Astounding as some dieters say the new Hoodia weight loss supplement is, other dieters say its a fake and doesnt work at all. If youre not familiar with Hoodia Gordonii, its the new fad in dieting products. It comes from a cactus type plant in South Africa and has been eaten there for thousands of years by the aboriginal natives. The San Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert eat the plant by picking off a piece before a hunting trip or period of time they know they wont have much food to eat. By ingesting the piece of Hoodia they know that they will not be hungry for the entire day. This of course is very helpful when you are living in the desert and the availability of food is very scarce. So what about if your living in middle America and are looking for something to help you curb your cravings and keep of the pounds, will Hoodia do the trick? It depends on who you ask, some dieters say it is the magic pill and will help you lose the weight with no side effects. Other people will say, I tried it and it did absolutely nothing for me. How can this be the case you might ask, one person swears to it and one swears at it. Its actually no mystery at all if you know what is happening in the industry. Hoodia has gained huge popularity due to increased media exposure; so far since last November , the BBC, CBS News, Oprah Winfreys O Magazine, ABC News and most recently it was featured on the NBC Today Show with Katie Couric. Because of this news coverage the demand for Hoodia has greatly increased and along with this, the amount of companies providing fake or impure Hoodia has also greatly increased. If I can stress only one thing in this Hoodia article, it would be to know what is in the Hoodia you are buying. When it comes to buying Hoodia, you have to be an informed buyer; you cant just buy the first Hoodia Pills you see. And unlike other supplements you buy at your nutritional store, in the case of Hoodia, you cant trust brick and mortar stores anymore than you can an online company. There is no regulation when it comes to Hoodia pills; there is no testing process or certification that a Hoodia brand has to go through. Because of this anybody can start a new Hoodia brand, put whatever they want in a pill and call it Hoodia and sell it. Many companies are doing just this, making lots of profit and leaving you the dieter with a bogus product, the dieter then tells others, hey, this Hoodia stuff is no good.Natural Health Report has published a study done by Truth Publishing and Alkemist Pharmaceuticals located at naturalhealthreport.comA-Hoodia-Gordonii-exposed.html, the study findings state that eleven out of seventeen brand-name Hoodia supplements tested failed a laboratory analysis of authenticity. Unfortunately in the study they don’t say which brands failed but they do say which brands passed. The following brands passed the independent testing Dr. Wheeler’s Afrigetics King Hoodia Ethno AfricaEleven out of seventeen brand names failed to be authentic, to me that is an amazing statistic and says a lot about the industry. Looking at those statistics we can now see why some dieters are saying Hoodia is wonderful and helps you lose weight and others are calling it a scam. The truth is there is both authentic pure Hoodia and bogus fake Hoodia available and what you get will determine how you feel about it.This information should not necessarily stop you from buying Hoodia, as there are many reports of Hoodia decreasing you appetite by up to 1,000 calories a day and many people trying to lose weight swear by its results. Like we have stated before you just need to be very cautious and be able to identify pure Hoodia from ineffective and impure Hoodia. So how can you identify ? Here are some things the consumer should look for Certification – the company should provide a visual documentation on their website that the Hoodia they are selling is authentic Hoodia Gordonii from South Africa. Independent Testing some of the top companies selling Hoodia are now submitting their product for independent testing to assure the customer their Hoodia is authentic and set them apart from the competition. If the brand has been tested you will again most likely be able to see visual documentation on their website. You should be know if the product is a . There is a lot of information on the internet as to which is better and you should be informed on which kind you want to buy. Know what all the ingredients in the pill are – many companies will increase the total milligrams of a Hoodia pill by adding other ingredients to it, so in a 750 mg. pill you might only get 50 mg. of Hoodia. Also know if those other ingredients are something you want to be taking. Brand Reputation the longer Hoodia is around the more people are talking about which brand is working for them. Do some internet searches on the brand you are thinking of trying and see if you find that lots of people are having problems with that brand. You have to take general public comments with a grain of salt though because many company owners have people spreading bad publicity about their competition. Common Sense overall use your common sense about your purchase. Does the company not disclose much information? Do they have easy way to contact them? Do they have any type of guarantee? Also, especially when it comes to , does the label of the product look like it was printed on a home inkjet printer? Also be wary of deep discounted Hoodia, there may be a reason its so cheap.In closing, when it comes to Hoodia the consumer will need to stay cautious for awhile, the situation may get worse before it gets better. Demand for Hoodia is growing, supply is decreasing and the wholesale cost is increasing. What does this formula equal? It equals bad news for the dieter who wants to get some authentic Hoodia; there will be a lot of fake Hoodia out there. Give Hoodia a try, just do your homework first, be an informed, educated buyer and you may find that you truly have found a product to help you shed those extra pounds with no side effects. For more information on Hoodia visit Totalink’s Hoodia Directory at

Experts tell us we are what we eat. A disturbing thought when we consider how much sugar, fat and white flour is consumed daily, hidden in ready meals and fast foods. Its time to change the bad habits we have developed over the last three decades and start eating to improve health, not destroy it!

A vital area of life that requires our attention is this.learning to answer hunger pains appropriately. If we neglect this, weight can increase and well-being may suffer.

Whether you need to lose weight, maintain weight or tone up your body; inappropriate eating habits can jeopardize your best efforts. This articles will help you start to understand how to manage hunger in a busy lifestyle.

If its sticky and sweet, made with sugar and saturated fat, then you must only eat it as a rare treat. Can the same be said for a delicious bowl of strawberries, or a juicy sweet orange? That is the problem here? Why do we choose cakes and chocolate over natures best offering?

If you do not have a genuine glucose imbalance, one cause perhaps is that sweet treats are deeply connected to our childhood, where frequently, sweeteners were given as a reward for good behaviour, or to placate or console the unhappy child. Our memory will automatically associate sweet foods as a reward or a comfort. That bar of chocolate or sticky bun you devour mid-way through a stressful afternoon could be you rewarding yourself for hard work!

If you think you may be using sweet treats as a reward or comfort and want to kick the habit, simply remember that putting on weight is NOT a reward. Then think of a reward that doesnt involve food!

Guard yourself from the sweet snack attacks by being prepared and planning your day’s food patterns.

1. Incorporate protein in to your breakfast AND lunch. Protein is key to controlling carbohydrate cravings. The RDA of protein for women is 60 grams a day. For women wanting to lose weight, health professionals recommend approximately 100 grams of protein daily. Why? One of the principle advantages of protein is that it creates a feeling of fullness and satisfaction in the body that makes overeating much less likely. Source your protein from ultra lean sources so you don’t pick up unwanted calories and saturated fats.

Even better, than providing a sense of sustained fullness, protein can block the triggering effect that carbohydrates can have on the brain. If you eat protein with a carbohydrate it will reduce the cravings caused by eating the carbohydrate.

2. Never skip meals. Research has shown that people who skip meals are more prone to obesity than those who regularly eat 3 meals a day. In fact, people who space their daily food requirements by making appropriate use of healthy snacks do even better. Why is this? When you skip meals you are more likely to get hungry and fill up on easily obtained fast foods which are often trigger foods.

3. Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water throughout the day. For some people sugar laden soft drinks are a trigger food. Make sure you don’t get thirsty in the first place. Water creates a sense of fullness and has a host of other health benefits.

4. Plan the timing of your meals so that you don’t get hungry. Despite having three healthy meals a day, sometimes your work schedule can mean the spacing of those meals still does not guard against the carbohydrate cravings. If you have a long gap between meals, make sure you carry healthy snacks to cover the distance, otherwise hunger will set in

5. Plan your snacks. Plan out your weekly snack schedule with some delicious, healthy snacks. Purchase these with your weekly shopping so that you are fully prepared. If you need to, get up a few minutes earlier in the morning so you have time to prepare and take your snacks to work. Remember, healthy snacks don’t live in a vending machine! You are less likely to get hungry when you have a ready supply of healthy snacks.

6. Carry emergency supplies of nutritional protein bars in your handbag or brief case. When you feel a carbohydrate craving, eat the protein bar instead and wait 30 minutes before acting on the craving. More often than not the craving will pass and you will be in control again. This truly works.

Losing weight can be hard. It doesnt matter if you just need to lose a couple of pounds for a special occasion or if you need to lose a lot of weight to improve your general health. Sometimes, it can seem downright impossible to get on track.

Actually losing weight doesnt just significantly improve your chances of living to a ripe old age itll also make you feel good now. Youll look good, youll be able to wear the clothes you like and youll have more energy to live your life the way you want to. People will look at you in a different way and youll feel more confident. But, getting to this stage isnt always easy.

You may start off with the best intentions and you may even lose some weight along the way. But, for many of us, this initial good start doesnt go any further. The fact is that youll hit a plateau at some point here and then its hard to keep going. You may be exercising and you may be eating right but the weight just wont go at the rate you want it to. So, the easiest thing to do is to simply reach for the chips and just resign yourself to NOT losing weight because you start to believe that you cant do it.

Alternatively, you may try new diets all the time and actually lose weight. But, as soon as youve achieved your weight loss goal and start eating normally again the weight will creep back on. And the fact is that fad diets, pills and quick-fix solutions dont just work in the long term they could also harm your health.

The thing to realize here is that weight loss is not just about what you do with your body and what you put in it. Its also about whats going on in your head. This is why more and more of us are turning to hypnosis as a solution. So, why does hypnosis work when every diet youve ever tried doesnt?

The answer is simple. Hypnosis gets to the root of your issues with your weight and helps to cure you of bad habits. You may not even realize that you HAVE bad habits but if you are a yo-yo dieter that cant keep weight off then the chances are you do!

Hypnosis is such a popular solution to weight loss nowadays simply because it helps you to subconsciously accept the eating habits that will get you fit and healthy. A good hypnotherapist, for example, will help your brain reject unhealthy foods and actually crave healthy ones. They can also help you conquer eating issues such as stress and comfort eating and can give you the confidence to believe that you can lose weight.

So, all you need to do is to relax, let the hypnotherapy do its work and then immediately start a new life with the kind of attitude towards food and healthy eating that will ensure a healthy weight loss. And, most importantly, because your hypnotherapy will work on core issues, the weight will stay off once you start to lose it. You dont even need to leave your home to achieve your goals here as this kind of solution can be successfully delivered anywhere.

Ever get a snack attack between meals? Who hasn’t? But snack attacks can actually work as an advantage for your weight loss.

Snack attacks are actually a good thing because eating frequently instead of waiting until you’re extremely hungry is a good way to avoid overeating.

It helps keep blood sugar levels normal and brain chemistry in balance.
By pre-planning for snacks and eating the right food you can use snacks in your favor instead of feeling guilty afterwards.

Here is a healthy snack tip. A key to losing weight and keeping it off is eating more negative calorie or fat burning foods with lots of volume but few calories.

Eating fat burning compatible or negative calorie foods creates a calorie deficit that requires your body to use stored fat as energy. Here are a just few examples of healthy snack ideas that are negative calorie foods

Apples, cantaloupe, carrots, cod, corn, crab meat, grapes, lobster, low-fat yogurt, mangoes, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries and watermelon.

Avoid late night snacks because your body’s metabolism slows way down when you sleep. That means anything you eat just before you go to bed will turn to body fat.

If you eat vending machine snacks they contain high fat and you can forget about reducing body fat because these snacks can sabotage your weight loss quickly.

Also, beverages like smoothies, sweetened coffee drinks, soft drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks and flavored teas contain a lot of sugar that will end up as body fat.

Snacking on blackberries, peaches or red and green peppers can help you meet your daily recommendations of fruits and vegetables. You need two to four servings a day.

Snacks such as low-fat yogurt or low fat cheese can help you meet your daily calcium requirement. You need two to three servings per day.

Believe it or not, small changes like these can have a huge difference in your weight loss results. Remember, successful weight loss is just a combination of the right choices.

So the next time you have a snack attack at home or at work you’ll know how to use it to your advantage for weight loss success.

That’s the question many people ask when their weight loss plan isn’t working.

Asking yourself ‘Why can’t I lose weight?’ is actually one of the best things you can do for yourself. It says you know that what you’re currently doing isn’t working for you.

You’re at the place where you’re ready to look at alternatives – try something different to get a result you want.

So why can’t you lose weight? Here are 3 possible reasons you may not be losing weight – and some suggestions on what you can do about it.

1 Medical Reasons

Now this is not the same as saying you’re genetically programmed to be overweight. That is hogwash. In fact scientists estimate that even if you do have a genetic propensity to gain weight, your genes only account for 15 – 25 of your current weight. So forget the genetics excuse.

But there are medical reasons that some people can’t lose weight. Low thyroid, adrenal exhaustion, insulin resistance and other medical conditions can make losing weight near to impossible.

That’s why before starting any weight loss plan, you should talk to your doctor first. Have a full workup and make sure that you don’t have any health issues standing in the way of your weight loss.

There’s nothing more frustrating that trying to lose weight, doing all the right things and not losing an inch – all because of a medical condition. Get the medical condition cleared up first and then address the weight in fact, the weight may just go down on it’s own once you get the medical condition addressed.

2 Emotional Eating

I recently read an article where a nutritionist estimated that 75 of overeating was due to emotions. 75! Can you imagine what would happen if you learned to eliminate emotional eating and cut out all those calories? What a weight loss impact! The weight would be falling off.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, emotional eating is on the rise. Most people today are feeling the pressure of an increasingly hectic lifestyle. We hardly have time to tie our shoes, never mind deal with our emotions.

Because of this, our emotions get stuffed down and ignored until finally they explode and we’re face-down in a bowl of Rocky-Road ice cream with extra chocolate sauce.

Here’s the bottom line you are human and you have emotions. Your emotional needs are important and need to be addressed properly with love. You need emotional nurturing and proper emotional care.

If that means you take a 5 minute break every few hours at work to regain your emotional balance, do it. If that means you need to unwind by doing a mall walk and window shopping after work – don’t let anything stop you.

Learn to nurture your emotional health and you’ll nip emotional eating in the bud – and start losing weight FAST.

3 Mismatched Weight Loss Plan

There are many different ways to lose weight and dozens of weight loss programs to choose from. Some plans emphasize a change in diet, others emphasize a change in exercise, others focus on the inner reasons for overeating.

Every person is different and will lose weight in their own unique way. If what you’re doing now isn’t currently working, it may be a simple case of personality-plan mismatch.

Maybe instead of a diet-focused weight loss plan, you would feel better with a fitness-focused weight loss plan or a psychological weight loss plan. There are lots of plans to choose from and you deserve to take your time and find one that fits your personality and lifestyle best.

If you think this is the case, take some time to review different diet or weight loss plans. Find one that you can get excited about, one that makes sense to you and that fits your belief system and personality. That’s when you’ll make real weight loss progress!

So those are 3 possible reasons for your weight loss plateau. You don’t have to stay stuck in a weight loss rut. You don’t have to keep asking yourself the frustrating question Why Can’t I Lose Weight?’ Keep believing in yourself and in your dreams. Don’t give up and you will get there!

So you have tried dieting to reduce weight. You have also popped all kinds of weight reduction pills you can get your hands on. To your delight your effort seemed to work as you begin to lose body fat steadily. Then one day, before you reach your desired weight, you begin to notice that your weight seemed to stay the same even though you are still on the diet and popping those pills. To your horror, you discover that the weight you had lost is beginning to pile up once again. Instead of reducing weight, you are now gaining weight. Sounds familiar?

What happened? Simply put, slimming pills and fad diets are only short term strategy to reduce weight and keeping body fat at bay. To reduce weight and lose fat forever, your caloric expenditure must surpass your caloric consumption. Arent you doing that in your diet? Yes you are. But when you are on a diet, you go hungry and your body will signal to your brain to conserve fat for energy because your body is built with a mechanism to conserve fat during famine and it will not know whether it is famine season or that you are on a diet. In this instance, your body will consume your muscle for energy instead of your body fat and this spells trouble because your muscle is a great calorie gobbler. So with less muscle, your fat burning capability grinds to a screeching halt.

What about those weight reducing pills you are taking? If you are popping appetite control pills, your body will react like you are on a diet, so the same thing happened. What about pills that help to increase metabolism or reducing starch intake? Sure, they will help to burn a few calories or restrict some calories from turning into body fat, but are enough calories burnt or restricted to reduce weight permanently or are you going to take those unhealthy weight reduction pills forever? Obviously not, isnt it?

So to reduce weight and lose fat forever, we need to do 3 things.

Cardio exercises Do cardio exercises at 65-85 of your maximum heart rate to burn tons of calories

Lift weight Train with weights to grow muscle or at least prevent muscle loss. The more muscle you have, the higher will be your natural fat burning capability. You will burn fat even when sleeping. In other words, you lose fat permanently.

Eat small frequent meals This will signal to your brain that food is in abundance and that your body need not conserve fat in case of famine. So eat 5- 6 meals at 3 hourly intervals. However, do make sure that your meals are small and that your caloric intake do not surpass your caloric expenditure.

When you incorporate these 3 elements into your lifestyle, you will not only reduce weight and lose body fat, you will also keep the weight from creeping back. That means, you will reduce weight and able to maintain your ideal weight forever.

No one knows for sure, but it’s believed the San People of South Africa used Hoodia for most or all of the 27,000-plus years they lived in the Kalahari. It was not until 1937 when a Dutch anthropologist observed them munching on the cactus to stifle fierce hunger pangs during long hunting trips that Hoodia first came to the attention of the outside world. Then, for inexplicable reasons what was then and remains today the most powerful natural appetite-suppressant known to man sat on the back shelves for decades to follow.

The new diet pill that kills your appetite, ups your mood, and gives you waves upon waves of energy. When western drug companies learned the San people of South Africa have been using the Hoodia plant to successfully stave of the worst hunger pangs imaginable for days at a time without unwanted side effects, the push was on to bring this product to market.
Only the gordonii variation of hoodia has appetite suppressant abilities.
Hoodia tricks the brain into thinking you’ve eaten, and makes you feel full.
Hoodia may work right away, or may take several weeks.
Key results of hoodia reported include a reduced interest in food, delay in the time after eating before hunger sets in again, feeling full more quickly, and a general feeling of well-being.
Hoodia gordonii is not a stimulant, and has no known side effects.
Hoodia appears to be safe for most people.

Have a pity on your heart. It works endlessly day and night without saying anything. You might not be able to put a stop to what you eat or drink on your own but if someone advices you to take a pill to control whatever you eat or drink wont it be nice?

But what is that drug? Acomplia the wonder drug, it can get your appetite decreased and can make you rid of smoking habit. It is like killing two birds with one stone, get rid of obesity and related diseases plus getting rid of the habit of smoking by taking the pills.

Thus Acomplia can help one to quit smoking, losing weight, increasing good cholesterol. As per clinical test one can reduce his waist-line up to 9.1 cm with 20 mg of Acomplia. Yes the results may vary from individual to individual.

Though there are lots of benefits associated with this drug like every other allopathic drug it also has its share of side effects. The side effects are depression, anxiety, nausea, irritability, sleeping disorder. But the intensity of these side effects is mild and is short-term so it is not worth mentioning.

In the recent clinical trial of Acomplia, they say that it does not only help obese people to lose weight and reduce waist line but it also helps them control their blood fats and blood sugar level. The trial results also showed that the effects of Acomplia on blood sugars and fat level for persons with diabetes improved by 57 percent what could be explained by weight loss alone.

So, this is a multipurpose drug whose side effects are mild and are short-term so the advantages of the drug far exceeds it disadvantages. Thus having it for getting over obesity would be a great option to look after your heart.

But from where does one get it? As the manufacturer of Acomplia, Sanofi-Aventis hopes that the drug would get approved for sale in EU countries in next few months. It might be available in the market before the end of this summer. So, till the time the drug gets approval in EU one has to wait to get its benefits. But to gather more information on Acomplia you can go for online pharmaceutical websites.

Have you heard about the South Beach Diet delivery? Or, are you familiar with the South Beach Diet delivery? If so, then great for you!

The South Beach Diet is one of the popular diet sin the world today. Having received great compliments from the people and having reached a good reputation, the South Beach Diet continues to prosper through its new developments in the diet field. However, when dealing about the South Beach Diet delivery service, as what most of the other diets like the zone diet catered to, the South Beach Diet delivery service is not well-known to everyone.

So does a South Beach Diet delivery service exist?

With the information given by most of the notable resources on the web, there is no such thing as South Beach Diet delivery service. In fact, several resources have noted that the South Beach Diet as a leader in the packaged diet food sector does not offer fresh food South Beach Diet delivery services. But is this explanation an exact basis to conclude that there is no such thing as South Beach Diet delivery services? Well, I dont think so. Perhaps, wholly yes, but partly no.

For much information, many resources have considered that unlike the Zone diet which made an availability for a Zone diet delivery services fro areas in the United States and Canada, the South Beach Diet does not open up to a South Beach Diet delivery services. Along with that, the prices noted for delivery meals range from about 35 to 45 a day. It may be a little pricey, but some people still feel that it is an investment for their health and lifestyle.

So just recently, to attack those claims that there is no South Beach Diet delivery services, here is the noted company, the NutriFit, which is considered to have open up for a South Beach Diet delivery service in Los Angeles. Fortunately, with their South Beach Diet delivery service, the South Beach Diet can then be delivered to you door in Los Angeles.

It is noted that their South Beach Diet delivery service is actually a South Beach Diet personal catering which is a comprehensive meal service that is designed to accommodate the dieters health and lifestyle needs. Due to the intense needs of the people to have received a South Beach Diet delivery service, the company has been opening their South Beach Diet delivery services which are basically maintained by their effort to deliver personalized meals since the year 1987. As such, they customized the dieters meal plan to level the preferred taste, nutrition and fitness objectives, and including particular health concerns. So it is noted that whether the aim is weight loss or gain, disease management or health enhancement, the company can help. So for you to receive a South Beach Diet delivery service from them, they match the number of meals you need to your schedule and by telling them what fits into your lifestyle, they can definitely give you a South Beach Diet delivery service.

Severe obesity is a serious medical condition experienced by people with a body mass index of 40 or above. Previously called morbid obesity, it affects an estimated six million American adults, or about 1 in 33 of the adult population. Associated with a range of complex metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance syndrome and raised blood-fats, plus other weight-related health problems, this condition should not be confused with overweight BMI 25 or regular obesity BMI 30. It is a serious disease requiring professional help.

Since I started my weight loss consultancy over 24 years ago, I have met and spoken at length with hundreds of severely obese individuals weighing 300 pounds or more. For most of them, their weight was a major source of discomfort – both physical and emotional – yet over the years most had “adapted” to their growing waistline and were resigned to remaining seriously overweight for the rest of their life.

For doctors and other health care specialists who work with obese patients, this type of patient-resignation to lifelong obesity is no surprise. But in fact it is only one of many obstacles to long-term weight loss. Many clinically obese individuals struggle with a variety of psychological issues to which they have trained themselves to respond by overeating. Some of these issues – for example, the early loss of a parent – require sophisticated counseling and even then may remain unresolved. In addition, many obese people struggle with family, educational or financial difficulties which further reduce their treatment and recovery options. Given the complex causes, responses and conditions surrounding obesity, it comes as no surprise that many conventional treatments remain largely ineffective. Sadly, many people of normal weight – including members of the medical profession – still find it difficult to accept the intractable nature of the condition, which only adds to the sense of alienation and guilt experienced by the very obese.

Obesity Treatment Options

How effective a treatment is in helping severely obese patients to reduce weight, largely depends upon its ability to tackle the root causes of the condition. Most treatments deal with symptoms excessive calorie intake rather than causes why obese individuals overeat.

Conventional Weight Loss Diets

Now that the low carb approach championed by Atkins Diet seems to have run its course, leaving many obese dieters close to if not heavier than their initial starting weight, the efficacy of conventional weight loss diets is more questionable than ever as a means of reducing obesity. Whatever their dietary composition, most reduced-calorie diets offer insufficient support to help obese patients make the necessary changes to their eating and exercise habits.

Bariatric Surgery

Gastric reduction surgery is a vital “last resort” treatment option for patients with severe weight-related health problems. It typically leads to very significant weight loss and health benefits, but it deals with symptoms not causes. So although it compels patients to eat less, thus forcing them to lose significant amounts of weight in the 2 year period following their gastric bypass or banding operation, it tends to have less success in dealing with the root causes of disordered eating which have built up in the patient’s mind over the years. As a result, about 2-3 years after their operation, a large percentage of bariatric patients find it too difficult to follow the recommended dietary guidelines and end up regaining most if not all their starting weight.

Obesity Drug Treatment

The increasing number of obesity drug prescriptions issued to patients shows that doctors continue to lean heavily on pharmaceutical intervention for weight reduction. Furthermore, with obesity now labelled as the “trillion dollar disease”, drug companies continue to invest heavily in their search for a scientific breakthrough. Yet clinical trials of FDA-approved obesity pills continue to show minimal long-term weight loss benefits for severely obese patients, almost certainly because drugs are not yet capable of dealing with the fundamental causes of disordered eating.

Does This Mean Obesity Is Untreatable?

In view of the limited success of conventional diets, surgery and drugs, does this mean that obesity is untreatable? No. It simply means that more specialised or support-based options are necessary. The first step in finding the best treatment option for any obesity condition is to talk to a doctor, who should be able to outline what specialised treatments are available. For example, there are a number of excellent medically-supervised weight loss programs run by hospitals and clinics in the US and Canada, that offer real support and counseling. Self-help support groups like Overeaters Anonymous 505-891-2664 or TOPS 800-932-8677 can also be extremely helpful. Alternatively, contact the American Dietetic Association 800-366-1655, or the American Obesity Association 202-776-7711 for further information.

Some Practical Tips If You Are Obese

For anyone who is 300 pounds or more, seeking medical advice and getting proper support is essential. Relying upon pills, diets or willpower alone is not enough. However, you can do a number of things to help yourself and improve your chances of losing weight. Here are a few suggestions.

Stop Telling Yourself That You Can’t Lose Weight

Whatever your size or shape, and whatever your history of weight gain, the truth is you can lose weight and you can keep it off. In 24 years I have yet to meet anyone who was unable to lose weight, although I have met lots of people who lacked the motivation to stick to their diet! The point is, not being able to do something is quite different from not really wanting to do it. Yet most dieters confuse these two things. They think they can’t lose weight, whereas in fact what they are really describing is an unwillingness to make the necessary changes to their eating habits. So stop telling yourself that you can’t lose weight – because it’s not true. The real question is do you want to reduce weight, and if so, why?

Start Telling Yourself Why You Want To Lose Weight

The messages we transmit to ourselves in the form of thoughts have the same effect as radio commercials. The more often we hear a particular message, the more we believe it. Tell yourself every day that you want to lose weight and gradually it will become a bigger and bigger priority. But don’t stop there. In addition, tell yourself how losing weight will improve your life. Maybe your goal is to receive more male attention; or maybe your aim is to fit into a pair of regular jeans; or perhaps you think a leaner body will boost your confidence. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what benefit you think weight loss will give you, the important thing is to advertise this benefit to yourself at every possible opportunity. Start today and try it for three months, and I guarantee it will help you to lose weight.

Start Understanding Your Body Chemistry

There are three things you need to know about body chemistry and obesity control. First, the longer you go without food, the more likely you are to overeat later. So eat something small at least once every three hours. This reduces the risk of bingeing and helps you burn calories at the fastest possible rate. Second, the less chewy and more easily digestible a food is, the easier it is to overeat. By comparison, chewy foods tend to contain more fiber and therefore keep us fuller for longer. A good example of an easily digestible food is a creamy dessert. Even after a huge meal, most of us can demolish a serving of cheesecake or a bowl of rich ice cream, without much difficulty. In comparison, eating 5 oranges or 6 apples after a large main course would be almost impossible. So include plenty of high fiber foods in your daily diet. They contain fewer calories, they fill up your stomach, and they keep hunger at bay for longer. Thirdly, most women experience food cravings in the week before TOM. This is perfectly natural as well as forseeable. So make sure you have an extra supply of healthy snacks to keep yourself satisfied. Above all, don’t try to deny yourself the extra food your body craves – you won’t succeed – just make sure you have healthy options available.

Don’t Try To Be Perfect

God doesn’t create perfect people, he creates humans. And humans enjoy tobacco, alcohol, double chocolate chip muffins and truck-sized boxes of movie popcorn. So unless you come from Mars, don’t try to be a perfect dieter because it ain’t gonna happen! Every dieter has bad days, bad weeks, sometimes even bad months. But so what? Losing weight isn’t a race – it’s a journey. How long it takes to arrive at your destination is not important. The only thing that matters is that you do eventually get there. Besides, once you accept that your diet-wagon is going to lose a wheel from time to time, you can plan how to react when it happens. Whereas if you assume your diet is going to be trouble-free, you are less likely to be prepared when disaster strikes.

Stay Guilt-Free Under All Circumstances

Suppose you are 300 pounds. You start a diet, you start exercising with a neighbor, things go well and you lose 30 pounds, you feel on top of the world, then you have a huge bust-up with someone. Result? Your diet falls apart, you stop exercising and start comfort-eating. How can you prevent this from happening? Answer you can’t. This is Life. This is what happens. All you can do is go with the flow. If this means bingeing for a week until you feel better, so be it. But whatever you do, DON’T FEEL GUILTY. Because guilt will eat you up and will keep you obese for ever. In my experience, a dieter’s initial bout of overeating is rarely the problem – it’s the guilt which it inspires that does the damage and causes them to quit. Losing weight should be a guilt-free zone, and don’t believe anyone who tells you different. On my weight loss program and forum there is no guilt, no matter what happens.

Join A Weight Loss Community

If you are connected to the Internet, try to find an active forum where you can post your weekly weight, keep a food or weight loss journal, swap ideas with other dieters and generally have fun. Many people regard weight reduction as a totally serious matter. But it’s not. It’s a journey from A to B. And just like any journey, it passes more easily when we have fun and learn interesting things along the way. My weight loss forum is a very supportive place, but there are dozens of other forums to choose from. One of the biggest benefits of an active dieting forum is the opportunity it gives you to express your feelings. You can vent about your personal success or failure and also show your support for other people, which is equally therapeutic. So look out for a suitable online weight loss community and watch your obesity gradually disappear into thin air!