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    So you’ve made the resolution that THIS is the year you’re going to lose weight and get in the best shape of your life. You’re not going to settle for second best – you’re going to achieve that dream body you’ve always wanted.

    Great news – this is actually the best time to make that commitment. Why? Because you can take advantage of the powerful momentum and energy a New Year brings to achieve your weight loss dreams.

    But there’s nothing worse than committing to lose weight, only to get lost among the 5 gazillion diets out there. It can get confusing – you may end up wasting a lot of money and effort. You may end up wondering which diet is really the BEST diet for you.

    You may even end up feeling so frustrated that you give up on your dream of becoming slim and healthy. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

    In order to have rapid weight loss success, you have to find the best diet for you (a.k.a. the diet that will speed you towards your dream body at lightning pace). There are millions of diets – but only a few that are best for you and your lifestyle.

    The best diet for you will have the 3 key features listed below. Choose your diet with these 3 key features in mind and you’re already halfway to your weight loss dreams.

    #1 Proven Success Rate

    Are there before and after pictures of people who have lost weight with that particular diet? Are there customer testimonials? Have there been independent studies done on the diet’s success rate?

    The diet you choose doesn’t have to have all three of these but try to find at least some kind of proven success rate before choosing that particular program.

    Finding a diet with a proven success rate not only lets you know that the diet works but it also helps give you the confidence that the diet will work FOR YOU.

    Confidence is one of the most underrated factors in a successful weight loss program. If you’ve tried and failed with diets before you especially need that extra boost of confidence to carry you through the more difficult times in the diet. By reminding yourself that this diet has been proven to work – you’ll be able to keep going and reach your weight loss goals.

    A related feature that gets extra points is if the diet has been recommended by an expert or a physician. Again this boosts your confidence that the diet is safe and effective.

    #2 Affordable

    Losing weight should not cost you thousands of dollars (unless we’re talking about surgery here and that’s an entirely different article). The best diet will be affordable for the average person.

    If the diet costs too much, be very suspicious and look elsewhere. There are too many shady diets out there and as a consumer, it pays to be cautious.

    I’ll give you an example of what I mean:

    A close friend of mine went to a well-known weight loss clinic in our area and was told she had to pay the yearly fees up front (around $1000 NOT including food). They also told her she had to buy their food in bulk (like $500 for a year’s worth of chocolate).

    When the chocolate gave her heart palpitations and she had to take it back, they told her it was non-refundable. She was out the money for the chocolate. Plus, she feels she can’t leave the program because she’s paid the yearly fees (which, you guessed it, are also non-refundable).

    She unfortunately made the mistake of ignoring her instincts and paying way too much money for a diet program. If you notice you’re being asked for hefty fees right out of the gate, warning lights should be flashing in your mind.

    Now on the other hand, the best diet WILL cost you something. It actually is better if you put some cash on the table for your diet program. Why? Because when we invest in something we’re more likely to stick with it. When we invest in something we are more likely to follow through and get the results we want.

    For example I did a liver detox several months ago. I’m not really into liver detoxing but I read an article and figured I’d try it.

    The detox kit cost me a whopping $50 and when I opened the instructions they told me I had to give up junk food for two weeks. In any other universe I would have laughed and simply forgotten about detoxing my liver. But because I’d shelled out $50, I was invested – I decided that I hopefully wouldn’t starve from lack of junk food over two weeks and suffered through it.

    If I’d gotten the detox kit for free there’s no way I would have followed those instructions. But because I was invested, I followed through and now have a healthier liver thanking me for it.

    So when searching for the best diet, putting out some money on yourself and your dreams of a better body is actually a healthy thing. Just keep in mind that you shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars on it.

    #3 Compatible with Your Tastes and Lifestyle

    This is THE most crucial step however it’s the one where most people go wrong. When choosing a diet, they simply pick one and go, without considering if it is compatible with their tastes and lifestyle.

    For example, if you hate feeling deprived or empty you might want to choose a program that lets you eat many times during the day so you don’t feel hungry. If you get bored easily you want a diet program that gives you tremendous variety and flexibility. If you don’t do a lot of cooking or food preparation, you’ll want to look at a program where the food is pre-made for you.

    Diets are like cars – there are hundreds of different models out there, each with their own unique features. And they can get you where you want to go. But your personality might gel better with certain features than others.

    Dieting is hard enough. Don’t make it harder on yourself by choosing a diet not compatible with who you are. Setting yourself up for success will also guarantee that you’ll stick it out until you reach your goal.
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    This article is about weight loss and how to live a more healthy life, I hope you find it interesting to read and beneficial. I have had a lot of problems with my weight over the years and by the age of twenty-two had had enough of being obese. In the article I write about how I eventually lost my excess pounds.

    I have always struggled to keep my weight under control. Being over-weight affected my whole life, I was unable to wear the clothes I wanted to and I often felt guilty after eating certain foods. I was adamant that if only I could lose a couple of stones my confidence would increase and that I would ultimately be a lot happier.

    I read many books and attempted to follow a range of diets. For whatever reason this did not seem to help me, mainly because I could not stick to their weight loss programs due to my love of fatty foods.

    One day I was talking to a neighbour who was not only very nice but also quite thin. She looked very fit and healthy and I enquired as to how she kept so trim.
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    Is the reason that there has been an increase in obesity due to the fact that adults in today’s society are lazy? Are we all just a bunch of lethargic couch potatoes that don’t do anything but sit around and eat all the time? I say no. Instead we are a product of our revolutionary, technological society. I am not saying we can blame technology, rather I am saying that as with our youth, the adults are also a reflection of the society that surrounds them. It isn’t an excuse, but it is a thought I pondered based on my typical day.

    I get up in the morning, not to the sound of an aggravating buzz, beep, or the blaring of the radio. These alarms would get my blood racing right from the start, but I would hit snooze to stop the insanity. Then it would happen again, and again, the snooze bar. After a few times of this I am would now be late for work, rush to the shower if I even had time, rush to the car, and speed off to work. Not in today’s world. Instead, I wake to the soothing sound of the ocean on my Homedics radio and slowly wake peacefully. No blood pumping, no increased heart rate. I just have a nice and slow, easy awakening. Next I head to the shower where I put turn on my shower CD player and listen to something that I enjoy while I take my time letting the water almost run cold.

    During my toweling off and getting dressed period of the morning, I can hear my coffee being made on the coffee maker that is set to make me a cup every morning with me not having to do a thing. While I sit and drink my coffee pondering the day ahead of me, I notice that it is almost gone, so I gently push a button on my key ring that starts my car and gets it nice and warm for me before I even get to it. I can then take my leisurely stroll to my car, get in, and have a nice peaceful drive to work (barring any unforeseen road rage). Nothing like before when I had to run to my car because I was late most of the time due to the annoyance of my alarm or run because it was cold and then get in and shake and shiver for 10 minutes until it warmed up.

    Once at work I find myself taking out my PDA and seeing what is on my agenda for the day. Nope, no more flipping through pages of my pocket calendar or scheduler. My work day is simple and uneventful, but instead of having to run back and forth through the office to get messages to everyone, I can now simply send an interoffice email with the push of a button. When it is time to leave, I again start my car from my office and drive home.
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    Before many Australians recently, a devastating story unfolded on a popular current affairs program. We watched with compassion as the fattest man in Australia told of his most recent, serious attempt to lose weight. Approximately 12 months earlier and weighing close to 300 kilos, he under went life threatening surgery to lose weight.

    I doubt there would have been one person watching not moved by this man’s depression and plight. Despite undergoing the surgery, today he could barely get through each day, both physically and mentally. He shared with us his sense of hopelessness and wanting to end it all.

    It was not only his size that was causing his depression. He had to deal with a heart broken by disappointment.

    You see, the surgery had been a success.

    He soon lost well over 50 kilos post operation and he and his family rejoiced. But then the unthinkable happened.

    The weight came back. Today he weighs well over 300 kilos – more than before the surgery.

    This is an extreme case, but nonetheless raises a question that so many people continue to battle with.

    After a diet, why does the weight come back so quickly?

    To answer this we need to understand how much energy a body requires. For each pound you weigh, each day you need 12 calories to maintain your body weight. If you weigh 120 pounds you will need 120 x 12 calories, that is, 1440 calories per day to maintain that body weight. If you eat or drink more calories than your body requires, the excess energy is stored as fat. It takes 3,600 excess calories to make one pound of fat.

    In this example, if your typical daily calorific intake is 2000 calories, in around 30 days you would put on between 4-5 pounds of fat!
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