MAKING NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS COUNT

If you're like most people, you've probably experienced the sudden burst of motivation that comes in early January, as holiday indulgences make their way to the waistline and New Year's resolutions force a new look at the figure we see in the mirror.

"This is the year," so the resolution goes, "that I vow to lose ten pounds and keep it off." Other common variations include goals to get back to one's "true" weight, to fit into a size ten, etc.

And worthy resolutions they are. Sadly, New Year's resolutions are notoriously short-lived, if not completely forgotten by February. The trick to making resolutions work is to follow the same steps required to make any goal work, as follows:

1. Choose the Right Resolution

For all too many resolutions, failure is virtually assured at the offset because the resolutions are not made with serious intent and deliberation. The first trick is to choose the right resolution, for the right reasons.

Give some thought to what you really want and why you want it. What direct benefits do you hope to receive? Is a weight-loss resolution meant to improve your self-esteem? Attractiveness? Vitality? Longevity? Identifying the "why" helps you avoid setting goals for the wrong reasons.

Next, decide how difficult to make your resolution. Aiming high generally makes people try harder. Optimal performance comes from goals that are difficult, but not so difficult that we don't believe they can be accomplished.

Finally, be specific about your resolution and make it official. Being specific means phrasing the goal in words that make it obvious whether or not the goal has been completed, by a specific date. A resolution "to lose 15 pounds by April 30th" is much more effective than the ambiguously phrased goal "to lose weight."

Once you've decided on the wording, formally commit. At a minimum, write the goal down on paper. For even more commitment, look yourself in the mirror and state the goal out loud. This may sound corny, but it works. The important thing to remember that a resolution is fundamentally a commitment to yourself. Make the commitment formal. The more ceremonious, the better.

2. Create a Plan

Most resolutions fail because people stop once they've made the resolution. It is crucial to harness New Year's temporary motivation into something that will carry you through an extended period of required effort.

Upon clarifying the exact goal that you are setting, next create a plan for how you intend to accomplish your goal. With any reasonably good plan, you are fairly likely to make significant progress or actually accomplish your goal. Without a plan, you are very unlikely to succeed.

The key to constructing a good plan is to identify the exact steps that you will take toward accomplishing your goal, and assigning due dates to those steps. Coming up with a comprehensive list of steps is not easy for everyone. If you encounter difficulty, the solution is to get help, such as hiring a personal trainer or seeking weight loss advise from the professionals at Kerisma. First identify all of the obstacles that stand between you and your desired goal. Once the obstacles have been identified, generate a comprehensive to-do list for accomplishing the goal.

3. Stay on Track

With a good plan in hand, making significant progress toward your goal may require very little discipline for those who live strictly by daily planners and love nothing more than checking off items on our to-do lists.

But for those of us who can use a little help with staying on top of details, the answer, once again, is to seek outside help. The idea is to find some external thing that keeps you motivated.

4. Remain Flexible and Keep on Going

A recent realization among goal-setting experts is the need to continually modify our approach—sometimes even changing or abandoning a goal altogether. The reason for this is that circumstances beyond our control frequently crop up at the most unexpected and inconvenient times. We can also expect our short-term and long-term priorities to change. So long as we build flexibility into our expectations, we can simply adjust things as we go.

It's therefore best to periodically reevaluate our goals and plans, perhaps once per quarter for a year-long goal such as a New Year's resolution. First, make certain that the goal itself still exactly reflects what you want to do. If it's not, adjust it. Next, go through your plan and identify any portions that aren't working well, even if it simply means giving yourself more time to complete a particular task or milestone. Keep in mind that missed due dates do not necessarily indicate a problem with your performance; it might simply mean that your plan was too aggressive, or that your environment has changed in some unexpected fashion. Either way, simply adjust your plan and continue onward.

Finally, the flip-side of setting difficult resolutions is that you must remember to acknowledge partial success. Losing 15 pounds is cause for celebration, even if your original goal was to lose 20 pounds. If you are just one step closer to your goal, then you are better off than before you began. Pat yourself on the back and keep on going.

WALK ANYWHERE AND FEEL BETTER

Take your walking program indoors during the colder months. You'll avoid weather interruptions and other challenges to regular exercising. Eliminating those stumbling blocks will help you maintain consistency and get closer to achieving the recommended 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days.

Although "location, location, location" is the watchword of success in real estate, it doesn't matter for healthy walking. When you walk at a comfortably quick pace inside an office building, school, fitness center, shopping center or your own home (you'll learn how in a minute!), you get the same benefits as when you walk outdoors.

"Take a look at wherever your setting is and ask, 'How can I be active in this setting?'" There's good reason to get moving. Moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking, reduces women's overall risk of death from all causes. Walking also lowers your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and breast cancer.

What about weight loss? In combination with diet, walking can take off excess pounds while also building your cardio-respiratory fitness. Even for obese individuals who don't attain their ideal weight, such activity—when done regularly—reduces the risk of health decline.

To make your in-home walks interesting and fun, check the library, video store or online for walking DVDs and tapes. When you pop these in, you get pace-setting music, advice on technique and timed walk routines with a variety of movements. Walking in your house is free, but you can also buy a home treadmill machine for about $500 and up.

Marching the mall

If you can resist the smell of warm cinnamon buns wafting through the air, you might enjoy mall walking. Many enclosed shopping centers open early just for walkers and some stay open a bit later for the same reason.

Malls attract walkers because the centers are temperature-controlled and have smooth floors, filtered air, security, bathrooms, easy parking and—yes—a place to get coffee or a snack afterwards. Those amenities might explain why research shows that, compared to men, women walk faster in mall settings than on traditional tracks. Some malls have organized walking clubs, although many mall walkers form their own social networks without the management's help.

Tips on indoor walking

• Add extra indoor walking opportunities. When you go to the supermarket, walk around the outer aisles of the store first before you begin shopping. Do the same at warehouse clubs or giant discount stores. Then walk up and down each aisle. At work, walk to speak with co-workers instead of sending email.
• Use a pedometer. These clip-on step counters help encourage you to walk. Keep a log of how many steps you're taking daily. Increase gradually.  Aim for 10,000 steps per day!
• Don't forget the stairs! Vary your walking workout by climbing the stairs at home or work. Even short amounts of extra stair-climbing improve cardiovascular health. Start out by adding just one or two extra trips up the stairs each day, then increase. Walk up escalators instead of standing and riding. Exercise at lunchtime with a friend by walking the stairwells at work.
• Practice inefficiency. Take one thing up the steps at a time. Make four trips instead of one.
• Walk while you talk. Use a cell phone or wireless headset and walk around the house as you carry on conversations.
• Call the mall. Check with the management office at your local mall to find out whether the shopping center opens early, or stays open late, for walkers. If you have a choice of malls, pick one with wide halls so you can move briskly even when shoppers are there.

GAINING POUNDS, LOSING YEARS

Current levels of obesity truncate American lives by four to nine months, report Jay Olshansky and his colleagues in the latest New England Journal of Medicine. If child and adolescent obesity continue to run rife, another two to five years will be lopped off our life span in the coming decades, dramatically reversing the rise in U.S. life expectancy seen over the past two centuries. Scientists previously expected average American life expectancy to reach 100 years by 2060. “Looking out the window, we see a threatening storm—obesity—that will, if unchecked, have a negative impact on life expectancy,” Olshansky and his colleagues write in their paper.

Today two-thirds of American adults are obese or overweight, as are a quarter to a third of American children. This adds up to a 3.3-fold increase in childhood obesity over the past 25 years, mostly due to couch-potato lifestyles and the surging sales of fast, fizzy, and junky food.

Obesity increases the risk of heart disease and cancer and is associated with hypertension, asthma, and gastrointestinal problems. It has sparked an epidemic of type 2 diabetes in children, which has increased tenfold over the past 20 years. Having diabetes in adulthood increases the risk of heart attack and shortens lives by about 13 years. Other diabetes-related complications include renal failure, limb amputation, stroke, and blindness. The cost of treating such medical problems will only go up as the age of onset drops.

Research suggests that obesity hits younger people harder than the old. “Among older people, being overweight has some protective things: It makes your bones stronger, makes you able to survive chronic illness better. That’s not so in young people,” says Douglas Passaro, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago who worked with Olshansky. “In younger people, it’s almost all downside and no upside.

 Obesity increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It turns middle-aged people into really old people in terms of their mortality rate.”

There is hope for a turnaround. Passaro believes the same factors that help fuel the obesity epidemic in young people, like being impressionable and susceptible to advertising, could be used to shave weight off their generation: “To promote healthy eating habits and decrease the drive to go to the drive-through will have more of an effect on younger people, and that’s a good thing.”

By Discover Magazine

SINGLE BEST EXERCISE FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Often people will ask the best exercises for weight loss. They want to know what kind of cardio activity is going to help them lose weight faster than anything else. Even if they don't enjoy it, they are willing to try whatever is going to help them reach their goals more quickly. My response is always the same. So are you ready to hear what the magic exercise is? What's going to help you lose weight keep it off long-term, and get fit?

The answer is simple: Find the activities you enjoy doing and stick with them. It's true that some activities burn more calories than others. You'll burn more in 45 minutes of running than you will in 45 minutes of walking. But if you hate to run, chances are that you're not going to be able to keep it up forever. Exercise becomes a chore, something you dread instead of something that brings enjoyment to your life. I always cringe when people say, "I hate running and have no interest in doing it. But I feel like I have to run if I'm going to lose weight, so can you give me some tips for how to enjoy it?" My response is usually to try it if you haven't before, but don't be afraid to do something else instead of it's just not working for you. I've tried swimming before. It was a great workout, very challenging, but not something I enjoyed at all. So I decided that swimming just wasn't for me and moved on to other activities instead.

Putting personal preferences aside, if you look strictly at what exercises are considered "best", you'll get a wide variety of professional opinions. Exercise physiologists will give answers based on what exercises burn the most calories, which ones provide the most strength benefits, which ones increase power or flexibility. It just depends on your goals and your body. Everybody responds differently to different exercises, and everyone has different opinions about what activities we should be doing.

Regardless of the activity, the fact that you are exercising at all is most important.

You don't have to train for marathons and spend hours at the gym to be healthy. "A recent meta-analysis of studies about exercise and mortality showed that, in general, a sedentary person’s risk of dying prematurely from any cause plummeted by nearly 20 percent if he or she began brisk walking (or the equivalent) for 30 minutes five times a week. If he or she tripled that amount, for instance, to 90 minutes of exercise four or five times a week, his or her risk of premature death dropped by only another 4 percent."

So, find an activity and keep moving!

BEATING THOSE YULETIDE BLUES

 

10 tips to keep you "laughing all the way."

When you feel blue, all of that holiday cheer and stress of the season can push you into full-blown depression. To avoid falling into the jolly pit of gloom, follow these guidelines.

1. Avoid Being Alone. Sitting and mulling over sad thoughts while the world parties is a bad idea on so many levels. Seek out family members, friends and neighbors. Join in a spiritual ceremony.

2. Host a Gathering. It doesn't have to be huge party. Cookies and beverages make for a festive evening of conversation. Invite friends for a holiday movies screening.

3. Limit Your Alcohol Intake. You might feel good for a short time but drinking too much booze can plunge you into a chemical downer.

4. Set a Spending Limit and Stick to It. Getting into debt guarantees family and personal strife. Instead, give homemade gifts or start a family gift exchange.

5. Volunteer. Nothing says holiday spirit more than volunteering. Giving feels good. And, when you help people who have challenges in their lives, it makes you realize how blessed you are.

6. Manage Your Time. Plan ahead so you are not rushing around in whirlwind of failure. Schedule days to shop, days to bake, days to visit and days to celebrate. Be sure to include specific times to relax.

7. Get a Massage. Massage can cut the body's level of cortisol, a stress hormone, in half. Massage also increases the "feel-good" hormones - serotonin and dopamine.

8. Seek Out Sunshine. Shorter winter days and time cooped up inside deprives you of light rays that turn out to be key to a happy mood.

9. Go to the Gym. Exercising releases endorphins, nature's happy pill. Plus you'll feel better about those extra holiday calories if you've spent some time in the gym or out power walking.

10. Give Yourself a Break. Decide what is really important and let the rest go. The Yuletide police won't come and get you if you don't buy everyone an expensive present or go to every tree lighting and family to-do.

Take the time to be grateful and feel the joy of the season and you'll beat those blues.

BOOST YOUR BRAIN POWER WITH FOOD

Foods aren't just fuel for your body. True, they provide the energy you need, yet some have benefits that go well beyond simple nourishment.

Explore the recesses of your refrigerator and you may find foods that science is, increasingly, crediting with being especially supportive for brain health. These edibles may improve memory, clarify thinking, delay cognitive decline, and perhaps even ward off Alzheimer's disease.

Recent research shows that you may want to include the following on your shopping list more often for brain-strengthening nourishment:

• Apple juice and pomegranate juice
• Red grapes, cherries, apples, blueberries and strawberries
• Tea and cocoa
• Salmon and light tuna
• Soy foods
• Sunflower seeds, walnuts
• Vegetables, especially leafy greens
• Olive oil
• Dark chocolate

When buying processed or packaged foods containing these ingredients, be sure to read the nutrition labels carefully. Some of these "good" foods may be prepared with high amounts of sugar, fat or salt added to them, resulting in too many calories or too much sodium in your diet.

For healthful eating, choose fresh versions of these foods most often, or prepare them with low-fat ingredients. Eat processed types in moderation.

For example, you can still get the benefits of pomegranate juice (which has sugar added to offset its tart flavor) by mixing one or two ounces into sparkling water as a spritzer. Cocoa made with nonfat milk or a milk alternative (such as almond or rice milks) gives your brain a boost without adding extra fat. And letting a small piece of dark chocolate melt slowly in your mouth prolongs your enjoyment while keeping your daily intake healthful (one ounce or less).

For brain health as well as overall health, be sure to avoid foods containing saturated fats or trans fats (check those nutrition labels!). Diets that are high in such fats are specifically related to declining brain capabilities.

WATCH YOUR PORTION SIZE

We often don’t realize that the little things can make a big difference when we step on the scale after the holidays. One of the biggest mysteries for those who are watching their weight is how to gauge portion size. Here’s Oz’s guide:

Rice: If you’re trying to eat healthy and having rice, you should have about 150 calories’ worth. How much is that, really? It’s the size of a lightbulb, or about one-half of a cup.

Peanut Butter/ Hummus: How much peanut butter do you put on your morning toast? How much hummus goes in your afternoon sandwich? Try the size of a golf ball.

Low fat cheese: It’s a great source of calcium, but don’t overdo it at the party. A serving size is about the sizes of three dice – that’s just three cubes.

Chicken breast/turkey on a sandwich: If you’re putting it onto a sandwich, keep the portion to the same size as a deck of cards.

Olive oil: This one is tricky and most people get it wrong. Oz says a serving of olive oil – for cooking or putting on a salad – should be about the size of a poker chip.

Cereal: People get this one wrong, too. You shouldn’t eat an entire bowl full of cereal. The amount of cereal should be about the size of a tennis ball.

Change Your Snacking Ways

If you snack on something different, you often can eat more of it. There are about 90 calories in nine potato chips. Or you can eat three cups of air-popped, fiber-packed popcorn, also about 90 calories. Put a little garlic salt or cinnamon on the popcorn – instead of butter – for great flavor.

10 TIPS TO AVOID HOLIDAY CRAZY

Childhood holiday anticipations often turn to stressful dread for adults. Here are 10 tips to avoid "crazy" this season:

1. Make a List. Write down the celebrations, events and gift giving you've planned and create a timeline to accomplish the goals.

2. Start New Traditions. Stop the stressful activities that were no fun last year and begin new ones that make you smile.

3. Delegate. You don't have to do everything. Cross off what others fail to do.

4. Get Real. Forget those Hallmark card and "It's a Wonderful Life" movie gatherings. Accept that family discord happens.

5. Enjoy "Me" Time. Every single day should have at least 30-minutes for you to just relax and reflect on what you are grateful for that day.

6. Breathe. First exhale through your mouth. Inhale to the count of four through your nose and hold for the count of seven. Then exhale completely through your mouth to the count of eight. Repeat.

7. Shop Online. You'll save time, use less energy, conserve gas and compare prices easily.

8. Don't Be a Wrap-Aholic. With so many quick and simple packaging alternatives available these days, staying up all night to wrap gifts is pointless. Get your gifts wrapped at your favorite department store, hire your best friend's baby sitter to do the job, or simply slip presents into various fun, festive bags.

9. Exercise. Those endomorphs you release at the gym or even a stroll around the block are Mother Nature's coping gift.

10. Let It Go. Pick a point, like 3 p.m. the day before Christmas Eve, when you say, "I'm done. Good job." and you just enjoy the rest of the holiday.

12 WAYS TO HOLIDAY HEALTH

The holidays are a time to celebrate, give thanks, and reflect. They are also a time to pay special attention to your health. Give the gift of health and safety to yourself and others by following these holiday tips provided by the Centers for Disease Control.

To hear these tips and more in a song, visit:

The 12 Ways to Health Holiday Song

1. The first way to health, said the CDC to me
Wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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2. The second way to health, said the CDC to me
Bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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3. The third way to health, said the CDC to me
Manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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4. The fourth way to health, said the CDC to me
Don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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5. The fifth way to health, said the CDC to me
BE SMOKE-FREE, don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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6. The sixth way to health, said the CDC to me
Fasten belts while driving, BE SMOKE-FREE, don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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7. The seventh way to health, said the CDC to me
Get exams and screenings, fasten belts while driving, BE SMOKE-FREE, don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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8. The eighth way to health, said the CDC to me
Get your vaccinations, get exams and screenings, fasten belts while driving, BE SMOKE-FREE, don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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9. The ninth way to health, said the CDC to me
Monitor the children, get your vaccinations, get exams and screenings, fasten belts while driving, BE SMOKE-FREE, don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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10. The tenth way to health, said the CDC to me
Practice fire safety, monitor the children, get your vaccinations, get exams and screenings, fasten belts while driving, BE SMOKE-FREE, don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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11. The eleventh way to health, said the CDC to me
Prepare dinner safely, practice fire safety, monitor the children, get your vaccinations, get exams and screenings, fasten belts while driving, BE SMOKE-FREE, don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

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12. The twelfth way to health, said the CDC to me
Eat well and get moving, prepare dinner safely, practice fire safety, monitor the children, get your vaccinations, get exams and screenings, fasten belts while driving, BE SMOKE-FREE, don't drink and drive, manage stress, bundle up for warmth, and wash hands to be safe and healthy.

HEALTHY PARTY FOODS

Everyone loves a party. There’s something about getting together with your friends that really helps you shed the stress of always trying to balance work and family. But with so many people trying to live healthier these days, finding tasty, diet-friendly food and beverages can be a challenge.

Deciding what you’ll serve your guests can be confusing. And with more variety comes more temptation—scientists have proven that we eat more at a buffet. So it’s up to you to find healthy recipes for your guests that won't add to their waistlines.

If you are cooking for the party, here are some tips for healthier food choices:

• Reduce the fat in creamy dressings or dips by using nonfat plain yogurt instead of sour cream or mayonnaise. Offer hummus as a low-fat spread for crackers and vegetables.
• Use non-stick cookware so you can cook with a minimum amount of oil or use a low-calorie vegetable spray.
• Use flavored vinegars or lemon juice to enhance the flavor of a salad without adding fat. Or fill a spray bottle with oil and vinegar so your guests can lightly mist their salads with the just enough flavor.
• Use low-fat milk and cheese in recipes instead of full-fat varieties.
• Choose baked over fried every time. Whether you’re preparing a meat dish or your famous nachos, baked foods are always the better choice.
• Instead of bowls full of pretzels or potato chips, offer your guests a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. Break out of the carrot sticks and celery routine with an Asian-style vegetable platter of baby corn, snow peas and fresh bean sprouts drizzled in a low-fat sesame dressing. For another interesting variation, try a southwestern theme of fresh salsa, black beans and corn served in half a red pepper.
• Nuts are a heart-healthy snack choice. Roasted almonds are a great source of magnesium and vitamin E, while pecans and other nuts are rich in monounsaturated fat. Look for raw, unsalted or lightly salted varieties of your favorite nuts. If time allows, roast your own with your favorite seasonings.
• Don’t bury good foods under fat and sugar. Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet and don’t need extra sugar. Bake them, slice and sprinkle with cinnamon instead.
• Serve gravies and other sauces on the side so guests can choose how much they would like. When you’re making gravy, skim off the fat with a gravy-separating cup or let the drippings cool in the refrigerator first and remove the hardened fat before making the gravy.
• Offer alcohol-free drinks. Spritzers made with sparkling water and cranberry (or other fresh juices) and virgin Caesars don’t contain empty alcohol calories. Look for 100% juice (not juice mixes), and they'll count towards your guests’ daily fruit and vegetable quota. Learn more about alcohol ideas that won't break the calorie bank.
• Need dessert ideas? Forego the high-fat cheesecake and pastries and serve Angel food cake instead. Top it with fresh berries, sorbet or exotic fruits such as mango, papaya and kiwi.

If you’re a guest at an upcoming party, here are a few tips to help you make healthier choices:

• Don’t arrive hungry. Hunger can make it difficult to make good food choices—everything looks delicious when you’re starving. Have some soup, a handful of almonds or an apple and some water to take the edge off your hunger before coming to the party.
• Take a walk around and see what food is available—before you pick up a plate. Take note of the healthy selections.
• Fill your 3/4 of your plate with fruits and vegetables. Then choose a few other items to round out your meal.
• Limit yourself to one trip to the serving table. If you're still hungry, go for the healthy produce options.
• Cut down on portion sizes to allow yourself a bite or two of your favorites. Use a smaller plate and serve your food with a teaspoon instead of a large serving spoon.
• Reduce your alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol lowers your inhibitions, making you more likely to make poor food choices. Enjoy a drink, but alternate with a glass of mineral water or a diet soda.
• Watch out for appetizers. A handful of cheese and crackers can set you back hundreds of calories while a single chicken wing contains about 200 calories but hardly puts a dent in your hunger. Select one or two pieces of cheese to savor and save your calories for a full piece of baked chicken instead.
• If you want to have an appetizer, select something nutrient-rich, like bruschetta with fresh tomatoes or shrimp in cocktail sauce.
• Enjoy desserts in small portions. It’s the first three or four bites that taste the best, so take a small portion of your favorite and savor each bite.

Parties are opportunities to be social, so have fun! Don’t let the food distract you from talking with friends and family. And even if the tables are laden with your favorites, with a little forethought and preparation, you can make healthy food choices that won’t derail your good eating habits.

DECEPTIVE FOOD LABELS

Deceptive Food Label Serving Sizes

As I was walking around the grocery store the other day I saw several food labels that said fat free, sugar free, reduced calories and 97% fat free. While someone may initially think they are making a good choice, they may be wrong!

If you take a further look and really scrutinize the nutrition facts on the back of the label, you will begin to notice that things are not as great as they seem. So now that you understand that more investigation needs to be done with regards to these deceptive labels, I will give you some tips to look out for the next time you go shopping!

Deceptive Food Label #1: Fat Free

The award for the #1 culprit to sabotaging your weight loss goals goes to fat free items. While they may indeed be fat free, the sugar content (and sometimes the sugar alcohol content as well) is through the roof. Items such as cookies are a primary target for people who purchase these foods. They have been deceived by the front of the label and never bother to take a second to rotate the item 180 degrees to see the truth for themselves.

Deceptive Food Label #2: Sugar Free

This definitely was a close second to fat free items. While food labels may say sugar free, the fat content is through the roof as well as the sugar alcohol content in some! Not to mention the saturated fats and hydrogenated oils they put in these foods as well to help preserve them.

The No Sugar, One Gram of Fat Trick

Don’t fall for this one either. While the label may be correct when you look at the back, the serving size is the accomplice. Some serving sizes may be as small as a tablespoon. This means if you use 4 tablespoons you are eating 4 grams of fat. But then again, who eats only 4 tablespoons of something?

Deceptive Food Label #3: Reduced Calories

This marketing tactic has worked well for several years because of its catchy title. But what exactly does “reduced calories” mean? More importantly, where do these calories come from?

When it comes to achieving your weight loss or fitness endeavors, the number of calories should not be as important as the source of the calories. Your main concern should be whether it is high in good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) or bad fats (saturated). Remember that each gram of fat contains 9 calories. So if you eat a serving size with 6 grams that is 54 calories from fats.

Deceptive Food Label #4: 97% Fat Free

Again, just because it says 97% fat free does not mean that you are out of the woods. There are still 3% of fats by weight that the food contains. So there is absolutely no connection between calories and fats.

To further illustrate this point, suppose you were to go to the grocery store and get a slice of ham or any other deli meat. Let’s say the meat contains 60 calories per serving and only 2 grams of fat. That is 18 calories of fat per slice of meat. This comes out to about 30% of the calories coming from fats.

For those who are trying to play devil’s advocate and say: “yeah but the rest of the calories can all be protein”, I have news for them. Let’s analyze this some more. There are 4 calories per gram of protein and carbohydrates. Hypothetically speaking, if the remainder of the deli meat is all protein, that would mean that the other 42 calories come out to be 10.5 (42 divided 4) grams of protein.

So as you can see just a few slices of deli meat can add up to be a lot of extra fat calories in a hurry. The same rules apply for food labels so always be on the lookout and read the nutrition facts thoroughly before making your purchase.

By Anthony Alayon

DEFEND AGAINST DIET SABUTEURS!

There’s one in every crowd— at the office, in your church group, among your closest friends and family. Sometimes they mean well, sometimes they seem a tad malicious, often they have no idea how they’re sabotaging you. But every time you take a step forward to gain dominion over food, they’re at your elbow-- offering you a brownie, some chips, an extra heaping helping of pasta.

Why does it seem that people close to you go out of their way to sabotage you?

Experts sum it up in one word—Change. Getting fit through diet and exercise creates big changes in your life—changes you welcome. But if your friends and family aren't in the same mode of change, they can be oblivious, jealous, and uncomfortable with your changes.

Perhaps:

1. They feel guilty. You're losing weight and getting in shape. They're not. Tempting you to "fall off the fitness wagon" means you’re "normal" again, and they can feel good about the status quo. 
2. They don’t understand. They’ve never had a weight problem and just don’t realize how hard you’ve worked to get where you are. They think it’s "silly" for you to worry about what you eat. 
3. They miss the old you. That is, the cookies you brought to work, the after-work "happy hours" spent in the company of high-fat potato skins, the luscious desserts you used to indulge in. Maybe you’re spending more time in the gym and have less free time for them. Maybe they’re afraid to lose you.

Don’t overreact, but don’t give up either! Try these strategies to vanquish your perennial food foes:

1. Don’t assume the worst. Unless sabotage is blatantly deliberate, give saboteurs the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their motives. If your mother serves you lasagna—your favorite, perhaps it’s because she equates food with love, not that she wants you fat. At any rate, it doesn’t pay to get defensive.
2. Just say no. You wouldn’t expect to have a drink forced on you if you were a recovering alcoholic, and you shouldn’t have to submit to having fattening food foisted on you. Tell the food pusher, "No, thanks," and leave it at that. You don't owe an explanation. Nor do you need to feel guilty if you choose to avoid someone who’s not helpful to your cause. 
3. Take it and leave it. Granted, the thought of wasted food is hard for many of us. You don’t have to be a member of the clean plate club. Remember, there are times when discretion is the better part of valor.
4. Look for patterns. Be on the lookout for situations that trigger your diet downfalls, perhaps with a food journal. It may help you recognize people and events that do you in, allowing you to develop strategies to deal with them. If you know, for example, that there are likely to be donuts by the office coffeemaker, it’ll be much easier to resist them if you have your own healthy but satisfying snack.
5. Set up your own support system. If you can recruit friends and family to your cause, you may be able to create a valuable support system. Numerous studies show that when your social network supports you, you reap positive results. If that’s not feasible, take a different approach: join a weight-loss group, or avoid friends (at least temporarily) who are a negative influence, maybe even make new friends who share your goals. You’ll get stronger with time, and be able to handle the not-so-supportive folks. 
6. Ask for help. Keep in mind that your weight-loss needs are unique. Don’t expect loved ones to exercise telepathy to know what your needs are. Tell them! Be fair and reasonable, especially with those who share your home. They may be willing to make compromises, at least for shorter periods of time, about what foods are kept and cooked in the house.
7. Be a grownup. Remember that what you put in your mouth is your responsibility. While others may tempt you, ultimately you’re in charge of your own life. Look at difficult situations as opportunities to flex your newfound control muscles-- and reinforce the idea that you’re not adopting a healthier lifestyle for someone else, but for you.

By Rebecca Pratt

TOP 5 FAT BURNING FOODS

Activating your metabolism can be challenging for some as there is a lot of information regarding diet and nutrition that can be misleading or false.

Sometimes it is best to stick to the basics and eat natural foods that you can pick up at your local grocery store. Making things as simple as possible can be the easiest and most efficient solution to getting a lean body! With that being said, I will give you 5 fat burning foods to consider next time you are at the grocery store.

Fat Burning Food #1: Salmon

This type of fish is great for burning fat as it is high in protein, and best of all, rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids. Essential means that it cannot be produced naturally in the body so in order to get it you must obtain these fats through your diet. It also has a good ratio of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which makes it well balanced.

Another health benefit of this combination is that it reduces the risk of joint inflammation. In addition, these fats help our immune and circulatory systems.

Fat Burning Food #2: Oatmeal

My personal choice for breakfast is oatmeal. This food not only tastes great but can really help boost your metabolism.

Oatmeal contains good fats and it is a source of low glycemic carbohydrates. Low glycemic carbohydrates are crucial for helping to incinerate your belly fat as they give you time released energy and help you to store glycogen.

In addition, they are high in insoluble and soluble fibers. Soluble Fibers allow sugars to be released at a slower rate and help to bind fatty acids. It can even lower cholesterol and LDL cholesterol which is the bad cholesterol. Insoluble Fibers help to move food through your intestines.

I even mix my oatmeal with protein to make some unique recipes that have added a great variety to my diet.

Fat Burning Food #3: Vegetables

A fact that many people do not know about vegetables is the negative calories that they contain. It takes more calories to digest the vegetables than the calories that they provide you with. The reason for this is because of the high fiber content; it takes calories to process so much fiber; so many that the body ends up burning more calories than what it gets from this food source.

Fat Burning Food #4: Nuts

A great addition and snack that can be added to your diet is nuts such as cashews, almonds and walnuts. If you do not go crazy overeating nuts, you can benefit from eating them.

Not only are nuts high in fiber and contain good fats, but they also are high in antioxidants such as vitamin E and selenium.

A good approach to use when eating nuts is to consume around 1-2 ounces at most. Using this approach will prevent you from overeating fats and enable you to get the right combination of good fats to help you blast your belly fat away.

Fat Burning Food #5: Flax Seed & Fish Oils

Flaxseed and fish oils are great food supplements for anybody to take. These oils contain omega-3 fatty acids which help to speed up your metabolism.

These oils help to reduce body fat and thus they are a great supplement to add to any fat burning diet. The Omega 3s these oils contain can also help reduce soreness after workouts and act as an anti-catabolic agent. Using these oils allow your body to maintain its strength levels while losing body fat. In addition, they give your body a good source of natural energy and help to maintain triglyceride/cholesterol levels. These oils should be taken upon wakening and before bedtime.

Make sure that you do not use these oils for cooking as they are both light and heat sensitive. In addition, keep them refrigerated after opening them.