But I recently decided to tighten up a little, so I had to make a change.  My schedule has led to me making some not-so-great food choices and my workouts have been less frequent, and I had gotten a little soft.  I also have something motivating me to get my act together, but more on that later. 

I knew Omar and I had to stop meeting each other like this – so I changed my route to get to work.  Instead of the way I always walk to work, I immediately cross the street and avoid the lure of Omar altogether.  He’ll survive without me, and for the short term, until I get back to where I want to be, I’ll live without him too.  Sometimes something simple like changing your route to work will force you into a better decision and you’ll forego the temptations that convenience provides.  So if you see Omar say hello for me – tell him I’ll stop by in the spring.

Here’s an awesome recipe from my partners at Prograde Nutrition.

Tex Mex Mini Meat Loaves

Just looking at the picture of the finished recipe is making my mouth water.

- Enjoy!

PS – If you enjoy that recipe, well, they’ve got 196 more of them here

Let’s be honest, going on a diet is not necessarily fun.  It forces you to do things you don’t normally do, and people are very resistant to change by nature.  Rather than focusing on the end goal you have a tendency to focus on the immediate “dread”, which forces you to put it off until the next most convenient time (in your eyes).

Now let’s say you sprained your ankle – not just a slight tweak but a really hard twist.  Would you hobble around trying to walk it off, or go hit the gym hoping that the workout will do your ankle good?  Or would you take action to address it before you did any more damage?  To be successful with your weight loss efforts you should not wait until you do more damage.

Mondays are hard enough for most people.  The weekend is over and it is back to the same weekday routine.  People who wait until Monday to start making a positive change are more likely to abandon their program by midweek.

So when is the best time to start?  At your next meal!  Even if you string together four or five meals that are in line with the diet program you are following, and then slip, start right back up again at your next meal.  Don’t focus on your failures of the past, make the commitment to change going forward.  I am a strong advocate of the 90/10 rule, meaning that if you can adhere to your diet ninety percent of the time you eat that you will not be derailed by the ten percent of the time that you do not.

Want to know how I successfully lost 80 pounds and kept it off? Read about my unique approach to lose weight.

As part of AmeriHealth’s Healthy Lifestyles program, they will reimburse up to $150 of your fitness center fees and $200 of class fees for approved weight management programs.  It’s a win-win: for you, as it eliminates one more barrier to getting healthy, and could lead to other financial benefits like fewer co-pays, lower food and clothing costs, and less gas used; for them, healthier subscribers means fewer insurance claims.  The program also provides substantial discounts for alternative health (like acupuncture, massage therapy, and dietetics) as well as other programs for smoking cessation and healthy maternity.

Check with your health care provider to see if they offer similar programs – it could be just the kick-start you need to getting the weight off for good!

The study reviewed the brain images of 94 people in their 70s. They were followed for five years, and it was discovered that clinically obese people had 8% less brain tissue, while simply overweight people had 4% less brain tissue compared to normal-weight humans.

“The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than their healthy counterparts, while those of overweight people looked 8 years older,” study leader Paul Thompson said. “This is the first study to show physical evidence in the brain that connects overweight and obesity and cognitive decline.”

When Polish researchers examined acupuncture as a diet aid, they found that people who got needled lost 10 more pounds and ticked 2 additional points off their BMIs compared with those who merely cut calories.

Marie Cargill, a licensed acupuncturist in the Boston area, explains that pressure points on the body—mostly on the ear—work as a switchboard to the brain, triggering electrical pulses that suppress appetite. “The ear system is very effective for addiction treatment,” she says.

The report has some great advice:

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Choose fat-free or 1% milk
3. Switch from juice to whole fruit
4. Skip sports drinks and “energy” drinks
5. Watch out for coffee and tea drinks and shakes (aka the crappuccinos!)

Ever wonder if you have a serious problem with binge eating?  In a recent issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, I read a feature article about the treatment of bulimia and binge eating.  Bulimia is defined as 2 or more episodes of binge eating (consuming a large amount of food in 2 hours or less) at least twice a week for 3 months.  These episodes may be followed by vomiting or purging (with laxatives or diuretics) and may alternate with fasting and compulsive exercising.  People who suffer from bulimia often view this behavior as a shameful secret.

Binge Eating Disorder (binging that is not followed by vomiting, fasting or exercise) has gotten more attention recently since it is being considered for inclusion as a psychiatric diagnosis.

The criteria are tentatively listed as a condition that causes serious distress with at least 3 of the following symptoms occurring at least 2 days a week for 6 months:

• eating very fast
• eating until uncomfortably full
• eating when not hungry
• eating alone
• feeling disgusted or guilty afterward

Since most of the population has probably engaged in these eating behaviors at one time or another, I guess it comes down to the frequency and severity of the problem.  You can be a binge eater, but you would have to be binging quite regularly to be considered to have Binge Eating Disorder.

Many people engage in some of these behaviors all the time. People who live alone often eat alone. And while eating when you aren’t hungry is not the most satisfying experience, sometimes it is just an ingrained habit.

You do not have to be overweight to be a binge eater.  Many people with binge eating problems think they are overweight or are worried that they will become seriously overweight.  Dieting does not necessarily stop the binging and is often viewed as being part of the problem rather than the solution.  The body resists dieting by slowing metabolism and increasing appetite, commonly accompanied by an intense preoccupation with food, more binging, anxiety and depression.

If you are struggling with bulimia or severe binge eating problems, seek help and get the support you deserve. Donít keep it a secret. You do not need to be heroic and suffer alone.

If you engage in some of the binge eating behaviors, join the club.

You can learn to change all of these behaviors, even mild to moderate binge eating by listening to your body, eating mindfully and being kind to yourself.

Choose one small habit or behavior at a time, not your entire existence, and you’ll have a much better chance to reach your weight loss goals.

“What’s up with this Wu-Yi Tea?  I see it everywhere online!  Does it work?”

Wu-Yi tea is the same as another tea on the market, Wu-Long…which is a marketing spin on the word Oolong, a tea that you have probably heard of before.  The claims made by these teas are based on one Japanese study where energy expenditure was measured for 120 minutes after consumption of both oolong and green teas.  Oolong increased energy expenditure in the subjects by 10% as opposed to 4% for the green tea.

However, there are two major flaws in this study:

• 120 minutes is not a significant amount of time

• There was no measurement of fat loss specifically

So there may be some benefit to consuming oolong tea, but it would require several more controlled studies before I would recommend it as a supplement you should include in your arsenal.

Also, oolong tea is widely available in supermarkets and specialty stores – so if you choose to use oolong tea, you don’t have to pay the outrageous prices they are charging online.

In a 1957 (!) study, three groups of people were put on low calorie (1000 calorie) diets.  The first group ate 90% of their calories in fat, the second group ate 90% of their calories in protein, the third group ate 90% of their calories in carbs.  Guess which group actually gained weight, despite only taking in 1000 calories per day? Yep, the carb group.  The other two groups lost between 0.5 to 1.0 pound per day!

Several studies have been done since, all coming to the same conclusion – low carbohydrate diets result in significantly greater fat loss than low fat or low calorie diets.  In fact, in several of the studies, the low carb groups were consuming more overall calories than the high carb groups and losing more fat.

So low carb diets become the next entry on the list that we started last time of most effective fat burning techniques:

1. Eating more often (shooting for 6 small meals per day)
2. Resistance training
3. Interval cardio
4. Low carbohydrate diets

One last item on the list to be added next time…