Going Raw for Weight Loss

(NaturalNews) How many overweight wild antelope have you ever seen? What about morbidly obese zebras waddling around the savannah? Wild animals don’t deal with overweight or obesity issues. Wild animals don’t usually eat cooked or processed foods. They eat raw foods, in their natural state and maintain ideal body weight. The human body is designed to run on the clean fuel of raw foods too, just like all the other animals. Through our experiments with cooking and processing foods however, we have moved ever further away from simplicity, towards the so-called ‘Franken-foods’ and we pay for it with our health. Our addictions to processed starches, refined sugars and greasy foods lead to widespread obesity, which we then try to ‘fix’ with yet more processed, chemical pills, powders and packet ‘diet’ foods.

Review of the Best New Natural Appetite Suppressant Supplements, Including Pine Nut Oil

(NaturalNews) Natural appetite suppressants have come a long way since the days of hoodia gordonii. Today's natural appetite suppressants are more effective, more honest and even more affordable than most hoodia supplements, and they provide health-conscious consumers a realistic way to reduce the feelings of hunger while safely pursuing a reduction in their caloric intake (in other words, eating less food) that leads to sustained reductions in body fat.

Remember this: Weight loss always involves reducing caloric intake relative to caloric expenditure. You can accomplish this in only two ways: Burn more calories (through exercise or increased metabolism) or eat fewer calories. There is no other way to lose body fat, despite the hype of some weight loss gimmicks and infomercials.

Almonds Aid Weight Loss and Lower LDL Cholesterol

(NaturalNews) If you want to steer clear of the devastating side effects of statin drugs and still get your cholesterol numbers looking good, eating almonds may be just the right choice. Studies have shown that eating a nutritious diet that includes almonds sends LDL numbers plummeting. And there's more. Eating almonds provides super strength protection against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and even weight gain and obesity.

Almonds are stars of cholesterol research

In a four week study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 46 healthy human subjects were divided into three groups. The control group ate a low saturated fat diet based on milled whole-wheat cereals and low-fat dairy foods. The second group ate the same diet and also took the statin drug lovastatin. The third group ate a diet high in almonds plus plant sterols, non-meat protein and fiber. LDL cholesterol decreased by 8 percent in the control group, 30 percent in the statin group, and 28 percent in the almond group.

Snack Your Way to Good Health and Weight Loss with Organic Dried Fruit

(NaturalNews) What could be better than giving your sweet tooth what it craves while giving your body the nutrients it needs for vibrant health? Keeping a selection of dried fruits on hand makes it easy to treat the whole family to a delicious, chewy and nourishing snack. Recent studies have shown that dried fruit is a treasure chest of nutrients. It's also a way to eat favorite fruits when they are out of season.

Eating natural snacks like dried fruit keeps people in harmony with the teachings of Ayurveda, the ancient Hindu science of health that believes all living beings are a composite of the five basic elements: fire, water, earth, air and sky. In order to keep life moving in a healthy direction, it is important to replenish these elements through the consumption of natural foods which are the sources of these elements. This requires that all the foods we eat, including snacks and particularly the foods given to children, be natural and unprocessed.

Increasing Fruits and Vegetables Leads to Permanent Weight Loss

(NaturalNews) Although most Americans find their waistlines expanding with each year, a few manage to stay slender and trim throughout their lives. These are the ones who capture attention and never seem to look their ages. How they do it was the subject of a recent Consumer Reports investigation that sought to determine if these people were genetically gifted, or whether they were in possession of a magic secret resembling the fountain of youth. The study found that getting a large part of nutrition from fruits and vegetables played a big part in keeping these people trim and youthful.

Eat more fruits and vegetables to reach and maintain ideal weight

Consumer Reports National Research Center asked subscribers to their magazine about their lifetime weight history and their eating, dieting, and exercising habits. A total of 21,632 readers completed the survey which identified three key groups: people who were never overweight during their lives, people who were once overweight but have kept themselves at least ten percent lighter for the last three years, and people who were overweight and would like to lose but are still close to their heaviest weight. The always thin people made up 16% of the sample, and the successful losers were 15% of the sample. Failed dieters made up 42%, with the rest not fitting into any category.

FTC issues $22.5 million judgment against supplement companies for making weight loss claims about hoodia

(NaturalNews) Two supplement companies and the man in charge of operating both of them are the subjects of a lawsuit that was recently settled by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Food Safety News reports that the FTC imposed a $22.5 million judgment against David J. Romeo of Nutraceuticals International LLC and Stella Labs LLC for allegedly making deceptive and false claims about the weight loss benefits of its hoodia products.

Hoodia, also known as Hoodia gordonii, is a type of succulent plant grown in South Africa that is touted by some as beneficial in reducing appetite and facilitating weight loss. But the FTC disagrees, and claims that Romeo and his two companies have been making false and deceptive claims about their hoodia products, some of which allegedly contain little or no actual hoodia.

Green tea confirmed as a weight loss nutrient and heart health antioxidant

(NaturalNews) Green tea (and its less refined cousin, white tea) has been a part of the ancient Chinese tradition for countless generations, in large part due to its rich endowment of bioactive catechins. Many studies over the past decade have shown that green tea is a powerful tool to improve metabolism in a way that is supportive of weight loss.

Scientists publishing in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry demonstrate that it activates genes associated with fat burning while also helping to reduce absorption of fat from the digestive tract. Further evidence on the gene-altering activity of green tea is reported in the International Journal of Cardiology, as polyphenols from the drink lower free radical damage to help maintain telomere length in heart cells. Drinking several cups of green tea each day may hold the key to effective weight management and cardiac health.

Raw food dieting leads to weight loss success

(NaturalNews) Out of all the weight loss programs that exist, very few are as simple and obvious as a raw food diet. People often forget about the calories that get padded on to foods through basic cooking techniques. Between oil and butter, as well as the general frying and baking process, a meal can have up to 25 percent more calories than the ingredients alone.

Furthermore, since the body has to do a little more work in order to consume raw foods, it results in a substantial difference in the caloric intake of a meal. There is a very interesting study on this topic that was recently featured in Forbes Magazine. Basically, a group of scientists studied lab rats over a span of forty days and one group of rats ate raw foods, while the other ate cooked foods. It was so interesting how the body masses of the rats ranged between the two groups. The conclusion to the experiment was that raw food consumption does result in weight loss.

Evidence shows diet soda is not a healthy weight loss product

(NaturalNews) Artificially sweetened drinks are often promoted as healthy alternatives for weight loss and diabetes because they are low in calories and don't contain sugar. However, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that these diet sodas are harmful to human health. According to Sharon Fowler, MPH, an authority on this subject, "Diet soda is not a health food. In fact, it's not a food at all, it's simply a slurry of chemicals, a number of which may have deleterious effects on the body." Most recently diet sodas have been tied to increased risk of stroke and heart attack, and while many people drink them as an aid to weight reduction, research suggests if you drink diet soda, weight gain may be the result instead.

Use the anabolic diet or carb cycling for natural weight loss and muscle gain

(NaturalNews) The anabolic diet and carb cycling program are similar eating plans that naturally burn fat and spare muscle. The main concern for athletes and weightlifters when dieting is that the reduction of calories could cause a loss of muscle because the body needs calories to maintain muscle mass. Both of these plans help achieve weight loss without sacrificing muscle. They also do not involve severe calorie or food restriction, which could lead to unhealthy weight loss or malnutrition, but there are some differences.

Basics

The anabolic diet is based on a book of the same name by Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale. It is a low-carbohydrate diet based on alternating low-carb and high-carb days. The diet claims to work by encouraging the body burn fat instead of carbs.

Incredible weight loss hour on Mental Health Exposed with expert guest Jon Gabriel

(NaturalNews) Join Mental Health Exposed with expert weight loss guest and biology researcher, Jon Gabriel. This episode is a tour de force into the most psychologically sophisticated weight loss strategies known today.

Jon Gabriel is author of The Gabriel Method, which is a powerful methodology of weight loss, not a diet. The reason I invited Jon on the show is due to his detailed knowledge of the relationship between stress and weight gain. If you want to lose weight, the best thing you can do is understand the connections we will be making in today's show.

At one point in his life, Jon weighed over 400 pounds. His aha moment came when a fluke airline reservation change saved his life by preventing him from boarding his usual flight on 9/11 - one of the flights that crashed into the World Trade Center on that day.

How to lose belly fat real weight loss tips that work

(NaturalNews) Easy access to convenient food without the hassle of preparation may well be the reason of the rising obesity trend. The ubiquity of fast food restaurants offering instant tasty meals with sweetened carbonated drinks and other high calorie snacks have encouraged abnormal eating patterns for all hours of the day. Processed food rich in chemical additives plus sedentary lifestyles has made the Western lifestyle the unhealthiest in the world.

In an EU report backed by Britain's own National Health Service (NHS), it was shown that 24 percent of British women were found to be overweight compared to only 15.6 percent in Germany, 12.7 percent in France and just 9.3 percent in Italy. This report raised concerns regarding the obesity trend among younger women in the UK which has almost doubled over the last decade.

Magnesium - The Weight Loss Cure

(NaturalNews) OK, I give up. I admit it, the only books that people are buying are weight loss books. So in order to get the message about magnesium across to the masses, I present you with The Magnesium Weight Loss Cure.

I just read Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and just about every chapter in Wheat Belly relates to magnesium deficiency. There is a biological change on the part of the eater that's fueling this allergic response, i.e., magnesium deficiency. And with the research on magnesium deficiency associated with pancreatic enzyme deficiency, we have another clue.

I've already said a lot about weight and its association with magnesium in my book, The Magnesium Miracle? Here are some high points.

Higgs boson discovery leads to FDA-approved 'mass reduction' weight loss therapy (satire)

(NaturalNews) The extraordinary discovery of the Higgs boson particle, long sought after in the physics community to help explain the "Standard Model" of physical reality, took the world by storm today. Achieving a 5-sigma level of statistical significance, the supercollider data show with almost complete certainty that the Higgs boson -- the "God particle" -- really exists. But the question remains: What use is it?

Aside from the fact that without the Higgs field, the cosmos as we know it would cease to function, the far more important application in a culture largely devoid of scientific education is weight loss. Fortunately, scientists at CERN have already found a way to turn this multi-billion-dollar experiment into a medical weight loss breakthrough, which is of course far more important than understanding the origins of the universe.

FDA approves lorcaserin for weight loss; is wave of heart valve damage imminent?

(NaturalNews) On June 27, 2012 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lorcaserin hydrochloride, a weight-loss pill, for sale in the United States. A pharmaceutical drug allegedly designed to curb appetite signals to brain receptors in the hypothalamus that promote satiety. Rejected in 2010 for causing tumors in tested animals, lorcaserin hydrochloride also claims side-effects ranging from memory lapse to depression.

The FDA has approved lorcaserin hydrochloride without condition for adults with a body mass index (BMI) above 30 or above 27 BMI contingent upon having high blood pressure, type II diabetes or high cholesterol. The manufacturer of lorcaserin hydrochloride convened 8,000 patients for its study, including a focus on heart valve function. The FDA released a less than convincing statement that lorcaserin hydrochloride "does not appear" to activate the serotonin 2B receptor responsible for heart tissue.

The evolutionary approach to weight loss and good health

(NaturalNews) Studies show that people eating "ancestral diets" maintain excellent health and low body fat. Some of these healthy societies have a high carbohydrate intake while others get the majority of their calories from fat. Typically, people living closer to equator have usually gotten more of their energy from carbohydrates, while fat is the major source of calories closer to the poles.
The majority of studies show that low-carbohydrate diets lead to increased weight-loss compared to low-fat diets, but looking at the available literature suggests that food choices might be the most important factor, not necessarily the macronutrient ratio.

Psyllium husk - Promote weight loss and cleanse your colon

(NaturalNews) Psyllium husk is an amazing shrub-like herb that is most commonly found in India. It possesses a plethora of health benefits and has proven effective in treating irritable bowel syndrome, colon caner, constipation, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, ulcerative colitis and atherosclerosis among various other health conditions. Akin to flax seed and oat bran, the fiber in psyllium husk is soluble. Soluble fiber is useful in lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) which reduces the risk of heart disease and promotes overall health.

Psyllium husk is a bulking fiber, which means once ingested it expands and forms a gelatin-like mass in the colon by drawing water in. Once this occurs the husks are able to "scrub" the intestines clean and transport waste through the intestinal tract.

Kettlebells for weight loss, conditioning and improved back health

(NaturalNews) Kettlebell training was first used during the 1700s, and is today experiencing increased attention as an effective and fun part of a training program. When used correctly, kettlebell exercises build strength and endurance and can be used as part of a weight loss program or when trying to improve back problems. The basic movements engage the entire body and are often used as part of interval training, crossfit, circuit training etc.

The world's most famous spine expert, Dr. Stuart McGill, discovered some unique loading patterns during the kettlebell swing. These loading patterns and the strengthening of the posterior chain contribute to the improved back health some people experience from doing kettlebell exercises. Other studies support these findings and also show that properly performed kettlebell movements reduce pain in the neck and shoulders.

Sufficient sleep is essential to fuel weight loss efforts

(NaturalNews) We all understand the importance of sleeping seven to nine hours each night to allow for adequate cellular housekeeping, as the body metabolizes and synthesizes enzymes and proteins that are critical to our survival. In the past, a sound sleep has been shown to lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes and dementia in direct relationship to the number of hours slept each evening.

Canadian researchers publishing the Canadian Medical Association Journal have released the result of a study showing that adequate sleep is an important part of a weight loss plan and should be added to the recommended mix of diet and exercise. In addition to lowering caloric intake and increasing physical activity, the research team led by Dr. Jean-Phillippe Chaput of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa has provided sufficient evidence to show that inadequate sleep is an independent risk factor for overweight and obesity.

Mobile app helps people lose weight and keep it off, study finds

(NaturalNews) A mobile app designed by health researchers was successful in helping people lose significantly more weight than they were able to lose without it, according to a study conducted by researchers from Northwestern Medicine and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Just as importantly, users of the app were also more successful at keeping the weight off a full year later.

Although there are already many weight loss apps on the market, lead researcher Bonnie Spring says this is the first time that a weight loss app has been proven effective in a randomized, clinical trial published in a peer-reviewed journal. In contrast to the currently available apps, the one used in the study was also designed to make use of proven behavior change strategies including goal setting, feedback, self-monitoring and social support. The study is the first to show that technology can make existing weight loss classes more effective at achieving sustained weight loss.

The Vagus nerve: Your friend in weight loss and a better mood

(NaturalNews) It's no secret that a healthy nervous system is important for well-being and longevity. The spinal nerves are responsible for controlling most of the muscles in your torso, arms, and legs, along with bowel, bladder, and reproductive functions. The cranial nerves reside mostly in the head region and control much of what goes on in the face and neck, but the tenth cranial nerve goes way beyond. The Vagus nerve influences your body and brain more than most people realize.

What is the Vagus nerve?

The Vagus nerve is responsible for speech, swallowing, keeping the larynx open for breathing, slowing heart rate, monitoring and initiating digestive processes, and modulating inflammation, among other actions. It arises from the medulla in the brain and passes through the skull down within the chest cavity where it branches off in multiple directions to innervate organs and muscles. 80 to 90 percent of the nerve fibers are devoted to sending information from the organs/gut back to the brain. The Vagus nerve is the main line of communication between the brain and the energy-producing digestive tract. It also relays information to the brain from what is known as the Enteric Nervous System (ENS). The ENS is our "second brain" controlling the digestive process; it is made up of over 500 million neurons that surround the digestive tract. It is called a second brain because it can function independently from the brain if the Vagus nerve is severed. Research into the Vagus nerve and its effects on the body and brain have revealed good reasons to keep it stimulated.

Read more: CLICK HERE

Research shows health-promoting effects

The Vagus nerve is an activator of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The PNS is responsible for relaxation, slowed heart rate, digestion, sleep, and general well-being by the release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that acts as a messenger. Furthermore, Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been found to activate anti-inflammatory pathways that work in the digestive tract. Another recent study found VNS to be a possible treatment for chronic depression in people that didn't respond to any other treatments. It is not entirely understood how VNS affects the brain in such a profound manner but it may be due to the inhibition of certain aberrant pathways. A secondary effect of VNS was weight loss due to the "feeling of fullness" caused by activation of the Vagus nerve, the same that is felt after consuming a large meal. Research is now moving forward into possible applications in the treatment of anxiety disorders, Alzheimer's disease, and fibromyalgia.

How to activate the Vagus nerve

VNS is commonly performed as a surgical procedure to install a pacemaker-like device that continuously stimulates the nerve. Although effective, it carries many risks and there are easier ways you can stimulate the Vagus nerve without surgery. VNS can be achieved by performing a vagal maneuver; the same given to people with a fast heartbeat or blood pressure issues. These maneuvers include holding your breath, placing a cold, wet washcloth over your face, or tensing your abdomen as if you were going to get punched in the stomach. Taking deep, long breaths using your diaphragm to expand your belly is one of the best ways to achieve VNS while simultaneously oxygenating your blood. When hungry, performing these maneuvers may help you resist those high-calorie holiday snacks in the brake room.

Read more: CLICK HERE

Green tea diet secrets: How to get results more safely and quickly

(NaturalNews) Green tea diet secrets are not so secret any more. If you're trying to shed a few pounds, adding green tea to your diet can really help jump start the process. Studies have proven the efficacy of green tea for weight loss. Green tea has been shown to speed up metabolic rates and increase energy expenditure during exercise in healthy adults. Additionally, a study (1) published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that green tea increases fat oxidation during moderate exercise, improves insulin sensitivity and increases glucose tolerance, all of which can help prevent obesity.

But, as the school of hard knocks has taught us all, there is no magic bullet when it comes to our bodies and our health. While green tea can go a long way toward helping you reach your weight-loss goals, you can't use it in isolation. If you want to achieve a state of optimal health, it's important to incorporate other healthy diet and lifestyle changes into your routine as well. Here is a list of other things you can do to support your body and your health while working toward your ideal weight.

Green tea weight loss secrets proven by science

(NaturalNews) In recent years, there have been a lot of news stories about the benefits of green tea in weight loss management. But does it really work, or is it just more hype being promoted by vitamin companies hoping to boost sales? Fortunately, there's no need for conjecture. Lots of scientific studies have been conducted with the aim of unlocking green tea weight loss secrets, and what researchers have found time and time again is that drinking green tea does, in fact, offer significant benefits for those seeking to manage weight.

One of the primary ways green tea helps control weight is by preventing the degradation of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in helping the body shed pounds. Here's how:

Cayenne pepper makes herbs up to 75% more effective, aids weight loss, offers pain relief, improves circulation and heals ulcers

(NaturalNews) Cayenne pepper, also known as capsicum, adds flavor to your food and has some impressive health benefits. Cayenne stimulates blood flow and can help burn body fat. It also fights inflammation and stimulates digestion, which helps break down food for better nutrient absorption. Cayenne is also a warming herb that has the power to significantly reduce pain.


Cayenne fights diseases of the circulatory system

Cayenne is a catalyst. It's added to many herbal blends to help them perform better. Clinical studies conducted with cayenne pepper and ginkgo biloba have revealed that ginkgo is 75% more effective when used with cayenne due to cayenne's ability to improve circulation. This single attribute make cayenne pepper especially useful for individuals with poor circulation. This evidence shows that cayenne pepper can help fight diseases of the circulatory system, such as:

Spinach extract improves weight loss by almost 50%, can eliminate food cravings

(NaturalNews) Growing up and living in 21st century America sometimes feels as if you're being raised in a giant shopping mall. Along the city streets are the colorful pop-up signs of fast food joints. No, you can't push the X button to make the pop-ups go away as if they were ads on the computer screen. The catchy logos just don't go away, and the smell of junk food in the air is making the food cravings bead up, salivating on the tongue.

To make matters worse, it feels as though the giant shopping mall has invaded your own home. Television screens flash ad after ad promoting the same colorful images of fast food. Screenshots of the food are sending urges to your brain. The eyes, the ears and the nose all beg for the sense of taste to join them in satisfying those cravings. The shopping mall of junk food America is inescapable, pulling you in like Coca-Cola sucked up a straw, pulled down into a dark esophageal abyss.

Green tea extract weight loss secrets explained

(NaturalNews) Every year, dozens of less-than-reputable companies seek out new ways to capitalize on Americans' desire to lose weight, and the stakes can be huge: In the U.S. alone, consumers spend about $35 million on weight loss programs and products each year, making it a market ripe for scams.

From "miracle pills" that claim to help you drop 30 pounds in 30 days without dieting or exercise to jewelry that purports to stimulate fat loss simply by wearing it, the weight loss marketplace is full of products that make highly suspicious claims. Some of them are patently outrageous, but others have just enough "smart" marketing to make them seem plausible, making it difficult to know which products may actually be worthwhile and which are no more than placebos.

Modern weight loss pills shown to encourage people to eat more junk

(NaturalNews) In modern culture, we want a quick fix for everything, especially those things that do not lend themselves to being fixed quickly.

Like weight loss.

We don't want to exercise patience and persistence, do we? There has to be a pill, powder, potion or at least an app that will speed things along, doesn't there?

No, there doesn't.

Weight loss is difficult, not because losing weight is impossible, but because it takes time, patience and consistency in doing all the right things. So unappealing, right?

Three weight loss obstacles you've probably never considered and how to get around them

(NaturalNews) Making plans to lose weight is the easy part. Applying those plans consistently is what really matters.

The primary obstacles to consistently applying your plan to lose weight aren't about knowing what to do. They're emotional.

Read on to discover three obstacles you should consider as you implement your weight loss plan.

Weight loss obstacle #1: lack of emotional preparedness

Many overweight people are simply not prepared for the emotional consequences of losing weight. In fact, most people never even consider this all important factor.

If you lose all the weight you need to lose to be physically healthy, what will your emotional life be like? It's easy to think, "Of course, I'll be ecstatic!"

Top 5 psychological obstacles to weight loss, according to people in the trenches

(NaturalNews) What's the number one most difficult obstacle to losing weight?

The hardest part - the real kicker - is sticking to your plan, right?

It's the patience, perseverance and self-discipline. It's the wanting and the commitment to losing weight and becoming as healthy as you know you can be. For most people, losing the proper amount of weight will take weeks, months or even years.

What will keep you going?

The AHA Weight Loss Coaching group has discovered that when we address one or more of five psychological obstacles - all other obstacles can be brought into alignment.

Apple Cider Vinegar improves blood sugar regulation and speeds up weight loss

(NaturalNews) Historical evidence credits ancient Babylonians (5,000 B.C.) with creating vinegar or "sour wine" stemming from the French origin "vin airgre." The benefits were not overlooked by the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, who historically used apple cider vinegar (ACV), or cider vinegar, to treat wounds and prescribed it as a tonic solution for a persistent cough. Studies have shown that apple cider vinegar has a profound ability to improve blood sugar regulation and speed up weight loss.

The fermentation process is required in two series to produce cider vinegar. First, bacteria and yeast break down the sugars into alcohol. Secondly, over a slow and lengthy process, acetobacterium cause the oxidation of alcohol into acetic acid.

Low carb diets can boost weight loss and improve cardiovascular health

(NaturalNews) Low carb diets, including the ketogenic diet, have been controversial for decades. The belief that fats are bad while carbohydrates are good, which has its origins in scientifically questionable studies from the 1950s, still assumes a strong hold over public consciousness.

However, the tides are gradually turning, and more researchers are beginning to question the 20th century's incessant demonization of fats. In fact, since 2002 there have been over 20 studies conducted on low carb diets, and the overwhelming majority of them clearly show that the health benefits of a low carb diet considerably exceed those of a low fat diet - especially when it comes to weight loss and cardiovascular health.

12 TIPS TO MAINTAIN YOUR ENERGY & LOSE WEIGHT SAFELY

1. Be aware of what, when and why you eat the foods you do. Realize that food is fuel and is eaten to give you energy. Food also provides enjoyment, but be careful not to let it become a source of comfort. If you eat for reasons other than energy, you need explore why and make an effort to find other activities to meet these needs. Use a journal or your training diary for clues that will help you.

2. Eat more earlier in the day, include 3 of the 4 food groups at meals. During the day you are training and this is when you need fuel. Many studies have shown that if you eat more food earlier in the day, you are less likely to overeat later.

3. Do not drastically cut back your calories. Counting calories is not necessary, but it is good to appreciate how much energy you burn daily and how much you need to eat. Learn what portion sizes are appropriate for you. A registered dietitian can help you with this.

What are the 10 Things that Can Pack on Pounds?

By Dr. Mercola

In today's world it's harder than ever to keep your weight under control, as evidenced by the fact that over 2/3 of all American adults are now overweight or obese.

In fact, an alarming bit of information came to my attention in 2009, when CDC statistics revealed that in the U.S. the number of obese people actually outnumber the amount of merely overweight people. And in 2011, one in three children is now overweight or obese; nearly triple the rate from 1963.

The plain, unvarnished truth is the US has predominantly become a nation of fat and obese citizens.

And any time someone voices an objection to the predominance of the high sugar and highly refined carbohydrate foods, the food manufacturers, politicians, and media shills who represent them, scream loudly and irrationally that any attempt to restrict nutritionally worthless junk food is an assault on American's freedom of choice.

Really?

What about the billions of dollars spent marketing these foods to Americans using subliminal triggers along with the use of secretly hidden chemicals in food that are actually designed to distort your brain's sensation of flavor (senomyx)?

Isn't this also an assault on American's freedom of choice through manipulation?

Fuel Up on Slimming Foods

Getting rid of bloat feels great, but it's only the beginning. To keep whittling your waist long term, fill your plate with these fat-busting foods.
 
DAIRY

This food group not only builds strong bones, it can help in the battle of the bulge. A recent study found that overweight premenopausal women who consumed a high-protein high-dairy diet (meaning six to seven servings of dairy per day, representing 15 percent of daily calories, with total protein making up 30 percent of daily calories) lost twice as much abdominal fat as those who followed a lower-protein low-dairy diet. Dairy's high levels of whey protein might prompt the release of appetite-suppressing hormones, researchers say. In addition, dairy is rich in vitamin D and calcium, which play important roles in fat metabolism, encouraging the body to burn more fat as a fuel source.

• Put more dairy in your diet: Opt for 2 percent Greek yogurt (20 grams of protein; 150 calories)

Household Weight-Loss Items

The secrets to successful weight loss are all around you. Use these everyday items to help meet your goals.

Get the right tools

Having the right tools to help with your weight-loss makes taking the steps to a new lifestyle infinitely easier. Luckily, you can support a healthful lifestyle with these 12 inexpensive home essentials—many that you already own.

Sticky Notes

Motivate yourself: List five reasons for changing your eating habits (more energy, cuter clothes) on a sticky note or note card. Store it in your wallet or post it on your fridge (or do both!); review it whenever you feel your resolve weaken.

Premeasured Serving Bowl

Control pasta portions: A 16-ounce box of spaghetti should serve 16 people. If it doesn’t feed that many in your house, join the crowd. To cut back to the 1-ounce (½ cup cooked) serving, try the Classic Measure Up bowl ($20 at measureupbowl.com), at left, which has ½-, 1-, 1½- and 2-cup markers, so you know just how much you’re eating.

Top 10 Energy-Boosting Nutrition Strategies

There is an energy crisis in America—and I am not talking about natural resources. We all want to feel alert, well-rested, and energetic, but for many of us this is more of a dream than reality. As busy and productive people with over-scheduled, stressful lifestyles (sometimes combined with little quality sleep and poor eating habits), it is no wonder so many of us feel drained.

Fatigue breaks us down physically and emotionally and wreaks havoc on the immune system, making us more susceptible to illness, depression, and even chronic conditions like heart disease. But we have the power to change our habits, boost our energy, and feel terrific.

We all know that regular exercise, stress management, and getting at least eight hours of sleep are critical for combating fatigue. It also turns out that our eating habits directly affect our energy levels, and there are ways we can use nutrition to feel more energy throughout the day.