Health Secrets

Day 1 of a new diet:

7 am on Day 1 of my new, last diet I’ll ever need! Wait! Where is my 326 page diet book I feel asleep while reading last night? There it is - under the bed! Okay, let me check to make sure I have everything I need. I bought a food scale to weigh my food; a journal to track my results; a 64 ounce water bottle to make sure I’m drinking enough, a calculator to figure out calories, carbs, and fat grams; a separate recipe book that is the companion to the diet book; ordered the special vitamins I’m supposed to take while on the diet; and I took the week one food list in the book to the store last night and bought everything on it (I had to buy 2 pounds of Swiss Chard and I hate Swiss Chard! How am I going to force myself to eat it?).

10 am. I’m starving. I’m still reading the introduction to the diet (wish I wouldn’t have fallen asleep before finishing it last night and maybe I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t so boring) so I haven’t had breakfast yet. I still have 50 pages to read before I actually get to the food part.

11:30 am. I’m finally ready to make my breakfast! It’s a smoothie. That should be pretty easy except I have to find my blender and wash and cut up my fruit. It’s okay. I can do this. Crap! I’m out of ice cubes and I need a cup of them for my smoothie. Oh well. I’ll just use water instead.

12:00 pm. My watery smoothie is gone. I’m still hungry. But, hey, it’s lunchtime!

1:00 pm. Who knew it could take so long to cut up vegetables and make salad dressing for a salad?

2:00 pm. I ate my salad and have the kitchen cleaned up. It’s a good thing I started this diet on a weekend. All I’ve done so far is make food. Oh crap! I forgot to write everything I ate in my journal.

2:30 pm. Consulted my checklist for the day. Does a salad count as 1 or 2 servings of vegetables? Let me see if my 326 page diet book tells me that.

3:30 pm. The salad was 2 servings of vegetables. Next item on my checklist: drink 8 glasses of water. Oh crap! I forgot to start drinking water.

4:00 pm. My stomach hurts. I shouldn’t have drank those 3 glasses of water so fast. I’m hungry too. My snack is 20 almonds. Maybe if I eat them really slow…….

4:02 pm. The almonds are gone. I think I’ll start dinner.

6:00 pm. I found all the dinner recipes in my diet cookbook and have my dinner ready! It looks okay except for the darn Swiss Chard I don’t like.

6:05 pm. Dinner stunk. Maybe I can eat my evening snack early. Oh goody. I get to have 6 stinking crackers and 1 ounce of cheese. Do I look like a mouse?

6:15 pm. I ate all my food for the day but I still have lots of water to drink. And I forgot to take my special vitamin this morning. I’ll take that now. Maybe it will fill me up.

6:30 pm. I want food! No, I’m going to do this. I’ll keep myself busy by trying to figure out how that food calculator I bought works.

7:00 pm. Did you know that a 3.52 ounce Toblerone chocolate bar has 510 calories, 30 grams of fat, and 60 grams of carbs? I’m going to check the bar I hid from myself (yes I remember where it is) to see if the calculator is correct.

7:10 pm. It is. Now I’m figuring out how many calories, fat, and carbs in 1 piece of it because I was really hungry and figured 1 piece would be okay.

7:15 pm. Just one more piece of the bar won’t hurt, right?

7:30 pm. Hey! I just realized I missed my mid-morning snack because I was so busy making breakfast and lunch.

7:35 pm. A small container of light yogurt! That’s all I got for my mid-morning snack? I’m eating it.

7:36 pm. My yogurt is gone. Now what should I do. I guess I could read some more of my diet book. I’m supposed to read another 40 pages before I start day 2 of my diet.

8:00 pm. Did you know that if you rip the pages of a diet book out one by one they work great to start a fire in the fireplace so that you can roast some marshmallows for s’mores?

Okay, you may think I went a little overboard with that description but I have literally spent entire days reading about food, prepping food, and cooking food while I was on a diet. And I have spent literally spent thousands of dollars on diet programs, diet tools, and diet books that just didn’t work.

Maybe losing weight doesn’t have to be so complicated or expensive.

That’s why Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat program caught my eye although after reading through the sales pages it started to sound too good to be true because Brad claims that using his program:

- You don’t have to worry about food all day (is that because I won’t be eating?)

- Your metabolism will not slow down and you will not go into starvation mode (even though I’ll be fasting????)

- You will save money (I’ve never been on a diet that saved me money)

- You will have great workouts (I never have good workouts if I don’t eat something a few hours before I go)

Then I did some further investigation and found that Brad’s claims of

-“ You don’t have to worry about food all day” didn’t mean I would be starving myself. It just meant a combination of intermittent fasting with normal eating which translates into 1 or 2 days a week of fasting and eating normally (not being a piggy who is eating 2 bags of Cheetos at one sitting) the other days of the week. There’s no counting calories or fat grams or carbs or the number of croutons you put on your salad.

- Your metabolism will not slow down and you will not go into starvation mode” because you only fast for 24 hours and experts say starvation mode doesn’t kick in until about 72 hours after calorie reduction.

- “You will save money” meant I would really would save money because his program doesn’t involve buying expensive supplements, calorie counting gadgets, special foods, or expensive diet literature. His program is $29.95 and that’s not per month. It’s a one time fee.

-“You will have great workouts” means (and I like this one the best) you don’t have to work out hours every day for his program to be successful. A couple of weight training/strength training sessions are enough.

The program really isn’t complicated or expensive. Plus, Brad has the credentials that most of us want to see to back up his claims. He’s a nutrition professional with an honors degree in nutrition. He worked in the mainstream weight loss industry for several years, and he’s a an athlete who wouldn’t promote something that doesn’t work and would cause people to lose muscle instead of fat.

Plus, if you buy the program for $29.95 (which I personally know is less than the one month cost for meetings and consultations at well known weight loss companies) and you decide it’s not worth the money Brad will give you a 100% refund.

There truly is nothing to lose except the time it takes to read Brad’s e-book, time that you may just find was very well spent.

As Brad says, with Eat Stop Eat you will “discover why the most effective tool for weight loss can never be put into a pill.”

Learn more about the Eat Stop Eat Program by clicking here.

Don’t buy Master Cleanse Secrets! (until you read this)

I just want you to have as much information as possible before you make your buying decision about Master Cleanse Secrets. (also called the Lemonade Diet or Lemonade Cleanse)

After all, you work hard for your money and don’t want to throw it away on a useless product, right?

Plus you want the truth and not some sugar-coated version of it, right?

I thought so, so I’m am going to start with three important things that you should know about the Master Cleanse (also called the lemonade diet) and Master Cleanse Secrets Review.

First of all, Master Cleanse Secrets, in not - as the author says - “a magic bullet.”

Secondly, it is not meant to be on for long continuous periods of time. Ten days is the recommended length although it can be done for up to 40 days if needed.

Third – I’ll be completely honest with you. It’s not “simple and easy” to do. Most people who try it don’t make it through even 1 day.

But, like a lot of other things in life, it’s worth the effort.

* Going to the dentist isn’t fun but we do it because we like our teeth and want to take care of ourselves (and if you love going to the dentist…….let me say you are definitely in the minority).

* I hate cleaning my house but I do it because I don’t want to live in a pigsty; and I’m always happy when I’m finished and can see the end results.

* Although I enjoy what I do for a living it is really to get up and go to work some days; especially when I’m not feeling my best or the weather is particularly nice and I want to play hooky. But I go to work anyway because I like getting a paycheck and take pride in being reliable.

* And I really hate going to the doctor for my yearly checkup. Getting poked with a needle for blood work and having to get undressed for an exam and having a doctor poke around on me will never be my idea of fun but I go because I want to stay healthy.

So, is giving the lemonade diet 10 days to rid your body of toxins and mucus and other gross stuff that has been building up in it for years worth the effort? Do you want to lose weight, feel better, get rid of those aches and pains, have clearer and better looking skin, and have the effects of the 10 day lemonade diet be long lasting?

People who have done the lemonade diet have reported they have gone on to lose excess weight they have been struggling to get rid of for years without success. How can a 10 day lemonade diet have long lasting effects?

* people report no longer struggling with willpower to stay away from sugary and unhealthy foods because after being on the lemonade diet they no longer crave it.

* Plus, people report that because they have rid their bodies of the junk that was slowing it down, it became much easier to lose weight because their bodies started to work better without the garbage inside it that was slowing their metabolism down and clogging them up.

The best part of Master Cleanse Secrets is that is a companion to the original Master Cleanse lemonade diet that has been around for more than 50 years. The difference is that Raylen Sterling, the author of Master Cleanse Secrets has found ways to make the Master Cleanse easier to do so people can stick with it.

A few of Raylen’s secrets include:

* tips to help people get through the first 3 days; which are the hardest part. After that a person’s body adjusts and it gets easier.

* “cheat” foods to help with hunger that won’t interfere with the program

* Steps to reduce the discomfort as a person’s body rids itself of junk

* 3 weight loss secrets that will be learned on the first 3 days of the Master Cleanse

* The type of water to drink while doing the Master Cleanse to make it effective and not a waste of time

Plus, Raylen includes several bonus items with Master Cleanse Secrets including:

* Master Cleanse Success Journal (a $15 journal for keeping track of progress for free!)

* “Poison Water” (a report on the truth about the chemicals and bacteria found in many waters and how to protect yourself – a $15 report that is a free bonus)

* “Optimizing Your 4 Purification Systems” (includes a simple method to rid the body of more toxins in 15 minutes than the liver typically does in 24 hours – another $15 report that is included with Master Cleanse Secrets absolutely free)

Do you truly have anything to lose but fat, toxins, and gross buildup in your body? You really don’t because Master Cleanse Secrets is risk free. Raylen believes in it so much that you get 8 whole weeks to decide if it is worth the $27 it costs (yes, just $27). If within 8 weeks you want your money back, you get it back without any hassle. So that means you could try it and see how if it works, and still have plenty of time to request a refund if you find that product didn’t deliver.

Learn more about Master Cleanse Secrets by clicking here.

Dear Fellow Fattie,

I see you over there, walking with your head hanging down and your shoulders slumped in defeat. You hope you don’t see anyone you know because you’ll wonder if the only thing they’ll think as they say Hi to is, “Wow, she/he has turned into a fat pig!”

I know it’s hard. I’ve been there.

I know what it’s like walk into a concert venue and have people look at you and hope that you won’t be sitting next to them because they think you’ll take up too much space.

I know how embarrassing it is to try and fasten the seat belt on an airplane seat only to find it’s not big enough to fit around you.

I know how hurtful it is to walk down the street and have mean petty people heckle and say “Oink” or “Moo” or “What a heifer” as you walk by.

I know how embarrassing it is to have friends and family constantly give you tips on how to lose weight or hand you magazine and newspaper cutouts of articles or products that “might help you if you just tried them.”

They have no idea. Unless someone has struggled with being overweight, they can’t know how hard it is to struggle to lose those extra pounds and keep them off.

You’ve probably tried every diet you’ve ever heard of from ones that make you drink nasty concoctions that make you want to throw up; to ones that count carbs; count fat grams; make you eat a lot of fruit; make you eliminate fruit; have you eat a bunch of meat; don’t let you eat any meat at all…..the list goes on and on.

Is it any wonder you feel like nothing will ever work and that you are doomed to be fat?

I don’t mean any disrespect. I’m a fattie too and I know it’s hard to lose weight but please don’t despair. You can lose the weight and feel better.

Sincerely,

A Fellow Fattie

Seem familiar? Anyone who has been overweight and who has fought the “battle of the bulge” knows just how hard it can be to lose weight. Can a person really do it without having to starve themselves?

Dr. Suzanne Gudakunst says she can. She says: “The reason you’re fat has nothing to do with overeating, lack of exercise, or even a lack of willpower on your part. The real reason you’re fat is because you have dangerous deadly plaque and parasites infesting your bowels and even your stomach….Sadly 99% of all other doctors would you rather you never find out the truth about this as they can’t continue to get rich if you stop taking their diet drugs. Plus the food companies only want to make you fatter as you just end up getting addicted to their foods just like a drug addict which makes them richer too.” She goes on to say that people who have used her breakthrough secret have gotten rid of that horrible junk in their bodies and have lost as much as 100 pounds or more.

All I could say after listening to her talk about the disgusting gunk inside many of our bodies was “yuck!” But, was she just trying to use scare tactics to get me to buy her product or does she have something valid to offer?

Well, it is true that, even with all the medical breakthroughs we’ve had in the last 50 years, people are getting fatter and our food does have a lot of extra “stuff” in it. I personally think fast food has something in it to make us crave it and want more. I don’t know how else to explain why I’m hungry less than an hour after eating a big burger and fries (and I know other people who say the same thing). Plus, have you heard about the guy who has a McDonald’s burger from 1989 that hasn’t gotten rotten and moldy? That makes me give merit to Dr. Gudakunst’s claim that “the reason all other diets, diet foods, organic foods, healthy foods, medicines, and all the rest don’t work in this modern technologically amazing age is because they were deliberately designed no to!”

Think about how huge the diet industry is and how many billions of dollars would be lost if everyone who was overweight found a safe and effective way to lose weight. Nobody would need the diet pills being sold, the meal replacement drinks, the weight loss surgery, the endless books that are published every year, or any of the vast array of “diet” foods found in the grocery store.

But, does this mean Dr. Gudakunst’s “Top Secret Fat Loss Secret” is worth buying? While only you can decide that, consider this: the pro version is $57 and the hardcore elite version is $87; plus there’s an 8 week 100% money back guarantee. That’s less than a nice evening out for most people.

The pro version is the one I got. It’s a 48 page e-book. It’s informative and while it covers her weight loss secret in a clear and easy to understand way, she’s very comprehensive and goes beyond that, covering other weight loss topics including: tips on how to choose a good weight loss program, how to lose weight fast, discussion about a person’s metabolic type and choosing the right diet based on it, and how to rid the body of toxin build-up and prevent it from returning.

So why not purchase Dr. Suzanne Gudakunst’s Top Secret Fat Loss Secret, read it, and let it help you no longer be a “fattie” but instead be a normal and healthy weight. But remember, don’t do it for anyone else. Do it for you.

Click here to learn more

The Best Diet Ever!

Lose 20 Pounds in 20 Days!

The Last Diet You’ll Ever Need!

Lose 30 Pounds By Memorial Day!

New Diet Breakthrough!

Magazine headlines like that used to taunt me every time I was standing in line at the grocery store.

Okay, I admit they got to me more when I was also clutching a couple pints of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey to gorge on (a girl’s gotta have a treat once in a while, right?). I used to be weak enough to buy those magazines every week with hope in my heart that it really was going to be the last diet I needed because it was going to help turn me into a slim, sleek, and toned goddess that could wear sleeveless shirts without ugly arm fat jiggling with every step I took. Yeah, right; and Brad Pitt is dumping Angelina so he can date me!

What really happened? I lost weight, gained it all back, gained 5 or 10 extra pounds; then did it again and again and again – so many times I lost count. I was like a hamster in a wheel running furiously but getting nowhere fast. Then the extra weight started to take its toll on my joints, making me achy and sore; raised my blood pressure and cholesterol, and put me on the verge of type II diabetes.

I know I’m not alone. Millions of people are fighting the same battle I am and most of are losing. Is it any wonder we often feel that losing weight and feeling better is just a hopeless dream and that we are going to have to find a way to love that ugly fat we’re carrying around because it’s never going to go away?

The truth is there is a way to lose the excess weight and feel better without having to starve ourselves and do an obscene amount of exercise. The Acid Alkaline Diet (yes, saying it is a tongue twister) teaches how to eat and to:

“Say good-bye to low energy, poor digestion, extra pounds, aches and pains, and disease”

“Say hello to renewed vigor, mental clarity, better over-all health and a lean trim body.”

It’s all in the “complete Acid-Alkaline Diet Simplified Home study course; which is a comprehensive 94 page manual that lays out how to do an alkaline diet the right way.

Wait!! A 94 page manual????? Are you kidding me? Who has time to read a 94 page manual before getting started? That was my sticking point on not being sure about buying it and trying it. But then I found out the program includes a bonus “Quick Start Guide” so there’s no waiting to start while trying to absorb everything in the 94 page manual first. Instead the manual can be digested (no, not literally!) as time allows.

The program also includes a success journal for keeping written track of progress. A journal may seem like a pain in the butt, but keeping one really does work. It makes me think twice about shoving that apricot Danish into my mouth because it’s one thing to stand at the counter, consume it in two bites, and pretend I never ate it; and another thing entirely to have to own up to it by writing it down and actually seeing how much garbage I’m putting in my body.

Two other great bonuses included with the home study manual are a tele-seminar recording covering the most frequently asked questions about the Acid Alkaline Diet and a sample weekly meal plan with recipes.

Plus, it comes with an 8 week, no questions asked, money back guarantee.

How much is it? $27. Yep, that’s it. And nope, I’m not kidding. It’s just $27. Plus, that $27 also give you access to the exclusive online alkaline recipe database.

This isn’t the part where I’m going to repeat that tired phrase “What have you got to lose?” That’s because you know there’s no risk. All you need is a willingness to not give up, to believe you can lose the weight, and give the program a try. Let it show how it can literally change you and change your life.

Learn More - Click Here.

I’m an idiot at losing weight. I’ve tried low carb diets, low fat diets, the grapefruit diet, the 3 day diet, juice fasting, attending meetings, and eating less than 1000 calories a day. I’ve read dozens of diet books and joined several health clubs where all I lost was my money. After 20 years of trying to lose weight the only thing about me that is lighter is my pocketbook so when I saw ads online for FatLoss4Idiots, I thought it might be the answer to losing my unwanted pounds.

After reading the sales page (it’s very convincing) I immediately gave my credit card a workout and paid $39 for the FatLoss4Idiots program and started reading (that was the special discounted price I paid at the time I signed up – that price may or may not still be valid).

The premise of the FatLoss4Idiots diet is that low fat diets, low carb diets, and low calorie diets don’t work. I can vouch for that. They promote a system of eating that changes your body in just 11 days. The technique they use is “calorie shifting.” That means the diet has a person eating different types of calories and meals on different days, shifting the menu around to trick the body’s metabolism and not let it go into the “starvation mode” that slows down and stops weight loss.

The diet is easy. It includes an online diet generator that I used to choose the foods I wanted to eat for 11 days from a pre-set list. After making my choices it took just a few seconds for my 11 day menu to print out.

I figured I could do it for 11 days, which is how long each cycle of the diet lasts. A person goes on the 11 day plan as many times as they need to with a few days off the diet in between each cycle.

I was so motivated about doing the FatLoss4Idiots diet that my husband decided he would do it with me. Here are our thoughts and our results.

My husband:
Weight Loss after 11 days: 7 pounds
What he liked: how easy the diet was. He said “I never had to worry about planning meals that would fit into my diet. My foods were all planned for me. I was told what to eat for each meal every day plus there wasn’t anything complicated to cook. It was simple plus it worked. I lost 7 pounds.”
What he didn’t like: “It got boring. Some of the foods I picked out I only got to have once during the 11 day period; others showed a lot – sometimes in more than one meal a day. For example, even though I like eggs and chose to have them on my food list, they were on my menu way too many times.”

Me:
Weight Loss after 11 days: 8 pounds
What I liked: I liked that I lost weight doing it.
What I didn’t like:
I didn’t like the weird combinations of food for some of my meals. One particular one that made me feel physically ill was when my meal was cashews and bacon strips. I really like bacon and I really like cashews but never want to eat them together as a meal again. It was yucky.

I also thought the food choices were too limited. The number of choices a person can pick to have on their menu plan is small, only 30. Plus, the choices themselves are pre-set meaning there several foods to choose from that I don’t like. What I hated the most though was how some foods I didn’t pick still showed up my menu plan. Why have me pick what I want to eat and then tell my fruit choices for a meal are fruits I didn’t pick and fruits I don’t like? That bothered me.

I was also hungry a lot. One of the keys to the diet is to only eat until satisfied, not full, which is a good strategy to always follow but there were times that I was hungry again in an hour and I was supposed to wait at least 2 ½ hours before having another meal. Some days I felt like I wanted to start chewing on my arm because I was so hungry. But to be fair, this may have been more of a symptom of me not yet having learned how to recognize when I was satisfied and instead having stopped eating when I was still hungry because I was afraid I would overeat.

And, like my husband, I got bored with my food choices. I missed bread the most. Other carb foods are, but not bread.

After we both took a 3 day break from the diet, my husband chose to not go on it for another 11 days because he had gained 4 of the 7 pounds he had lost back even though he didn’t think he overate during the 3 days he took a break from the diet.

I only gained 1 pound back during the three day rest period so I did another 11 day cycle. During the 2nd cycle I lost another 5 pounds.

I got pretty good results. I lost a total of 12 pounds in 25 days (factoring in the 1 pound I gained back and counting the rest days).

But even though I lost weight doing FatLosss4Idiots I couldn’t convince myself to do a third 11 day cycle even though I had more weight to lose. The diet just felt too restrictive to me.

Conclusions:
The FatLoss4Idiots diet does work.
It is easy. An ‘idiot’ can do it.
But, it’s also hard because of the limited food choices.
The diet also isn’t a “weight loss breakthrough.” Like any other diet, it tells a person to quit gorging themselves on crappy food and to make sure to drink enough water.

Is it worth the money? Sure. The program isn’t expensive and it’s a one-time fee. One a person pays for the materials they are theirs to keep. The diet handbook provided with the purchase of the FatLoss4Idiots diet plan provides a clear, concise, and easy to read reminder of how to follow healthy eating habits. That alone is worth the purchase price.

I was actually going to post for all of the Catholics out there since it was Ash Wednesday and this is a common thing to give up for Lent. I’m not Catholic myself but several members of my family are.

I’ve been soda free since April of 2007 (almost a whole year!), and it’s one of the smartest things I’ve done for my health.

Anyway, here’s a guide on how to give up soda, and this guide is for everyone, and I’ll explain how you can give it up temporarily or how to kick the habit for good.

Whether you call it Soda, pop, soda pop, Coke, something else – excessive consumption of soda can is not a healthy habit to get into but it’s one that many people in America have. Studies have shown that we now drink an average of 42.2 gallons of the bubbly beverage every year – more than 1 can everyday.

But once you’re in the habit of having something cold and bubbly when you’re thirsty, it can be tough to quit drinking it.

I know that I grew up drinking soda. If I was thirsty, I’d grab a Coke, not water, milk, or anything else – it was almost always a soda. While heavily consuming soda didn’t lead to me becoming overweight as a child (fortunately, I had a high metabolism) it certainly helped me have a lot of cavities.

As an adult, however, my consumption of soda actually increased, and as a result, so did my weight. I could go for days drinking nothing but Coke - as much as 8 cans/day!

I was drinking more than my share of that 42.2 gallons/year.

Why Soda Is Bad

So why would you want to give up soda anyway? It does taste good, but that’s about the only good thing it has going for it.

It’s pretty much just sugar water with caffeine and other chemicals mixed in. Drinking simple sugars like high fructose corn syrup (the sweetener used in soda) can lead to obesity. For example, a 12 oz can of Coke has 140 calories. Drink a single can of Coke every day and that’s an extra 980 calories/week. To burn off those calories you’d have to walk an extra 2 hours per week or do an hour of high intensity running.

And since most people don’t have just one, those calories add up in a hurry adding unwanted pounds in no time.

But its contribution to obesity isn’t the only problem with soda. Dentists have known for years that it’s bad for teeth, and if you have a lot of cavities the first thing they’re likely to ask you is how much soda you drink and if you do drink a lot, they’ll tell you to cut way back. And if you think that switching over to diet will help, keep in mind that even diet soda can damage tooth enamel.

Of course it’s not just bad for teeth. It’s also dehydrating. Stop drinking soda and start drinking water and you’ll be amazed how just that one little thing can make a big difference in your endurance.

Want more? Soda also contributes to developing type II diabetes and some studies have even linked the drinking of soda to cancer. I’ve become quite convinced that drinking soda, much like smoking, takes years off your lifespan.

How to give it up

Now that I’ve made my case for why you’d want to, let’s cover how you actually go about giving the stuff up. And once you get started you may find it easier than you thought it was going to be.

1) Get it out of the house

Having soda in your house is only going to make this whole process harder. If you want a soda and there isn’t one handy, you’ll be far more likely to drink something else (like some good ol’ water) when you’re thirsty.

2) Drink water

Here’s the amazing thing about water. Unlike soda, it actually quenches your thirst. And while it may not be sugary and sweet, it tastes good and your body needs the stuff. Try to drink at least 8 glasses a day (64oz), but feel free to drink more. I usually drink about 96 oz a day. Your body will appreciate the water, trust me.

3) Go cold turkey

Some people think you should wean yourself off of soda slowly so you don’t go through caffeine withdrawal. I think you should go off soda cold turkey. If you’re going through major caffeine withdrawal, try having a cup of tea instead. Tea actually has some health benefits.

4) Try a 30 day challenge

The 30 day challenge isn’t something new. It’s been around in many forms for years (and if you think about the 40 day Lent thing, this has been around for hundreds of years). And I got this idea from self help guru Steve Pavlina. But here’s the idea. You get rid of it completely for 30 days – no cheating. If after 30 days you decide you want soda back, you can. That’s the nice thing about the 30 day challenge; it’s not a life long commitment, just 30 days. If after 30 days you can’t decide if you want it to be permanent, then just try it for another 30 days.

For me I did it for 30 days in March 2007, then in April I had some again. However, 7 days later I decided I was going to give up for longer this time, and I’ve been without soda ever since.

5) Relapses

You may be at a party where you really want a soda. If you do decide to indulge, don’t sweat it. There’s no need to beat yourself up over it. The next day just hop back on the wagon again, okay?

6) Permanent or temporary

So do you need to permanently give up soda? Well, that’s up to you.

But I can tell you that since I’ve stopped drinking soda, I’ve lost weight, and I’ve got in a lot better shape. I don’t want to go back to being fat and out of shape, so if that means I can’t have soda anymore, then so be it – soda just isn’t worth it to me anymore. I’ve really lost my taste for it. I used to really enjoy smelling it even if I knew I couldn’t have it but now it smells overly sweet and not very appealing.

So there you go. If you’re addicted to soda like I was, then give it a try – you just might like the results.

It hasn’t been too long since the American Medical Association officially announced that Americans needed to start taking vitamin supplements to maintain their health. While there are probably many reasons for this, one of the most glaring is the fact that our general food supply sucks.

This announcement harkens a very sad fact, in my opinion: Americans can no longer get the essential nutrients we need from the food we eat. I suppose it’s easier to get millions of Americans to start taking supplements than it is to make a billion dollar industry change its practices.

Although I have much to say about most facets of the American food supply, for the purposes of this article I want to discuss the most vital food component on the planet: raw vegetables. It’s the most vital food component because, with rare exceptions, every organism on Earth either eats raw vegetables or eats animals that eat raw vegetables. Basically speaking, without raw vegetable consumption, the planet would die.

Giving the American population the benefit of the doubt, very few people are apparently aware of how desperately our bodies are craving the nutrients found in raw vegetables.
If the general population really is aware of this and still doesn’t eat more raw vegetables, that fact is sadder than the announcement from the AMA.

Raw vegetables are extremely rich in minerals, vitamins, trace elements, enzymes and natural sugars. All of these are things that your body needs to function properly and the raw veggies will help stabilize and normalize your natural bodily functions. They actually help pretty much ALL of your natural bodily functions operate.

Enzymes are especially essential for our overall health because they aid in digestion. This is why people frequently refer to green vegetables as a natural laxative; they get the stomach working properly. Thanks to the overall condition of the food supply in this country, our system needs as much help as it can get with regards to digestion.

So, with the explanation of the general benefits regarding vegetables in front of you, you may be wondering why it is I’ve been advocating eating them raw. The explanation for that is contains three points which are incredibly disturbing to me:

1. Scientific studies have shown that the commercially produced vegetables today aren’t nearly as nutritious as they were 50 years ago. One of the likely causes for this is the fact that farming has been “advanced” to the point that it doesn’t take nearly as long for a vegetable to be full grown…though that doesn’t mean that they are nutritiously mature. They don’t lay underground as long as they used to, so they don’t have the same opportunity to fully develop.

2. Most Americans purchase their vegetables in the produce section of the local grocery story. However, the local grocery store has its vegetables shipped in from all over the country. Since vegetables naturally begin to lose their nutritional value the moment they are harvested, the travel time between the production farm and the produce department allows for significant nutrient loss.

3. All forms of cooking vegetables reduce their nutritional content. Even steaming, which is by far the healthiest form of cooking, still makes the vegetables less nutritious than they would be if eaten raw.

So, you put it all together and the picture is pretty scary. Our commercially available vegetables aren’t as nutritious as they used to be when they are harvested; they start losing the nutritious value that they do have at harvest; they continue losing it all along the route to your local grocery store; and then you cook them which reduces the nutritional value even further.

We may be better off coloring cardboard green and eating it.

Seriously, this is a sincere problem for the general health of America. I’m advocating eating raw vegetables in an attempt to salvage their incredibly reduced nutritional value. To really combat this problem you need to start growing your own vegetables organically or, barring that, purchase them at the local farmer’s market.

Or, as the AMA suggests, you can just start popping supplements and continue eating cardboard. Mmmmmm, cardboard.

One thing I get asked about seeing as how I run a health site and all is what programs and products I recommend for weight loss and overall fitness.

That’s an excellent question.

I read a lot of books, ebooks, and even articles on the Internet on the topic.

One thing I’ve learned is that there’s a lot of hype, and not a lot of substance.

You ever see those previews for movies, and the movie looks really good from the previews, and then when you get to the theater, the previews were the only good parts of the movie, or maybe the previews were even better than the movie.

Well, that’s how I feel about a lot of the products I see and try out - good previews, bad product.

Which brings me to my review of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle - one of the more popular weight loss / fitness products on the net right now.

I remember reading the salesletter thinking it sounded really good, which made me think that all the good stuff was in the salesletter of the product.

So I sat down and gave it a read. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 pages before reading the bonuses, so even if it sucked, he couldn’t be accused of not delivering any bulk in his product.

When I first started reading the program, chapter one was a bit of a surprise to me.

It covered, *gasp*, goal setting. Imagine that, setting goals actually helps you lose weight, and not some magic little pills you pay $150 for…

Most other books simply talk about why all other diets don’t work and why theirs is different.

Well, Burn the Fat turned out to be different too. It’s not a diet book.

Instead, I think it’d be more accurate to call it a nutrition and fitness book. Since the book doesn’t promote crash diets, and focuses more on fat loss than just weight loss (there’s a big difference).

One section that I really learned a lot from was the chapter on how to increase your metabolism. I’ll admit that in the past I’ve tried some of those gimmicky diets and in the process lost some weight, but slowed down my metabolism in the process - making it much easier to gain weight and much harder to lose anymore weight.

So when I learned how I could increase my metabolism, eat more, and still lose weight, I was really excited. And guess what, it actually works - and there’s no crazy supplements or voodoo magic involved - the technique is very simple.

Another section that I found really interesting, and you probably will too, was the section on different body types. Basically, that all men are created equal thing doesn’t apply to genetics. Some people are more gifted than others. Some people will find gaining weight almost impossible while others will find it easy to gain. Other people can eat at McDonalds everyday while other people can live off salad and still not be able to see there abs.

That’s the problem with so many diet programs out there. They’re one size fits all. This program isn’t, which means that it will work for just about anyone who really gives it a try rather than most other programs where it works for a few people - and those are the people you see on TV - but for the general population it won’t work.

So I have to say that overall I was actually pretty pleased with Burn The Fat and would be happy to recommend it to my readers.

However, just so you know if it’s right for you, I’ve made a quick little checklist.

Burn The Fat Is Right For You If:
-You Want To Lose Weight
-You Want To Get In Better Shape
-You Want To See Some Muscle Definition In Your Body
-You Want To Achieve Permanent And Lasting Results
-Even If You’ve Tried Other Diet Programs And They Didn’t Work - Like I said, this program is more about nutrition and fitness than weight loss - it’s just that the fat loss is an excellent side effect of being in shape.

Burn The Fat Isn’t Right For You If:
-You Want To Lose 30 Pounds In 30 Days
-You Want A Magic Pill
-You’re Idea Of Exercise Is Walking Out To The Mailbox To Get The Mail

Now, I’ll be honest, this product isn’t perfect. You’ll find that it recommends you use artificial sweeteners in some places, and if you know me, you know how totally against artificial sweeteners I am. Also, I’ve found that while the sections on nutrition are great, and that it helps you learn how to make good food choices, the actual recipe section is a little light - there’s a few to get you started, but after that, you’ll have to apply what you know. If I were doing a revision, I’d add more recipes.

However, overall, it’s a product that I’d recommend to anyone looking to lose fat.

Here’s another review of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle.

Overall: Thumbs Up - Recommended

This product is available from - Burn The Fat - click here.

Today I want to take a few minutes to talk about how to lose weight.

The formula is very simple – burn more calories than you take in.

That’s it.

However, if it was just that simple, we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic on our hands, would we?

You see, reducing calories does work to help lose weight, and many diets are based around this simple fact. Most of them add a lot of extra window dressing to their programs so they can sell more books, but if you’re burning more calories than you take in, you’ll lose weight.

However, as many people can attest to, just reducing your calories loses its effectiveness over time. You see, your body is smart. If it thinks that you’re trying to starve it, it’s not going to use as many calories. You see, way back before we had cell phones, TVs, and even the wheel, having three square meals a day wasn’t a certainty. In fact, some days our ancestors would have to go without eating, and sometimes it was many days at a time.

To keep our bodies from withering away into nothing, our metabolisms reacted by burning fewer calories each day. In this way, we can go survive for a prolonged period of time with no or limited amounts of food (as long as water is available). So while the eat nothing method of weight loss, may seem like it’d be the quickest method to lose weight, that isn’t the case.

As you now know, not eating causes your metabolism to go into survival mode, so while you may not be getting many calories, your body will also not use many calories. To make matters worse, instead of burning off fat reserves, your body will start burning extra muscles (protein) since muscles require more function on a daily basis. What ultimately happens is that when you start eating again, you may weight less, but you’ll actually have a higher ratio of fat to muscle than when you started, and that’s not a good thing. To make matters worse, since your metabolism has been slowed, if you go back to eating normally, you’ll gain any weight you lost back quickly since your body just doesn’t use as many calories as it used to – it will adapt back, but that will take some time and in the meantime you’ll be gaining the weight your so desperately tried to lose back.

Fortunately most diets don’t require that you stop eating, so you metabolism won’t come to a screeching halt. However, your body will eventually adapt to even small reductions in calories. For example, say you’re reducing your calorie intake by 500 calories a day. Based on that, you should burn up about 3500 extra calories a week, resulting in about a pound of weight loss a week (1 lb of fat = 3600 calories). And at first you will.
But sooner or later your body will adapt and start to function off those 500 calories and your weight loss will again come to a halt. At this point, most people simply reduce their calories even further, and the weight loss starts again.

However, as you’ve probably already figured out, this reducing of calories can become a viscous downward spiral especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. There are only so many calories you can cut out of your diet, and the more calories you cut out, the more likely you are to have nutritional deficiencies since you’re get as many nutrients from food since you’re eating so much less of it.

Are you depressed yet?

I had to learn this the hard way, and it seems whenever I explain how your body adapts, they get a little depressed – after all, who wants to be fat forever with no hope of losing weight and keeping it off?

Fortunately, there is a simple solution – it’s called exercise. And any weight loss program worth anything will have you exercising. If a weight loss program doesn’t call for exercise, it’s setting you up for a lifetime of yo-yo dieting.

Here’s what exercise will do for you:

Exercise raises your metabolism. Yes, that’s right, exercising will give your metabolism a boost.

Exercising burns calories.

Obvious? Yes.

But important to say anyway. So when you’re planning your diet, make sure you plan time for exercise. How often? Well, it’d be irresponsible for me to give advice without knowing what kind of shape you’re currently in, but most people can get away with exercising six days a week. Some people, myself included, will exercise everyday.

So if you want a simple guide to losing weight, here it is:
1) Reduce your calories. 500 calories is usually a good number.
2) Exercise several times a week for at least 20 minutes – 40 minutes is better. (if you burn 500 calories with your workouts everyday, that’s another pound a week you can lose)

That’s it. There’s more that you can do to lose weight than just those two things, and I’ll be providing more details about more advanced weight loss concepts in the future, but those two things right there can help you get started losing weight right now.

Note: If you want to lose fat, and not muscle (and who wants to lose muscle?), then it’s important that you don’t try to lose more than 2lbs/week. Your body can only use so much fat each week, so don’t fall for ridiculous sales gimmicks that promise you can lose 10lbs in one weekend. If you do manage to lose that weight, it’s going to be water weight, which you’ll gain back just as quickly as you lost it.

By now, everyone has heard that you’re supposed to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. We’ve all heard it, but how many of us actually do it?

Very few.

Today, I’m going to cover why drinking enough water is so important for your health and why it’s absolutely essential if you want to lose weight.

First, let’s cover the basics. Your body is 60-70% water. Your blood is almost all water. Your muscles contain water. Heck, even your bones contain water. Water is essential to proper body function. Your body uses water to regulate its temperature, transport nutrients, build body tissue, digest food, breathe, lubricate joints, and a whole host of other tasks.

Basically, without water you die.

When you’re dehydrated, exercise becomes more difficult.

Studies have show that even mild dehydration of just 3% of your body weight can decrease your strength by 10%. And if 10-12% of your body’s weight in water is lost, death can occur. So before, during, and after exercise, be sure to drink water.

Water Is Essential For Weight Loss

I know that some people are afraid to drink too much water or they think they’ll get bloated and start retaining water. Actually, the opposite is true. When your body is dehydrated, even a little bit, your body starts to retain water to survive. When your body starts retaining water, your kidneys stop eliminating waste through urine so your body starts building up waste. Once your kidneys stop doing what they’re supposed to, the liver steps in and tries to help out. However, when the liver steps in to get rid of waste, it starts to neglect its other jobs, one of which is burning fat. So when you’re dehydrated, you’re not going to be burning fat. If you want to burn more fat, drink more water.

How Much Water Should You Drink?

The number you hear thrown out most often is that you should drink 8 8oz glasses of water a day (64oz). However, for many people, especially active people, your needs may be a gallon of water or more.

The National Research Council recommends 1-1.5 ml of water for ever calorie (kcal) you use each day. So, if you typically expend 2000 calories a day, then you should drink 66-100 ounces of water a day. If you expend 3000 calories a day, then you should drink 100-149 ounces of water each day.

It may seem like a lot of water, but keep in mind that once you feel thirsty, you’re already in a state of mild dehydration. Your goal should be to never be thirsty.

Hungry Or Thirsty?

It’s been said that the thirst mechanism is so weak in most people that it’s often mistaken for hunger. So next time you think you’re hungry, drink a glass of water first and wait 15 minutes. In many cases, you won’t be hungry anymore, but if you’re still hungry, then by all means eat. So just by drinking water you can stop yourself from overeating and this process alone may help you lose a few pounds.

Can I drink anything besides water?

Yes, but you should still make it your goal to drink mostly water. If you want to enjoy a sports drink after a workout, go ahead. If you want to have your morning cup of coffee, that’s also okay.

However, soda doesn’t count (you really shouldn’t drink soda except on special occasions) and alcohol certainly doesn’t count – alcohol actually dehydrates you and stops fat loss dead in its tracks.

Can I Drink Too Much Water?

It’s hard to, but yes. I was actually tempted not to even include this section since I don’t want to encourage people to avoid drinking water.

So yes, it is actually possible to drink too much water. It’s called water intoxication (or hyperhydration and water poisoning) and it happens when you drink more water than the body can remove (i.e. you drink too much too fast). It can also happen if you’re drinking a lot of water but not replacing electrolytes during heavy exercise (i.e. you’re running a marathon).

However, this is very rare, and almost everyone doesn’t drink enough water, so don’t be afraid to drink water. If you’re really concerned after a workout that you don’t have enough electrolytes, then have a sports drink (gatorade or powerade are acceptable) or eat a banana.

What kind of water should I drink?

I don’t like the idea of there being chlorine and fluoride in my tap water, so I don’t drink tap water if I can help it. I usually just buy spring water by the gallon at my local supermarket for about 60cents/gallon. However, if you prefer using a water filter or if you enjoy plain ole tap water, then go ahead. There are certain types of water that are slightly better for you than others, but for now, I would just concentrate on drinking the water rather than worrying about any of the other small details.

Have a great day, and bottoms up.