Shocking Obesity Statistics

• General Population 
- More than one third of U.S. adults-more than 72 million people-and 16% of U.S. children are obese 
- Since 1980, obesity rates for adults have doubled and rates for children have tripled 
- Among Americans age 20 and older, 142 million are overweight or obese (73 million men and 69 million women) 
- Of these 142 million overweight or obese people, 67 million are obese (30.7 million men and 36.7 million women) 
- From 1960 to 2004, the prevalence of overweight increased from 44.8% to 66% in U.S. adults age 20 to 74. 
- From 1960 to 2004, the prevalence of obesity increased from 13.3% to 32.1% in U.S. adults age 20 to 74, with most of this rise occurring since 1980

• Childhood Obesity 
- Over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years 
- Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults (this increases to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese) 
- 13.9 percent of children two to five years of age, 18.8 percent of children six to 11 years of age, and 17.4 percent of adolescents 12 to 19 years of age in America are obese 
- Among infants and children between 6 and 23 months, the prevalence of obesity rose from 7.2% in 1976-1980 to 11.5% in 2003-2004 
- Nearly 14% of children between the ages of 2 and 5 were overweight in 2003-2004, up from 10.3% in 1999-2000 
- Children who are considered overweight have a 70% chance of becoming overweight adults 
- Among overweight children and teens between the ages of 2 and 19 (or their parents), 36.7% reported ever having been told by a doctor or HCP that they were overweight (for those between the ages of 2 and 5, this percentage was 17.4%)

• Increased Risk of Disease 
- Being obese increases a child's risk for some serious childhood medical problems, including: 
- Asthma 
- Pre-diabetes and diabetes: (a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that one in three American children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime) 
- Heart disease, high blood pressure (early indicators of atherosclerosis, the most common cause of heart disease, begin as early as childhood and adolescence in children with risk factors. Atherosclerosis is related to high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which are associated with poor eating habits and overweight) 
- Sleep apnea and breathing problems 
- Bone conditions, such as hip problems 
- Gastro-intestinal diseases 
- Early puberty 
- Psychological problems, like poor self-esteem and depression 
- Obese children are more than twice as likely to have diabetes as nonobese children 
- An as-yet-unpublished study led by Dr Geetha Raghueveer, from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, was presented at the recent American Heart Association conference in New Orleans. The researchers found that the artery walls of obese children and teens, or those who have high cholesterol, are as thick as artery walls in the average 45-year-old 
- With children, measuring BMI and taking action if it's too high can actually help prevent heart disease from developing 
- The prevalence of overweight among adolescents in the United States has nearly tripled in the past two decades... Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. Overweight and obesity are closely linked to type 2 diabetes. - U.S. Surgeon General 
- During the mid-1990s, type 2 diabetes in youth increased ten-fold in the US, and mirrored the childhood obesity epidemic. - Dr. Kaufman ("Childhood Obesity: The Declining Health of America's Next Generation," testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families, July 16, 2008) 
- In children who are overweight, between 25 percent and 40 percent will have the metabolic syndrome that sets the stage for diabetes and heart problems

• Multicultural Populations 
- Among women, the age-adjusted prevalence of overweight or obesity in racial and ethnic minorities is higher among non-Hispanic Black and Mexican-American women than among non-Hispanic White women (among men, there is little difference in prevalence among these three groups) 
- African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups in the U.S. (about four out of five African American women are overweight or obese) 
- Among Mexican American women, 73 percent are overweight or obese, as compared to only 61.6 percent of the general female population 
- Among Hispanic adults age 18 and older, 39.6% are overweight and 27.5% are obese 
- African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians have been experiencing the highest rates of increase in childhood obesity. On average, 25 percent of children in these ethnic groups are obese 
- Among children between the ages of 2 and 5, 13% of non-Hispanic blacks and 19% of Mexican Americans are overweight. (Scott Christ)

The Main Benefits of Endermologie

TK
Cellulite. Those trapped pockets of fat near the surface of the skin that make your skin look bumpy and puckered. Unappealing to most, it appears in problematic areas such as the upper thighs, buttocks, and stomach where many fibrous bands exist to trap fat. Since these areas are slow to react to the benefits of exercise, once cellulite appears, it is often difficult and impossible for those affected to eliminate it. Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence in women even if they do exercise on a regular basis.

Several creams and pills flood the market boasting their curative properties fighting cellulite, but most are only very temporary solutions to a permanent problem. Other treatment methods with longer lasting results can be acquired from cosmetic procedures involving invasive surgery, such as liposuction. However, these are not viable options for those unwilling to go under the knife for the sake of their vanity.

Is there no remedy to "Orange Peel" or "Cottage Cheese" skin, then?

Of course not! In treatments that are about 40 minutes in length, Endermologie® reduces or eliminates cellulite with long lasting results in a non-invasive cosmetic procedure that is not surgical. It is also less expensive than liposuction.

Using a hand held device with motorized rollers and controlled suction, the targeted areas are massaged deeply to stretch fibers that are attached to fat, stimulate blood circulation and lymphatic drainage while the patient wears a body stocking. Toxins are released, allowing for the reduction of cellulite in a painless procedure. This unique device has been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and has been researched and tested throughout the years.

Endermologie® is not only for cellulite, though. It can be used for those suffering from poor blood circulation, muscular pains, and to exfoliate the skin to smoothen it. In fact, the procedure was originally invented over three decades ago in France for the purposes of acting as rehabilitative treatment for damaged muscular tissue, burns and scars. The reduction of cellulite was simply a side effect to the procedure, and was first used in the United States a decade ago for this purpose.

Usually, a few treatments are required before the appearance of cellulite is reduced or eliminated. It can begin with two procedures per week then gradually, as the results become apparent, follow up treatments are scheduled once per month. Those who have been treated with Endermologie® should continue to exercise and diet accordingly to maintain its effects.

To find out more about Endermologie® and to see if it is the right treatment for you, please visit your physician and cosmetic surgeon.

Different Types of Adult Obesity and Herbal Drugs

The fat is broken down in different ways in the body. It is quite important to determine the fat distribution, as the impact on health is not the same depending on the location of overweight. In obesity or overweight type female (gynecoid), excess fat is located at the hips, buttocks and legs. In obesity or overweight type male (android), excess fat is located at the abdominal organs on the abdominal wall and sometimes on the upper back. There are also mixed types, especially when obesity is very important.

This classification is somewhat simplistic and does not reflect the variety of human types. However, it is estimated that obesity-type female is not as serious as that of male type. This type of obesity is often more serious and results in metabolic disorders: diabetes type II with onset of insulin resistance, abnormal blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and cardiovascular disorders associated with increased risk of cancers.

Too many Kilos, those that are potentially hazardous to health, are mainly located at the waist and hidden in the abdominal organs. Measuring waist circumference is a simple and practical way of knowing if the overload fat is in the abdomen. There is a danger when the waist reaches more than 1 meter for men and more than 95 cm for women. Anyway, we must interpret the measure by the size of the individual.

The ability to grow is a legacy of ancient times, when our "caves" ancestors have absolutely to store up food when it was available. The best course is to keep it on oneself for hard times. This ability to store fat and use it later has allowed humanity to survive despite recurring famines.

In some populations, there was even selections of the fittest to make such bold among Polynesians (Maori). Indeed, climatic variations in the Pacific region (nino, nina, cyclones) cause, in these very remote islands, famines that could last many weeks or months. Today, with the decline of physical labor, abundant food and reduced energy needs, this "advantage" becomes genetically negative, it promotes the onset of obesity.

Experts say that obesity is on average 25 to 30% of cases in part genetic and the rest linked to eating and physical behavior, when both parents are normal or underweight, the risk of becoming big in turn in adulthood is less than 10%. When one parent is large, this risk is about 40% to 80% if both are.

We grow mainly because we absorb more calories (as food) than we use. There is an imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure overall. One should recall that the accumulation of fat in fat cells (adipocytes) is something daily and quite normal. Several physiological mechanisms allow transforming what was eaten into fats, immediately stored in the fatty tissue in the form of triglycerides.

These stored fats will be used to request the opportunity to make prolonged exercise or during a period of fasting, for instance. It is the increase in the number of adipocytes, their hypertrophy and disruption of their activity that cause the accumulation of grease resulting in morbid obesity.

We know that medium weight is a parameter remarkably stable during adulthood. It grows sustainably when the food-energy imbalance is chronic and changes in both the number of fat cells (increase) and their regulation, physiological mechanisms that maintain the weight almost constant are disturbed, consequently you inexorably gain weight. This overweight will, no doubt, stabilize, but at a higher level.

We grow sustainably when fat cells accumulate triglycerides (fats) but do not "know" anymore how to free them when the body needs them. Added to this energy imbalance related to food, other causes may be hormonal reasons (puberty, pregnancy, endocrine disruption related to chronic stress), a lower metabolic regulation of carbohydrate and fat associated with aging (we grow with age), dietary reasons (diet too rich in fat immediately stored in adipocytes and food artificially high in sucrose and fructose) and perhaps an environment and food contaminated by pesticides or alimentary adulterants (dyes, changes of taste, aroma ) which insidiously alter our metabolism, from childhood.

Many solutions exist to fight over-weight. Chemical drugs are available on the market, however, suchlike products have a lot of nasty side-effects. Surgery is also possible but it is a heavy and risky operation. Herbal drugs are plants-based products free from any-side-effects. They are very accessible and not expensive. Obesity is a curable disease and the best way to heal it is to resort to natural therapies such as herbal treatments.

Ines Khalsi fitness professor, she has acquired a significant experience in weight loss therapies, having weight problems herself; she went across different medicines and discovered that herbal medicine is the safer way to lose superfluous kilos. She also discovered that herbal medicine can be used to fix many physical deficiencies.  She has gained a significant knowledge in the field and now she wants to share with other people. Ines Khalsi.

How Lamb and Pears Can Help Your Food Allergy

Jack Prime
Lamb and pears may appear to be a strange combination, but the reason they are chosen as part of a food allergy diet is because they are rarely indicated in allergies and are therefore relatively safe foods for most people with a food allergy to eat.

Often the best way to treat a food allergy is to avoid the food that causes the allergy altogether so a period of exclusion gives your body a chance to tell you which foods are making you ill and whether you react to one food or many foods.

An exclusion diet consists of eliminating one or more foods completely from the diet for a given period of time and then reintroducing foods one at a time to check for adverse reactions.

If you are committed to the process your efforts will be rewarded with the food, or foods, that cause your problems and you can be free of the symptoms and distress a food allergy may cause.

The principle of the lamb and pears food allergies diet is that you only eat these two foods, lamb, pears and bottled or filtered water, for five to seven days. During the course of the food allergy diet you can begin reintroducing other foods one at a time and gauge whether they cause a food allergy reaction.

As the lamb and pears food allergy diet is so restrictive it gives a chance for your system to clear and reveal the hidden allergies which are causing illness or allergy symptoms.

Keep a food diary to track your progress and note down how you are feeling during the diet.

If your food allergy symptoms disappear during the diet you can try and reintroduce suspect foods to see if they cause you a reaction. Keep a note of how you feel before and after eating the different foods you reintroduce.

Any food that does cause a reaction needs to be kept out of your diet and placed on your "foods to avoid list". If a food passes your test successfully you can place it on your "foods you can eat" list.

For best results take each step slowly; reintroduce foods slowly, perhaps one food per meal and if possible one food per day.

A variation of the lamb and pears food allergy diet allows you to eat turkey and peaches, or rabbit and raspberries.

Important note! A two food diet is very restrictive and should never be followed without close supervision or for an extended period of time. Severe exclusion diets can compromise your nutritional well-being so pregnant women, children, diabetics, epileptics, anyone with emotional disturbances or anyone with a serious illness should seek professional advice before embarking on any type of food allergy treatment or exclusion diet.

How to Really Make Your Diet Work For You

Stanislav Karpunin
First of all, you need to understand, that your body needs a proper Balanced Nutrition Diet, with a proper daily amount of: vitamins, proteins, minerals and carbohydrates.

Get into a habit of eating exactly 3 Meals a day.

1. Eat breakfast within one hour of rising.
Breakfast provides at least 30 percent of the total energy and nutrition needed to sustain the human body during the whole day. And therefore it is very important to have a proper breakfast and not to skip it.

2. Have a healthy low-fat lunch snack.
Have a healthy snack in your lunch time, low fat yogurt for example, to keep your energy running.

3. Have your dinner three hours before your bedtime.
Have a Proper dinner three hours before your bedtime; never go to bed on a full stomach.

Drink at least 2 liters of water a day. 2 liters of water a day would help your body to burn calories more effectively and to get rid of toxins.

Exercising is a KEY.
By exercising, your body gets an advantage of many physiological benefits such as:

Weight Control by elevating your metabolism so that you burn more calories daily.
The Boost in your energy level
Strengthening of your heart and lungs
Improvement in your self-image and self-confidence.
So, don't forget to exercise at least 10 minutes a day.
Try to avoid using fats. Try to keep the fat level in your cooking as low as possible.

Make Calcium your friend. Include as much calcium as you can in your daily diet by eating:

Oranges
Broccoli
Soybeans
Tofu
Sunflower Seeds
Papaya
And other sources of calcium. Calcium is a crucial element for bone metabolism. Calcium deficiency is very common. The "Average" American diet does not even come close to meeting the normal calcium requirements:
425 mg. a day for Men
450 mg. a day for Women

So, to sum it up:
1. Have exactly 3 meals a day
2. Drink at least 2 liters of water a day
3. Exercise at least 10 minutes a day
4. Avoid fats
5. Make calcium your friend

By following these 5 simple rules, you will be losing weight in no time.

How To Lose 20 Pounds REALLY, REALLY Fast

Tom Venuto

Back "in the day" when I used to be a full time personal trainer and I met with clients in person at my New Jersey Health Club, the first thing I would always ask my clients during the initial consultation was:

"Tell me exactly what you want... and I'll show you how to get it."

Typical reply from client:

"I want to lose 20 pounds fast."

My reply:

"Are you SURE that's what you want? If I can show you how to lose 20 pounds REALLY, REALLY fast, will that make you happy?"

They nodded their head affirmatively as their eyes lit up in anticipation of the quick weight loss secrets I was about to reveal.

Their face went white when - with a totally straight face - I pulled out a hacksaw and started walking towards them.... menacingly.

Not sure whether to laugh or to run away in sheer terror, they said,

"What the heck are you doing?"

"You said you wanted to lose 20 pounds fast. This is the easiest, surest, most effective way I know to take 20 pounds off you FAST! In fact, I figure that right leg of yours might even weigh 25 pounds!"

I kept walking closer and started to get into sawing position, wielding my fast, effective and guaranteed weight loss tool.

"Bear with me because this IS quick, but sometimes it takes a few minutes for me to cut through the bone."

By this time, my client and I are either completely cracking up, or I have seriously scared the living you know what out of them, or they just think I'm a complete lunatic. (it depends on whether I was able to keep a straight face or not).

Finally, the light bulb goes on, and my client would see where I was going with this:

"Okay, smart alec," I get it. I don't want to lose WEIGHT, I want to lose FAT."

Sometimes I would be having so much fun, I would just keep on playin'.

"But why not? This is easy, fast and guaranteed - just what everyone wants these days, it's even better than taking a pill! Come on, let me hack it off! You'll be my next testimonial: 'I lost 20 pounds in 5 minutes!' Imagine what that will do for my business!"

"Very funny. I told you, I get it, I get it! I want to lose FAT, not muscles and bones. I need my leg!

Naturally, of course, I didn't always have to pull out my trusty blade. Every once in a while, about as often as a total solar eclipse, a client answers my question like this:

"What do I want? Tom, I want to lose 20 pounds of body fat in the next 12 weeks. I want to do it slowly, safely and healthfully and then keep it off permanently. I want all the fat around my hips and thighs completely gone and I want a firm flat stomach. I want muscle all over my body while still looking feminine. I'd like to see myself at about 16% body fat and maintain all my muscle or gain a few pounds of lean mass if I can, especially in my arms. This is important to me because I want to set a good example for my kids, I want to be healthy and live to at least 90 and I want my husband to look at me and say, "I love your body, honey," and I want to be able to *honestly* say back to him, "me too!"

It is on these rare occasions that I know there is still intelligent life on this planet.

If you could answer the question, "What do you want" with the degree of clarity that this woman did, I don't think you would ever have any difficulty reaching your health and fitness goals... or any other goal in your life, for that matter.

This answer is what you call a very "well-formed" goal, backed up with lots of emotional motivation-inducing "reasons why."

"I want to lose weight" is a poorly-formed goal.

"Weight" is not the same as "fat." Weight includes muscle, bone, internal organs as well as lots and lots of water.

If you only get ONE thing from this article, get this:

WHAT YOU REALLY WANT IS TO BURN THE FAT, WHILE KEEPING THE MUSCLE!!!!

FAT LOSS is what you want, not weight loss.

If your body was 100% rock-solid muscle, with absolutely nothing that jiggled (unless it was supposed to), would you care how much you weighed?

I bet you wouldn't!

SO STOP WORSHIPPING THE SCALE AND START MEASURING YOUR BODY COMPOSITION!

By measuring your body fat, you take the guesswork out of your health and fitness plan and you get an accurate picture of what's really happening in your body as a result of your diet and exercise program.

Instead of worrying about whether you are losing muscle, or wondering if you are losing fat, you can measure it and KNOW for sure. (I always get a good chuckle when someone tells me they're worried about losing muscle when they don't even measure how much muscle they have!)

Instead of being confused by all the "opinions" from weight loss and exercise "experts" who are all telling you something different, you can MEASURE your body composition and based on the results, you can KNOW for sure whether your program is working.

A very wise man once said,

"A single measurement is worth a thousand opinions."

So, how do you measure body fat?

There are many methods. Thanks to technology, there are some methods today that are so accurate, they can tell you whether your left pinky has more fat than your right pinky! Unfortunately, many of them are either too expensive or they are inaccessible, being found only in hospitals or research facilities.

Instead of boring you with a lecture about all the various body fat testing methods, let me give you three quick and easy, practical suggestions:

Suggestion 1: Have a trainer or fitness professional measure your body fat if this service is available at your local health club. Sometimes, there's a charge - usually $15 - $25, although some clubs offer the service for free to all their members.

Suggestion 2: Purchase an Accu-measure skinfold caliper. The Accumeasure was designed to allow you to measure your own body fat in the privacy of your own home (you don't need someone else to measure you). Do a google or yahoo search to find a reseller.

Some people wonder if this is really accurate. Truth is, it's not quite as accurate as a multi site skinfold test from an experienced tester, but it's better than nothing. Besides, what's most important is not the "accuracy" per se, but the reliability and ! consistency of your measurements so you can track your progress. Skinfold calipers in general are not accurate or inaccurate, it's the person doing the test that is accurate or inaccurate.

Suggestion 3: If you have a spouse, roommate, or friend who can measure your body fat, you can purchase a "Slim Guide" body fat caliper. The Slimguide is the best inexpensive (about $20), caliper available for multi-site testing, but it wasn't designed for you to measure your own body fat like the Accu Measure. Other models of body fat calipers (if you want to splurge), range from $150 to $450. (At our health clubs, I use the electronic "SKYNDEX" caliper with the 4-site "Durnin formula.")

The calipers come with instructions, or you can use these formulas, which I have used and found to be very accurate:

4 Site formula for men (abdomen, suprailiac, thigh, tricep)

% fat = .29288(sum of 4 skinfolds) - 0.0005(sum of four skinfolds squared) + 0.15845(age) - 5.76377

4-Site Formula for women (abdomen, suprailiac, thigh, tricep)

% Fat = (.29669)(sum of 4 skinfolds) - (.00043)(Sum of four skinfolds squared) + .02963(age) + 1.4072

Source: Jackson A S, Pollock, M (1985) Practical assessment of body composition. Physician Sport Med. 13: 76-90.

Body fat percentages vary based on age and gender, but 20-25% body fat is average for women (15-19% is ideal), while 15-20% is average for men (10-14% is ideal).

Once you know your body fat percentage, then weigh yourself and record your weight and body fat on a progress chart. You can also calculate your lean body mass (muscle and other fat free tissue) very easily just by crunching some numbers:

For example, if you weigh 200 pounds and you have 10% body fat then you have 20 pounds of fat (10% of 200 = 20). That means you have a lean body mass (LBM) of 180 pounds. Now we're talking! With this data, you can get a really clear picture of how your exercise and nutrition program are affecting your physique.

Losing weight is very easy. Losing fat - and keeping it off without losing muscle - is a much bigger challenge. If you simply wanted to lose weight, we could just chop off your leg. Or, (slightly less painful), I could show you how to drop 10 - 15 pounds over the weekend just by dehydrating yourself and using natural herbal diuretics. Bodybuilders and wrestlers do it all the time to make a weight class. But what good would that do if it's almost all water and you're just going to gain it all back within days?

You don't have to "throw away your scale" like many "experts" tell you to. By all means, keep using the scale, the tape measure and even photographs and the mirror - the more feedback the better, but body fat is where it's at.

By the way, I recently bought a chain saw and a shiny new axe from Home Depot, and I've been practicing my "A merican Psycho" and Jack Nicholson, "The Shining" impersonations... so if you want to come to my office any time soon for personal consultation, you'd better have the right answer to my question, "What do you want?"

Is Your Diet Colorblind?

Lee Dobbins

Next time you have a meal, look at your plate - what colors do you see? If its mostly white and brown then your diet might be colorblind!

In order to have a healthy diet you need foods from all the food groups and that means a colorful plate. Just eating meat and potatoes won't provide you with the essential vitamins and minerals you need to stay in your best health - you need to add in colorful fruits and vegetables!

If you want a good balanced diet, here's some colors you might want to see next time you look down at your plate:

Green

Green colored foods like peas, kale, spinach, honeydew melons, kiwifruit, dark leafy lettuces, and leafy greens contain lutein which helps maintain good vision and can help reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

Another green group includes broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, swiss chard, brussels sprouts, rutabaga, turnips, cauliflower, and watercress. These foods contain indoles, which can help reduce the risks of cancer and reduce tumor growth in cancer patients.

Yellow

The yellow orange colored food are high in bioflavonoids, which work in combination with vitamin C to help reduce the risk of cancer and heart attack. They also contain powerful antioxidants and help maintain healthy skin, strong bones, and good vision. The foods in this group include oranges, tangerines, pears, lemons, nectarines, grapefruit, peaches, apricots, pineapple, pineapple, yellow raisins, and yellow peppers.

Blue and Purple

Blueberries, purple grapes, blackberries, black currents and elderberries contain
Anthocyanins which can reduce the risks of heart attack, cancer, diabetic complications, Alzheimer's disease and age-related memory loss. Dark purple foods contain phenolics, which are powerful antioxidants and can help to slow the effects of aging.

Orange

Dark orange foods like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, apricots, peaches, carrots, cantaloupes, mangoes, and butternut squash contain beta-carotene, a powerful antioxident that can help keep your immune system healthy as well as maintain good vision and can even aid in reducing heart attacks and cancer.

Red

Tomatoes, guava, watermelon and pink grapefruit are all red colored foods. These foods contain lycopene which has been much publicized lately as helping to protect against prostate cancer. In addition, these foods can help reduce the risk of breast, and skin cancer as well as reduce the risk of heart attack.

Red onion, cherries, kidney beans, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, beets, red apples (with the skin), and red cabbage contain anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that can help control high blood pressure as well as reduce the risks of cancer, heart attack, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes complications.

One way to get a colorful plate at every meal is to try to fit in 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Try to include food from all these color groups at least once during the day and you will be surprised at how much your health improves.

Lose Weight by Eating More -- Food that is Virtually Impossible to Store as Body Fat

Marty Gallagher

Certain foods are extremely difficult for the human body to convert into body fat - not impossible but damned near impossible. By consuming calories derived from these foods, the anabolic margin of error is extended dramatically, which means it will be easier to lose fat and gain muscle, if you choose.

Lean protein, protein devoid of saturated fat, has been the staple, the bedrock nutrient of elite athletes for 50 years. Why? You can eat a mountain of lean protein and not get fat - assuming you train with intensity sufficient enough to trigger muscle growth. Lean protein is difficult for the body to break down and digest. As a direct result of this digestive difficulty, the body kicks the metabolic thermostat upward to break protein down into subcomponent amino acids.

The human body wants to preserve stored body fat as a last line of defense against starvation. If overworked and under-fed, the body will preferentially eat muscle tissue to save precious body fat.

Obese people that go on crash diets, precipitously slashing calories, might lose 100-pounds of body weight, yet still appear fat. Despite losing from say 350-pounds to 250-pounds, they still appear fat because they still are fat. The body has cannibalized muscle tissue and saved the fat. Though they might weigh 100-pounds less, they still possess 25-40% body fat percentile.

Lean protein is the bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it supplies muscle tissue battered by a high intensity weight workout with the amino acids needed to heal, recover and construct new muscle tissue. Lean protein is a bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it causes the basal metabolic rate (BMR) to elevate; the metabolic thermostat, the rate at which our body consumes calories, increases when digesting protein. Lean protein is a bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it is damned near impossible for the body to convert it into body fat.

The other bedrock nutrient in the physical transformation process is fibrous carbohydrates: carrots, broccoli, green beans, bell peppers, spinach, cauliflower, onions, asparagus, cabbage, salad greens, Brussels sprouts and the like. Fibrous carbohydrates, like lean protein, are nearly impossible for the body to convert into body fat. Fibrous carbohydrates require almost as many calories to digest as they contain. A green bean or carrot might contain 10-calories yet is so dense and difficult to break down that the body has to expend nearly as many calories to break down that bean or carrot as the vegetable contains.

Fibrous carbohydrates have a wonderful "Roto-Rooter" effect on the internal plumbing: as they work their way though the digestive passageways they scrape mucus and gunk off intestinal walls and help keep sludge buildup to a minimum. For this reason fibrous carbohydrates are the perfect compliment to a lean protein diet. Too much protein can cause bile buildup: fiber is the Yin to protein's Yang. The two nutrients should be eaten together.

Both protein and fiber have a beneficial dampening effect on insulin secretions. It is no accident that professional bodybuilders, the world's best dieters, capable of reducing body fat percentiles to 5% while maintaining incredible muscle mass, construct their eating regimen around protein and fiber.

The best way to eat is to eat often. If you eat 3,000 calories a day the best way is in five 600-calorie feeding or six 500-calorie feedings instead of a breakfast containing 400-calories, a lunch of 1000-calories and a late dinner of 1,600-calories. Avoid calories easily converted into body fat.

Eat multiple small meals in the 400-600 calorie range comprised exclusively of foods near impossible for the body to convert into body fat. Plus, these foods cause the metabolism, the BMR, the body thermostat to elevate in order to digest them. Optimally you should eat every three hours: in about the time the nutrients from the previous meal have dwindled, been expended and exhausted, in about the time the elevated metabolism is 'settling back down to normal,' eat another small protein/fiber meal. This reestablishes anabolism, kicks the metabolism upward once again and gives the body more practice at assimilating and distributing quality nutrients.

They say practice makes perfect and by eating small, power-packed, tough to digest meals every three hours, the metabolism is kept elevated, anabolism is established and maintained and the individual never feels hungry. A person who is not hungry is far less inclined to binge on sweets and treats, junk and trash then the crash diet/calorie cutters who always feel hungry, deprived, listless and lacking energy.

The small meal/protein/fiber approach has been used successfully by elite athletes for decades and is not some untried dietary abstraction - rather it is the proven method of choice, one that has withstood the test of time, one that has been used for decades and been proven effective time after time.

If a person is able to establish a multiple meal schedule comprised primarily of lean protein and fiber eaten every three hours, then adds to this eating schedule some serious weight training and a cardiovascular regimen, physical transformation is a biological certainty.

How to Lose Weight Healthily and Keep Fats Off Permanently

How to Lose Weight Healthily and Keep Fats Off Permanently
Chris Chew

Burn The Fats And Keep Them Off Permanently!

How many times have you heard a friend say, "I am on a diet"? Then what happens is your friend would lose some weight for a while before putting them all back on again.

I'll bet you have also heard someone said that "Cardio exercise is the best way for losing weight". This person would then religiously pound the treadmill but results are agonizingly slow. Soon, he gives up and gains back all the weight he had lost, and sometimes even gaining some extra kilos!

Ah, so you thought you've finally found the answer to permanent weight loss. You went on a strict diet and ran your heart out. Yes, you dropped kilos real quickly. But somehow, something is wrong when you look into the mirror in your birthday suit.

Yes you have lost some weight, but somehow your body shape isn't as flattering as you would like it to be. And then suddenly, you hit a plateau. No matter how strict your diet and cardio workouts are, your weight just simply refuses to drop any further. Then horrors of horrors, your kilograms actually started piling on! You get disillusioned with the unrewarding program and soon you succumbed, gave up and blame it on your bad genes. Sounds familiar? Why???

Here's why. Firstly, the heading of the article said "Burn The Fats" and not "Lose Weight". My point is, by merely losing weight, you will also lose some muscle mass in the process. By losing muscles, you will lose body tone and thus your metabolism for burning calories will slow down correspondingly. Therefore, you have got to maintain or even build muscles while losing fats. You may even gain some weight because muscles are heavier than fats. See the paradox?

To lose fats and keep them off permanently, you have to combine healthy eating habits, incorporate cardio exercises and lift weights to build muscles. For every kg of muscles you pack, you will burn an extra 70-100 calories per day even without doing anything. Can you imagine the benefits of building up 5kg of extra muscles? You will be burning 350 to 500 extra calories a day even if you just laze around. You'll be burning a Big Mac everyday! To further illustrate my point, 1 kg = about 7,700 calories, thus if you burn 500 calories a day because of the extra muscles you have, you will be burning off about 1 kg every 2 weeks simply because of your higher metabolism rate! You'll also look good, healthy and well-toned too! Is it any wonder why body builders eat so much but do not put on fats as easily?

Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fats. So while you will lose some weight at the beginning, you will look like, well, just a smaller version of you without any muscle tone. That's not what we want isn't it?

As you lose more and more muscles, your metabolism plummets. On top of that, your body will start conserving fats and 'eat' your muscles for energy because it is reacting to your strict diet and is now in the "famine" mode. What happens then is that you will hit a plateau and no matter what you do, you will not reduce anymore weight and your fats will start creeping up again. This, in a nutshell, is the 'yo-yo' dieting effect that we hear so much about.

Losing fats is simple. And notice that I said 'simple' but did not say that it is 'easy'. My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline on your part. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fats off permanently and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the changes in only a few weeks. By then, it will become a cultivated habit for you, especially when you are rewarded with a fitter, healthier, hunkier and sexier you, together with a glowing complexion to boot!

Here is how you do it. Simply, losing fat just means you must burn more calories than you consume. Period.

Lift weights with compound exercises. Forget those puny biceps and triceps curls. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with bigger parts with more mass, and that means more body muscles are working, translating into more calories being expended. If you are fit, do giant sets (4 or more exercises or sets with no rest in between sets or exercise).

Here's an example. Lift only one set of each exercise with no rest in between the exercises. Choose a weight of about 60%-70% of what you normally lift and go for at least 25 reps. Lift more if you can or until your muscles are fatigued, then stop. Leave the gym. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes. But remember to warm up thoroughly and cool down with some light movements and stretching.

After thoroughly warming up, start with squats, then dip, bench press, barbell row and military press. Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a weightlifting workout and your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this 3 times a week with at least a day's rest in between lifting days.

After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you usually squat first, then squat last. Then after another 4-8 weeks, change some of the exercises, like substituting squats with dead lift, or bar bell rows with lat pull down. This is to shock your muscles so that they continue to adapt and grow.

For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are jogging at normal speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. If you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running), then 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle break down. You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs in between to catch your breath. Do these 5-6 times a week.

Eating habits? Just eat less of what you normally eat. For example if you have 2 slices of bread with 2 eggs in the morning, now take just one slice and an egg. Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you can. This is to feed your body frequently so that it will not go into starvation mode and start to conserve fats. At the same time, it will boost metabolism because your body burns calories while digesting the food. Chuck away all soft drinks, sugared drinks and stop adding sugar into your coffee and tea. Just by abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid yourself of 200 calories per day. Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can.

Oh, by the way, all work and no play make Jack a dull tired boy and an exhausted Jill. Do choose a day to relax a week. No exercise on that day. Indulge in your favorite food if you must. Hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. After all, your body needs to recover too.

As you reach your fat loss goals and you are happy with your muscular development, you can then take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently, have shorter runs and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your greater musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that luxury.

Simple? Sure. But do you have the determination enough to lose those fats and keep them off permanently? It's your call folks!

Healthy Trans Fats vs. Unhealthy Trans Fats Revealed

Mike Geary going to talk about something today that most of you have probably never heard...that there is a distinction between good trans fats and bad trans fats. There is some evidence that the good trans can help you with fat loss, muscle building, and even cancer prevention, while the bad trans fats have been shown to cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and the general blubbering of your body.

I'm sure most of you have heard all of the ruckus in the news over the last few years about just how bad man-made trans fats are for your health. If you've been a reader of my newsletter and my "Truth about Six Pack Abs" e-book program, then you definitely know my opinion that these substances are some of the most evil food additives of all and are found in the vast majority of all processed foods and fast foods on the market today. In my opinion, man-made trans fats are right up there with smoking in terms of their degree of danger to your health. After all, they are one of THE MAIN factors for the explosion of heart disease since approximately the 1950's.

As you may have heard recently, the FDA has mandated that food manufacturers include the grams of trans fat on all nutrition labels starting back at the beginning of this year. This means that as inventory is replaced in the grocery stores, you should start to see grams of trans listed on all packages from now on, providing you with an easier way to avoid them.

With all of the talk about trans fats in the news these days, I wanted to clarify some things, particularly regarding bad trans fats vs. good trans fats. If you've never heard of good trans fats before, let me explain in a bit.

The Bad Trans Fats

First, the bad trans fats I'm referring to are the man-made kind. These are represented by any artificially hydrogenated oils. The main culprits are margarine, shortening, and partially hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods, junk foods, and deep fried foods. These hydrogenated oils are highly processed using harsh chemical solvents like hexane (a component of gasoline), high heat, pressure, have a metal catalyst added, and are then deodorized and bleached. A small % of the solvent is allowed to remain in the finished oil. This has now become more of an industrial oil rather than a food oil, but somehow the FDA still allows the food manufacturers to put this crap in our food at huge quantities, even with the well documented health dangers.

These hydrogenated oils cause inflammation inside of your body, which signals the deposition of cholesterol as a healing agent on artery walls. Hence, hydrogenated oil = inflammation = clogged arteries. You can see why heart disease has exploded since this crap has been loaded into our food supply over the last 5 to 6 decades. As time goes on, and science continues to unveil how deadly these oils really are, I feel that eventually they will be illegal and banned from use. The labeling laws were just the first step. In fact, certain countries around the world have already banned the use of hydrogenated oils in food manufacturing or at least set dates to phase them out for good.

However, keep in mind that as companies are starting to phase out the use of hydrogenated oils in processed foods, they are replacing them, in most instances, with highly refined polyunsaturated oils. These are still heavily processed oils using high heat, solvents, deodorizers, and bleaching agents. Even refined oils are known to produce inflammation in your body...a far cry from natural sources of healthy fats. Once again, for the best results, your best bet is avoiding highly processed foods altogether and choose whole, natural, minimally processed foods. Your body will thank you!

The Good Trans Fats

Ok, after having trash talked the man-made trans fats, let me clearly state that there IS such a thing as healthy natural trans fats. Natural trans fats are created in the stomachs of ruminant animals like cattle, sheep, goats, etc. and make their way into the fat stores of the animals. Therefore, the milk fat and the fat within the meat of these animals can provide natural healthy trans fats. Natural trans fats in your diet have been thought to have some potential benefit to aid in both muscle building and fat loss efforts. However, keep in mind that the quantity of healthy trans fats in the meat and dairy of ruminant animals is greatly reduced by mass-production methods of farming and their grain and soy heavy diets. Meat and dairy from grass-fed, free-range animals always have much higher quantities of these beneficial fats.

One such natural trans fat that you may have heard of is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has been marketed by many weight loss companies. Keep in mind that these man-made CLA pills you see in the stores may not be the best way to get CLA in your diet. They are artificially made from plant oils, instead of the natural process that happens in ruminant animals. Once again, man-made just doesn't compare to the benefits of natural sources.

Now that all of your labels should be listing grams of trans fat, keep in mind that if a quantity of trans fat is listed on a meat or dairy product, it is most likely the natural good trans fats that we've discussed here. Otherwise, if the quantity of trans is listed on any processed foods, it is most likely the dangerous unhealthy crap from artificially hydrogenated oils, so stay away!

I hope you've enjoyed this interesting look at good trans fat vs. bad trans fat and use the info to arm yourself with more healthful food choices for a better body.

Green Tea for Health

According to dr. Phaidon Toruan, in his book, Fat Loss, Not Weight Loss, there are two advantages consume green tea, ie, as a fat burner that will be optimal and rich antioxidants. 
Green tea will help to increase fat burning in the sense that help increase metabolism trigliserida (such as a thick fat under the skin) to be modified fatty acid. "But remember, fat under the skin can only be burned when the shapes are changed into fatty acid. The process burning is with the sport, "said Phaidon.
"Drinking orange juice just get fat is destroyed," You may often hear the suggestion to reduce the sense of sin after eat tasty food, but full of fat. In fact, not the most natural fat is a good green tea. 
So that the function of green tea as a fat burner more optimal, Phaidon recommend drinking green tea before exercise. Capacity antioxidants green tea is very strong so that it can provide protection against the effect of wall muscle cells. In addition, information Phaidon, if drunk before partake of food, green tea will help keep Feed fat. 
For you who want to have many practical now available green tea extracts which have been processed in a modern form of a capsule so that it can be taken to any and easier when you prepare for sport and want to use green tea extract. 
Perhaps most women have heard green tea to savor breast health. However, perhaps some still doubting the truth. Now doubt has been missed. Compound in the green tea can protect from breast cancer attacks. 

It was revealed from the beginning of the study conducted by some researchers the United States. In the experiment, they provide some green tea to mice, while the other only obtain water. 
In fact, rats that drink green tea benefit is brisk. Breast tumor size and the decline danger also decreased compared with mice who only drink water. In addition, the mouse tumor and the tea growing more slowly and no longer attack tissues healthy. 

Of course, these findings reinforce the presumption that the tea is very beneficial for women's breast health. What, based on the observations so far in the countries that consume green tea diligently every day, the level of female breast cancer is very low. For them, tea is considered as one of the healthy food. 

In addition, the main researcher, Dr. Gail Sonenshein, even said that the tea has no harmful side effects. Therefore, people need not fear consume three to five cups tea per day. There is no problem if people diligently drinking green tea as a preventive step. 

Lecturer in biochemistry from the Faculty of Medicine, Boston University this add, especially green tea may prevent breast cancer caused by environmental factors. However, he recommends that patients who are undergoing radiation or chemotherapy breast cancer should consult with a doctor before he tried to drink lots of tea. 

According to a study published in the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry edition, July 2001, the womb polifenol compound which is very much a role in the tea is protective against cancer as. Polifenol are in a very powerful antioxidants. This compound will neutralize free radicals that cause cancer have become. 

Form their own free radicals in the body naturally. This molecule can be harmful to human cells. People suspect that this is one of the molecular causes of cancer, including various types of other diseases such as heart disease and aging. 

Source: From various sources

Food Addiction Can Lead to Death

Paul Wilson

Food has been described as ambrosia and the elixir if life. For some, eating is a biological necessity for others it is a passion that can turn into an obsession. Experts define food addiction to be a disorder where the addict is preoccupied with food, the availability of food, and the pleasure of eating. There are three recognized addictions:

* Overeating, where the addict has no control over the amount or the number of times he eats. The person has no concept of being overweight or the servings a person must eat normally. Being an overeater, the addict will indulge in uncontrolled eating binges. Being obese, the addict will be prone to hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis, and cancer.

* Bulimisa Nervosa, where the addict binges and then tries to maintain weight by vomiting, using laxatives, excessive exercise, or even fasting. Such addicts will develop dental problems like thinning of enamel, excessive number of cavities, swollen salivary glands, fluid and electrolyte disturbances, as well as calluses and scars.

* Anorexia Nervosa, where the addict fears weight gain and so starves himself. Obsessed with weight gain and body shape anorexics will exhibit obsessive behaviors in maintaining themselves. In the process, they develop problems like disruption of menstrual cycle, emancipation, hair loss, unhealthy skin pallor, and a lack or fluids.

The most common health problems are obesity, alcoholism, diabetes, bulimia, food allergies, and food intolerance.

The signs that you are addicted to food are:

* Uncontrolled cravings for particular foods. Some are addicted to sweets, others to soft drinks, yet others to coffee.
* Continuous or frequent eating. No fixed meal times an addict will eat throughout the day.
* Sharpened hunger on consumption of specific foods.
* Anxiety attacks, feelings of nervousness, low sugar, a headache, stomach gripes and grumbles.
* Withdrawal symptoms.
* Fatigue.
* Extreme irritations.
* Intolerance to foods.
* Feelings of guilt at having eaten.

The very cornerstones to curing the addiction are to:

* Identify and avoid what are known to be trigger foods or drinks.
* Put into practice a diet that is nutrient rich, healthy, and helps maintain or loose weight.
* Make lifestyle changes. Adopt a healthier lifestyle and include plenty of fresh air as well as exercise.
* Focus on personal and spiritual development. Seek inner peace, calm, and joy. Practice meditation and deep breathing.
* Plan to have activity filled days to distract the mind from food.

Even if you have a niggling doubt that you may be a food addict you must seek help. Nip the problem in the bud before it grows into something unmanageable and serious. You must consult a nutritionist, doctor, psychologist, or an eating addiction center or specialist. There are programs run by groups like Overeaters Anonymous that run 12-step programs which are extremely beneficial.

Getting Enough Fiber Is Important For Weight Loss

Lee Dobbins

Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet, but did you know it can help you in your weight loss efforts? Filling up on fiber can help you to feel full for longer, therefore causing you to eat less overall which will result in healthy weight loss.

In addition to helping you lose weight, fiber also has many positive health effects. Fiber has been linked to managing diabetes, cutting cholesterol, and limiting heart damage. One Swiss study found that eating a high-fiber meal reduced hunger more than a meal which was low in fiber.

How Much Fiber Do You Need?

You should consume between 25 to 35 grams of fiber a day. While that might not sound like a lot, most Americans only get about 15 grams and many much less. Fiber can be found in most fruits and vegetables including carrots, peas, broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower.

In addition, there are many cereals and breads that have a good amount of fiber, but you must read the labels to determine which ones. Typically anything made with whole wheat or whole oats or bran will have fiber - plus these cereals tend to be natural and low in fat and sugar which also help with your weight loss and are better for you overall.

How Can You Eat More Fiber?

There are some easy ways that you can increase your fiber intake. Think about adding garbanzo beans to a salad or soup, or add a tablespoon of bran to your cereal. Leaving the skins on fruits and vegetables will also increase your fiber intake. The actual fiber content of each individual food isn't that much so it is best if you simply eat more types or servings of fiber rich foods each day.

Consider eliminating meat from some of your meals. Meat has no fiber, and it doesn't give you the benefit that you get with fiber-rich food. Instead, try eating more grains, fruits, and vegetables. In this way, you can be sure your meal has a healthy concentration of fiber.

Add Fiber Gradually

It might be difficult for your body to become accustomed to a diet that is rich in fiber. It is indeed counter-cultural, since many families grew up consuming a great deal of meat. However, if you're really want to lose weight and be healthy, you'll give fiber-rich meals a try. Fiber rich foods, combined with sensible eating, can help you lose weight and keep it off.

Don't try to totally change to a high fiber overnight. It may require a great deal of trial-and-error before you hit upon the right amount of fiber. However, in the end, you may be amazed at the positive role that fiber plays in your diet. And it may inspire you to encourage your loved ones to add more fiber to their own diets as well. A diet high fiber diet can help you to manage the amount of food you eat and has many health benefits. So load up on fiber-and watch your waistline shrink as a result!

Ancient China Technique

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, ancient China, a story called shinshe famous Huatuo. Is very powerful technique, is very noble spirit helpers, to help save the human world, the name scent to spread everywhere, up to now people still admire the righteous. 

Here is a story of how Huatuo Obesity treated with a very unique way. 

On a day Huatuo walking outside the city in spring, in a way Huatuo met with a very fat, the body of this person from the top to the bottom of the fat is almost the same, especially stomach, such as the pan upside telungkup body. This person looks sweaty, winded in a hurry to run with great difficulty. Huatuo said, "I was Huatuo, today I want to treat your Obesity." The very name was so famous Huatuo hear, and tap a large stomach and said, "My meat is the seller in the city of Hao, the new home of the debt if the bill Sinshe miraculous Huatuo can destroy my stomach bloated, I guarantee, next time you can drink wine and meat free meals. " Then carefully interrogate Huatuo eating habits and take day-to-day life of the obese, said, "so long as you follow my way, after 3 months will surely succeed." Ago that the corpulent slap repeatedly until the stomach with a loud voice, said the obese, "If sinshe miraculous Huatuo suggest that, certainly I will do." 

Huatuo said, "You each day to prepare sunflower seeds 1 oz, up midnight, and while eating sunflower seeds travel, sunflower seeds after its finished, a new home can be run again, in the way can not rest." So to hear suggestions Huatuo the very very happy, because first, he does not need to ditusuk hand, the two drugs do not need to drink, only eat sunflower seeds while the road. So the next day in the middle of the night he got up, while eating kuaci while the road, running up to 2.5 km sunflower seeds out its new, then the road back to home. In the first days of his extraordinary tired, breath panting, to fill a two-leg lead with a black, very seriously for the weight, but can not remember a break, then the very tightly with the teeth had to endure. Thus the obese do so more than 10 days, he slowly began to feel the leg is no longer shooting pain, leg weakness does not, the more heat is also reduced, the body part feels forceful and not feel tired. 3 months later fat stomach really have decrease, fat-fat in the body also have much reduced. 

In order to express a sense accept love, the very very happy with bringing a large amount of meat and wine and other gifts to Huatuo, but politely declined by the Huatuo. In fact Huatuo advice, "Start your day you should wake up this morning and to bed earlier, a lot of moving, reduce sleep, eat more vegetables, eat less meat, it can cure disease obesities thoroughly." The obese are happy to receive advice Huatuo, and go home. (Source: wangyushequ net / FoE- erabaru.or.id)

Eating Out Can Be Hazardous To Your Waistline

Lee Dobbins

Going out to eat can really put the brakes on your weight loss program unless you have exceptional control over what you eat. Although many restaurants now offer choices for many types of diets, it's whats on the rest of the menu that might tempt you to stray. Often high in salt, sugar and oil most restaurant food tends to be higher in calories that what you might prepare for yourself.

And Americans are eating out more and more. According to Dr. Caroline Cederquist, a physician who specializes in weight management, less than 20 percent of the calories Americans consumed were eaten outside the home in 1978 but in 2003, that number had climbed to 50 percent. Combine that with the fact that obesity in Americans is growing each year with as many as two thirds of Americans being overweight and you might come to the conclusion that eating out can be hazardous to your waistline.

One problem is that restaurants often serve huge portions. That combined with the fact that we have been conditioned to clean our plates can result in a huge weight problem. You may feel morally obligated to eat everything on your plate -even if your health and your weight might suffer as a result. If you eat out a lot, you may become accustomed to these large portions and start to eat like that at home as well.

Another problem with restaurant eating is that they often serve bread or rolls - and usually not the healthy whole wheat kind either. Now, when you know you are going out to eat, you probably eat less throughout the day or delay or skip eating and by the time you get to the restaurant you are starving. So what do you do when they bring the rolls? Of course, you dig in eating way to many rolls.

You might be dining with a group that likes to savor the experience and order appetizers before the meal but did you know that restaurant appetizers tend to be extremely high in calories? For example, a basket of fried onions can have a whopping 2,000 calories. Eat a few appetizers to be polite and you'll have to run the treadmill for hours to work it off!

Many restaurants now offer free soda refills. Plus the soda glasses tend to be large to begin with so you are receiving greater servings of this sugary beverage. The tendency may be to order seconds because it's free and you want to take advantage of that but remember, just the soda alone can put you far over your daily recommended allowance of calories for weight loss.

Perhaps the greatest restaurant challenge to any dieter is the buffet. With so many choices you may be tempted to get one of everything! Since you can go back as many times as you want you might overindulge. You want to make sure you get your moneys worth, right?

So what can you do if you must eat out several times a week?
First of all, make sure you stick to your diet plan. Don't give in to eating wrong foods "just this once." Choose entrees that have lots of vegetables and avoid dessert entirely. When your meal comes, set half aside immediately and even ask for a doggy bag right away so you won't be tempted to eat the second half when the first is done. Don't starve yourself before going out to eat and you will be better able to avoid eating those rolls as well as overeating when the meal comes. If you are not starving when you order, it will be easier to order a healthy meal an stay away from fatty, high calorie entrees.

Generally, if you stick to sensible and healthy eating patterns both at home and when eating out you will be developing good eating habits that will help you lose weight and keep it off for life.