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Friday, December 29, 2006

Eating Too Much Hurting Weight Loss

You're eating too much

This may seem obvious, but unless you are keeping track of your calories each day, you may be eating more than you think. Portion control is one culprit, especially with restaurants providing enough food in one meal to feed several people.

If you're really serious about weight loss, you need to get serious about you're eating portions. Start by keeping a detailed food journal for one week, without changing any of your eating habits. Be as specific as possible, measuring when you can, looking up your calorie and nutrient content and adding up your calories for each day. You'll be surprised how those calories can sneak in when you're not keeping track.

Something else to think about is metabolism, which can drop as you get older if you don't preserve your muscle mass.

Some estimates show that muscle mass declines about 4% each decade from age 25 to 50. If you're still eating the same number of calories as your metabolism drops, your weight may creep up over time. Start exercising and lifting weights now to keep your metabolism in check for achieving weight loss.

Good luck and God bless!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Is Swallowing Gum Healthy or Unhealthy?

To tell you the truth on whether swallowing gum is healthy or unhealthy I have discovered it is neither. It is not unhealthy nut can cause some after effects.

The gum we swallow will be urinated out of our body in due time but can lead to some discomfort.

If you swallow large amounts of sugar-free gum it can cause you to have diarrhea. But for the most part, gum will just pass through your body. I recommend that you don't swallow your gum but if you do it is no big deal.

Have a great day and God bless!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Can Bacteria Cause Obesity?

Researchers have found a strong connection between obesity and certain bacterias in the gut that will lead to more research on weight loss that consist of more than exercise and nutrition.

The growing evidence on obesity and certain bacterias is very interesting but it is hard to understand with all the studies and research that has been done as I am not a scientist. Tis does not mean that society's lazyness is not the cause of gaining weight but bacteria might be a big factor we might of over looked.

It seemed like in the test that the mice and humans that had twice as much bacteria in their gut while eating the same amount was twice the calories, It really does not make that much sense but is very fascinating to now.

Hopefully in the future will be done on this strange gut bacteria that is believe to cause weight gain but for now it is just something interesting to think about.

Have a great day and God bless!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Food Groups for Weight Loss

I took a quick test on a weight loss website on nutrition and scored 100% but it made me realize that what I know is true is hardly practise in our eating habits.

The simple knowledge like eating breakfast, eat less at dinner, and drink tons of water are remember more often but things like portion sizes, food groups, and eating certain foods at certain times.

Portion sizes is very important as if you are eating too much at one time some of the food your body does not use up will go straight to being fat. Eating small frequent meals guarantees that your food is only going towards energy and burning fat.

Food groups is another important thing that is continually ignored as to make sure we get all the nutrients, minerals and vitamins we need to consume an equal amount of food from each group. This will keep you healthy and using your food to its full potential and not having it going to waste.

Last one is eating certain foods at certain times as eating the wrong food at a certain time will give it more of a chance to go fat instead of energy for your body. More carbs should be consumed in the morning and less at night.

There is a lot more you should know about things frequently neglected nutrition methods and to find out more you should visit this weight loss website as it will give you all the imformation you will ever need.

Good luck and God bless!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Hoodithin Weight Loss Results

I hear from people every month how hoodithin is helping them losing weight and changing thier lives towards a healthy life stlye so taking weight loss supplements are not forever.

Hoodithin is not like any other diet pills as it is not a fat burner or carb blocker but an appetite suppressant to help keep cravings away. Changing your eating to healthy foods and with the correct portions is the ultimate way to achieve weight loss and healthy eating.

But I want to add that Hoodithin is only temporary and not a permanent solution for weight loss and healthy eating. It helps you to change your eating habits while taking away your hunger cravings so you may change to a healthier lifestyle.

Achieving health and weight loss is not a quick weight loss solution but a lifetime changing towards a healthier life.

If you have not tried Hoodithin yet, give it a shot as it has helped thousands of people already and can help you too.

Good luc and God Bless!

Monday, December 18, 2006

Diet Programs Are Not The Answer

I am sorry that diets have a huge impact on our society with people that want to achieve weight loss but you are more likely to only achieve disappointment.

Diets are not the answer.

My parents have been going off and on the South Beach diet for about four years now and I have to tell you they look and feel the same as when they started. Only with exercise, healthy eating, and the correct motivation can weight loss and healthy living be achieved.

I hope with my position as a personal trainer and nutrition coach they will listen to me one day as I can help them achieve their goals after than ever.

Don't go on a diet but gain the knowledge to live an active life, focus on correct nutrition, and find real motivation that will keep you going through thick and thin. Reaching your weight loss goals does not have to be hard and take years

Good luck and God bless!

Monday, December 11, 2006

Energy Dense Food For Weight Loss

Two factors play an important role in what makes food less calorie-packed and more filling:

Water. Many fruits and vegetables are high in water, which provides volume but not calories. Grapefruit, for example, is about 90 percent water and has just 39 calories in a half-fruit serving. Carrots are about 88 percent water and have only 52 calories in 1 cup.

Fiber. High-fiber foods — such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains — not only provide volume, but also take longer to digest, making you feel full longer for weight loss.

It is amazing to know actually how many calories are in liquid drinks as drinking two pops or juices a day can add up to 500 calories extra. If you feel hungry a lot than focus on consuming high fiber foods as they will keep you fuller longer.

The first step is knowing which foods are best.

Vegetables. Most vegetables — salad greens, asparagus, green beans, broccoli and zucchini, for example — are low in calories but high in volume. Each vegetable serving is about 25 calories, and typical serving sizes are 1 cup raw, a half cup cooked or 2 cups leafy vegetables. Some vegetables are starchy — such as corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash — and contain more calories, about 70 calories in a half-cup serving.

Fruits. Practically all types of fruit fit into a healthy diet. But some fruits are better choices than others are. Whole fresh, frozen and canned fruit without added sugar have about 60 calories a serving. Unlike fruit juices and dried fruits, these types of fruit are higher in bulk because of water and fiber and are your best choices. A typical serving is a small- or medium-sized piece of fresh fruit or a half cup of sliced fruit.

Carbohydrates. Most foods in this group are either grains or are made from grains, such as cereal, rice, bread and pasta. The best type is whole grains because they're higher in fiber and other important nutrients. Whole grain means the bran and germ are left on the grain when it's processed. Examples include whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, oatmeal, brown rice and whole-grain cereal. Each serving of carbohydrate has about 70 calories. A typical serving is a half cup of grain, such as rice, pasta, barley or cereal, or one slice of bread.

Protein/dairy. This includes foods from both plant and animal sources. The best choices are those that are high in protein but low in fat and calories, such as legumes — beans, peas and lentils, which are also good sources of fiber — fish, skinned white-meat poultry, fat-free dairy products and egg whites. Foods in the protein/dairy group have about 110 calories a serving, which is about a half cup of legumes, 3 ounces of chicken or fish, or 1 cup of skim milk. Serving sizes vary depending on the type of food.

Try consuming more energy dense foods that will keep you fuller with less calories to burn off for weight loss.

Have a great day and God bless!

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Reason For Not Losing Weight

You're Eating Too Much

If you are not keeping track of how much you are eating than you could be over eating with portion sizes, high calorie foods, and eat at the wrong times of the day.

If you are serious about losing weight than keep track of how many calories you are consuming and see how much food you are actually eating each day. You must also keep in mind that the older you get the slower your metabolism is as you lose lean muscle mass that keep your metabolism firing.

Make sure you are eating the right amount of food if weight loss is really something you want to achieve.

Have a great day and God bless!

Saturday, December 09, 2006

La Fitness Opportunities!

Coming from a small town and know finally working at a larger gym that is La Fitness in California has really shown me they have some of the best opportunities to get in shape and achieve weight loss forever.

Whether you want to slim down or tone up, have more energy for work or for your family, or just look and feel better--we’re here to help.

It is just incredible!

I walk into their gym and am blown away by everything they have to offer their members and what support they give to help people achieve their own goals.

At LA Fitness they want you to exercise your options. From basketball to racquetball, swimming to indoor cycling, free weights to cardio equipment, personal training to group fitness and much more. They offer options in an environment that makes you feel at home, no matter what your current fitness level may be.

If you have you around you visit their gym and see everything they have to offer you in your goals on weight loss, health or just having more energy.

Have a good one and God bless...

Friday, November 24, 2006

Thanksgiving Weight Loss

Thanksgiving is one of the happiest holidays of the year but takes it's toll on your weight loss goals.

Dressing, turkey, pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, chips, snacks, etc. have become every popular but are the reason for many people gaining 1-3 pounds during this holiday.

It is amazing to see how much weight people gain as each pound of fat you gain is 3500 calories. It is quite shocking but there is hope with these tips.

Thanksgiving Weight Loss Tips:

  1. Wear tight fitting cloths.
  2. Eat something small before you feast.
  3. Make time for exercise.
  4. Lay down some rules for Thanksgiving eating.
  5. Get a buddy to help you out.
  6. Keep a journal on how much you eat.
  7. Don't eat everything you see.
  8. Eat some fresh fruits and veggies throughout the day.
  9. Limit yourself to one plate.
  10. Eat slowly and less but eat the things you enjoy.

Try not to feel bad or try to lose weight during the holidays as this is a time for you to enjoy.

Have a happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Ultimate Way To Exercise For Weight Loss

The debate on whether aerobics training or weight training is better for weight loss has has debated continually with no conclusion.

But the fact is both of aerobics and weight training combined is shown for weight loss to increase by 56 percent.

While burning calories and building lean muscle you are creating a fat burning machine. Muscle by itself will burn up to 350 to 500 calories a week just to survive while fat may only be 15 calories

New studies have also shown that building muscle helps your body fight disease better, too.

By continously doing both exercising methods, it body will burn more fat and more calories trying to repair your muscle and energy levels while you are doing absolutely nothing. Its Great!

Do your best to try to use both aerobics and weight training for weight loss as it is the fastest and easiest way towards a strong, lean, and healthy body.

Good Luck and God Bless!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Future of Fitness

The future of fitness has been taken by storm as never before has it been so needed or available to society. Something has taken fitness and health to a whole new level and that is the interent!

With the interent many things like fitness and health are more usable for others that lives are filled to the max of other activities that take all their time leaving no time for learning how to exercise or eat healthy.

Interent has mage it all possible.

The information online has gone through the roof with so many websites dedicated towards educating people on exercise and nutrition. Having all the information you could ever want at the touch of your figure tips has never made health and fitness so easy to learn.

Now, making sure to pick the right website for information is vital as some people are just in it for the money. Not only that but most of there information is probably not theirs or it is lower quality information.

The future has made in easier than ever to educate ourselves about exercise and nutrition but making sure to learn the information from the right website is everything.

The internet is a great tool but make sure that you learn from the right information.

I love the future as it has made health and fitness so easy.

God Bless

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Cost of Weight Loss Surgery

The most common questions about the costs of weight loss gastric banding or gastric bypass stomach surgery are:

Q. What is the typical cost of bariatric surgical operations like Lapband® gastric banding, or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass?

Q. Does medical health insurance cover weight loss surgical procedures?

What's the Cost of Stomach Surgery?

The typical cost of a gastric-bypass operation is about $25,000 - depending on what post-operative support programs are provided.

Does Medical Insurance Cover Gastric Bypass or Other Bariatric Surgeries?

Medical insurance coverage varies by state and insurance provider. Several states have passed legislation requiring insurers to offer weight loss surgery for patients, providing it meets health criteria laid down by the National Institutes of Health. However, getting insurance approval by yourself can be a time-consuming process.

What is the Best Way to Get Insurance Cover for Weight Loss Surgery?

Ideally, work with your surgeon/doctor and get him to explain to your health insurance provider that the proposed surgery is not a cosmetic procedure but an operation which will help you minimize major health problems later in life.

Once your insurance company understands that the surgical operation is a money-saving procedure, they often agree to provide cover. Some bariatric centers claim an 80 percent success-rate for obtaining insurer-approval in this way.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Weight-loss surgery: Safe for kids?

Q: Is weight-loss surgery safe for children?

A: Weight-loss surgery can be a safe and effective option for some severely obese adolescents who have been unable to lose weight using conventional weight loss methods. However, as with any type of surgery, there are potential risks and long-term complications.

Also, the long-term effects of weight-loss surgery on a child's future growth and development are largely unknown.

Weight-loss surgery in adolescents is still uncommon. But your doctor may recommend this surgery if your child's weight poses a greater health threat than the potential risks of surgery. It is important that a child being considered for weight-loss surgery meet with a team of pediatric specialists, including a pediatric endocrinologist.

Keep in mind that weight-loss surgery isn't an easy answer for weight loss. It doesn't guarantee that your child will lose all of his or her excess weight or that your child will keep the weight off long term. Also, it doesn't replace the long-term need for a healthy diet and regular physical activity.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Weight-Loss Trick Experts Don't Tell You #3

by Cabria T. Groccia, R.D.

Know Your Fats: Mono, Poly and More

To modify the amount and type of fat you eat, you have to know the major players for weight loss:

Monounsaturated fats: Good in moderation
Peanuts, avocados, olives, olive oil and canola oil are storehouses for the monounsaturates. Diets high in these fats — such as those in Mediterranean countries — are associated with lower rates of breast cancer and coronary artery disease.

Polyunsaturated fats: Good in moderation
Also known as essential fatty acids, polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils, salmon and mackerel. Since your body cannot manufacture these fats, you have to eat them. For optimal health, you need to eat 10 to 15 grams a day or you can develop nutrient deficiencies.

Saturated fats: Mostly bad
Found in meat, butter, milk, cheese, ice cream, chocolate, and coconut and palm oil, saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature. Saturated fats raise blood cholesterol in most people; excessive consumption increases your risk of coronary heart disease and obesity.

Trans fats: Mostly bad
These man-made fats are found in margarine, shortening, and most packaged baked goods, crackers and candies. The label tip-off: "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" appearing before any oil or fat. They are similar to saturated fats in their effect on the body.

10 Ways to Eat More Good Fat

All fats are high in calories — nine calories per gram. To avoid gaining weight as you eat more beneficial fats, use them in place of heart-damaging saturated fats.

To get you started:

1) Hold the pepperoni (4 g saturated fat per 3 oz.) and order your pizza topped with anchovies (1 g omega-3 per 3 oz.).

2) Pick surf over turf:Instead of sirloin steak (6.4 g saturated fat per 3 oz.), try salmon (1.2 g omega-3 per 3 oz.).

3) Forget the cheddar cheese and crackers(6 g saturated fat per oz., 1.2 g saturated fat for six crackers) and celebrate with caviar (1 g omega-3 per Tbs.).

4) Skip the feta cheese(4.2 g saturated fat per oz.) and top your salad with walnuts (1 g omega-3 per oz.) or avocados (4.5 g monounsaturates per oz.).

5) Instead of pouring bottled blue cheese dressing(1.5 g saturated fat per Tbs.), make your own with olive oil (10.3 g monounsaturates per Tbs.) or walnut oil (1.5 g omega-3 per Tbs.).

6) Stop sauteéing in corn oil(9.8 g saturated fat per Tbs.) and use canola oil (9.1 g monounsaturates per Tbs.).

7) Don't gobble a turkey sandwich(O.5 g saturated fat per 3.5 oz.) for lunch; pack tuna (0.5 g omega-3 per 3.5 oz.).

8) Better than butter(7.1 g saturated fat per Tbs.) is bread dipped in olive oil (10.3 g monounsaturates per Tbs.).

9) Ditch the sour cream dip(1.6 g saturated fat per Tbs.); instead, eat celery and carrots with peanut butter (4 g monounsaturates per Tbs.).

10) At the sushi bar, skip the teriyaki chicken(0.9 g saturated fat per 3 oz. of breast meat) and savor the shrimp (0.3 g omega-3 per 3 oz.).

More weight loss tips...

Weight-Loss Trick Experts Don't Tell You #2

by Cabria T. Groccia, R.D.

Adding Back Fat

It used to be that there was only one kind of fat: bad. Now research is showing that not all fats are created equal. While saturated fats (found mostly in red meats and butter) raise blood cholesterol levels and thus the risk of heart disease and perhaps colon cancer, there are some fats that you should eat more of. The two basic types of good fats:

Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil, olives, canola oil, peanut oil, flaxseed oil, most nuts (including almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios and peanuts), peanut butter and avocados. Studies have shown that monounsaturates lower your total cholesterol as well as your low-density lipoproteins (LDLs, the "bad" cholesterol), while increasing heart-protective HDLs. The ongoing Harvard Nurses' Health Study found that women who ate five or more servings of monounsaturated oil per week decreased their risk of heart disease by 50 percent. The American Heart Association recommends that 15 percent of your daily calories come from monounsaturated fats for weight loss.

Omega-3 fats are plentiful in fatty fish — salmon, anchovies, sardines, rainbow trout, bluefish, caviar, white albacore tuna ‑- as well as in green leafy vegetables, walnuts, walnut oil, canola oil, flaxseed, flaxseed oil and tofu. If you're not crazy about fish, experts say fish oil capsules are an option. The most recent research raves about omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of heart disease and stroke. In many cultures with high cold-water fish intakes, like that of the Eskimos, heart disease and stroke are almost nonexistent.

Omega-3 fatty acids may even ease the symptoms of a range of conditions, from manic depression to PMS. Although there is no recommended daily allowance for omega-3s, studies have shown that eating cold-water fish two to three times a week increases HDLs and decreases overall cholesterol levels.

Weight-Loss Trick Experts Don't Tell You

by Cabria T. Groccia, R.D.

The low-fat craze has gone too far. In my practice as a nutrition therapist, my clients are not only confused, they feel betrayed: "I'm eating fat-free foods," they say. "Why am I not achieving weight loss?" "I'm counting fat grams instead of calories, but I'm still fat!" "Aren't fat-free products healthier?"

Let's clear up something right away: Most of us aren't gaining weight because we're eating too much fat. In fact, we're eating less fat than ever. Since the 1970s, the proportion of calories Americans get from fat has decreased from an average of 37 percent to 34 percent.

Yet we've increased our collective girth: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50 percent of adults are overweight. What are we doing wrong?

The Eating Mistake Most People Make

The focus on fat content seems to have backfired: Now we've forgotten all about calories. According to a government study, we're taking in nearly 250 more calories a day now than we were 30 years ago. Meanwhile, Americans are spending over $30 billion a year on weight control, a large chunk of that on diet and low-fat foods.

I can't tell you how many of my clients have made the (mistaken) assumption that because a food is labeled fat-free, they could eat as much of it as they wanted. So instead of replacing high-fat foods with low-calorie fruits and vegetables, they've been bulking up on highly processed foods loaded with added sugars and refined starches, which offer little nutrition other than calories.

Save your money. Fat-free snacks can't substitute for good eating habits. So what should we be doing? For starters, adding back fat.

Eat More Fat

Diets with less than 20 percent fat leave you hungry, unsatisfied and more likely to overeat when your resolve dissolves. If you force-feed yourself celery sticks all day, you'll be more likely to snap and down a whole pint of ice cream later. And did you ever notice that you can polish off a whole bag of fat-free chips and still not feel full?

Fat increases your sense of satiety, so you'll eat less (and take in fewer calories). Fat also makes you feel fuller longer: It stimulates the release of a hormone that slows the rate of food leaving the stomach, so a meal literally sticks to your ribs. The stomach and intestine are lined with receptors that, when stimulated by fat, send signals to the brain that you're full, says Kevin Vigilante, M.D., coauthor of Low-Fat Lies: High-Fat Frauds and the Healthiest Diet in the World.

Fat also makes food taste good, and food has to appeal to your taste buds if you want to stick to a healthful eating plan. "When used properly, fat can be an important ally in helping you lose weight and keep it off," says Vigilante. A study of obese children showed that meals with lots of refined carbohydrates and little fat were less effective in staving off hunger than fattier meals with the same number of calories.

More and more research has been pointing to the fact that when it comes to weight loss, it's the calories that count, no matter what the source. Studies at Penn State University have shown that people on 35 percent fat diets lose the same amount of weight as those on 20 percent fat diets, as long as there is no difference in the total calories consumed.

Cut calories, increase exercise, and weight loss. I wish my advice could be sexier, but that's the bottom line.

How Fat-Free Can Harm Your Health

Weight issues aside, drastic fat cutbacks can be downright unhealthy, increasing your risk of heart disease by decreasing high-density lipoproteins (HDLs, the "good" cholesterol) and boosting blood levels of triglycerides. They may also raise your risk for such conditions as gout and gallstones.

Finally, severely limiting your fat intake to below two percent per day (believe me, I've seen it in clients even without classic eating disorders) causes your body to compensate by making its own, in the form of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. This increases fat storage in the body and may be more unhealthy than getting fat from food.

Fats provide energy, maintain cell membranes and blood vessels, transmit nerve impulses, and produce essential hormones. Not only does your body need fat to function, it also requires a certain amount in order to absorb other nutrients, including vitamins A, D, E and K (essential for proper eyesight, bone formation and blood clotting). Vitamins A and E are also antioxidants and have been shown to reduce the incidence of heart disease and a variety of cancers.

Lack of dietary fat may also prevent the absorption of the disease-fighting phytochemicals contained in fruits and vegetables. "One of the most unhealthy things you can do is pour a nonfat dressing on a salad," says Vigilante.

Carotenes (phytochemicals that are some of the most potent anticancer antioxidants) bind to fat. "If you don't eat any fat within a few hours of consuming carotenes, you won't absorb them. So the health benefits of that salad are flushed down the toilet," he says.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

4 Great Weight Loss Secrets #3

Get Off Temptation Island

The spa: Structure House, Durham, North Carolina

The strategy: Eat three healthy meals per day for weight loss -- at the same time each day -- and cut out snacks. "Regular snacking can 'program' you to feel hunger at certain times," warns clinical director Lee Kern. Have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same hour every day, and you'll lose weight, he says.

But if you usually munch on candy or chips at 3pm, you've trained yourself to feel a mid-afternoon craving -- and snacking may get out of hand. Still have cravings? You may be feeling psychological hunger -- for comfort, entertainment, or stress relief, rather than for nourishment.

Even if you stick to the three-square-meals plan, there will still be pitfalls, such as restaurant eating. To stop yourself from ordering the burger-of-the-day, don't even open the menu, Kern advises. If your favorite restaurant serves grilled fish and a green salad, order that without looking at the other choices. If you're going to a new place, pick up a takeout menu in advance to check the options. In grocery stores, shop the perimeters (produce, dairy, etc.), where the food is fresh rather than packaged and high in calories. Bonus: Stick to the edges, and you'll never see the cookie aisle again.

Make Low-Fat Luscious

The spa: Golden Door, Escondido, California

The strategy: Turn low-calorie food into appealing fare by adding colors and focusing on the taste, says Michel Stroot, longtime executive chef. Because meat and fish cooked with minimal fat can dry out, serve them with a moist condiment, such as grilled onions on burgers or, for salmon, a yogurt-dill sauce (made with 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt, 1 teaspoon horseradish and 1 teaspoon minced dill).

If you're a texture lover, fend off your potato-chip cravings by baking crunchy tortilla chips: Lightly spray cut-up 6-inch whole wheat or corn tortillas with vegetable oil; toast for 15 minutes at 375 degrees F until golden. Sixty calories per serving of 6 chips.

More weight loss information...

4 Great Weight Loss Secrets #2

Stop Eating Before You're Stuffed

The spa: Green Mountain at Fox Run, Ludlow, Vermont

The strategy: Don't avoid food for weight loss until you're "starving" -- it sets you up for overeating. "Many people who struggle with their weight walk around with a low-level hunger that keeps them focused on food all day," says Marsha Hudnall, nutrition director. "Then, when they finally indulge, they eat a lot, quickly, and often make the wrong choices."

To break this habit, Green Mountain encourages clients to eat every three to five hours; between meals, they're served light snacks such as fruit-and-yogurt sundaes, celery sticks with peanut butter or unshelled peanuts. Before a meal, they rate their hunger on a scale (with one being "starving," six being "full" and eight being "so full, you're distended"). And they practice recognizing the signs that indicate they're satisfied. "We'll serve a delicious turkey wrap with yogurt spread, apples, pecans and shredded lettuce for lunch," Hudnall says. "When we're done, I ask clients to sit and think about how they feel.

If, after five minutes, they're still hungry, they can eat a small piece of bread or fruit." The goal is to learn to eat only when you feel a grumbling in your stomach and to stop once you're comfortably full and the food stops tasting delicious.

Fed up with calorie counting? Hudnall recommends dividing dinner plates into thirds: protein (3 to 4 ounces of fish, lean meat, dairy products); grains and starchy vegetables (bread, rice, pasta, corn, winter squash, green peas, beans); and the rest fruits and other vegetables. One satisfying trio that Green Mountain guests love: broccoli (1 cup), couscous (1/2 cup) and this simple maple-glazed salmon from the spa's new cookbook, Recipes for Living:

1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced gingerroot if desired
1 1/4-pound salmon fillet
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions

Mix all ingredients except salmon and scallions. Cut salmon into 4 serving pieces and place in shallow dish. Drizzle marinade over fish, reserving about 1/4 cup marinade to serve over cooked fish. Refrigerate fish about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place fish in baking dish; set aside marinade. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, basting occasionally with marinade, until fish flakes easily with fork. To serve, drizzle reserved 1/4 cup marinade over fish; top with scallions.

Serves 4.

More weight loss information...

4 Great Weight Loss Secrets

You WILL lose 20 pounds!

If you want to drop five pounds in time for a New Year's party, a crash weight loss diet might do. But to shed 20, 40 or more pounds, you need a plan for the long haul -- and a few proven strategies that will keep up your momentum.

To find those tricks, we talked to the trade: the country's most successful weight-loss centers, where up to 70 percent of participants lose big and maintain their new weight for at least a year.

Though these clinics agree on the basics (eat less, exercise more and learn to handle stress without your pals Ben and Jerry), their experts take different approaches to big-number weight loss. (Some encourage controlled snacking, for instance, while others forbid it.)

So pick the tips that make sense for you. These are some of the slimming secrets that spa guests pay thousands of dollars to learn.

Mark Your Success in Stages

The spa: Duke University Diet and Fitness Center, Durham, North Carolina

The strategy: Lose 10 percent of your weight initially, maintain that level for one to three months, then start on the next 10 percent. "It's daunting to attempt to lose 40 or 50 pounds," health psychologist Patricia Esperon says. "That's why we suggest dropping them in stages."

If you weigh 160 pounds, shoot for losing 16 over the course of about four months. Then wait a few months before working on the next 10 percent, and so on. "This is really successful for people who have a history of losing and regaining weight," Esperon says.

If you feel that family and friends unwittingly sabotage your diet (a common problem), write them a letter asking for support. Point out behaviors that drive you to cheat -- like constantly asking you how much you've lost. Duke's sample letter puts it this way: "You may feel that your questions about my weight are supportive, but I might take them as pressure and feel frustrated when I can't report better numbers every time you ask."

To be continued...

More weight loss information...

Monday, September 25, 2006

Weight Loss For Life #2

There are two different types of weight loss programs—clinical and nonclinical. Knowing what a good program will offer and what to watch out for may help you choose a weight-loss program that will work for you.

Nonclinical Program

What it is: A nonclinical program may be commercially operated, such as a privately owned weight-loss chain. You can follow a nonclinical program on your own by using a counselor, book, website, or weight-loss product. You can also join others in a support group, worksite program, or community-based program. Nonclinical weight-loss programs may require you to use the program’s foods or supplements.

What a safe and effective program will offer:

Books, pamphlets, and websites that are written or reviewed by a licensed health professional such as a medical doctor (M.D.) or registered dietitian (R.D.).

Balanced information about following a healthy eating plan and getting regular physical activity.
Leaders or counselors who show you their training credentials. (Program leaders or counselors may not be licensed health professionals.)

Program cautions:

  • If a program requires you to buy prepackaged meals, find out how much the meals will cost—they may be expensive. Also, eating prepackaged meals does not let you learn the food selection and cooking skills you will need to maintain weight loss over the long term.
  • Avoid any diet that suggests you eat a certain formula, food, or combination of foods for easy weight loss. Some of these diets may work in the short term because they are low in calories. But they may not give you all the nutrients your body needs and they do not teach healthy eating habits.
  • Avoid programs that do not include a physical activity plan.
  • Talk to your health care provider before using any weight-loss product, such as a supplement, herb, or over-the-counter medication.

Clinical Program

What it is: A clinical program provides services in a health care setting, such as a hospital. One or more licensed health professionals, such as medical doctors, nurses, registered dietitians, and/or psychologists, provide care. A clinical program may or may not be commercially owned.

Clinical programs may offer services such as nutrition education, physical activity, and behavior change therapy. Some programs offer prescription weight-loss drugs or gastrointestinal surgery.

Prescription Weight loss Drugs

If your BMI is 30 or more, or your BMI is 27 or more and you have weight-related health problems, you may consider using prescription weight-loss drugs. Drugs should be used as part of an overall program that includes long-term changes in eating and physical activity habits. Only a licensed health care provider can prescribe these drugs. See “Additional Reading” for more information about prescription medications for the treatment of obesity.

Gastrointestinal Surgery

If your BMI is 40 or more, or your BMI is 35 or more and you have weight-related health problems such as diabetes or heart disease, you may consider gastrointestinal surgery (also called bariatric surgery). Most patients lose weight quickly, and many keep off most of their weight with a healthy eating plan and regular physical activity.

Still, surgery can lead to problems that require more operations. Surgery may also reduce the amount of vitamins and minerals in your body and cause gallstones. See “Additional Reading” for more information about gastrointestinal surgery.

What a safe and effective program will offer:
  • A team of licensed health professionals.
  • A plan to help you keep weight off after you have lost it.

Program cautions:
  • There may be side effects or health risks involved in the program that can be serious. Discuss these with your health care provider.

For more detailed information about choosing a safe and successful weight-loss program, see “Additional Reading” at the end of this brochure.

It is not always easy to change your eating and physical activity habits. You may have setbacks along the way.


But keep trying—you can do it!

Weight Loss For Life

Health experts agree that you may gain health benefits from even a small weight loss if:

  • You are obese based on your body mass index (BMI) (see BMI chart below).
  • You are overweight based on your BMI and have weight-related health problems or a family history of such problems.
  • You have a waist that measures more than 40 inches if you are a man or more than 35 inches if you are a woman.

A weight loss of 5 to 15 percent of body weight may improve your health and quality of life, and prevent these health problems. For a person who weighs 200 pounds, that means losing 10 to 30 pounds.

Even if you do not need to lose weight, you still should follow healthy eating and physical activity habits to help prevent weight gain and stay healthy as you age.

Your body weight is controlled by the number of calories you eat and the number of calories you use each day. To lose weight you need to take in fewer calories than you use. You can do this by creating and following a plan for healthy eating and a plan for regular physical activity.

You may also choose to follow a formal weight loss program that can help you make lifelong changes in your eating and physical activity habits. See below for more information on weight-loss programs.

A weight-loss “diet” that limits your portions to a very small size or that excludes certain foods may be hard to stick to. It may not work over the long term. Instead, a healthy eating plan takes into account your likes and dislikes, and includes a variety of foods that give you enough calories and nutrients for good health.

Make sure your healthy eating plan is one that:
  • Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
  • Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, bean, eggs and nuts.
  • Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

Regular physical activity may help you lose weight and keep weight off. It may also improve your energy level and mood, and lower your risk for developing diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.

Any amount of physical activity is better than none. Experts recommend doing at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most or all days of the week for good health. To lose weight or maintain a weight loss, you may need to do more than 30 minutes of physical activity a day, as well as follow your healthy eating plan.

You can get your daily 30 minutes or more all at once, or break it up into shorter sessions of 20, 15, or even 10 minutes.
  • walking (15 minutes per mile or 4 miles per hour)
  • biking
  • tennis
  • aerobic exercise classes (step aerobics, kick boxing, dancing)
  • energetic house or yard work (gardening, raking, mopping, vacuuming)

For more weight loss...

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Ridiculously Easy Weight Loss Tricks

Use mine or come up with some of your own.

Call me lazy, but if I'm going to exercise or put myself on a diet, it had better be enjoyable. If it's not, I want no part. I'm giving you a list of some of the things that work for my weight loss. Take your pick or better yet, make your own list.

Exercise

Cut the grass using a push mower. They are far less expensive and you get to enjoy the outside without polluting the environment.

Frisbee
Go out and buy one and then toss it around with your significant other. He's helping you exercise without realizing that he's getting a workout at the same time.

The Treadmill
Increase your speed a little each week. You will be amazed at how fast you can walk when you put your mind to it.

The Pool
I told you all about my new pool in the article entitled "The Pool Workout."If you have one of your own, and not 1700 miles away like me, take full advantage.

Diet

Watch your salt intake. It's not good for you anyway and if you haven't considered just how bad it is for you, I have the perfect book for you. It is called, "The Salt Solution" by Herb Boynton, Mark F. McCarty and Richard D. Moore. I don't think I will ever look at salt quite the same way, ever again. And, the foods that I am now eating are far lower in calories, not to mention much better nutritionally.

Try to make as much of your food from scratch as you can. Suddenly you are in control of the amount of fat, sugar and salt in each dish.

Carry cereal bars in your handbag. If you find yourself starving and you are far from home, you won't be tempted to stop at a fast food restaurant. A small cereal bar has come to the rescue several times for achieving my weight loss goals.

**Be sure to read the calorie count and nutrition list printed on the bar. Unfortunately, most are glorified chocolate bars.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Experts see slow obesity fight for kids

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Thu Sep 14, 5:24 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Ride a bike or hop on a skateboard. Any physical activity is cool — and a plus in the fight against childhood obesity.


That was the straightforward message from an expensive and heavily promoted federal program that claimed it led to a 30 percent increase in exercise among the pre-teenagers it reached.

Despite the apparent success, the Bush administration killed the program this year through budget cuts. That was a shortsighted decision in the view of an organization that advises the government on health matters.

The demise of the program, known as VERB, "calls into question the commitment to obesity prevention within government," an Institute of Medicine expert panel reported Wednesday.
Dr. Jeffrey Koplan of Emory University, who led the panel, was more blunt, saying it was a waste of public money to develop a program that works and then to dismantle it.

One in five children is predicted to be obese by 2010. Efforts to turn that tide are scattershot, given too few dollars and lacking the national leadership needed to speed real change, the report found. No one knows how many of these programs to trim kids' growing waistlines actually work, the panel said.

"Is this as important as stockpiling antibiotics or buying vaccines? I think it is," Koplan said. "This is a major health problem. It's of a different nature than acute infectious threats, but it needs to be taken just as seriously."

To reinforce that point, the report spotlighted VERB, a campaign by the federal Centers for Disease Control that encouraged 9- to 13-year-olds to participate in physical activities. Slick ads, at a cost of $59 million last year, portrayed exercise as cool at an age when outdoor play typically winds down and adolescent slothfulness sets in.

A spokesman, Jeff McKenna, said the agency is "trying to do everything we can to package the research and lessons learned from VERB so it can inform campaigns local groups might take on throughout the country."

The report cites other examples of promising federal programs that have not reached their potential:

_Kids gobbled fruits and vegetables in an Agriculture Department school snack program. But it only reaches 14 states.

_The CDC's main anti-obesity initiative had enough money this year to fund just 28 states starting childhood nutrition and exercise programs.

The report did praise some state and local efforts for their creativity. Examples include:
_A California program, begun in Marin County, to build new sidewalks and bike paths. They are getting more children to walk or bike to school.

_A community garden project in New York City's Harlem section to increase inner-city youngsters' access to healthful food and safe recreation.

_An effort by Arkansas schools to notify parents when students are overweight. Combined with new school menus and physical activity programs, the initiative recently reported a leveling off of the state's child obesity rate.

In 2004, the institute recommended that parents, schools, communities, the food industry and government work together in taking on childhood obesity. Wednesday's report was the first assessment.

"We still are not doing enough to prevent childhood obesity, and the weight loss problem is not getting any better," said Koplan, a former CDC director. "The current level of public and private sector investments does not match the extent of the problem."

More than individual programs, full-scale social change is needed to make healthful eating and physical activity the norm, said one member of the expert panel, Toni Yancey of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Some 17 percent of U.S. youngsters already are obese, and millions more are overweight. Obesity can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, sleep problems and other disorders.

The report shows "what the country is doing is like putting a Band-Aid on a brain tumor," said Margo Wootan of the consumer advocacy Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The institute is part of the

More weight loss information...

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

The Future of Weight Loss

By L.C. Smith

Conventional wisdom says that staying thin is simply a matter of willpower and sweat. But science suggests that the key to being in shape is a bit more complicated. Even if you eat right and stay active, obesity may be an inevitable part of your life -- especially if you were unlucky enough to have inherited a genetic predisposition for the condition. Call it the "beer-belly gene."

But whether you're chubby because you have bad hand-me-down DNA, a time-consuming job that doesn't allow you the luxury of working out, or simply because you can't stand the thought of life without fudge, your fortunes -- and your waistline -- could soon be a-changing.

Yes, exercise and diet are still very important in the war on weight, but within a few years it could be a handful of pills or quick voluntary surgery that will be doing the heavy lifting.

Although doctors have been looking for a miracle weight loss pill for decades, the quest picked up serious steam about 10 years ago, when a scientist at New York City's Rockefeller University discovered leptin, a hormone that controls the body's storage of fat. Combine that knowledge with more recent findings on how metabolism works and how fat cells get their nutrients, and it's no longer a matter of if a fat-fighting pill can be developed, but simply a matter of when it will be ready for devouring.

Experts, however, remain divided on just how effective any pill could be. "I hate to be pessimistic," sighs Manfred Kroger, Ph.D., professor emeritus of food science at Penn State, "but I've been a nutritionist for a long time, and I've seen a lot of different weight-loss treatments come and go. The bottom line with all the ones that sort of worked in the past is that they also encouraged the people who were using them to eat less and work out more. If we can do that, we don't need a pill."

Still, there are many in the nutrition world who would welcome other options besides the tried and true "calories in, calories out" formula.

"Not every method of weight loss works with every person," says Kathleen Zelman, R.D., director of nutrition for WebMD.com's Weight Loss Clinic. "The more tools we have for weight loss -- whether they're drugs, medical treatments, or educational programs -- the better off we're all going to be, and I do think there are some options on the horizon that hold great promise.

"Regardless of whether they really want to change the planet or are just cashing in on a trend, international drug and medical-technology companies are scrambling to get their weight-loss products on the market as quickly as possible, and are pouring millions of dollars into research and development in the process.

And the early prognosis for their efforts is very good, with some medications already appearing to be more effective than anything currently in your neighborhood pharmacy. Existing weight-loss drugs, such as Xenical, for example, only help most people shed an average of 10 pounds -- not nearly enough to help an obese man once again see his feet. The next generation of drugs and medical treatments promises to put those numbers to shame. Here's a preview of five up-and-coming fat fighters we think hold the most promise for helping America slim down.

Rimonabant
The skinny: Paris-based Sanofi-Synthelabo is developing a potentially wicked one-two punch in the fight against flab. Unlike most weight-loss drugs under development (which tend to target either the brain or the gut), rimonabant performs its magic in both areas, helping to eliminate hunger and promote feelings of fullness at the same time.

According to Jean-Pierre Despres, Ph.D., of Laval University in Quebec, the drug works by blocking cells in the brain that, when stimulated by signals from the stomach, cause you to feel sensations of hunger. In its most recent human trial, researchers found that overweight men and women who took rimonabant for a year dropped nearly 20 pounds. Subjects ate less because they felt full sooner.

They were also able to lower their triglyceride levels by 15% and raise levels of HDL, the so-called "good" cholesterol, by 22%, two changes that help seriously reduce a person's risk of heart disease. Better still, the drugs seem custom designed for overweight men, since most of the weight that patients lost came from around their middle.

That's an important distinction and benefit, because unlike women, who generally accumulate fat in their thighs and hips, obese men store the majority of their dangerous and most deadly fat in the belly.

Time to market: About two years, should the clinical trials currently underway prove successful.

Axokine
The skinny: The discovery of leptin, a protein produced by fat cells that signals the brain to stop eating, was supposed to lead to a breakthrough weight-loss drug. Then we learned that obese folks are resistant to the stuff. Now scientists at Regeneron, based in New York state, are experimenting with a protein that acts on the same feeding center within the brain as leptin does.

The drug, called Axokine, quells the urge to eat by convincing the brain that all the fat cells within the body are full and don't need any additional nutrients. Although Axokine doesn't work for everyone, 15% of individuals who took the medication for at least a year responded particularly well, losing an average of 34 pounds. "This led us to suspect that the drug may work better on people with certain genes and genetic types than it does on others," says George Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Regen- eron's chief scientific officer and president of its laboratories. Now the company just needs to figure out who those folks are exactly, he says.

Time to market: Within 10 years.

Gastric Pacer
The skinny: It says something about the arduous battle of the bulge that the only surefire cure for obesity now available isn't even a drug at all. Instead, it's a drastic surgery called gastric bypass, which reduces the stomach to the size of a Ping-Pong ball. Although the procedure is gaining in popularity -- more than 100,000 obese people underwent gastric bypass last year -- it still carries serious risk of heart attack, respiratory failure, and even death.

But an alternative may soon arrive in the form of a gastric pacer. Designed by an Italian doctor in the 1990s, the pacer is a battery-powered device the size of a cigarette lighter that's surgically implanted under the skin of the abdomen. The pacer regularly sends a pulse to the stomach through two wires, giving people the sense that they're "full" sooner than usual. (The wires are placed outside the stomach, so you aren't served an electric shock with your meal.)

In the most recent study of the gastric pacer's effectiveness, obese people who were outfitted with the device for a year lost, on average, 18% of their total body weight. Although that's still well below what they would lose with gastric-bypass surgery, which generally cuts away at least two-thirds of excess body weight, experts believe the pacer could become a viable option for high-risk patients or people worried about the harmful effects of the more severe gastric bypass.

Time to market: A 200-patient trial of the pacer is underway. FDA approval hinges on these results.

PYY
The skinny: In the mid-'90s, two London scientists at Hammersmith Hospital uncovered a protein produced in the intestine that can suppress appetite. The only problem, they later found, is that overweight people make about a third less of the protein -- called peptide YY3-36 (PYY) -- than thinner people. Bump up PYY levels in the overweight, the researchers theorized, and you may cure the root of their obesity. One possible way to do just that: a nasal spray that would juice people up with PYY before they chow down. More protein can lead to weight loss.

Cut to 2004, and a Washington state-based company called Nastech Pharmaceutical has developed just such a spray, containing PYY and capable of boosting levels of the protein in the bodies of people who take a sniff. Although still in preliminary trials, the spray has already had great success -- helping one group of overweight men and women, for example, cut their calorie consumption by at least 15%. Real-world translation: A whiff like that could help you lose six or more pounds a month. "If the product is as safe as we think it is," says Nastech CEO Steven C. Quay, M.D., Ph.D., noting that the only side effect is mild nausea, "it could be used by people who are obese or just slightly overweight."

Time to market: Nastech is currently prepping the spray for human trials. Quay believes it could be approved within three to four years' time.

Fat Blasters
The skinny: In the late '90s, a group of scientists at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston learned how to fight cancer in mice by killing the blood vessels that feed the animal's tumors. Then the researchers turned their attention to fat cells, hoping to replicate the finding -- something they finally achieved last spring. But in one of the most radical approaches to fighting fat, the researchers didn't just learn to shrink cells, they actually found a way to make them self-destruct, cutting off the flow of blood to cells and effectively starving them to death.

In the researchers' most recent study, plumped-up mice were injected with a substance, called synthetic peptide. Within weeks, the mice had reverted to normal mouse size, shedding about 30% of their total body weight. Better still, the animals' elevated blood-sugar and cholesterol levels, which had risen dangerously high, also dropped back to normal.

Mikhail Kolonin, Ph.D., one of the study's researchers, believes the therapy could eventually be used as the prototype for a human drug, but "we need to do more studies," he says. "We didn't follow up to see if the mice might lose too much fat over time, which could be lethal -- even in severely overweight people."

Time to market: Unknown. A trial of the drug in overweight baboons is set to begin this month. Even if that works, Kolonin says, it could be years before the treatment makes its way to human experiments.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Mission improbable: Lose weight on a cruise

By Jane Wooldridge
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)


Can you really lose weight on a cruise? I'm on a mission to find out the truth on weight loss.

For the past several years, cruise lines have been touting the "wellness" factor on board. Shuffleboard has been replaced by yoga classes, fitness lectures, expanded gyms with all the latest gear-head contraptions. Spas have added cellulite reduction therapies and detoxification treatments. Acupuncture abounds.

Gone too are the calorie binges of the nightly Boffo-buffet; instead, many lines have limited themselves to a once-a-week late-night extravaganza. Salad bars and fruit have commandeered serious space on lunch buffets, and sit-down menus now feature "healthy" selections.

But don't kid yourself. There are still tables stacked with eclairs, brownies and cookies. Escargot doing the backstroke in butter. Frozen pina coladas infused with sugar.

Hence the dilemma: Can a regular burger-loving, exercise-avoidant person put a dent in those last five pounds while spending a week on a cruise ship - and enjoy it?

I'm determined to try. My motivation: Almost nothing in my closet fits. We're talking not about the last five pounds I "need" to lose, but the last five pounds that have plumped my thighs to the seam-bursting limits. A new wardrobe is out of the question: Not only is it financially unappealing, but once you give in to size creep, well ... next you know, you're a candidate for "The Biggest Loser."

My strategy: I'll take the stairs instead of snagging elevators. I'll go daily to the gym. I'll sign up for super-active shore excursions. I'll drink gallons of water, avoid sodas, forgo cocktails and my beloved pinot noir. I'll do my best to resist desserts and for me, the super-temptations of pasta, bread, potatoes, pizza ...

Here goes:

Day One: I board about 2:30, head immediately for the Windjammer Cafe to grab the lunch I've missed land-side. The buffet is filled with salad items I like: fresh greens, green peppers, broccoli, raisins, grated cheese, bacon (hey, you gotta have some fun), plus some lo-cal dressings. I supplement it with a slice of fish from the hot buffet and down a couple of glasses of water.

Next stop: Check out the gym.

I march up to a fat-deprived fitness instructor named Jen. "I need help," I say, describing my wardrobe dilemma. We agree to meet the next day for a $33 consultation. I hook the week's schedule for fitness classes and seminars, sign up for yoga the next morning and arrange a one-on-one boxing lesson for later in the week, then run down the stairs to grab a camera and run back up for sail-away festivities.

Before dinner I do 20 minutes on the treadmill, another 20 on various weight and floor exercises.

My first sit-down meal, I go with what the cruise line has deemed a "healthy selection," herbed grilled chicken breast that tastes decent but is pretty dry and a glass of water. The sugar-free cream-filled swan pastry makes up for it.

No hint of how many calories I've consumed. The ship's head chef tells me that while Royal Caribbean offers several "healthy" options at each meal, it doesn't keep with a strict set of standards (such as no butter) or a set number of calories. Guests can request specific preparation, such as no salt or butter. Those with serious dietary concerns for health or religious reasons should advise the cruise line several weeks in advance of sailing, the chef said, so the ship staff can be prepared to meet needs.

Other cruise lines, including Carnival and NCL, have also incorporated healthier meals aboard and can accommodate special diets with advance notice.

Day Two starts with a yoga class ($10 extra) that provides good exercise but isn't too advanced. I stick around for a free fitness lecture.

Here, a taut-abbed Rob explains that my body needs 40 percent carbs, 30 percent proteins and 30 percent "good" fats. That if I eat the right mix of calories five or six times a day, I'm more likely to lose weight than if I go with the old two or three times a day plan because the less often you eat, the more your body stores fat against famine. And I must rid myself of steroids from processed foods, diet sodas and other crimes against my body - because the real cause of my weight gain is toxins that have glommed onto the cells around my fat like a stalker obsessed.

The whole bit about storing toxins is new to me, and I'm keen on the idea of ridding myself of them - but I don't know how. To get this crucial bit of information, I'll have to book a private fitness consultation with Rob, who advises that the initial meeting is $33, and the follow-up workout and fitness plan is another $83. Since I'm already booked to meet with Jen, I figure I'll find out then.

And I do. At my consultation, Jen hooks me to a monitor, which spits out the unflattering information that 28.2 percent of my body is fat, accounting for a depressing 38.4 pounds. My target weight loss for optimum fat ratio: 10.9 pounds.

Jen supplements this diagnosis by drawing a diagram of my body, which includes the removal system (lymph nodes, colon, digestive tract), those offending fat cells wrapped in toxins, which have resulted in cellulite and weight gain. Ugh.

Jen deems my current exercise and eating program better than most; my neighbors drag me out to walk two miles five days a week, and I work out with a friend once a week. I know what I "should" eat, even if I sometimes ignore it. (I'm munching the end of a Baby Ruth bar as I write this.)

We talk a bit about eating. Like Rob, she tells me five or six times a day. Proportions: A fist of carbs, a palm of lean meat or fish. The pizza slice I cadged at lunch does not qualify as an appropriate carb, I learn.

The real key, she tells me, is ... detoxification. This translates into a three-month program of supplement pills designed to rid my system of years of toxic build-up that has wrapped itself around my fat cells. The goal: Purging three to five times per day - or in the adolescent vernacular of the males in my household, "poop a lot." The tab is $360.

This level of investment requires further research, and I defer my decision. Means I'd have to invest in a truckload of TP, too.

Meanwhile, I know exercise is key. I'm willing to try it all. Most days I hit the treadmill or bike for 20 minutes, then lift weights. Sometimes I go for a class: Pilates one day ($10); my boxing lesson another ($89).

Turns out I love the boxing: loads of abdominal benefits plus there's that aggression release. But Royal Caribbean - the ship on which I'm sailing, and the only ship at sea with a boxing ring - requires supervision in the form of a one-on-one or a boxing class that never fits my schedule. So it's the one lesson for me.

Meanwhile, I'm still running up and down stairs. There's the added benefit of regularly hauling myself some 250 yards up and down each corridor, as my cabin is far forward and this ship is huge.

As for shore excursions - take your bus tour if you must. One day I've sweated out nearly a gallon of water in a human-sized brick kiln on a Maya Steamlodge tour designed for - there it is again - detoxification. On another I've snorkeled, and on yet another I've hiked through the hills, then zipped across the jungle on a steel cable like Jane of the Jungle.

And I'm doing fairly well in terms of food consumption. Day Three, and I've generally stuck with omelets and fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch, some healthy fish or chicken item (mostly dry) at dinner. My only cheats so far: one tiny slice of pizza and two sugar-free desserts. Pretty admirable, considering that the two couples at my dining table have succumbed to double orders of escargot, duck and filet mignon.

Just to be sure I've left no possibility untried, I also sign up for acupuncture designed to curb my cravings and reduce my stress level.

First my acupuncturist, James, discusses my lifestyle habits and tells me - surprise! - that I need to detox. Though he works for the same company as the detox-supplement hawking fitness instructor, he doesn't push the pills. After all, I'm already forking out $150 per session to become a human pincushion.

It's my first acupuncture session, and it's a lot more pleasant than I expected. Just a quick twinge when each needle goes in, and then I'm in a darkened room zoning out. Who wouldn't de-stress?

An hour later I feel no different, but I sign up for a second appointment two days hence. Paul, a Californian with whom I shared space in the acupuncture room, said he felt immediate relief from a motorcycle injury that had brought him endless pain for over a year, so I have hope.

On Day Four, I give in. A slice of pizza is simply irresistible, as is a cone of the soft-serve low-fat yogurt available on the pool deck. Defiant, I take the elevator - not once, but twice. I even have a half-glass of pinot noir at dinner.

But the next day I'm back at it: Pilates, boxing, lettuce - the whole works.
Seven days, dozens of hikes along the 744-foot corridor, hundreds of stairs, a rabbit's fantasy worth of lettuce. And I've lost exactly: One pound.

OK, more like a half pound. The LCD readout on the scale keeps wavering.
Granted, I'm at a certain age where losing weight is more of a challenge than it was a decade ago. And at least I'm not among those who have come back from cruising with an extra 10 pounds aboard - and not in the suitcase.

Still, I'm pretty bummed. All that sacrifice - all those untasted margaritas, pina coladas and martinis - and I've lost one lousy pound.

As it turns out, though, I've started down a better path. For the next several weeks I keep up my exercise routine, avoid the cheese aisle at the supermarket, grab a salad most days for lunch. (OK, I "did" give in to that Baby Ruth bar.)

In the spirit of detoxification, I switch my morning cereal to All Bran. And stocking up on grains and plant-based foods is a good thing, says Sheah Rarback, a dietitian at University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine.

As for the other advice I had gotten on board, Rarback says much of what works depends on the individual. Whether you go for small multiple meals or the standard three squares, it's the total number of calories you eat and burn that determines whether you gain or lose. When it comes to detoxification through fasting or other means, it's often a matter of psychology more than physiology, she says. And while minimizing toxins and increasing grains and plant-based foods is recommended, "you can't lose weight just through pooping a lot."

For me, it all adds up to that old maxim about moderation. Exercise right, avoid the carbs. And the Baby Ruth bars.
---
LIGHTER MENUS

In the past decade, all U.S.-based cruise lines have moved toward fish, chicken and healthy meal options; many include sugar-free desserts. Passengers with special dietary requirements should advise their booking agent when they purchase their cruise.

Each of the three mega lines offers a salad bar at lunch and healthy choices on every dinner menu.

Here's a rundown:

_Carnival: Menus include ``Spa Carnival'' options that note calories and fat content.
_NCL: Cooking Light offerings are lower fat and carb but are not aimed at specific calorie targets. Calorie counts and fat content are not noted on menus but are available on request.
_Royal Caribbean: ``Royal Lifestyle'' and vegetarian selections are designated on menus but are not aimed at specific calorie or fat targets; calorie counts are not listed.
---
Jane Wooldridge: jwooldridge@MiamiHerald.com

Sunday, September 10, 2006

10 Healthy Eating Tips for Busy College Student

The average college student is often pressed for time, under a lot of stress and eating on the go. You may find it difficult to avoid bad habits like skipping meals or frequenting fast food restaurants. But eating a healthy diet can help you feel better, help with weight loss cope with stress and perform better in the class-room and on the athletic field. It really isn't that hard to get started.

1. Eat a good breakfast.
Studies show that skipping breakfast detracts from scholastic achievement. When there isn't time to sit down and enjoy your morning meal, grab a bagel, piece of fruit, and some juice. Most of these items can be easily stored in your dorm room.

2. If you must eat fast foods, choose wisely.
Choose pizza with half the cheese, a regular size roast beef sandwich, baked potato, or green salad with reduced calorie dressing. Limit high fat offering like french fries, fried chicken or fish sandwiches and watch out for salad dressing.

3. Keep healthful snacks on hand.
If hunger strikes during a late night study session, you won't be tempted by vending machine candy, chips, or ice cream. Possibilities include fresh or dried fruit, pretzels, unbuttered popcorn, rice cakes or whole wheat cracker. If you have a refrigerator, consider raw vegetables with low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese dip.

4. Eat plenty of foods that are rich in calcium.
People in their early twenties need to be build up stores of calcium in their bodies to prevent osteoporosis in later life. If you don't like milk, try to include ample amounts of low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, and green leafy vegetables in your diet.

5. If you need to lose weight, do it sensibly.
Starvation and/or diets that offer a quick fix usually backfire and are harmful. There is not truth to the theories that suggest eating foods in any particular combination will promote weight loss. The only safe way to lose weight, feel good while doing it, and keep it off is to eat a balanced diet.

6. Limit Sweeteners
Sugar provides calories in your diet but few other nutrients and it contributes significantly to tooth decay. Use it sparingly and consider sweetening coffee, tea, cereal and fruit with diet sweeteners instead.

7. Healthy Salad
The dining hall salad bar can be either an asset or a detriment to you diet depending on how you choose from it. Of course, leafy greens, raw vegetable and fresh fruit are beneficial. But if you choose lot of creamy dressing, bacon bit, and mayonnaise based salads, the calories and fat may equal or even exceed those of a burger and fries.

8. Elimite or limit alcohol.
If you drink alcohol, keep in mind that it supplies calories but no nutritional value. A light beer, a glass of wine, or an ounce of liquor each has about 100 calories. There are also many health problems associated with drinking alcohol.

9. Drink lots of water.
Your body needs at least eight glasses a day, and if you exercise vigorously, you may need more. To remind yourself, carry a water bottle along to class and keep it handy during late night study sessions.

10. Enjoy!
Remember, food is a lot more than nourishment for our bodies. Enjoy and savor it.

More weight loss tips...

Saturday, September 09, 2006

10 Tips for Making Healthier Meals

From Jennifer R. Scott

Who says family meals aren't any fun when you're trying to get healthier? Dinner-time doesn't have to prove a dieting-dilemma. Keep these healthier-meal-making tips in mind. You'll find your weight loss efforts don't have to fall by the wayside when you pull up a chair to the dinner table.


1. Times are Lean
These days, meat is much leaner than it has been due to trimming efforts on the part of meatpackers that better weight loss. Beef labeled as "loin", "round" and "extra lean" are your best choices. According to The Wisconsin Beef Council, cuts like top round, tenderloin or sirloin qualify as lean, healthy selections.

Roasting, baking, grilling, braising and broiling are healthy meat-cooking methods. Use non-stick pans and choose cooking sprays over oil or butter during preparation. Another way to reduce fat is to strain cooked ground beef and rinse it with hot water. (Drain it well before you continue the recipe.) Be sure to keep portion sizes in check.

2. Be Choosy About Chicken
Sure, chicken is a great American dinner mainstay, but many of us turn a potentially diet-friendly staple into something considerably less than healthful. Say no to fried patties, chicken fingers, nuggets and franks. Switch to broiling, roasting, baking or steaming. Use a non-stick pan with cooking spray, broth or wine.

Keep in mind that dark meat contains about twice as much fat as white meat. Also, chicken skin is fattening. You can remove the skin yourself before cooking, choose skinless varieties, or take off the skin before you eat it. Basically, however you choose to avoid it ... just make sure you do.

3. Trim Up that Turkey
If you're preparing a turkey, why not cook the stuffing separately? You will reduce its fat content by preventing the turkey fat from soaking into the dressing. Try to use less butter or margarine when preparing the stuffing. Don't forget to skim the fat off of the gravy with a gravy separator or by refrigerating it. Leave the drumsticks for the kids; as with chicken, choose light meat over dark and you'll save quite a few calories.

4. It's Getting Steamy in Here ...
Serve steamed vegetables instead of heavy casseroles or cheese-based dishes. Steaming or microwaving veggies means you don't have to add any fat during preparation; choose lemon juice, herbs, or vinegar over margarine. Use herbs and spices or imitation butter sprinkles as seasoning instead of butter, oil or cheese.

If steamed vegetables don't suit your taste buds, reduce the amount of oil you use if you sauté them. Broth or flavored vinegar makes a great substitute for oil.

5. Go for Grains
Whenever you have the chance, choose whole grains as your bread choice. For example, you could choose whole grain breading for stuffing preparation; whole grain dinner rolls; whole wheat bread for sandwiches; and wild rice instead of white.

All types of white bread are high in refined sugar and pack in more calories than grains. These refined sugars are some of the "bad carbs" we hear so much about these days. If you still crave white bread occasionally, choose a "lite" or diet version, which will save you a few calories.


6. Virtually "Veggie"
Pretend you've gone vegetarian for a while. If you're still hungry after the main course, choose vegetables as seconds, rather than meat- or bread-based dishes. Try to choose healthier options like steamed or boiled veggies instead of casseroles or those topped off with butter or cheese.

By selecting healthier fare when you go for another helping instead of the entrée, you'll take in fewer extra calories and fat while adding more fiber. A second round of small portions of a variety of dishes will be much more satisfying than a little more of the main dish.

An even better alternative to second helpings is to get up and get your mind off eating. Taking a walk or playing with the family pet are great diversions. By moving on, you may find you're not still hungry after all, and forgo seconds entirely.

7. Powder Your ... Dessert?
Got milk? Trade it in for the powdered variety when baking and you'll save yourself a lot of fats and calories. A visitor wrote in to suggest that using evaporated skim milk in her favorite recipes instead of cream or milk has been one of the changes that led her to an 80 pound weight loss! Add equal parts water to replace milk or use it straight from the can as a substitute in recipes calling for heavy cream.

8. Fruit as a Finisher
Instead of pie or cake for dessert, offer fruit-based fare like fondue, fruit cocktail, yogurt parfait, or, simply a fresh piece fruit. Not only will this reduce the fat and calorie content of your meal's finale, most folks find fruit more refreshing than sweets. After all, by dessert we're usually eating out of sheer habit anyway, not from hunger, so why "waist" the calories? You'll be surprised at how easy it really is to satisfy your sweet tooth.

9. Another Divine Dessert
When making sundaes for the kids, choose sugar free ice cream or reduced- or non-fat frozen yogurt. Non-fat, reduced-calorie whipped topping is almost identical in flavor and texture to its higher-calorie counterpart. Try topping sundaes with all-fruit spread rather than chocolate or caramel syrup. If portions tend to get out of control, serve less ice cream in smaller dishes.

10. Make Smart Substitutions
Try some fat-fighting baking substitutions: Use 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to replace 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate in desserts; crushed graham crackers are a healthier alternative to pie crusts; replace 1 egg with 2 egg whites or ¼ cup of egg substitute; replace half of the oil in dessert recipes with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce; use reduced- or non-fat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream on pies.

More weight loss tips...

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Things That Make You Fat

Artificial Sweeteners And Low-Carb Foods Can Pack On Pounds

If you're watching your weight, there's a good chance you've caught on to the low-fat, low-carb craze taking over supermarkets and restaurants across the country making weight loss hard. However, making these foods a staple of your diet may actually be more of a hindrance than a help. Elisa Zied of the American Dietetic Association gives The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm these tips:
  • It's really important to remember - no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks for men. Two, three or four beers or a few glasses of wine can really boost calorie intake, and add on the pounds.
  • There's new evidence suggesting that artificial sweeteners can play tricks on your body's natural ability to count calorie intake, so be mindful of that if you find yourself using a lot of artificial sweetener.
  • Eat whole foods often - fruits, vegetables and whole grains. They're low in calories, they taste good, and they give your body so much in terms of protein and fiber and vitamins - the stuff you're not getting from a low-fat muffin or slice of pie.
  • Watch portion sizes. We all love to go out to a restaurant to eat, but the dishes they serve are often too big for one sitting. Eat half, take the rest home in a doggie bag. You'll have a second meal ready to go, and you'll save yourself from the extra calories.

Low-Carb Beer And Wine
Low-carb beers and wines have really become a trend of this past year, but they don't benefit you unless you're watching your portions - and a portion size is 12 ounces for beer and 5 ounces for wine. These low-carb alternatives are good news if you're watching your portions, but most people, if they're drinking alcohol, will have two, three, four beers or a couple glasses of wine.

With multiple drinks, you're loading up on calories, and the carb count at this point doesn't really have much of an impact. As far as daily portions go, men should aim for no more than two a day and women, one a day. In this case, calories are the bottom line when trying to maintain or lose weight. And we all know, too many calories will sabotage your effort to keep your weight down.

So the more you drink, the more calories you will take in. Distilled spirits have no carbs to begin with, but you get carbs and calories from the mixers, like Coke and orange juice. The more you have, the more calories you'll absorb. Again, it's all about portion control.

Artificial Sweeteners
People are using artificial sweetener products in an attempt to save calories. However, there's some evidence that you may actually increase your daily calorie intake by relying too much on sweeteners, but its very preliminary.

A recent study was conducted to demonstrate how sweeteners, like saccharin, can disrupt your body's natural ability to count calorie intake. Our bodies are able to judge by a food's taste and texture the amount of calories we're taking in over the course of a day, and artificial sweeteners can trick this natural balance, forcing us to eat more calories that we're normally used to eating.

Most popular sweeteners - NutraSweet and Splenda, which is popping up in lots of new sodas - can cut the amount of calories from soda in half. This is good news if you're a soda drinker.

The bottom line, artificial sweeteners are OK in moderation, especially if they're being used to replace higher calorie foods or beverages. But until we know more about whether or not they can actually contribute to weight gain, it's better to proceed with caution.

Fat-Free And Low-Fat Foods
Like many foods with artificial sweeteners, a lot of these so-called low-fat and fat-free foods are packaged, processed and offer lower carbs and calories, but not much else in terms of nutrition. The exception: low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese and low-fat milk. They can provide some nutrients.

On the other hand, low-fat muffins, for example, contain fewer calories than regular muffins, but there's not much else besides calories. You're better off eating foods that are naturally low-fat, such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. These foods are low in calories, high in water and high in energy density.

A recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that subjects who ate a big salad with a little dressing as a first course during lunch ate fewer calories than those who did not. If you're eating fruits and vegetables instead of low-fat muffins, you're not sacrificing the taste of the food, and you're getting much more nutrition.

To manage your weight, limit the amount of processed and packaged foods that are often loaded with refined sugars, and emphasize plant foods, and add some protein and fat to add taste, texture and palatability to your meals.

More weight loss tips...

Five Appetite Control Foods for Weight Loss

20by Mike Adams

There is a reality about weight loss that people need to be aware of. Losing weight requires you to feel hungry from time to time. There is no way to lose weight without feeling some degree of hunger. Believe me, I have exhaustively explored this issue. I have tried appetite suppressants.

I have tried food combinations. I have tried meal-timing strategies. I have tried just about everything natural under the sun to eliminate those hunger pangs and food cravings that you get when you are attempting to lose weight and there is nothing that completely eliminates those cravings. Hoodia gordonii helps, as I've stated in previous articles, but it by no means turns off your hunger like a light switch.

There are many strategies that help reduce hunger: avoiding refined carbohydrates, getting plenty of natural sunlight on your skin, drinking large amounts of water on a regular basis, and getting plenty of fiber in your diet. But there is nothing that absolutely eliminates hunger. The bottom line is that if you are going to lose weight, you are going to experience hunger at one time or another. This is especially true if you, like me, engage in strength training. Nothing gets your appetite whipped into a fury like the leg press.

The key in all this is realizing there's nothing wrong with experiencing hunger from time to time. It's a normal human response to a decrease in your consumption of calories. The problem that most people encounter when they feel hungry is they feel it's some sort of emergency. It feels like they are dying or wasting away when, in fact, the body is just signaling that it doesn't have enough calories to add new fat to the fat stores it's already carrying around.

The first feelings of hunger are really more of a false alarm than anything to be concerned about. At least from a logical point of view. (But when you feel like you're starving, logic goes out the window, right?)

A person who is aiming for a low percentage of body fat learns to manage their hunger so that it becomes something they can live with. In my own experience with losing weight -- and remember, I dropped 50 pounds of body fat using absolutely no drugs or pharmaceuticals of any kind -- I found that there are several "lifesaving" foods and beverages you can turn to when you are feeling intense hunger pains but you don't want to consume foods that add significant calories to your daily intake.

These foods and drinks are what I call emergency appetite control foods. What these foods and beverages have in common is that they make your stomach feel like it's full of calorie-rich foods. But in reality, you are filling your stomach with foods that contain almost no calories or carbohydrates. This way, even though your stomach is full, you are not adding calories to your intake. But your body is temporarily fooled into thinking you've just woofed down a triple-plate buffet.

In other words, if you eat two cups of cashews versus two cups of cabbage, your body can't really tell the difference for the first few minutes. Your stomach will turn off the hunger signals thinking you have eaten a large quantity of food regardless of whether you are eating cabbage or cashews, but in fact the cabbage may only contain 20 calories while the cashews contain as much as 900 or even 1000 calories. Two cups of cashews provides probably half the calories you need for the entire day, whereas two cups of cabbage provides virtually no calories whatsoever. You burn off the cabbage just digesting it. (Raw cabbage is, in fact, an outright cure for ulcers. But that's another article...)

Emergency appetite control food #1
Fresh drinking water. That's right: water is a powerful appetite suppressant and if you drink an 8-ounce glass of water when you first start feeling hungry, you will find that it suppresses your appetite in nearly every case. If you just drink a full glass of water and have the discipline to wait 10 minutes, you will find that your appetite is either completely gone or dramatically reduced.

Your next choice, if water does not do the trick for you, is to purchase a 32-ounce quart of natural, organic vegetable broth. You can get organic vegetable broth from Trader Joe's, health food stores, or even many of the finer grocery stores that have a natural health section. The key is to get organic vegetable broth that does not contain excitotoxins. These are ingredients that cause neurological disorders because they overexcite and harm nerve cells.

Those ingredients are MSG, yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, and other similar ingredients. Warning: watch out for broth products made by Kitchen Basics. They claim their products don't contain MSG or yeast extract, but when I tried their product, I experienced a massive "MSG headache" that tells me it contains free glutamic acid that isn't listed on the label. (I'm very sensitive to MSG.) The brand of broth I buy is Trade Joe's house brand, which does not contain free glutamic acid.

You can also choose organic chicken broth if you prefer the flavor of chicken. Once you have that, simply empty the entire quart into a very large bowl, heat it up and eat it like soup. You will probably be unable to get through the entire bowl without feeling full. And how many calories have you consumed? Not 900 like you get in two cups of cashews or 1200 like in a big Mac, not even 300 calories like you get from a typical protein bar, instead you get 20 calories only. That's right: you can feel full on 20 calories by drinking an entire quart of organic vegetable broth.

Emergency appetite control food #2
The next best strategy is to turn to green vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, bokchoy, and other leafy vegetables. They have so few calories that in my own diet, I don't even count them. That's right: I allow myself to eat an unlimited quantity of any green leafy vegetables without even recording the number of calories I have consumed. In my book, they are "free" foods.
It takes just as many calories for your body to digest them as you get out of the foods themselves.

And yet at the same time, they fill your stomach and make you feel full, turning off the hunger signals in your brain. You may have also heard these called "negative calorie foods."

You can consume these green leafy vegetables in a couple of ways. Most people don't like to eat them plain. Instead, you can fill up a very large bowl (I am talking about something the size of a family dinner salad bowl) with lettuce and salad greens, then add only 100 calories worth of salad dressing. You will want to find some of the lower calorie salad dressings out there, and of course you want to avoid MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, and other ingredients in salad dressings. There are many very good salad dressings that only have 25 calories per tablespoon.

Using those dressings, you can put four tablespoons of salad dressing on your salad and start munching away. In a few minutes, you will feel quite full and yet will have only consumed 100 calories that count. Remember the calories for the green leafy vegetables are free. You only count the calories of the salad dressing itself. This is an excellent way to fill your stomach and turn off your hunger signals while only giving yourself 100 calories.

Another strategy that uses green leafy vegetables is to stir fry them in a pan with no oils whatsoever. Just use water and flavoring such as onions, garlic and soy sauce. Simply stir fry all the green vegetables you want, add the spices and eat it. I do not count the calories in onions or garlic either, nor do I count the calories in soy sauce since none of these spices have very high calorie density. As a result, that entire meal goes in your stomach and counts for zero calories. Once again, it's a great way to curb you appetite without consuming large quantities of calorie rich food.

Emergency appetite control food #3
This is one of my favorites: I call it my "instant banana pudding" recipe, but of course, it's nothing at all like store-bought pudding. You'll need a blender for this one.

Add a quart of soy milk to the blender, then a couple of scoops of unsweetened banana-flavored simply natural spirutein soy protein powder. (Sources are listed in the downloadable book, "Secret Sources." Add stevia powder as the sweetener. I also toss in some supergreens powders, but you may want to avoid that at first, since it's an acquired taste (and it turns your banana pudding green).

If you were to blend this up, you'd have a banana-flavored soy protein shake. But we're not done yet: while the blender is running, put in about 1/2 tablespoon of guar gum powder, plus another 1/2 tablespoon of xanthan gum powder. These are thickeners. Within seconds, your blender will start whining and the whole mixture will attain the consistency of pudding. Now just pour it into a bowl and eat it like banana pudding! The mixture has near-zero carbs, no sugars, and is high in soy protein. Plus, it tastes great and fills you up fast. This is my favorite choice for a late-night appetite emergency.

You can get guar gum and xanthan gum at a health food store, or order online at a vitamin supplier.

Emergency appetite control food #4
The last food is pickles. That's right, pickles. But I am not talking about the pickles you find at a regular grocery store. Nearly all pickles you find in grocery stores contain artificial food coloring. They have a yellowish tint to them that has been added through the use of chemical colors. This is not a natural ingredient and so it is something you want to avoid purchasing.

Instead, you want to buy completely natural pickles like the ones you get at Trader Joe's that are made without artificial colors or flavors and that have an extremely low calorie count as well. An entire jar of pickles may give you only 50 calories or so and yet they can be quite satisfying and take up a considerable amount of space in your stomach, thereby turning off your appetite cravings.

Just don't buy pickles containing any added sugars or artificial colors. Some pickles are, believe it or not, loaded with sugar. They're more like candied cucumbers than pickles. Read the ingredients labels to be sure what you're getting.

By the way, while you're eating pickles, it's an excellent time to take some calcium and mineral supplements, too. The acidity of the pickles will accelerate the absorption of calcium.

Emergency appetite control food #5
Here's an easy one: apples. Yep, apples. Eat the largest apple you can find. Sure, you'll get some calories and some carbs, but the apple will fill you up for quite a while, and that will stop you from eating far more calorie-dense foods.

Let me explain why this is such an effective strategy. If you're crazy hungry, it's very easy to reach for some processed foods (bag of chips, for example) and start munching away until you've consumed 1000 calories or more. And that's about half the total calories you need for the entire day!

But I dare you to try to eat 1000 calories worth of apples. It's impossible. You'll fill up even before reaching 400 calories, probably. Apples are great appetite suppressing foods because the bulky fiber fills up your stomach and turns off your appetite control hormones before you overeat. Plus, apples contain various phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. They're even a decent source of folic acid.

How to further suppress your appetite:One more supplementary strategy to all of this is that you can multiply the appetite suppressing effects of all foods by swallowing a couple of fiber tablets before you begin eating. Fiber tablets or capsules would include psyllium husk, glucomannan, oat bran fiber, apple pectin fiber, or other natural fibers. You can find fiber supplements at any health food store. Be careful to watch the dosage of the fiber and drink plenty of water as you take these pills because without adequate water, they can gum up in your digestive tract and in extreme cases, they can block your digestive tract. So, you want to drink plenty of water with them.

By consuming both the fiber and the water before you start eating, you've already significantly turned off your appetite. Then by consuming these extremely low caloric density foods and beverages, you will further suppress your appetite. You can get an entire meal into your stomach for 100 calories or less and you can trick your brain into thinking you consumed an all-you-can-eat buffet.

But there's a catch to all this: in about an hour or so, your body will figure out that there isn't much energy in the food you've consumed. Your hunger will begin to return, but at least you delayed the onset of that hunger by an hour or more. If you combine this with physical exercise, you can delay it even further because the very act of exercising releases stored body fat and converts it back into blood sugar, which raises your blood sugar level and suppresses your appetite cravings.

You can also extend the effect of this by taking appetite suppressant supplements. Hoodia gordonii is one I've reviewed quite extensively, and it is currently increasing in popularity. My own experience is that hoodia tincture can help, but even hoodia doesn't shut off appetite completely.

Also, you don't want to starve yourself by eating these 100-calorie meals all day long. Remember, starvation is the fastest way to train your body to hold on to body fat. These are just items to get you past a difficult time when your appetite is unbearably intense.

Each day, you still need to get nutrition into your body in the form of whole foods and whole food supplements. The kind of meals I consume are soups made with quinoa, salads with low-calorie dressing, raw fruits and nuts, or avocado shakes made by blending avocado with soy milk and stevia. Of course, I also consume my superfood shakes on a regular basis. They are made from superfoods green powders such as Berry Green or The Ultimate Meal.

Overall, keep in mind that weight loss takes effort. You will experience moments of intense hunger, and these low-calorie, filling foods are one excellent way to get through a difficult time without packing on the pounds.