The advantages of eating healthy

When you eat a balanced diet, not only do you lose extra weight but your overall health improves. I have personally noticed that my hair, skin and nails are no longer dry and have increased in their growth (the hair and nails, not the skin). A friend of mine told me that her increase in fruit consumption and decrease in eating potato chips has become a body acne treatment for her. She tells me that her skin now glows.

See what eating healthier can do for your body? Try it out and see.

Do you wake up in the middle of the night to eat?

You know that your eating habits have gotten out of hand when you wake up hungry in the middle of the night and you get up to eat. Something that I learned from a dietitian is to eat a 1/2 cup of peanuts right before going to bed at night. What the peanuts do is act as natural sleep aids. They allow the body to slowly digest something and keep hunger pangs at bay. If your stomach is busy digesting then it tends to keep you asleep. The peanuts are also high in protien and low in sugar so that prolongs the digesting time.

Everybody wants to lose weight - NOW

I am sorry to say it but, there is no safe way for quick weight loss. Face the facts, it took you months or even years to put on all of that weight. It will take just as long to take it off again. You cannot rush your body. Companies make millions of dollars trying to convince you that you can lose 20-30 pounds in 6 weeks or less, don't you believe it.

Losing weight is NOT an overnight quick fix. You cannot expect to get in that bikini for the summer if you have 60+ pounds to lose in 4 months. Losing that much weight in that short of a time puts your major organs at risk.

Take you weight loss at a slow but steady pace and learn not to put it back on and you will be well on your way to a healthier you.

The nasty side of diet pills

I have spoken about some of the nasty diet pill side effects before but they are worth repeating. Ali has one of the well known ones, diarrhea. Wouldn't it be wonderful to show off that brand new dress you could now fit into except that brown stain that appears after you got up from your chair. Ali was jokingly referred to as the pill that gave you a workout (making you run to the bathroom).

Another diet pill worth staying away from was those fat inhibitor pills. I think most of them have been taken off the market now but they might still be a few bottles out there. What they do is coat your stomach and intestine so you could not absorb fat, of course you would also not absorb much of anything else either. Another pill to give you the runs, runs to the bathroom that is.

Diet pills are best left to be prescribed by your doctor and not left for picking and choosing off of the shelf at the grocery store.

Staying motivated

There are as many successful ways to lose weight as there are diet doctors. What makes each of them successful in the individual's motivation. If a person thinks that their new die will work, it probably will, because they will probably stick to it longer than if they didn't believe it would work.

Self motivation and believing in yourself will do your body wonders.

Don't hide inside

One of the worse things you can do when trying to lose weight is get depressed about the whole ordeal. You also don't need to pull the blinds and hide behind closed doors because you don't feel attractive. You need to get out in the world and meet people and do things. It will take your mind off of your body and give you a whole new outlook on your live. Don't give in to your low moods because of your weight. Don't let it control you of your life.

Weight loss news from the Mayo Clinic

You hear the complaints every year. People groaning about the 5-10 pounds they packed on during the holidays. But for many people, too much weight is an every-day issue. Thousands of people are obese, and that means their health and quality of life can suffer. Surgery may be an option for some people, but for those who don't want surgery or can't have it for medical reasons, there is another option. Doctors at Mayo Clinic developed a liquid meal program geared toward people who need to lose a lot of weight. Video below:

New clothing the reward we give ourselves for losing weight

Do you shop for clothing with the idea of "when I lose a few more pounds, I'll fit into that?" If you do you are not alone. Many women actually reward themselves or use clothing as a goal to lose weight or a few dress sizes. Rather than using a tape measure to see how much we women have lost in inches, we use the "wow, I look great in this now," method of self gratification.

A doctor I once had years ago actually told me never to wear a pair of pants with an elastic waist band, because as I gained weight I would not notice it s fast as wearing a non-stretch waistband. She was right and I did indeed wear expanding pants as I got older and I felt bloated when I put on my non-stretch pants.

Clothing is a great tool. You can use it as a reward. When you see something you want to fit into in the next month or so, you don't have to feel guilty when you buy it on sale. It is also a wonderful indicator of weight loss or gain.

New Years resolutions

I suppose you have vowed to lose some weight or get in shape as your new year resolution. I personally don't make resolutions since I almost always abandon them several months into the year. What I will not do is pick up any new nasty habits. I have a friend that never smoked in her life and took up using those nasty habit forming e cigarettes. She claims she is not hurting her body but I just tell her that the research into the things is not complete since they are so new.

Do yourself a favor, if you can't keep your own promises to yourself then at least don't go out of your way to ruin your health. Do start any new habit forming addictions that you know you will be paying for later in life.