Diet tips 10 - Drink Diet Drinks... and Gain Weight!

During the past two decades, the number of people who use artificial, no-calorie sweeteners has more than doubled. At the same time, the prevalence of people who are overweight and obese has also increased dramatically. Here's even more evidence that diet drinks can make you fat: The International Journal of Obesity published a study showing that when a group of rats drank an artificially sweetened liquid, they consumed three times more calories than another group of rats that did not get the sweetened liquid. Both groups had the same access to food.

Source: www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com

Diet tips 9 - Eat More to Lose More (Weight, that is)

If your goal is to lose weight this year - whether 5 pounds or 50 - you should NOT go on a diet. Dieting fails for more than 9 out of 10 people - for two very simple reasons.

First, most "diets" focus on restricting the amount of food you eat. And unless you enjoy being in a perpetual state of hunger, you won't stick with it. Plus, by restricting calories, you send a signal to your body that you are starving. This sets off a survival mechanism that slows down your metabolism and causes your body to hoard what you eat and store it as fat. With a decreased metabolism, you're bound to regain the weight - and then some - when you begin to eat normally.

If you want to lose weight - and keep it off for life - you should eat smaller meals more frequently. And you should focus on eating more of the right foods. This will raise your metabolism naturally. It will send a signal to your body that there is no emergency - that it is okay to release fat.

So ditch the foods that add to your belly and detract from your health, and keep your kitchen (and your workplace) well stocked with nutritious foods and snacks. I make it a point to always keep fruit, yogurt (unsweetened... I just add a little stevia and berries), almonds, sardines, peanut butter, and celery around. I also spend some time every few weeks to make healthy meals that I can freeze in individual portions. That way, when I don't have time to prepare a meal, I always have a healthy lunch or dinner ready to go.

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to lose weight, don't plan to do it by dieting. Stop starving yourself... and lose the weight forever by eating more of the foods that Mother Nature intended for you to eat.

Source: www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com

Diet tips 8 - Want to Lose Weight? Add Some Almonds to Your Diet

You may have heard that nuts are fattening. But in fact, nuts can be a great weight-loss food. For one thing, they digest slowly and therefore satisfy your hunger longer. Not only that, nuts are a source of monounsaturated fats - and most nutrition experts believe that these fats (which are found in olive oil and almonds) actually help people lose fat, improve insulin resistance, reduce cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.

Researchers in California conducted a study of overweight and obese subjects. Half of the participants consumed 84 grams of almonds each day, and the other half did not. Both groups consumed the same amount of calories. The result? Those in the group that ate almonds achieved substantial decreases in weight, fat mass, body water, and blood pressure, as compared to those who did not eat almonds.

Source: www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com

Diet tips 7 - A Realistic Approach to Weight Loss

Sally has an ambitious weight-loss goal for 2005. She is planning on losing 40 pounds. In breaking it down to monthly goals, she said she figured she'd lose four pounds a month for 10 months and then celebrate in October. If she fell behind a little bit, she'd have two months to catch up.

That is good thinking, but I suggested the following adjustment. Rather than an even four pounds per month, she should plan to lose weight more realistically. For example, she could shoot for six pounds in the first three months, five pounds for the next three, three pounds for the next two, and the final pound in the ninth month.

That kind of approach corresponds better to how your body actually works. You'll take off more weight in the beginning -- when your new eating and exercise programs are having the greatest impact -- and then give yourself more time to settle into a stable routine for the rest of your life.

Source: www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com