat it fresh and with the peel. The pectin in the peel makes you feel fuller. The average apple only has about 50 calories and is full of vitamin C and fibers. Drinking apple juice or cooked apples won’t give you the same effect as a raw apple.

You can slice an apple and add it to cooked oatmeal for breakfast. Sliced apples, turkey and a sprinkling of walnuts makes a great sandwich filling. Chopped apples can be added to a salad. Apples can be added to chicken salad or ham salad.

Green Tea has been shown to help burn fat. The magic ingredient is called EGCG. Black tea works but not as effectively. Green tea can be brewed fresh and seasoned with a slice of lemon and bit of honey. It can also be iced. A cup of green tea, several ice cubes and a cup of cubed watermelon whirled in the blender for a few seconds makes a refreshing summer cooler. You can freeze green tea in ice cube trays and then add to your favorite beverage.

Curry includes the spice tamarind. Tamarind contains a substance called hydroxycitric acid and can slow down fat production. The pods of the Tamarind tree have a unique flavor and are sweet and sour at the same time. The pulp from the pods are used in Indian, Thai and Malaysian cooking. If you can’t get fresh pods you can buy dehydrated tamarind pulp. Add it to stews, pork and chicken dishes. You can also re-hydrate the pulp and use it for the base of tamarind lemonade.

Cinnamon has been used in the treatment of diabetes because it stimulates fat cells and helps get rid of excess sugar in the blood stream. Cinnamon is not water soluble which means it can build up in the body’s fat cells. The long term effect of the ingestion of large amounts of cinnamon isn’t known. However it seems a half teaspoon a day is relatively safe. Cinnamon can be used in meatloaf, stews, brushed on chicken and pork before grilling, as well as more commonly on fruits. It can also be added to cottage cheese and cream cheese.

White kidney beans have tons of fiber and that fiber fills you up. There is some discussion that white kidney bean extract blocks starch absorption in the intestines which leads to weight loss. You can use white kidney beans as you would red kidney beans in chilies and soups or in a side dish. After cooking the beans you can use them in tuna and chicken salads or fresh green salad.

The South Beach Diet is similar to the Atkins Diet in that it has an initial two week phase I period that drastically reduces carbs. The difference between Atkins and South Beach is that there are good carbs and bad carbs. The glycemic index of a food is what counts. The glycemic index is how much a food increases blood sugar compared to the amount that same quantity of white bread would increase blood sugar.

A spike in the blood sugar or glucose, signals the pancreas to make more insulin. The insulin’s job is to get the sugar out of the blood stream into the organs for energy or into storage. The body stores glucose as fat. Keeping the blood sugar from spiking means less insulin is produced which means the sugars are absorbed slowly resulting in a steady level of decreasing sugar levels rather than a rush. Low blood sugar leads to cravings for sugary foods and over eating. And the cycle starts again.

Bad carbs spike the blood sugar. Good carbs don’t. Good carbs are those from foods which contain a lot of fiber, such as whole grains or contain fiber and water such as fruit. The body takes longer to digest the good carbs so they enter the blood stream more slowly.

The longer food takes to digest the better. For example a piece of raw broccoli is better than cooked because your body has to work harder to digest the raw broccoli. The faster carbohydrates are digested, the more quickly they’re turned into sugar – glucose, and the more likely they will be turned to stored fat.

Fiber, protein and fats slow down the digestive system which means the blood sugar rises slowly and falls slowly. The tendency to over eat is diminished and the onset of hunger delayed.

The South Beach Diet limits fats and oils and encourages the consumption of lean cuts of meat and low fat cheeses. Vegetables and fruits are allowed after the initial phase I - two week period. Whole grains can be added back including whole grain bread. White breads, cookies, cakes, rice, potatoes, and sugar are off limits except for special occasions.

The South Beach Diet is a change in eating patterns for life, but other than the forbidden processed foods, white flour, and sugar, the diet is reasonably manageable. It allows a broader selection of foods than the Atkins diet.

The Atkins Diet is the grand daddy of the quick weight loss diets. It’s based on severely limiting carbohydrates. Carbs are processed by the body to become sugar or glucose. Glucose is used by the body for energy. If the carbs consumed for the day aren’t enough, the body transforms the fat it has stored back into glucose for energy.

Carbs also cause the blood sugar to spike which signals the body to produce insulin to remove the sugar from the bloodstream. This causes the blood sugar to drop which results in a craving for more carbs to raise it back up. That’s the basis of the Atkin’s Diet. Severely limit carbohydrates in the daily diet and the body has to fall back on its fat storage for energy.

The initial two week kick start program only allows 20 grams of carbs per day. The carbs from fiber are netted – subtracted from the total carb count. So for example, while ¼ cup of blueberries has a total carb count of 5.1 grams, only 4.1 grams are counted because 1 gram is from fiber.

Protein such as fish, chicken, beef, and pork contains 0 grams. The diet allows cheese and eggs. Seafood is tricky, some, like shrimp, have 0 grams and others like oysters, pack a walloping 12.5 grams per 6 oz.

You can have limited amounts of green vegetables such as spinach, kale, broccoli, asparagus, and cabbage. Fruit is not allowed. To give you examples of carb counts, an apple has a net 16 grams of carbs, a slice of wheat bread has 12 carbs. Alcohol in any form is not allowed during the kickoff stage. An exercise period of 30 minutes per day is mandatory.

After the initial two weeks, carbs are gradually and slowly added back to the diet, fruits and vegetables first. Some vegetables like sweet potatoes (19) and corn (14 per 1/3 cup) contain too many carbs to ever become a regular part of the diet. The maximum level of carbs at this stage should be between 30 to 35.

The objective is to continue losing weight but at a lesser rate than the initial two week period. If the weight loss stops the number of carbs being consumed has to decrease again.

The maintenance diet is at a level of carbs where you’ve stopped losing weight and don’t gain weight. It maxes out at about 40 grams of carbs per day. A turkey sandwich with mayo and sliced tomatoes is about 30 grams of carbs. A medium pear has 21 and one cup of 2% milk has 11.

Sugar, processed foods, flour and starches, such as potatoes and rice are pretty much off limits forever on the Atkins Diet. Most fruits have to be eaten in moderation if at all and certain vegetables as well.

Do not slouch in your chair but try to maintain an erect posture with your tummy tucked in.

Slouching is a very bad habit. Not only is it bad for your back but it also gives you a very flabby figure. It is your way of saying yes to a comfortable, weight-gaining pose.

Make it a point to always sit as erect as you can. It is also a terrific way to ward off back problems.

Weight Loss Programs

Psst. I would like to let you in on a secret.

I understand that most of us tend to put on weight particularly in the mid section. It is the tummy that seems to have a mind of its own.

Well I will tell you a sure shot method to reduce the flab around the waist line. Mind you this doesn’t hold true for post pregnancy tummies.

This is what you have to do.

Breathe in air as strongly as you can and as you do so, tuck in your tummy as much as you can. Hold it like this for a few seconds and then slowly release your breath taking care not to let out your tummy. Try to keep breathing like this at least fifty or sixty times in a day.

In fact, breathe like this whenever you can remember to do so.

After the first day, you should feel the muscles of your stomach tightening each time you do this. Then you know that you are on the right track.

If you practice this without fail for 20 days, at the end of the twentieth day, you will have lost at least an inch.

Undress and stare at yourself in front of your mirror. If what you see displeases you, then you have all the more reason to work out.

Try tucking in the extra fat in all those wide areas, this will give you an idea of which part you need to be working on.

Turn to you side and get a very good view of your side profile. This is an excellent way of checking whether you have a tummy that is starting to bulge or has bulged already.

Try pulling in air and then take a look at your tummy, if it has gone in even a little bit, there is hope for you. If you start now, you can control it where it is now and may be if you really set your mind to it, you can lose a couple of inches in a just a few weeks.

Weighing yourself on your bathroom scales is a good idea but personally I would recommend this mirror viewing. To be very frank, a few pounds gain may shock you but does not really disgust you. But a flabby figure and extra fat certainly will.