There’s no doubt about it, dieting can be stressful. Whether the stress stems from the dietary changes themselves or you simply don’t know what to do now that you’re not eating in response to emotional triggers – the result is the same; stress and uncertainty about what to do about it.

Today I’d like to propose a workable solution: creativity. (more…)

It’s no secret that stress can create big problems when you’re trying to lose weight. Stress is known to contribute to chronic levels of anxiety and depression, depress the immune system, increase your odds of developing heart disease and stroke – and as if that weren’t enough, stress causes your body to release a hormone called cortisol, which contributes to excessive abdominal fat. Even if you weren’t stressed to begin with, just being overweight can be stressful as you battle feelings of fatigue, embarrassment, and frustration about your body, which can trigger bouts of emotional eating and make the problem even worse.

To reduce all of these unpleasant side effects of stress, it is vital to get as relaxed as you can on a regular basis. Luckily, there are endless ways to do that. Below we’ll highlight just a few: (more…)

Losing weight and keeping it off can be challenging on a purely physical level, but the process gets even more complicated when you take into account all the mental and emotional baggage that comes along with weight issues. For one thing, self-image. Your self-image is your mental representation of yourself – in other words, how you see yourself overall.

It’s probably no surprise that most overweight people have terrible self-images. They see themselves in a very negative light, believing themselves to be weak, slovenly, unattractive, and untrustworthy. This creates a problem when they start trying to envision themselves thinner, more attractive and happier. As much as they would like to bridge the gap between unattractive and attractive, they can’t quite “see” themselves getting there.

Does this describe you too? (more…)

Are you one of those people who gobbles down your food so quickly that you barely taste it? If so, you may want to rethink that habit if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Eating too fast is one of the major causes for overeating, for two reasons. First, if you eat so fast that you barely taste the food, you won’t feel satisfied and you will keep craving more. Secondly, eating too quickly doesn’t allow time for your body to signal that it has had enough food, so you feel compelled to keep eating.

Below are three good ways to change the habit of eating too quickly: (more…)

One of the major causes of overeating is devoting all of your time and attention to other people and obligations, leaving little time and energy to care for yourself. An obvious sign of this destructive habit is the constant feeling that you are “running on empty”. Women especially seem to be prone to this kind of “selflessness on steroids” habit, but men can easily fall into the trap too.

The problem with feeling as if you are running on empty all the time is that subconsciously you are going to seek ways to fill that inner void – even if it means eating more food than your body needs, numbing yourself with alcohol or drugs, or other destructive compulsive behavior. (more…)

Dropping excess pounds is undoubtedly one of the most beneficial things you can do to improve your health and vitality. Besides reducing your risk of developing serious diseases, losing weight can have a positive impact on your energy levels, concentration, sleep quality, job performance, relationships and self-esteem.

However, one of the biggest mistakes that people make when embarking on a weight loss program is trying to change all of their negative habits right from the start. They drastically change their eating habits, give up all of their favorite foods, dive into a heavy workout routine – and then act surprised when it proves to be too hard to keep it up.

You can’t do it all at once unless you have IMMENSE willpower and control. Do you? The majority of people reading this article probably will not. (more…)

One of the hardest parts of losing weight is feeling deprived. You know you shouldn’t be eating “junk” foods – all the high-carb, high-fat, high-sugar stuff – but without it you feel depressed and bored. Who wants to exist on nothing but lettuce leaves and water?

Believe it or not, you DON’T have to give up the foods you love to lose weight. You just need to change the way you eat them, or find ways to make healthful versions of them.

Below are a few ideas to help you do that: (more…)

One of the most challenging aspects of weight loss is staying committed long enough to reap the rewards of your hard work. When you first begin a weight loss program, all you can see are the extra pounds on your body. You have an idea of the outcome you would like to achieve – perhaps how much you would like to weigh, or the size of clothing you would like to wear. But beyond that, you may be cloudy on the lifestyle changes your new figure will inspire.

If you aren’t clear on the benefits you will gain from losing weight, it’s going to be harder for you to stick to your weight loss plan because it will seem like too much of a sacrifice.

The following exercise will help you tune into the positive changes that losing weight will create in your life, which can be a great help in pumping up your excitement and keeping your commitment strong. (more…)

It happens to all of us: we’re cruising along on our weight loss program, feeling great, staying on track – when suddenly a temptation is staring us right in the face. Maybe it’s a box of donuts your oh-so-thoughtful coworker brought into the office. Maybe it’s the scent of freshly baked bread from the bakery down the street. Maybe it’s just a random craving that seemed to come out of nowhere, and now it has you in a death grip.

With most weight loss programs, there are only two possible responses: summon the willpower to ignore the craving and stay committed to the plan, or give in to the craving and feel like a failure.

Luckily, these are not the only two responses you can choose, and today we’re going to share a few others to help you win the battle of wills the next time you face temptation: (more…)

We’ve always been told that we have to eat a specific number of calories each day in order to maintain a certain body weight. However, research has shown that “changing things up” a bit with your caloric intake may help you to shed pounds more quickly and keep them off more easily.

Calorie cycling refers to the practice of taking in a varying amount of calories each day, never eating the same amount of calories two or more days in a row. The logic behind this is that eating too few calories for too long (like most weight loss programs advocate) will force your body into “starvation mode,” where it slows down fat burning. When fat burning slows down, so does your weight loss. The calorie cycling approach is different.

See below for an example: (more…)