Why Do We Cheat On Our Diets?

If only we could solve this question, the world (for many) would be a better place! Well, the reality is that there are real answers to this question that will apply to many people. It will take a good dose of reality and a brave heart to stop denying what really happens. Read on to discover some answers that may change your life forever and give you the impetus to lose weight and keep it off!

Justification ?
Being overweight can be used as an excuse for being unhappy, especially when you do not do anything to help yourself. Subconsciously, over-eating is a comfort for many people and this then allows them to hide behind their weight problem and helps them to justify rejection and avoid being hurt. They can then shift the blame of rejection on their weight-problem, without addressing other aspects of their fears. Sometimes it seems easier to hide behind your “weight problem”, than address other matters where you may have a greater fear of failure.

Eating Without Thinking ?
If you are concentrating on another activity while you are eating you are more likely to overeat because you are not fully aware of how full you are feeling. This factor can be difficult to change because it is not a conscious action. Try to only eat when you don’t have a lot of other distractions. Sit down, eat slowly and enjoy the food you are eating, and remember that it is not always necessary to go back for seconds. It takes 20 minutes for food to reach your stomach and for your brain to register that you are full.

Cravings ?
The famous “Pavlov’s dogs” were conditioned to eat at the sound of a bell, and we human are much the same when it comes to habitual cravings. If you wonder why you always feel like a chocolate when you sit down to watch a movie, or you have to have a box of popcorn….think again. You are not necessarily craving these foods because you are hungry, but rather consider force of habit. During the time when you have a craving, try to ask yourself whether you are really hungry or not. If you are hungry, reach for a low fat snack rather than a chocolate bar or bag of crisps.

Indulging ?

Eating or thinking about food can be a distraction from your troubles and you may therefore be unnecessarily over-eating. Emotions and hormones can trigger certain cravings, for example, if you are feeling low, chocolate and carbohydrates assist the production of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin helps you feel happier. This is why we might crave sweet or starchy foods during times of sadness or stress.

If you identify with any of the above factors, you could be on your way towards discovering what is triggering you to overeat.

5 Simple Steps to Losing Weight

If you are carrying around a few (I use that term loosely) extra pounds like most of us are, you all know all the reasons why we should take the weight off. It will reduce stress on our heart, reducing the chance of heart disease, cancer, possibility of diabetes; feel better, look more attractive, etc.

There are 101 reasons why, but it can be a real pain to finally get that weight off. You push really hard, make a little progress, get side tracked, and bam you are heavier then you started. 

It’s maddening.  Enough with that hassle, I have put together 5 simple steps to actually losing weight and keeping it off. These steps can be applied to anything, but we are focusing on weight loss here.

1.         Know What You Want

2.         Know Where You Are

3.         Track Your Results

4.         Make Course Corrections

5.         Being held Accountable

Now all your extra weight will effortlessly melt off.  Yeah right! A simple list of 5 items is not going to do it, so let me explain the intricacies of the 5 items and where the hang up normally occurs when applied to losing weight.

1.         Know What You Want 

This one is dead simple. Most people that want to lose weight have an idea of how many pounds they would like to lose or how they would like their body to look.

I think we can safely say if your body started looking the way you wanted it, you would know, even if you didn’t have it completely mapped out and detailed.

2.         Know Where You Are

This is the big trip up. It is almost always overlooked and is the number one reason for the up and down Yo Yo effect we experience with losing weight. We are unhappy with how our body feels and how it looks and it is painful to zoom in and get an accurate picture of where we are. Unfortunately, we have to know where we are, to be able to accurately judge the results we are getting.

You are on a trip to San Diego, California. You would like to start your trip from Phoenix, Arizona, but you really don’t know where you are. No problem.  You get an Arizona/California map and find that a simple 6 hours trip west on interstate 8 will get you to San Diego.

6 hours later, you have no clue where you are and it is definitely not warm San Diego.  You feel defeated and you want to give up!  Do you blame the car? The stupid maps? San Diego? Yourself?

Now what if I told you, you were actually in New Your City, not Phoenix, Arizona. A 6 hour car ride west from New York City will never get you to San Diego.

If you took the time to accurately find out where you were, you would have been able to choose the appropriate means to get to San Diego and have an expectation as to how long it would take.

This is the same with weight loss and our personal physical condition. In our minds, we think we are starting in a different physical condition then we really are. When the results don’t follow the illusion in your mind, we get upset.

3. Track Your Results

This is conceptually simple. If we have no clue as to WHAT we are doing, how do we know what is working? It might be a simple to do, but is also simple not to do. In the end, most people never track their results.

4. Make Course Corrections

We love to do this one. We have it hands down. It is like step 1 of knowing what you want. We try the new food diet, the super sit up machine, and the cardio hip hop power energy yoga fat burner class.

We might be great at switching it up, but without knowing where we are starting from and a history of tracked results, we have no clue as to what we should change or even which direction we should go.

5. Being held Accountable

No, not accountability! That is an evil word. I don’t want someone to know what I am doing, or more importantly what I am not doing.

So, why do we resist accountability, your secret weapon to weight loss?  Because it works!  If you know someone is going to be watching, you would follow through or at least feel very uncomfortable not following through.

Accountability when used wisely is the ultimate turbo booster to your weight loss. Since you are going to be accountable anyway, you might as well get something out of it.

Using accountability up front, you can achieve the body of your dreams. If you let your body hold you accountable, it will throw on fat in places you don’t want it to be. 

The biggest obstacle to weight loss is not taking any action. It doesn’t matter how good the plan is, it is worthless if you don’t follow it. So what do I do now?

First and foremost get Accountable.

Forward this article to someone you respect and care about and tell them I want to be accountable to finally taking off my extra pounds. 

When they agree to support you, start working through Steps 1 – 5.

Increasing The Convenience Of Fruit May Increase Consumption In School Cafeterias

Previous studies and surveys have shown that kids love to eat fruit in ready-to-eat bite-sized pieces, yet in most school settings, the fruit is served whole, which could be the cause that children are taking fruits but not eating them. Most people believe that children avoid fruit because of the taste and allure of alternative packaged snacks. A study by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab researchers Brian Wansink, David Just, Andrew Hanks, and Laura Smith decided to get to the bottom of why children were avoiding their fruit. Could, perhaps, increasing the convenience of fruit increase consumption?

To address this question, researchers conducted a pilot study in eight elementary schools within the same district. Each school was given a commercial fruit slicer and instructed to use it when students requested apples. The fruit slicer cut the fruit into six pieces and the process took three to four seconds. Results from interviews conducted with students during this pilot indicated they dislike eating fruit for two main reasons: for younger students, who might have braces or missing teeth, a large fruit is too inconvenient to eat; for older girls, it is un-attractive-looking to eat such a fruit in front of others. Initial results showed fruit sales increased by an average of 61%, when the fruit was sliced.

To confirm this finding, six middle schools in this same district were added to the study. Three of the schools were given fruit slicers, while the other three continued normal cafeteria operations to act as a control. Fruit slices were placed in cups in two of the three schools and on a tray in the third school. To assess actual consumption, trained field researchers were assigned to every school to record how much of the apple was wasted by counting the number of slices thrown away by each student.

Results showed that apple sales in schools with fruit slicers increased by 71% compared to control schools. More importantly, researchers found that the percentage of students who ate more than half of their apple increased by 73%, an effect that lasted long after the study was over.

This study shows that making fruit easier to eat encourages more children to select it and to eat more of it. With an initial investment of just $200, fruit slicers constitute a means for school cafeterias not only to encourage fruit consumption among students but also to prevent food waste!

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

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Cook With Katie Lee! Guilt-Free Guacamole

Slice it all the way around, then twist halves apart. Strike a sharp knife into the pit and turn the wedged blade to pop it out. Nervous you might whack your fingers? Hold the avocado in a towel.

I trade some avocado for steamed asparagus. When you put it all in a blender, you get the same creamy texture, minus about 185 calories and 17 grams of fat. It's kind of genius.

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Cook With Katie Lee! Easy Dinner for Four

You'll want them to be ready to go when your wok or skillet is hot. Cut thin, uniform slices and they'll cook up quickly and evenly. Believe it or not, a really sharp knife is safest (it slices more smoothly). Always tuck fingertips under when you hold the food.

Before you sauté the veggies, put canola oil in a spray bottle and spritz the pan instead of pouring the oil from its original container. That way, you use less. Two spritzes equals about 1/4 teaspoon oil, so you'll need about four sprays total in this recipe.

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Get a Cooking Lesson With Katie Lee

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Lazy Girl's Guide to Throwing a Party

Whether you're having buds over for a Sunday football game or a Mardi Gras rager, there's a lot to think about: how to decorate, what to wear, and, often the biggest headache of all, what to serve.

Once you're a few years out of college it's time to ditch the red Solo cups and Ruffles. While you don't have to go totally Stepford-hostess on your friends if that's not your style, having some hot and cold bites around will go a long way. And no problem if you're not really a cook. Choose a few that will appeal to the masses (cough cough, dudes) but don't require more than a few stirs on the stovetop if you want to steer clear of the oven. The bonus? My picks won't totally send anyone's healthy 2013 resolutions down in flames.

• Popcorn. Good news! You don't have to load it with butter to enjoy. I reach for Quinn Popcorn; it's microwavable, about 180 calories per serving and comes in four yummy flavors like Maple & Sea Salt and Parmesan and Rosemary. For pre-popped, try Good Health Half Naked,, only 120 calories per serving.

• Tortilla Chips: Try Food Should Taste Good or Way Better Sprouted. Both lines boast a handful of flavors (kimchi, anyone?) and good-for-you ingredients like flax and quinoa.

• Dips. If you're opting for pre-made salsa, hummus and guac, make sure to review the nutritional labels for calorie counts, and fat and sodium content.

• Shrimp Cocktail. Low-fat and low-cal, practically the perfect party food.

• Jars of Olives. Or, if you're feeling all Martha, a mixed pint from the grocery store olive bar.

• Beans. High in protein and fiber (so filling!), these can be added to store-bought chili, made into hummus from scratch (not as hard as it sounds), or quickly mixed together in a room-temperature three-bean salad (just add olive oil, diced pepper and red onion, and seasoning and you're good to go.)

• Crudité. Veggies don't have to be boring, or green. In addition to celery sticks, try cucumber, carrots, cherry tomato, yellow squash, orange peppers and even asparagus (this you'll want to briefly steam).

• Chicken Wings. You'll have to (gasp!) get friendly with the oven. Bell&Evans Buffalo-Style Chicken Wings are low-fat (less than one gram per serving) and 170 calories per three pieces. Heat for 18–20 minutes, turning once, and you're done.

• Sweet Potato Fries. At 140 calories and 5 grams of fat per 12 pieces, frozen Alexia Sweet Potato Julienne Fries are a good alternative to fatty frites.

Carolyn Brown is a nutritionist at Foodtrainers and holds a masters in clinical nutrition from New York University. She has nutrition experience teaching at New York City Greenmarkets and working at a private school in Manhattan, and contributes regularly to WebMD in addition to Health.com, CBS News and New York Daily News.

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Yoga Fitness

The word Yoga comes from ancient Indian philosophy, it literally means union, and in this context refers to the union of the individual's soul with the universal. Yoga fitness is the ultimate fitness attained through the practice of Yoga.

Yoga is the art of meditation aimed at training a human body and soul consciously for a state of perfect spiritual insight, harmony and tranquility. Yoga fitness is basically achieved through the three paths- the path of actions, knowledge and devotion. Though yoga is always popularly recognized with fitness and health concerns, the art of Yoga hardly leaves any aspect of human health untouched! Be it health, weight loss, devotion, concentration, spiritual enlightenment, ego-shedding or beauty, yoga is effective in each of them. Many famous personalities in the health and beauty industry swear on the names of Yoga fitness.

Yoga Fitness: The Real Aura Of Beauty

Yoga fitness is a beautiful art that brings a perfect blend of physical strength and gracefulness in your life. Also, the beauty and health attained through Yoga fitness is not an artificial and temporary achievement like cosmetic surgery and other such means. Yoga fitness regime helps you lose all the flab in a right manner to the right extent. Apart from this the enlightenment achieved through yoga brings a shine of confidence over one's face. Yoga fitness regime also acts as a stress buster which is in itself a very wonderful method to avoid ageing. The flexibility attained through Yoga fitness regime also makes one feel good and thus look good.

The first and foremost principle of a Yoga fitness regime is that do not do the asana if it is not comfortable and does not make you feel good and relaxed. Thus yoga through its asana like Sukhasna and Shavasana aims to provide complete relaxation to your body.

Yoga fitness regime helps you gain physical fitness, helps in the healthy maintenance of mind and body. It also acts in removal of toxins from the body and increases flexibility of your body making you look younger.

 Once you begin a Yoga fitness regime it becomes a part of your lifestyle and gives you energy, positivity and zestfulness.

Yoga fitness regime also helps improve the efficiency of the immune system. Through regular Pranayams i.e. breathing exercises, you can easily avoid little daily problems of health by build your immunity. Yoga is equally active in thyroid and weight loss leading to perfect shaping of the body and thus making you healthy as well as beautiful.

The perfect oxygen dose which we get through various Yoga Fitness Asanas and Mudras also helps in skin glow.

Regularly following Yoga fitness program brings contentment in your life which reflects on your mind and body.

 A good Yoga fitness regime helps you in delaying ageing. A regular yoga practitioner remains young and active for quite longer than others who do not practice yoga.