Is it possible to lose unwanted weight and keep it off? There are so many conflicting messages today, but yes, it is possible! Let’s look at 7 tips for losing weight and keeping it off.

Eat five to six small meals daily. Include whole grains, beans, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and a small amount of fat. A nutritious and balanced diet that includes a variety of different foods is key for long-term lifestyle changes. Frequent small meals throughout the day will help to curb your hunger and help you to eat less.

Skipping meals is not a wise choice. Always eat breakfast to get your body’s metabolism kick-started. If your body goes too long without food, it will go into survival mode and as a result, burn fewer calories. So, in reality, you’ll be holding on to more calories rather than getting rid of them. Most people end up making up for the lack of calories in the beginning of the day by binging on unhealthy foods later on. Avoid this by eating small snacks of protein and a whole grain in between meals.

Always sit at the table to eat. Avoid eating on the run, in the car, standing at the kitchen sink or in front of the television. Eat slowly and focus on the people at the table, rather than the food. Our body requires about 20 minutes to signal the brain that it is full. If you eat at a slower pace, the brain has time to register that it is no longer hungry and you won’t overeat, taking in unnecessary calories.

Don’t visit the grocery store when you are hungry. Try to do your shopping after you’ve eaten a good meal or a small snack. Have a list in hand in order to avoid those impulse buys that aren’t the best choices. Raw vegetables and air-popped fat-free popcorn should be staples on every grocery list. These are healthy, guilt-free, and taste fantastic!

Water is essential to overall health and for losing weight. Make sure to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Water acts as a diuretic, lessening water retention. It also helps the body to digest food efficiently. Drinking water throughout the day keeps the body hydrated and helps you feel full, which means you’re less likely to eat impulsively.

Refined sugar foods should be limited on a daily basis. Sugar is responsible for causing headaches, mood swings, hypoglycemia and, in some people, diabetes mellitus. A high level of sugar in the body can inhibit energy levels and make you feel sluggish. Instead, use natural sugars or sugar substitutes.

Accountability is a great tool for losing weight and keeping it off. Keep track daily of your food and beverage intake. You may be surprised at how much you’ll decide not to put in your mouth if you have to account for it. Ask a friend to lend you occasional encouragement.

Losing weight and keeping it off is more realistic if it is done gradually. Make small changes each day so you don’t become discouraged. That’s when people tend to give up on their goal of becoming healthier. Reward yourself along the way too! Non-food rewards such as a new blouse, shoes, or jewelry are always great choices to help you enjoy your success.

Colin Albert manages the LifeFormulas website, which offers a unique blog about his day-to-day activities with ITV Ventures and their many health-related products. One of the health supplements he sells through that business is WaferThin, which is a powerful weight loss system that can help you lose those extra pounds easily.

There are three reasons why most people cant lose weight and this applies to about 90% of people who embark on a diet to lose weight fast.

The three tips below are applicable to any diet, will help you lose weight fast and allow you to enjoy ANY Food you like.

There easy to do and will make your dieting a pleasure rather than a chore.

1. Be Realistic!

Healthy dieting takes time and this applies to ANY diet so don’t crash diet not only is it unhealthy it will make you ill and even more importantly when you stop the pounds will pile back on even quicker.

Take it in simple steps but use this diet to get the fastest results when you start and get you motivated The cabbage soup diet.

It lasts only 1 week and is the fastest way to get started. It should only be used for 1 week then you can switch to any healthy diet you wish that is balanced i.e. you get all food groups

2. Starving yourself is not the answer!

Your body will only lose a few pounds a week and starving yourself will not make it any quicker or depriving yourself of any of the major food groups.

You need to eat 5 meals a day 3 main and two snacks and make sure you never skip breakfast to avoid hunger pangs later in the day.

While you need to eat 5 meals a day you need to keep in mind portion control, how do you do that?

Well lets consider say rice tuna and vegetables as a meal the size of each portion should be the size of your fist. This is a simple way to achieve portion control

So try the above and make sure you eat 3 meals per day and snack on as much fruit or vegetables as you wish.

3. One Day a week do the following

Follow your diet for six days a week and then on one day forget about your diet and eat whatever you want.

There is logic here and it’s the psychological impact on your mind.

If you overeat once a week you remove the one reason many diets fail, which is when choice is removed from you want it even more and don’t stick with your chosen diet.

By allowing yourself one day off from your diet you can say:

I will stick with the diet and I can still have the foods I really want i.e I have a choice.

So won’t this defeat the object of dieting No it wont, and there are 3 reasons why:

1. It makes NO Long term difference

You will have been eating sensibly on the other six days and one day won’t make much difference.

2. It Teaches you better eating habits

By overeating and having treats you will perhaps realize that that your body has adjusted to better eating habits.

This day may not be the pleasure you thought i.e. when every day was a free day, or you don’t actually want to eat as much as you thought before you came to your free day.

3. It gives a choice.

By giving us choices we are more likely to stay with the diet we have chosen.

Remember: To gain weight you have to eat a lot

Gaining weight is a long term process and you won’t undo the good you have done on the other six days by having a free day. What you will do is give yourself the choice and make sticking with a diet less onerous.

No one wants to be told they can’t have the foods they really enjoy, the free day gives you choice (the major reason most diets fail) and helps you stick with sensible eating longer term.

So on your free day if you fancy a Big Mac or a pizza go ahead and don’t feel guilty dieting should be a pleasure and not a chore so don’t feel guilty.

If you follow the three tips above you will be able to lose weight in a healthy fashion and reach your ultimate weight while enjoying any food you want. Try it and see!

More info: On all aspects of nutrition and diet visit our website for the best in articles features and downloads at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

Every dieter knows there is a plateau phase in their diets, where the metabolism slows down to adjust to their decreased caloric intact.

Get out of that plateau and start losing weight again fast by simply boosting your metabolism.

Here are 5 tips that can awaken and speed up your metabolism.

Follow them and watch weight loss increase! Then, follow the diet tips to keep that weight off!

5 Ways to Awaken the Metabolism

Eating the foods alone below won’t do the whole job, you need exercise. Walking is perfect, and plan to walk at least 1 hour daily.

1. Strawberries, Rasberries and Cherries

Both strawberries and cherries are rich in ellagic acid.

This is a powerful anti-oxidant that clears the body of free radicals and and expel body pollutants like alcohol.

As an added benefit, they also stimulate mental power.

2. Grapes

All grapes are extremely rich in bio-flavinols.

These help to open up your arteries, and your blood runs more smoothly and quickly these are great food for anyone with circulatory problems.

3. All Citrus Foods

Everyone knows that citrus foods are rich in vitamins C. However, they are also rich in Vitamin E. Citurs foods, in addition to boosting your immune system, will act as a liver tonic.

When the liver is working better, your metabolism is working better.

4. Forest Berries (such as Cranberries)

Almost all the berries of the forest contain proanthocyanidin. This is a powerful antitoxant that works well on the kidneys and lymph system. When the kidneys are active, so is the metabolism

5. Apricots

A beta-carotene and vitamin C rich fruit, Apricots work well on the lungs (which expel waste products) and extra help if you are still a smoker. When the lungs are working well, the metabolism works better, as there is more oxygen available in the blood for metabolic exchanges.

Inclusion in your diet of these 5 above categories will re-start your metabolism and get you back on the path to losing weight.

More Diet Secrets To Keep Weight off long term

The five tips below will now help you keep the weight off

Drink Lots of Green tea

Research has proven that if you do nothing more than drink 5 cups of green tea daily, you will burn 80 calories. The Chinese have known for centuries that green tea stimulates the metabolism and therefore burns fat.

Eat A Lot of High Fibre Food

No one needs to be told, but a lot of fibre will keep the intestines active, and avoid accumulation of waste products.

If you eat just 25 grams a day of fibre rich food, you can expect to lose 5 kilos in a year’s time.

Also, include dried prunes in your daily diet. The prunes will insure a cleaner and healthier colon.

Drink Iced Water

Can you drink 2 litres a day of iced water?

If you can, you know your body will burn 100 calories just to bring the water back to its normal temperature.

If you can add a twist of lemon to the water, you can stop hunger pains and help cleans your liver.

Hot Chili, Mustard, and Horseraddish

They may burn your mouth, but they also help your body’s digestive system work better, even for 2 hours after you eat.

The Indians and Chinese understand this, and generally, they are a lean and healthy people.

Include Some Low-fat Dairy Products

Calcium rich low-fat dairy products help burn fat around the abdominal area.

Calcium-rich food stimulates the release of fat from fat cells, and also helps block its absorption.

So there you have it some ways to get your metabolism speeded up to help you burn and keep burning more calories, to knock and keep those extra pounds off.

More info: For more free info on healthy dieting and all aspects of weight loss including articles, features and ezines visit: www.net-planet.org

The hardest part of starting a diet is we all want to see results quickly and this is where the cabbage soup diet is ideal, it only lasts a week and it knocks weight off fast!

Once you have done it, you can then move to another diet and lose weight at a slower pace.Whenever you need to lose weight quickly go back to the cabbage soup diet.

There is no better way to achieve quick weight loss than the cabbage soup diet. If you don’t like cabbage don’t worry many health shops sell it in pill form as well, so it’s suitable for everyone.

Low Calories

The cabbage soup diet doesn’t offer many calories, but allows people to lose weight as they tend not to be tempted to overeat. The soup acts as filler, making sure that the dieter does not get hunger pangs or the feeling of starvation.

Due to the low amount of calories that the body is consuming, a dieter following the cabbage soup diet may experience a few side effects.

This can range from a feeling of weak or lightheaded but generally most people wont feel to bad and its easy to stick with because you know it’s only for a week.

The cabbage soup diet should only be followed for a week ?it is not meant to be adapted as a continuous diet and there should be breaks between using it, but as fast weight loss program it’s unrivalled.

Here is a recipe for the cabbage soup diet, if you elect not to take it in pill form:

Cabbage Soup Diet Recipe

Ingredients:

6 Large Green Onions

2 Green Peppers

1-2 Cans Diced Tomatoes

1 Bunch of Celery

1 Package Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1-2 Cubes of Bouillon (if desired)

1 Cabbage Head

Making the soup

1) Cut the vegetables place in the pot and cover with water, you can also use V-8 juice.

2) Boil the ingredients fast for 10 minutes.

3) Simmer and cook the cabbage soup until all of the vegetables are tender.

4) Season the cabbage soup with salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, or whatever spice you wish. When following the cabbage soup diet, you should be aware of some of the details.

The diet needs to be followed exactly!

The cabbage soup diet will only work if it is followed exactly how it is set down, means no deviation from the format

Day 1

Eat all of the fruit you want, except for bananas. You can eat only the cabbage soup and the fruit for the first day. You can drink unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water.

Day 2

You can eat all of the fresh, raw or cooked vegetables that you want.

Keep in mind that leafy green vegetables are preferable and that you should avoid dry beans, peas and corn. Fruit is not allowed.

Day 3

You can eat all the soup you want, as well as fruits and vegetables.

Day 4

You should eat as many as eight bananas, as well as drink as many glasses of skim milk. You should also keep eating the cabbage soup.

This day is meant to suppress your desire for sweets.

Day 5

Eat 10-20 ounces of beef and up to six fresh tomatoes.

You should also drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water in order to flush out the uric acid within your body.

You should have at least one bowl of cabbage soup. If you don’t like beef, you can exchange it for skinless, baked chicken.

Day 6

Incorporates just beef and vegetables. You can eat all of the beef and vegetables you want, as well as at least one bowl of the cabbage soup.

Day 7

You can eat as much brown rice, vegetables and unsweetened fruit juices as you want, as well as at least one bowl of the cabbages

There is no better way to jump start any weight loss program incorporate the cabbage soup diet in your weight loss program and watch the pounds melt away quickly.

For More Information: On the cabbage soup diet and other sensible ways to lose weight aqnd general nutrition advice visit our website for articles features and downloads: http://www.net-planet.org/health-news.html