Diet : Eat More to Lose More (Weight, that is)

If your goal is to lose weight this year - whether 5 pounds or 50 - you should NOT go on
a diet. Dieting fails for more than 9 out of 10 people - for two very simple reasons.
First, most "diets" focus on restricting the amount of food you eat. And unless you enjoy
being in a perpetual state of hunger, you won't stick with it. Plus, by restricting calories,
you send a signal to your body that you are starving. This sets off a survival mechanism
that slows down your metabolism and causes your body to hoard what you eat and store it
as fat. With a decreased metabolism, you're bound to regain the weight - and then some -
when you begin to eat normally.

If you want to lose weight - and keep it off for life - you should eat smaller meals more
frequently. And you should focus on eating more of the right foods. This will raise your
metabolism naturally. It will send a signal to your body that there is no emergency - that
it is okay to release fat.

So ditch the foods that add to your belly and detract from your health, and keep your
kitchen (and your workplace) well stocked with nutritious foods and snacks. I make it a
point to always keep fruit, yogurt (unsweetened ... I just add a little stevia and berries),
almonds, sardines, peanut butter, and celery around. I also spend some time every few
weeks to make healthy meals that I can freeze in individual portions. That way, when I
don't have time to prepare a meal, I always have a healthy lunch or dinner ready to go.

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to lose weight, don't plan to do it by dieting. Stop
starving yourself ... and lose the weight forever by eating more of the foods that Mother
Nature intended for you to eat.