After years of study, the Atkins diet has been proven to be less than harmful on the body. As a matter of fact, in long term study, the people who maintained the Atkins diet for more than 10 years, were in better health than those who ate a lower calorie, higher carbohydrate diet.

The Atkins diet is based on the bodies need for energy. Carbohydrates are utilized as the first energy source due to their quick burning nature. After the carbohydrate stores are used up, usually within the first three days on the diet, the fat stores are then used as the primary energy source. Since the body takes longer to burn the fat, the Atkins diet followers are less hungry and feel fuller longer after a meal.

Pair this knowledge with the fact that studies have also shown higher protein diets keep the hunger at bay for longer periods, and you will have the main reason why the Atkins diet works.

The trouble with the Atkins diet is staying on the diet long term. Many people view the diet as a way to lose weight and then fall right back into their carbohydrate stacking days. In order for the health benefits to be optimized, the lower carbohydrate diet needs to be maintained for a lifetime. In the later phases of the Atkins diet, many people choose to eat between 100 and 150 grams of carbobohydrates a day.

Friendly Reminder: Always consult your Doctor before starting any new diet plan!

• They use larger plates. When offered two plate sizes, 98.6 percent of those with the highest BMIs took the larger of the two plates to the buffet. A bigger plate tricks your eye into thinking you’re not eating as much, and stuffing more food onto your plate — and into your mouth. Use a smaller plate, get a smaller belly.
• They eat while looking at food. 41.7 percent of those with high BMIs took seats that overlooked the buffet, instead of sitting in a booth or facing in a different direction. The site of food tends to make our minds think we have more work to do, eating-wise. Keep your food stored in the fridge or the pantry, not out on the countertops.
• They eat with maximum efficiency. While Chinese buffets offer chopsticks, 91.3 percent of obese patrons opt for forks. That just makes it easier to shovel in the food!
• They clean their plates. Of those patrons who were heaviest, 94 percent cleaned their plates so there was nothing left. Ignore Mom’s advice — let a little linger.
• They chew faster. Researchers actually monitored the chewing habits of the buffet-goers and discovered that the heaviest 1/3 among them chewed their food an average of 11.9 times before swallowing. The middle 1/3 chewed an average of 14 times, and the leanest 1/3 chewed 14.8 times.
• They dive in. The leanest people in the study typically took a lap around the buffet first, to plot out what they wanted to eat. But the more overweight group charged right in; doing so means you may fill up on some less-appealing items, then have to go back to snag that one nosh you have to have, but missed the first time.

The easiest way to get a good serving of turmeric everyday is to try my turmeric/kefir tea!

Once again, don’t fall for any pill scams when it comes to turmeric. Also, don’t buy those little expensive bottles of spice from the regular supermarket. If you do not have an asian grocer in your area, or a health food store that sells turmeric in bulk, order it from Amazon. Here is a link for those of you that live out in the boondocks and don’t have access to this wonderful plant: (note how inexpensive this is, and it lasts a long time when bought in bulk).

1 lb of Frontier Turmeric $3.99

Well if you are obese, this of course comes as no surprise.  I am very thankful that I have a nice doctor these days that is helpful in my weight loss journey instead of treating me like a leper (and actually, I think a lot of these doctors treat lepers better than the obese). Many, many obese people are not as lucky as I am; and I’ve been there, been through the mean comments, the disgusted looks and shoddy medical care.

This is such a catch 22 situation. Doctors act disgusted with obesity instead of treating it like an illness; therefore the person that is obese keeps getting more obese or more sick as time marches on unless they can find a doctor that acts like a medical professional with obese people.

When you get to the point of obesity, and not just being overweight, more than anything, you NEED medical help. Whatever that might be, a doctor designed diet, nutritional counseling, exercise counseling, treatment for co-morbid conditions or bariatrics.

The obesity problem in America is not just one cause, like fast food, it’s an entire plate full of medical needs that are not being met.

Ummmm… so you can walk into a store, put on a size 10 now, but actually be a size 14??? Oh what the hell???? Guess I’m going to go back to weighing myself instead of measuring my success via size drops.

I really hate weighing myself. Do you hate weighing yourself? Every time I’ve tried to lose weight and used a scale to measure my success I’ve ended up a failure.   They say, “don’t weigh yourself everyday!” But, in the real world, us fatties are impatient, we want to see at least a few ounces dropping off everyday and certainly do not want to see any gains. When I started down the road of success one of the things I swore off was that damn scale.

Now, the clothes manufacturers, I guess, realizing that most of the country is a bunch of fat slobs, has decided to make people “feel better” by turning size 10 into a size 14. LOL. Listen, I’m no idiot and I’ve never been in denial about my weight problem; a size 10 does not accommodate blubber the way a 14 does. What to do??? I do not want to go back to the scales….They claim in the news report that companies are doing this so people don’t have to feel bad about their size 14. Great! Make the clothes a size 14 and stick a size 10 tag on them! What the hell is wrong with this country?

I don’t know what I am going to do….

Again folks, fads do not work and will leave you hungry and/or gaining back more later on. And the low-carb craze is just that; another fad to divert you from what you really need, bariatric surgery of the brain — a low calorie diet combined with exercise that you never deviate from or cheat on. It’s all in your head, if you tough it out for at least 30 days and don’t cheat, and don’t deviate, and don’t make excuses, you will see a loss of weight. I promise. These low-carb diets just make your brain more hungry since your brain depends on glucose to function properly.

Here’s another interesting tidbit from that article:

I read a study recently that found students and others who continually challenge their minds actually require more carbohydrates, and thus, seem to crave carbohydrate foods in direct proportion to how much they have to exert their brains. Perhaps carbohydrate cravings in such cases are the body’s way of getting the brain the fuel it needs.

If you work with your brain all day then you may actually need more carbs. Even if you are a fatty. The key of course is what kind of carbs you are getting. Are you getting carbs from fruit and whole grains or McDonalds and Twinkies? Big difference. Healthy carbs are going to be more satisfying and keep your glucose levels steady as opposed to the high rush you get from junk food carbs. I spend my entire day at a desk working with my brain when I am not jumping around on the rebounder getting my exercise for the day; and I have always known that I could not function in my job without carbs. I’ve tried low-carb diets and came to the same conclusion as this article, they made me dull, and hungry.

Remember when mom said, “birds of a feather flock together?” Well it seems according to this study, she may not be too far off base. Successful weight loss should involve surrounding yourself with “birds of a feather” that have the same goals!

Many dieters worry about the expense of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and home cooked meals. They think they are saving money on the dollar menu at McDonalds. But as this dieter has found out, losing weight by doing just that, lots of fresh foods and home cooking not only saves a bundle, but sheds those ugly pounds to boot!

This is something I guessed was the problem for a long time now. I’ve lived a fairly sedentary lifestyle most of my life, and I was never fat until about 10 years ago, which is about the same time as some harrowing surgery, recovery, and a mega increase in my portion sizes. It’s also about the same time the restaurant industry started “super-sizing” everything, including the sit down, non-fast food places. How many times have I been in a restaurant to be served a plate that had at least 3 portions on it? Before I was fat, whenever I was served like this, I shared with a friend. After turning into a fatty, I would eat the whole damn thing myself.

And look at the plate sizes the next time you go into a store that sells dishware.  Compare that to the average dishware sizes in the 50s and 60s. I have a set of 1950′s dishes and I can tell you that the dinner plates are about the size of my HAND. The cereal bowls hold less than a cup of cereal with some room for milk. These are the dishes I use to eat from everyday — part of my diet strategy is to use these old fashioned plates and have one serving of food. Let me tell you, it works! Dishware manufacturers need to get on board and start making these old fashioned plates again.