“To have…or to have not”

For almost everyone, “eating out” at restaurants has become such an important part of everyday life. You name it – fast-food, slow-food, sit-down, take-away, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, American, French – no matter what the need or taste, there is almost certain to be a restaurant that caters for it

So when trying to lose weight, how do we navigate around restaurants safely?… How can we still manage to enjoy the many different restaurant offerings without gaining weight?

The obvious answer is to simply avoid restaurants – or at least those that we view as “unsafe” from a weight-gain point of view – Pizzeria’s and Burger deli’s spring to mind here. But even everyday restaurants can pose a potential weigh-gain risk given that most restaurant food is geared more towards taste and not necessarily health. When it comes to menu appeal, most restaurants focus on the presentation, quality and taste of their dishes, as opposed to the weight-loss aspect.

So instead of avoiding restaurants, a better solution is perhaps to devise a strategy or set of guidelines to follow so that we can enjoy the full spectrum offered by most restaurants, and yet still maintain a relatively good level of health – and also not gain weight.

“Always think of the big picture”

When eating out at restaurants, due to the social context mostly associated with eating out, we often consume lots of extra calories without thinking. We usually always order drinks, have pre-meal snacks, pick at the bread in the bread-basket, try a taste of somebody else’s food, and so on. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as food should always be enjoyed, and most social occasions, gatherings and events are usually always “lubricated” with some form of food and drink.

However, for the weight-conscious individual, eating out regularly requires a “defensive eating strategy” to ensure that weight is not steadily – but surely – gained.

The first rule when viewing the restaurant outing is…always think of the big picture.

Before you set foot into the restaurant, you should have a fairly good idea of what kind of food you will find on the menu. The key is to have a broad idea of what you intend eating and plan the “big picture” in advance, as opposed to just eating and ordering meal courses spontaneously. By broadly pre-planning your overall meal, you have taken the first step to ensuring some control over what is eaten…and more importantly, what is not.

However, although you should broadly pre-plan your meal, this should not be taken to an extreme – all meals should ultimately always be enjoyed, and you should not become obsessive in this pre-planning process.

Once you have a broad idea of what you intend eating, the next step is to look at the actual foods or meal courses that will make up the meal-plan

“When is a carb not a carb?”

There is much controversy today about which diet is best for losing weight and maintaining weight loss. Low-fat; Low-Carb; High-Protein; Low Calorie…the list of different diets is almost endless.

Many dieters do seem to lose weight when carbs are reduced, however, for many, it isn’t necessarily a diet low in carbs that helps, but instead, a diet that limits starch – particularly starch derived from refined flours and grains.

This makes sense in that processed flour and grain is relatively new to the human diet when compared to other more natural foods. Also, if we link global weight-gain with the rise of the “fast-food” culture, then we can see that almost every fast food staple has a high-starch component – burger buns; pizza bases; pasta’s; fries; noodles; processed rice to name just a few.

So if we intend eating out regularly, a smart

strategy may be to look at ways of limiting the starch component of the overall meal…not necessarily the carbs.

“After planning comes balance”

So when approaching a restaurant, we now know to think of the whole meal plan, and broadly “pre-plan” the whole meal ahead. By pre-planning, one really thinks about what aspect of the meal we feel like the most…do we feel like a hearty main course or are we really in the mood for a sweet dessert…or do we feel like both?

Once we know what we feel like, the next step is to balance out the “starch ratio”.

Let’s use an Italian restaurant as an example:

A typical meal out at an Italian eatery may look something like this:

Drinks & snacks

Italian bread rolls/Bread basket

Pasta or Pizza

Cheescake or another slice of cake

Coffee & Italian Biscuits

Now in light of what we have discussed earlier, this meal is relatively high in starch, with practically every course of the meal being rich in a refined, flour-based starch.

Now, assuming that we want to literally “have our cake and eat it” and enjoy a full course meal, a smart strategy might look like this:

Drinks – no snacks

Italian salad – no bread rolls

Half portion pasta Or small pizza

Sorbet Or ice cream Or chocolate mousse

Coffee – no biscuits

The above menu plan alternative only includes starch for only one course, thus reducing the amount refined flour-based starch in the overall meal.

If in the pre-planning phase, a slice of cake was preferred for dessert then the overall menu plan could have looked as follows:

Drinks

Italian or other green salad

Fish with mixed vegetables (no starch)

Slice of cheesecake or any other cake

Coffee – no biscuits

Again, the meal plan above limits starch to only one course, shifting it from the main course, to dessert.

“When not in Rome…”

The same “starch ratio” rule can apply to all other types of food when eating out – the key is to remember to just limit the starch component (especially flour-based starch) of the overall meal. Allowing starch or flour-rich products to dominate a meal can have a significant effect on weight gain.

Burgers & Fries are another classic example where there is a double-whammy of starch in the burger bun and fries. Of course, if this is followed by a flour-based dessert, the starch component just increases.

An alternative menu would be to either replace the burger bun with a salad and reduce the portion of fries – Or replace the fries with a salad and have half the burger bun.

Similarly, when eating Chinese, it’s the noodles, rice and fried batter that needs to be considered, balancing these out with soups, sweet & sour meats and vegetables (ideally steamed) would be the best bet here.

“The Last word”

Food is all around us…and great-tasting food too. Wherever we look there are exciting new restaurants tempting us with new flavors or enticing us with new versions of old classics, its no wonder that diets that force us to “avoid” our favorite foods usually cannot be sustained for the long term.

The key is to look at imaginative ways of incorporating the foods we love into our everyday lifestyles, without losing control of our weight.

To summarize the 2 key points…

When eating out at restaurants,

1) Always pre-plan, thinking of the big picture of the overall meal.

2) Think of the “starch ratio” of the meal – look at ways of limiting or balancing the starch component of the overall meal (particularly flour or grain-based starch)

For many, this approach has been the answer to eating out and maintaining or even losing weight.

Ted Frazer has been dedicated to the health and “wellness Revolution” for 20- years. Check out his fast-selling e-book “The Total Diet Solution” at http://www.total-diet.com and download the 1st Chapter free.

Modern lifestyles cultivate such habits that are hard to give a skip and to unhealthy practices. Today many view weight control diets as something difficult to practice and that, as something where in you need to keep account of all that you eat. But think of this. Obesity is not fun and good health does not come cheap. Surrendering to quick fix pills like sympathomimetic amine or amphetamine is a serious mistake if you don’t consider the side effects. It works by stimulating central nervous system to increase blood pressure and heart beats and thereby reducing appetite. Naturally, you can’t compromise on your own health. Look around for a natural way to weight loss.

There are yogic and naturopathic weight loss programs you can adapt. These are systematic by nature and not harsh on your physiology. These systems involve using water predominantly for treatment. Systematic washing/cleansing of stomach, colon and lungs help clean them of acids, semi/fully digested residual waste etc. Removal of waste coat facilitates fresh and more secretion of digestive juices. Repeat this under expert monitoring and schedule. Take up some classes in yoga asanas.

On the other hand, the naturopathy is a wee bit different from yoga. It requires

that you drink a lot of water (sun charged water, green water and yellow/orange), take chromotherapy (a system of treatment through sunrays) and subjective cold or hot/steam baths. Fasting and enema are two other things in schedule for natural weight loss program.

As you can see, all of the above steps in the natural weight loss program help in cleansing or ridding the body from toxic and morbid matters and reducing fat. Before I conclude, I think it would not be fair enough if I don’t mention the natural weight loss program that the General Motors has conducted for its employees. It was an all vegetable, no exercise and no chemical treatment program of seven days. In the end most of them lost 5-6 pounds of weight with nothing to regret about.

The author Rajgopal had been writing on technical matters and in this avtar he gave up tags that confine to particular genre of writing. Rajgopal is a mechanical engineer and served the pharmaceutical industry. Oflate he has been putting his efforts in to creative art and healthcare writing. Here he looks up at options available to put life back on track. He can be contacted at http://alevoorrajgopal.blogspot.com

The cost of gastric bypass surgery and other bariatric surgical procedures are high averaging between $20,000 and $35,000. Many insurance companies are beginning to see obesity as a serious health disorder, however, and have begun to cover some of the cost of gastric bypass surgery.

Insurance companies will only cover the cost of gastric bypass surgery if the candidate is qualified. A qualified candidate is firstly at least 100 pounds overweight and has demonstrated in the past a serious effort to control their weight through lifestyle changes like diet and exercise. Candidates must have been obese for at least 5 years prior to the surgery, not have a history of alcohol abuse, and not have depression or other serious psychiatric disorders.

After surgery, there are other things to consider when factoring in the cost of gastric bypass surgery. A new lifestyle commitment will include a membership to the gym, a healthy choice diet, a wardrobe that may have to be replaced

on a continual basis for a year, even transportation and furniture.

Beyond the material cost, there is also a physical and emotional cost. Gastric bypass surgery permanently changes your digestive system making it impossible to eat certain foods or combinations of foods. You will also have to make a commitment to exercise regularly and avoid high-sugar and high-fat foods that may hurt your system. Emotionally, an adjustment will have to be made as you adapt to your new lifestyle and continually changing body. People important to you may also treat you differently after weight loss, which can cause stress and conflict. Any surgery is serious and a surgery to promote weight loss should only be undertaken when all other avenues have been explored.

Gastric Bypass Surgery Info provides comprehensive information on procedure, recovery, cost and complications relating to standard, laparoscopic and mini surgeries. Gastric Bypass Surgery Info is the sister site of Bariatric Surgery Web.

Alcohol Abuse information, tips, recovery and treatment.

Questioning the Wisdom of Low Carb Modified Foods

If you are following a low carb diet and you think eating “low carb” versions of things like pancakes and bread is smart, think again. You’ll gain weight as soon as you add real carbs (water weight mostly), any carbs, and you will be paying high prices for unhealthy food in the bargain. Instead eat whole foods such as whole baked potatoes, fresh carrots, salads, vegetable soups, bean dishes. Eat the real thing!

Stay away from the modified versions whether low fat, low carb, or low anything. Low carb means added artifical sweeteners and who knows what to stretch the fiber, low fat usually means added sugar, low calorie is usually crappy tasting. Why pay extra for this trickery?

If you want to lose weight and keep that weight off a few things must happen. Your diet must include healthier foods in greater quantity than unhealthy foods. I’m not talking “good” or “bad” foods. Any food is fine, in moderation. The trick is moderation. I love cake but I don’t eat it every day. I love all kinds of sweets but I don’t over indulge every day. If I did I’d gain weight, and it really is that simple. I choose to stay in shape by eating the goodies when I want, but my desire is

infrequent because I want even more to maintain my size.

What does eating pancakes do for me? It makes me want syrup, and maybe something sweet later that day. It sets me up for craving sugary sweet foods. That may not be what I really want, especially if I’m trying to lose a few pounds.

What about bread? Wouldn’t I be better off eating the low carb bread? No. Choose a healthy, whole grain bread. The low carb brands are not whole grain, they are white flour, with added corn starch and artificial sweeteners. They reduce the size of the loaf, and slice the pieces teeny tiny then claim, “Only 4 Net Carbs per Slice” or something equally ridiculous. Check the loaf. Is a sandwich made with teensy sized pieces of bread going to satisfy you or is it going to make you want another sandwich? Eat the real thing, and you’ll feel satisfied from having eaten an adult sized sandwich, and you won’t feel deprived or crave for more.

~~ Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, Weight Loss Coach and owner of http://www.OneMoreBite-WeightLoss.com is the author of “Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss.”

Learn to use Kathryn’s One More Bite Approach with The Daily Bites: Mini lessons in using EFT for weight loss http://www.OneMoreBite-WeightLoss.com/getnews.html

When you need comfort what do you reach for? Do you have a particular food you always go for?

Of course it’s better to take comfort in something other than food. If you can phone a friend or cuddle your dog or your partner that’s great, but chances are you’ll often still turn to food for comfort.

Maybe you love the taste and texture of ice cream or chocolate as it melts in your mouth. Maybe you choose pizza because it fills you up and makes you feel warm inside. Maybe there’s a food that reminds you of the good times in your life or one which always makes you feel better when you’re fed up.

Food can and does evoke lots of great feelings.

But what if your favourite comfort food also

• Uses up half a day’s calorie allowance?
• Pads out your hips and stomach with fat you don’t want?
• Clogs your arteries?
• Gives you a huge hit of sugar which creates a craving for more sugary/starchy food?
• Makes you feel full of regret rather than comfort when you’ve eaten it?

Is it such a friend to you then? Pretty false friend I would say!

If that’s the case how about getting attached to a new comfort food?

Don’t worry – it doesn’t have to be boring like carrots and celery – no one was ever comforted by a

carrot! Choose something absolutely delicious that you can make and keep in your freezer or have available to cook at a moments notice ready to cheer you up when you feel nothing but food will do the trick.

How about keeping some hearty warming soup in your freezer and eating it with crusty bread from ready-to-bake rolls? Or serving up childhood treats like boiled egg and toast or milky puddings made with low-fat milk? How about cooking some potato wedges with very little oil – and enjoying a mini feast without the calories of French Fries. No matter what you like there will be something healthy which works for you.

So forget pizza, ice cream and chocolate. They will always be false friends, making you feel worse after any close encounter.

Choose a new real comfort food that you can get ready at a moment’s notice and enjoy something which is better for your waistline as well as your soul.

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small

Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach, slimming club owner and author of “The Diet Exit Plan”, an 8 week coaching program for automatic permanent weight loss. Request her FREE 15 page report “How to lose weight without dieting – 7 secrets the diet industry doesn’t want you to know” at http://www.SimplySlimming.com TODAY!

Cellulite – Reduce The Appearance

———————————

Sallie Elizabeth has always had large breasts and a big bottom, and she has accepted them as part of her genetic makeup. But when cellulite appeared in the back of her upper leg, she “freaked out” and resolved to do something about it.

A friend recommended endermologie, a deep massage treatment using a motorized device with two adjustable rollers and controlled suction. The device is said to improve the look of cellulite by gently folding and unfolding the skin for smooth and regulated deep-tissue movement.

The cellulite is “less visible,” she says, noting her smoother, softer skin. “I feel healthier. My circulation has improved … and I feel more relaxed.”

To keep up the effects, the 20-something model visits Smooth Synergy, a cosmedical spa in Manhattan, once or twice a week for 35-minute sessions with the endermologie machine and a technician.

Elizabeth may be enjoying her cellulite-busting experience, but experts raise eyebrows at many tools or treatments purported to reduce the appearance of cellulite, trim fat in specific areas, shed pounds, or build muscle, particularly if they claim to replace exercise and good nutrition.

“They’re a waste of money,” says Richard Cotton, a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise and chief exercise physiologist for myexerciseplan.com.

If that is the case, then a sizeable chunk of currency could be going down the drain. According to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) weight loss advertising trend report, in the year 2000 alone, consumers spent an estimated $34.7 billion on weight-loss products and programs.

While it is not known how much of that accounts for sales of unproven or fraudulent merchandise, an FTC study of weight loss ads from different media shows that nearly 40% of ads make at least one false claim, and an additional 15% make at least one claim that is very likely false, or lacks proof.

To add to the number soup: Results from a national health survey conducted between 1999 and 2000 indicate that more than six out of every 10 Americans are overweight or obese, a figure that has increased dramatically in recent years.

Another recent survey that looked at the attitudes of Americans adults toward their own weight found that despite the fact that two-thirds of men were considered overweight, only about half (51%) said they wanted to lose weight versus 68% of women who said they wanted to lose weight.

Put it all together and there are arguably more people wanting to use weight loss products, and according to the government’s trend report, the “marketplace has responded with a proliferating array of products and services, many promising miraculous, quick-fix remedies.”

There are, indeed, numerous therapies, including weight loss programs and dietary supplements. Then there are the popular treadmills, bun and ab rollers, the body bow, and bun and thigh max.

For this piece, however, WebMD looked only into passive exercise devices such as electrical muscle stimulators and toning tables, cellulite reduction therapies, and gels, creams, eyeglasses, earrings and similar doodads marketed for weight loss, and muscle-building.

Granted, not all remedies may be the same, but health professionals say far too many of them can’t be trusted.

Passive Weight Loss

——————-

To Elizabeth’s credit, she tries to eat right, jog, do Pilates, and perform squats to supplement her endermologie sessions. In fact, good nutrition and regular physical activity are recommended with the treatment.

However, many weight loss, cellulite-busting, and muscle-building products promise results without having to do too much.

“It’s the idea that an individual can get to the body size they want without any increase in physical activity or without any change in eating,” says Jennifer Anderson, PhD, RD, professor and extension specialist at Colorado State University’s department of food science and human nutrition.

She simply laughs at appetite-suppressing eyeglasses, weight loss patches and chewing gum, toning gels, fat-melting creams, and evening solutions that claim to trim waistlines during sleep.

“In some instances, it’s a total gimmick,” says Anderson. “In other instances, it will reduce a lot of water weight quickly, but it’s never going to change eating behaviors, activity levels, and make that the key to their lifestyle.”

This quick water weight loss never leads to real, long-term weight loss, says Anderson, noting that the only weight loss and toning plan that works involves eating well and moving your body.

Furthermore, she says there is no proof that cellulite can be massaged away or taken out by injections of vitamins, special underwear, or use of other gizmos. To get rid of the dimpled fat, weight must be shed, and skin made firmer by doing strength training.

Francie M. Berg, a licensed nutritionist, and founder of the Healthy Weight Network, agrees. “If you want to tone your body or become more fit, you need to do the work. It’s not lying on a table, and having [a gadget] lift your feet,” she says referring to no-effort toning tables, beds, and machines.

The value of toning and weight loss equipment depends on how much work you can get a person to do to burn energy, says Berg, pointing out that when people see desired results with normally passive devices and treatments, it’s usually because they’ve also made efforts to eat well or exercise.

Truth With A Twist

—————-

Berg coordinates the Task Force on Weight Loss Abuse for the National Council

Against Health Fraud, which gives out annual Slim Chance Awards to selected weight loss products.

This year’s “worst gimmick” prize went out to MagnaSlim, which claims to relieve stress and its byproduct of overeating by placing magnets and a magnetized solution at specific acupuncture points. The magnet at the acupressure point would supposedly improve cell function, restore Chi (life force energy), and give a person more control over what they put in their mouths.

Weight loss promoters have long cashed in on the concept of acupressure and magnetic therapy for weight loss, even though there is no proof it works, says Berg. Items using similar concepts on the market include magnetic weight-loss earrings, adhesives, beads, and seeds.

It is apparently not uncommon for manufacturers to piggyback on ideas and studies that may have genuine validity, and twist them for commercial purposes.

Another example would be the electrical muscle stimulators (EMS) promoted to do anything from slough off weight to tone muscle to form six-pack abs. Some ads claim this is possible without exercise.

Health experts scoff at such an idea, but do say EMS is a valuable tool for physical therapy. “There are times when that really helps,” says Anderson, pointing to rehabilitation programs for people with physical injuries or stroke-related debilitation.

“The problem I have with it is if it’s being marketed as muscle stimulation, and that will help you tone up and lose weight,” says Anderson. “Well, it probably will help you tone a little bit, but it shouldn’t take place of being more active and looking at how many calories we put in our mouth each day.”

Gad Alon, PhD, associate professor in the department of physical therapy and rehabilitation science at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, has studied the effects of EMS, and many promoters often refer to his research in peddling their wares.

He says many of these marketers misuse his work, saying things like, “Seven physicians at the University of Maryland have concluded that you may never have to do sit-ups again.”

First of all, says Alon, there were no physicians present for the studies; he and his students conducted the studies, and they never addressed the topic of weight loss.

Alon warns, though, that some EMS devices in the market might not have the proper specifications to work properly. He says they may use electrodes that do not have good conductivity, or some may be too small to cover large muscle areas.

The Damage and what to do with it

——————————–

Some of the weight loss gadgets may seem too good to be true, yet even smart people fall for them. Why are people so willing to believe these quick and easy schemes?

“Hope springs eternal,” says Edward Abramson, PhD, a clinical psychologist, and author of Emotional Eating: What You Need to Know Before Starting Another Diet. He says people are always looking for a shortcut, especially for difficult, ongoing problems.

Besides losing money on bunk products, however, consumers could get their hopes dashed. Abramson says repeated disappointments with weight loss could undermine a person’s overall sense of well-being. He says some people could even internalize blame to a point that could lead to eating disorders.

Berg adds that false weight loss systems and goods could also prevent people from seeking real treatment, interfere with responsible programs that do work, and promote distrust of the medical community.

To avoid falling prey to such schemes, the FDA says consumers should be particularly skeptical of claims containing words like easy, effortless, guaranteed, miraculous, magical, breakthrough, new discovery, mysterious, exotic, secret, exclusive, and ancient.

The experts interviewed by WebMD also recommend concentrating on weight-management strategies that are proven to work, such as incorporating a balanced diet with reduced calories with a regular exercise regimen. Some tips include:

Eat more fruits and vegetables. Foods high in fiber such as whole grain breads, fruit, and cereal can help you feel full longer.

Exercise. Get 30 minutes of physical activity a day even if you must split it in 10-minute increments throughout the day. Try to exercise on most days of the week; choose an activity you enjoy. Start slowly and then add more days as tolerated.

Be accepting. Accept your body the way it is. Maintain. Instead of having a goal to lose weight, think of not gaining it, says Anderson.

Be aware of your mind and body while you exercise. Cotton says it helps not to read magazines or watch TV while working out. “When you’re present, you’re better able to make decisions about your habits … and your true needs,” he says.

Source: WebMD

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

About The Author

————

Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health benefits. He has created and edits numerous web sites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for http://www.ageforce.com and several other websites. If you would like to contact Michael you can e-mail him at Michael@AgeForce.com or if you would like to know more about Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health topics please visit us at AgeForce.com.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner – more Americans are eating out these days. It’s nice to be able to sit back, relax, and not have to worry about fixing a meal. But food portions have increased steadily since the 1950s and many of us are eating too much.

In the 1950s a serving of French fries was 2.4 ounces, according to www.mealsmatter.org. Today, a serving of French fries is 7.1 ounces or more. The food industry, responding to market demands, produced glasses as big as pitchers and plates as big as platters.

Today, huge servings are so common we think they are “normal.”

While many restaurants are giving us a good deal on food, it’s a bad deal when it comes to your health. Vanderbilt University wellness experts, on their Health Plus Website, say many Americans could be “innocently overeating,” and wonder why they’re gaining weight.

An “Action on Obesity” conference report, published in the April 2005 issue of “Mayo Clinic Proceedings,” cites some causes of weight gain: increased portion size, dining out at restaurants, and consuming energy-dense foods, such as snacks and carbonated drinks.

Eating out is okay if we keep serving sizes in mind. What’s the difference between a portion and a serving? A portion is the amount you choose to eat, including return trips to the buffet table. A serving is a measured amount based on food pyramid groups. According to MayoClinic.com, we may be “overlooking an important part of a healthy diet – serving sizes.”

And the serving sizes we need to eat in order to maintain a healthy weight may be smaller than we think. Calculating serving sizes is a learned skill, according to Mayo Clinic, and you need measuring cups, spoons, and a food scale to do it. You’re not going to bring these things to a restaurant, so what’s the solution?

Mayo Clinic says you can compare serving sizes to objects:

3 ounces of meat, fowl or fish = a deck of cards; 1 cup of vegetables = size of your fist; 1 apple = a baseball; 1/2 cup pasta = one ice cream scoop; 1 1/2 ounces of cheese – two dominoes; 1 cup dry cereal – a large handful

Can you continue to eat out and keep a healthy weight? Yes, if you follow these tips.

1. STUDY MENU OPTIONS. Ask your server if you

can make any substitutions, such as veggies for French fries, and low-calorie salad dressings. Ask for vinegar and oil if low-calorie dressings are unavailable.

2. CHOOSE LOW CALORIE FOODS. These foods include grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, fresh fruit, and salad with dressing on the side. Choose whole grain bread and eat one serving (a slice or roll) only.

3. ORDER SUGAR-FREE DRINKS. In a brochure called “How Much Are You Eating?” the USDA says we should moderate our intake of sugar. One sugar sweetened carbonated beverage may contain 10 teaspoons of sugar. Instead of sugar sweetened drinks order plain water or unsweetened iced tea.

4. CHECK SERVING SIZES. Before you take one bite of food calculate the serving sizes on your plate. Eat half your meal (or less) if the servings are too large. Take the rest of your food home for another day.

5. EAT VEGGIES AND FRUIT FIRST. Many restaurants are serving meat, chicken, and fish portions that would feed two or more. Eating low-energy-dense foods (low-calorie foods that fill you up)will make it easier to eat one serving of protein.

6. EAT SLOWLY. It takes a while for the mind to realize you are full. Eating slowly and chewing your food well gives your mind time to process this fact. You’ll also enjoy your food more. Stop eating the minute you feel full.

7. CHOOSE FRUIT FOR DESSERT. If fresh fruit is on the menu, choose it for dessert and ask the server to hold the whipped cream. After eating a huge meal you may wish to skip dessert. You also have the option of taking dessert home, cutting it into smaller servings, and freezing it.

Keep these tips in mind whenever you go to a restaurant. Share these tips with family members and friends. Your food serving smarts will help you to have a healthy and long life.

Copyright 2005 by Harriet Hodgson. To learn more about her work go to http://www.harriethodgson.com.

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Dr. Lois Krahn, is available from http://www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is also posted on Amazon.

The practice of calorie restriction is on a rise nowadays. Most of us find it to be an easy alternative for weight loss as it’s much easier as compared to the rigorous hardship of weight loss exercise. But, unfortunately for most of them who have tried a calorie-restricted diet to lose weight and worked really hard to stick to it, have failed to lose any significant amount of weight to their dismay.

Well, our gene is to be blamed for this delay in weight loss as a genetic variant induces a sort of buffer against changes in how the body burns and stores food energy. This gene variant, identified in various researches appears to protect against weight gain in lean women – but seems to actually prevent weight loss in men and women who have become obese.

Therefore weight control by the means of a calorie restricted diet is not a reliable option. In most of the cases of obese people, it has turned out to be a

totally inactive procedure. As the carriers of the variant gene did not experience significant weight changes in the year they ate a calorie restricted diet, so it’s of no use to opt for calorie restriction. You’ve got innumerable options available for curtailing obesity apart from this tedious diet plan.

A breed of diet pills or appetite depressants can do wonders to your life by making weight loss a reality for you. Diet drugs such as phentermine, adipex, xenical and a horde of others can help you lose weight within a very short span of time. Apart from some mild side effects, these diet drugs are perfectly safe. To derive maximum benefit from them, you need to couple these diet pills with a bit of exercise and a healthy diet plan. It’ll help you to keep away those extra pounds for a long time.

Charles Jones is the author of the slimtalk.com, a website on weight loss drugs. For more information on weight drugs visit http://www.slimtalk.com

After writing about the fact that many people complain about being “fat”, yet do nothing about it, I thought it might be a good idea to write one about a way you can lose weight. Well, maybe not any particular way, but a variety of ways.

For starters, if you want to lose weight, you can take the obvious road – Jenny Craig. Why not? It has worked great for many, many people, including the inflated, and now slightly deflated, Kirste Alley. But some people are too embaressed to walk into a Jenny Craig. Maybe because people can see you do it, but thats beside the point. What else can you do?

Take pills! Sure…. It too has worked for a great number of people. Weight loss pills are very common, and easy to get your hands on. There is many types such as Phentermine, Xenical, Bontril, Meridia and Adipex Diet Pill. But most people look for excuses not to do that either, as it can be embaressing if someone is to see you take

them.

Well then, that brings us to the perfect solution – WATCH WHAT YOU EAT! There is no need to pay all kinds of money for “Weight Watchers” or “Jenny Craig”, or take embaressing weight loss pills, just simply take note of what you are eating, and try to take on some healthier habits. If you notice that you are eating alot of junk food, try and cut back. Try to change your snack foods to fruits and vegetables, or maybe even just eat less. Watch the amount of food you are taking in, and that in itself can give you results.

For any other weight loss ideas, you can try the book store, a nutritionist, or consult your doctor.

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the article, this caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

Tyler Brooker is the owner and operator of Online Adipex Diet Pill – http://www.online-adipex-diet-pill.com, which is the best site on the internet for all Adipex related information.

There are a number of products on the market – both prescription and non-prescription – which claim to be effective weight loss aids. Many of these have been associated with serious medical risks, including heart attack, heart abnormalities, tachycardia, stroke, seizures and death. The side effects can be daunting, but how realistic are they?

Diet pills fall into several different classes. Most are appetite suppressants of one kind or another, generally stimulants with effects similar to those of amphetamine. They are approved for treatment of obesity, where it’s considered that the health risks associated with gross overweight outweigh the risks associated with the medication.

For someone who has less than 30 pounds to lose, the risks are far less cut-and-dry. While the FDA and manufacturers closely monitor the effects of prescription weight loss medications, over the counter medications and their risks are far less documented. Herbal supplements are even less documented still, especially those whose makers don’t officially make weight loss claims for them.

While makers of pharmaceuticals must meet stringent labeling requirements and tests for safety and effectiveness, those who make weight loss ‘supplements’ are not regulated in the same way. As long as they don’t contain a ‘new’ ingredient, or one that has never been marketed for weight loss purposes, they are not subject to FDA review. Instead, the manufacturer is held responsible for the safety and effectiveness of their products. Often, that means unregulated dosages, unhealthy additives and ineffective ingredients.

In an effort to encourage improvement in the reporting standards and the pharmaceutical standards for weight loss medications, the United States Pharmacopoeia has introduced the Comprehensive Dietary Supplement Verification Program. Currently voluntary, it involves certification by the USP of certain labeling and practice standards, including that the product contains the ingredients stated on the

label in the strength declared, that they are within limits for impurities like metals, pesticides and bacteria, that the medication will be absorbed by the body according to USP criteria, and that it has been created with all safe precautions.

Until the day that all over the counter medications and herbal preparations marketed as weight loss supplements and aids are labeled and tested by impartial researchers, there are some things that you can do to lessen the risks associated with using diet pills.

Research is your best friend. There’s a lot of information out there about drugs and herbs like ephedra, ephinedrine, phentermine and sibutramine. Know what you’re taking and what the risks are so that you can watch for side effects.

Always talk to your doctor before you start taking any drug or herbal supplement. Many of them interact poorly with other medications, or have an adverse effect on chronic conditions.

Follow dosage instructions. Overdoses of stimulant medications, which are a component of most weight loss preparations, can be serious and severe.

Don’t take any weight loss pill or supplement for more than a few weeks without it being prescribed by a doctor.

Check with your pharmacist when purchasing over the counter weight loss preparations to be sure that the ingredients don’t interact with other medications you may be taking. Include both prescription and nonprescription medications in your questions.

Ideally, don’t take weight loss pills. The effectiveness of most have not been proven at all. It’s an awful lot of risk for such a little loss.

Copyright 2005 Adam Waxler

Adam Waxler publishes the Weight-Loss-Power-Package…a collection of six weight loss ebooks guaranteed to help you lose weight. Check out the complete package here: http://www.weight-loss-power-package.com and check out his blog for free weight loss tips here: http://www.weight-loss-machine.com/blog

Pills Reviews – side effects, reviews and advice.