Once you have discovered what factors tend to sabotage. Your weight-loss efforts, you will be well on your way to Successful weight control. To be successful, however, you must plan for success. By setting goals that are too far in the future or unrealistic for your current lifestyle, you will doom yourself to failure. Do not try to lose 40 pounds in four month. Try, instead, to lose a healthy 1 to 2 pounds during the firs week, and stay with this slow and easy regimen. Reward yourself when you lose pounds, and if you binge and go off your nutrition plan, get right back on it the next day. Remember that you did not gain 40 pounds in eight weeks, so it is unrealistic to punish your body by trying to lose that amount of weight in such a short time.

Seek assistance from reputable sources in selecting a dietary plan that is easy to follow and includes adequate amounts of the basic nutrients. Registered dieticians, some physicians (not all physicians have strong backgrounds in nutrition), health educators and exercise physiologists with nutritional backgrounds, and other health professionals can provide reliable information. Look out for people who call themselves “nutritionists.” There is no such official designation, leaving the door open for just about anyone to call himself or herself a nutritional expert. Avoid quick weight-loss programs that promise miracle results. The majority are expensive, and most people regain the weight soon after completing the program. Ask questions about the credentials of the adviser in any weight-loss program, assess the nutrient value of the prescribed diet, verify that dietary guidelines are consistent with information from reliable dietary research, and analyze the suitability of the diet to your tastes, budget, and lifestyle to avoid putting yourself in a risky, expensive, or unhealthy dietary situation. Any diet that requires radical behavior changes is doomed to failure. Nutritional plans that do not ask you to sacrifice everything you enjoy and that allow you to make choices are generally the most successful. See Table 15.3 on page 378 for a comparison of some of the most popular diet and weight-loss programs. Many of these programs have been shown to be harmful.

"Miracle" Diets

Fasting, starvation diets, and other forms of very low calorie diets (VLCDs) have been shown to cause significant health risks. Typically, when you deprive your body of food for prolonged periods, your body makes adjustments to save you from inevitable organ shutdown. It begins to deplete its energy reserves to obtain necessary fuels. One of the first reserves the body turns to maintain its supply of glucose is lean, protein tissue. As this occurs, you lose weight rapidly, because protein contains only half as many calories per pound as fat. At the same time, significant water stores are lost. Over time, the body begins to run out of liver tissue, heart muscle, blood, and so on, as these readily available substances are burned to supply energy: Only after the readily available proteins from these sources are depleted will your body begin to burn fat reserves. In this process, known as ketosis, the body adapts to prolonged fasting or carbohydrate deprivation by converting body fat to ketones, which can be used as fuel for some brain cells. Within about 10 days after the typical adult begins a complete fast, the body has used many of its energy stores and death may occur.

In very low calorie diets, powdered formulas are usually given to patients under medical supervision. These formulas have daily values of from 400 to 700 calories plus vitamin and mineral supplements. Although these diets may be beneficial for people who have failed at all conventional weight loss methods and who face severe threats to their health that are complicated by their obesity, they should never be undertaken without strict medical supervision. Problems associated with fasting, VLCDs, and other forms of severe calorie deprivation include blood sugar imbalances, cold intolerance, constipation, decreased BMR, dehydration, diarrhea, emotional problems, fatigue, headaches, heart irregularity, ketosis, kidney infections and failure, loss of lean body tissue, weakness, and weight gain due to the yo-yo effect and other variables.

Read nutrition information with weight loss diet plans and fat burning diets.

There really is a lot of confusion out there when it comes to eggs. Mainly the difference between egg whites and the yolk. Most people believe, and have been told time and time again that egg yolks are bad for you. They’re loaded with cholesterol, and increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other bad things.

Well, I’m here to tell you differently. Eggs are one of my favorite foods. They are probably the world’s most perfect food. As a natural food item they pack the best protein source in the world. And without a shadow of a doubt are extremely healthy for you. And the yolk is actually the healthiest part of the egg.

If you throw out the yolk, you’re pretty much throwing out the nutrition. The egg white is almost completely devoid of any vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. You get calcium, iron, riboflavin, B12, selenium (huge cancer fighter), phosphorous, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, all the fat soluble vitamins, and a whole lot more super powerful nutrients.

But what about the cholesterol? Before I get into that, let’s talk about an essential nutrient that eggs are a superstar provider of—Choline. It’s an essential nutrient because you must obtain it from the diet, much like essential fatty acids. It is essential for brain, cell membranes, and cardiovascular function. It’s part of a phospholipid that I can’t pronounce and you need not worry about knowing the name of. But without adequate amounts of it, both cholesterol and fat will accumulate in the liver. So the choline in eggs actually stops the accumulation of fat and cholesterol in the liver!

Many studies have come out saying that dietary cholesterol doesn’t raise cholesterol levels significantly. It is much more affected by saturated and trans fats. You should be getting less than 10% of your total calories from saturated fats, and 0% from trans fats—Yes, they are that evil!

Many people don’t know this but the body actually makes cholesterol in the body. If you don’t eat enough cholesterol in your diet, the body produces more. If you do eat foods high in cholesterol, like whole eggs, then the body lessens the amount it will produce. Cholesterol plays a hand in many important functions in the body. You actually can’t live without it.

So don’t be afraid of the yolk. It’s good for you. Each large egg contains 70 calories and 6.3 grams of protein. So add some vegetables, or fruit, and it makes a great snack. You should be getting protein with each of your meals throughout the day anyway, and there is no natural food item protein better than whole eggs.

Another great thing about eggs is the variety you can use them with. There are so many different ways to prepare eggs. I must confess I do eat my eggs raw some time. Rocky! Rocky! The question of salmonella comes up then. Actually a study done by the USDA found that of 69 billion eggs produced annually only .3 percent are contaminated at all. Salmonella appears only when the eggs come from sick birds. If you’re buying your eggs from a reputable company the chances are super slim of getting bad eggs.

Back to egg whites. These are fine if you are trying to watch your fat intake or calorie intake. But unless you’re a professional body builder preparing for a show, you don’t need 100% egg whites. You’re missing out on super important brain, eye, and overall health food nutrition. Plus it tastes a whole lot better.

Jason Yun, a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Sports Nutritionist, is a Columbus fitness bootcamp and weight management teacher. To book him to speak at your local Columbus organization please contact him by email at jyun@yunbootcamps.com or by phone at 614-432-9703. For a free 2-week trial to his Bootcamps go to: http://www.yunbootcamps.com/specialoffer.html or http://www.yunnutrition.com

Many people forget about the nutritional values of foods when planning their meals. After all, it’s so much easier to just stop at their favorite fast food restaurant on their way home from work.

Everyone knows they should be eating more healthy foods, but some people aren’t quite sure where to start. Here are some things to look for when trying to plan healthier meals.

Are you eating lots of fruits and vegetables? The majority of us do not eat adequate amounts to keep us healthy. Experts recommend that we eat between 5 to 9 servings every day. That adds up to about 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables. Choose a variety of vegetables and fruits in different colors. Dark green vegetables like spinach, for instance, contain more nutritients than lighter colored vegetables.

Are you eating grains and cereals? Besides the well-known benefits of dietary fiber, grains and cereals provide many important nutrients for your health. Whole grain breads and cereals are much preferred over refined white breads or rice.

Are you eating a wide variety of foods? They say that variety is the spice of life. In reality, it’s the basis of a healthy diet. Our bodies need food from all of the food groups to function at peak performance. These food groups consist of grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats, beans and nuts. Sorry… candy is not a food group.

Do you eat breakfast every day? Yes, it’s true: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating a good breakfast will give you the energy you need to make it through the morning and help eliminate those high-fat splurges.

Do you drink plenty of water? Soda and coffee may be liquid but they do not replace the water that your body needs. We need at least 16 ounces of water each day to keep ourselves hydrated and flush out the impurities that we may have accumulated in our digestive systems.

How much fat do you eat? Dietary fat is our enemy. Even though our bodies need a certain amount of fat, most of us consume 200 to 300 percent more than we need. That’s a scary thought! So, when you are making your food choices, look at the labels to see how much fat is contained in the food item. Vegetables and fruits are naturally lower in fat than meats.

How much salt, sugar and alcohol are you eating? Here again, moderation is the key. Serious problems can occur when you overdo. Salt can lead to water retention, weight gain and heart problems. Sugar, when eaten in large quantities over a long period of time can contribute to diabetes. And, excessive alcohol consumption is bad for the kidneys.

Your body will tell you when you are not getting (or when you are getting too much) of a certain kind of food. If you are gaining weight, you know you are either eating portions that are too large or you are eating foods that are high in fat. Feeling tired can mean that you’re not getting the nutrients from the foods required by your body to function.

Eating healthy foods is not as difficult as it sounds. In a nutshell: drink more water, eat less fats and sugars, and eat more fruits, vegetables and grains.

Jude Wright is an author and webmaster whose main interests are in cooking and gardening. Learn more about eating healthy foods at her website at http://nutritious-cooking.com.