Vegans are very particular about the meals they eat. A vegan does not consume anything that has been made out of animal products. Most often they will also not use items which are made with animal products; this can consist of soaps, lotions, items made from wool or honey and more. What is essential is for vegans are to obtain a wide selection of meals in their diet. Although being on a vegan diet plan will help you to lose a dramatic amount of weight, vegans have to really pay attention to getting a balanced diet plan. With no meat or other animal products it is even more important to get sufficient nutritional vitamins and minerals from other foods.

Protein is the biggest concern for somebody who eats a vegan diet plan. Most individuals get their protein from animal sources; obviously this is not possible for a vegan. Getting sufficient protein is vital to keeping your physique functioning at a healthy rate. The good news is that you will find a lot of meals which are allowed in a vegan diet that have sufficient protein and are less fatty for you. For instance; chickpeas or garbanzo beans, tofu, lentils, peanut butter, and kale all have large amounts of protein.

Vitamin D and calcium are also locations where vegans need to be careful. Most people get their calcium and vitamin D from milk or other dairy primarily based meals. Once more this isn’t the case for vegans. To obtain vitamin D the answer is as simple as spending 15 to 30 minutes outside every day. The very best place to get vitamins D is from the sunshine. If you combine this time outdoors with a brisk walk around the block you are going to improve your weight loss. There are also many juice drinks that now come fortified with vitamin D, so if this is an area of concern for you personally attempt adding in some of these juices.

Vitamin D and calcium have to work together. They both absorb much better into your physique whenever you have great ranges of each of them. Vegans need to work on getting calcium from other places than dairy. Once more there are many juice drinks that now come fortified with calcium and this might be a great way to supplement much more calcium into your diet. Most dark or leafy vegetables are also higher in calcium. Making certain that you simply get plenty of these vegetables will make it simpler to maintain your calcium levels at a healthy rate.

If you are concerned that you simply aren’t getting enough calcium or vitamin D in your diet this is some thing to discuss having a medical professional. They can do some testing to see if you’re deficient in these areas. If that’s the case there are many over the counter vitamins that may be taken to boost your levels.

Iron is another region where vegans have to be diligent about getting sufficient in their foods. Again most people get iron from meat products, but there are lots of non animal primarily based foods that are high in iron. That is particularly essential for women, who require to keep iron in their system because of their menstrual cycle. Iron is not easily absorbed by the body and needs vitamin C to get the most benefit out of the iron. If you’re adding iron into your diet make certain that you simply are also obtaining plenty of vitamin C to permit for maximum absorption.

Just starting out on a vegan diet plan could be a challenge, especially when going out to restaurants. It might seem like you will find so many things that you can’t eat, but remember the health benefits are totally worth it. It just takes time to adjust to a new food lifestyle. Often it is better to slowly transition off of animal products than to attempt and stop eating them ‘cold turkey’. You might also be worried about animal primarily based meals that you enjoy, like ice cream. Luckily there are many low fat soy primarily based products that are just as delicious, isn’t much more so, than their animal product primarily based counterparts and much better for you personally.

We all hate the arm flab wobble. It’s annoying and embarrassing. Many people try to cover up this flab problem by wearing long sleeves all the time, which eliminates a lot of clothing choices. It makes it hard to find something to wear, especially if it’s for a special event, and it’s particularly uncomfortable in summer. When you finally get tired of being embarrassed about your arms, hiding them, passing up pretty tops and summer dresses because they are too arm-revealing and make excuses for why you can’t go to the beach with friends is the day you decide you simply have to do something about that awful arm flab. But how?

Arm Flab Annoyance

Arm fat may come with carrying extra weight as well as with aging (after age 40), but not necessarily. Even when you are younger, and a healthy weight, you may have to deal with arm flab. It’s an area that just naturally seems to attract fat deposits in some women, especially if you have a mostly-sedentary lifestyle and a desk job. If you tend to avoid physical activity, you may need to build arm strength as well as get rid of the arm fat. The good news is that muscle burns fat. Build muscle and you will burn fat – the two goals go together.Even when you are reasonably active – but you prefer cardio to weight or resistance training, you may have an arm problem.

What works to burn arm fat?

You have a lot of options. If you already do cardio, you could add in some weight – for example, when you jog or power walk, do it holding weights and swing your arms. You may think it looks odd to do this, but does that really matter when you’re ramping up your routine to target those flabby arms? Or you could switch to sometimes doing a form of cardio that is great for an arm/shoulder upper body workout, such as rowing, swimming or cross-country skiing.

Of course, those options aren’t always accessible or convenient. One that is fast and easy to do at home, or almost anywhere, is a new piece of exercise gear that uniquely combines cardio and weight, called Shake Weight. It comes in two versions – one marketed to men, and one to women.

Benefits of Using the Shake Weight Dumbbell For Your Arms and Upper Body

One way to burn arm fat is by using the Shake Weight dumbbell. This is perfect for the person who doesn’t have a lot of time or wants to include a new fitness tool in their workout regimen and is a great ‘entry-level’ piece of gear if it’s been some time since you worked out, allowing you to strengthen your arms and upper body and (if you choose) eventually ‘graduate’ to more challenging workouts, either at home or at the gym. Shake Weight is small and light, so unlike most fitness equipment, it can: using this dumbbell is that it can be used anywhere, especially:

– travel with you on vacation

– be used outside

– be used in front of the television

– can be taken to work for use on breaks or lunch hour

Here’s what one user has to say about Shake Weight:

“Not a full workout on its own, but this is a fun, quick addition to an existing routine….the intensity of the exercise is affected by the rate at which you shake it. A gentle shake provides a gentle workout, and more vigorous shake gives a little tougher workout.”

– WS, amazon.com

How Does Shake Weight Work?

The whole idea behind this special dumbbell is that it uses a technology the company that makes it calls “dynamic inertia” to tone arms and upper body muscles. This technology refers to the Shake Weight’s oscillating movement, which creates a higher force output when it’s in use. The manufacturer says muscle activity is increased by 300 percent, at least compared to traditional weights. This helps you burn arm fat and strengthen the arms, chest, and shoulders.

“My arms are toning and the fat is disappearing. I have lost one inch on each arm because I measured it before I started using it. Once this becomes too easy, I plan on buying the Men’s Shake Weight.”

– Joan L. Cortez, amazon.com

One thing to be aware of with Shake Weight is that you need your feet planted firmly on the floor to get the correct stance. Stand up with shoulders back and your neck straight from the spine. Fingers and wrists should be strong and loose. Or you may choose to use Shake Weight while lying on your back on the floor.

Combine Your Fitness Routine with a Healthy Lifestyle

No smoking, cut down on drinking and caffeine, get enough sleep, de-stress. This also means eating a balanced diet filled with fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and plenty of water.

Typically, users said they felt the muscles getting a real workout from their very first Shake Weight session – and could see the difference in the mirror in just two to three weeks. Shake Weight isn’t a magic cure for flabby arms – but it produced faster results that traditional arm exercises with traditional dumbbells.

The MI40 workout by Ben Pakulski is a cutting edge bodybuilding system designed to help you shed body fat and pack on muscle mass. When followed properly MI40 will give impressive gains, lets take a look at this system a bit more in detail below!

The MI40 package includes not only a detailed workout program but also tons of valuable information on proper diet and nutrition as well as proper supplementation to achieve maximum muscle growth. The system is composed of PDF Ebooks and mp4 instructional exercise videos.

What Are The Principles Of MI40

The theory behind Ben pakulskis MI40 program is very simple. You are taught to do the exercises in the proper way so that you can engage and keep tension on the target muscles as opposed to the supporting muscles. This is something most people get wrong and it is costing them huge gains in muscle mass.

What I mean by targeted tension is that Ben will teach you how to make your chest do the work in bench press as opposed to your triceps and front delts. Or when you squat how to isolate your quadriceps instead of letting your glutes and hamstrings do the majority of the work.

Why Is Targeted Tension Important?

Keeping adequate targeted tension on the desired muscle is critical for two reasons. The first reason is that by activating the intended muscle you will stimulate more growth in that muscle group giving you faster more impressive gains.

Secondly by letting the target muscle do the majority of the work the supporting muscles wont be over trained and will be ready for targeted training themselves.

You Need To Fuel To Recover Properly From The Training

Ben not only goes over proper training methods but he also covers in detail the proper diet and nutrition methods needed to maximize growth. The nutrition manual is a very detailed part of the MI40 program and when you are done reading the nutrition manual you will have all you need to eat the proper things at the right times to put your body into a growing anabolic state.

Proper Supplementation Is Critical To Success

Once you are educated on eating the right way to ensure growth Ben will go over supplementation in order to sky rocket your recovery. Ben does recommend a few supplements but nothing out of the ordinary.

Ben also goes into timing supplementation to ensure maximum results form your workouts and supplements.To be successful with MI40 you will not have to spend a fortune on supplements. When i bought my supplement stack for MI40 i spent about $125.

Another nice thing is that Ben breaks down different scenarios for supplementation such as well being, general health, muscle gains and insulin sensitivity. All good information that you can put in place with any program you are on. This will also help you get the most out of your supplementation.

If you are about to undergo in-vitro fertilization, then you may be wondering whether there is a special pre IVF diet plan to follow to increase you chances of success. There are many factors which influence the outcome and the speed of success and eating the right kinds of foods is one of them. To maximize the benefit, you should try to start modifying what you eat at least 2 months before your cycle, but of course, it’s always beneficial to improve your diet even if your IVF cycle has begun.

First off, lets look at what you shouldn’t be eating and ingesting. You should avoid foods which are produced with the addition of pesticides or growth hormones as these can negatively impact on the body. Also, foods with artificial additives should not be eaten-so choose butter over margarine, sugar (if necessary) over artificial sweeteners. Alcohol is best avoided and of course you should not smoke. Even be careful eating fruits and vegetables with traces of mold, as even if the affected part is cut off, the spores could have migrated to the rest. Minimize the amount of seafood you consume unless you are sure it does not contain mercury, which has been shown to cause birth defects.

Include seasonal fruits and vegetables which have been organically produced where possible. If not, ensure they are well-washed and you might want to consider peeling them where appropriate. Try to eat wholegrain foods and brown bread rather than white. Seeds, nuts and beans are good to include in a pre IVF diet plan, as are “healthy” oils, such as olive oil or sunflower oil. Low fat dairy foods are should also form part of a healthy diet, so include natural yogurt, skimmed milk and a little cheese. Any meat you eat should be lean and organic. Foods which are rich in Vitamin B6 and Folic Acid are very good for those trying to conceive, so you should ensure that you are eating plenty of leafy green vegetables, nuts and wholegrains for this reason alone.

What you drink is also important. A pre IVF diet plan should incorporate drinking at least 2 liters of filtered water, as internal organs can become unhealthy if dehydrated. It is believed that green tea can also be beneficial, due to high levels of antioxidants.

With regard to supplementation, there is a big difference between trying to compensate for a poor diet and enhancing an already-healthy one! There is nothing wrong with taking one of the reputable pre-pregnancy supplements, but this should not be as a substitute for eating the right kinds of foods.

Of course, conception is a “whole body” event and to look at a pre IVF diet plan in isolation without taking into account other aspects of your lifestyle would be wrong.

In this article I’m going to review some weight loss tips that might be unheard of and others you might have heard before but nonetheless they all work very well when combined together in a good weight loss program.

Tip 1:

Let’s start by taking a picture of every piece of food that you eat and every beverage that you drink. You can easily do this by using your cellular phone. This is the 2014 version of a food journal. In all my years of consulting with clients I have found that the people who keep a food diary get the best results. So in order to bring this to present time current technology just to get your cellular phone and take a picture of your food. You can even go a step further and post the picture on your FB page or your G+. This will hold you accountable. You may even get a bunch of your friends and coworkers to do the same thing and you could have a contest as to who can eat the healthiest or who can lose the most weight.

Tip 2:

Make sure that you drink at least 64 ounces of water each and every day. Most people think that they are hungry when in fact they are actually thirsty. In my experience with my clients I have found that if they keep their body properly hydrated they eat less food. Plus your body needs an adequate amount of water each and every day in order to keep the systems of your body working properly.

Tip 3:

Eat lots of vegetables. It doesn’t matter if the vegetables are raw or cooked. Just eat them. You can even juice your vegetables. Make sure that you are putting kale and parsley in your veggie shakes as they are two of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet.

Tip 4:

Limit your starchy carbohydrates. In order to lose weight and maintain your weight loss you should really consume starchy carbohydrates in moderation. This includes bread, pasta, rice and all the other delicious foods that are made from some type of wheat flower or rice. I know we all like these foods but the problem is that they like us as well and they like to hang around with us on our bellies, buttocks and thighs. So do yourself a favor and limit your starchy carbohydrate intake. Now I am not saying to eliminate them totally by just make sure that you are consuming them in moderation during the day.

Tip 5:

Tip number five is the icing on top of your weight loss cake! And Tip number five is exercise. But we are talking about sensible exercise. And the meaning of sensible exercise is doing a type of exercise program that is not going to cause us to experience any type of injury. Sensible exercise is different for everyone. If you are over 40 years old and have not exercised since your high school years you may be best served by beginning a sensible walking program. If you can walk for 60 consecutive minutes 5 to 7 days a week this is an excellent beginner program. Now if you can’t walk for 60 consecutive minutes just do what you can.

If you could only walk 20 minutes, then that’s great just walk for 20 minutes every day. And gradually work your way up to 60 straight minutes of walking. We are looking to make positive lifestyle changes. Changes that will make us healthy and also lose weight in the process. For others, a sensible exercise program might be doing a more intense exercise program like high intensity interval training, resistance training and other types of burst training like programs.

So there you have it 5 weight loss tips to losing weight and getting healthy.

Here is one final extra weight loss tip: if you are confused, if you have tried losing weight on your own and have failed, if you have absolutely no idea about what you’re doing and why you are not losing weight be smart and consult a health and wellness expert.

I cannot tell you how many people I see in my office each and every day that think they are eating right and exercising right and still cannot lose any weight at all. The problem is that there is so much information out there. And this totally confuses people.

So do yourself a favor consult a health and wellness consultant.

Just about every guy who goes to the gym to build muscle wants to get a huge chest. This is hardly surprising considering the effect that a ripped chest has on the opposite sex (not to mention on other men). There isn’t anything really terribly complicated about building a ripped, attention grabbing chest. The foundation for developing your chest muscles is consistency and progressive overloading. If you are willing to put in the effort you too can have a ripped, sexy chest in no time.

The chest muscles actually consist of two sub muscle groups: the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. These two sub groups of muscles contained within the chest are where the slang term “pecs” come from, in case you were curious. The secret to maximizing your chest muscle gains lies in the pressing movements used in lifting weights during exercise.

Chest flyes certainly have their occasional place in an overall chest workout program but they pale in comparison to the dramatic anabolic effect of pressing movements. Pressing movements include such exercises as incline chest press, decline chest press, flat bench press, dumbbell presses, and seated dips.

The big secret to getting a ripped chest is that there really are no big secrets or magic spells or mind blowing techniques to stimulate your chest muscles into extraordinary growth. So long as you focus on pressing movements and progressive overloading you will almost certainly see substantial muscular development in your chest area.

In my professional opinion, the following lifts are the most effective for muscle gains in the chest area:

1. Bench Press – This includes all three varieties of bench press including flat, decline, and incline bench press. This is essentially a basic compound movement that will allow you to handle the maximum amount of weight through a specified range of motion. The incline press targets the upper region of the chest while the decline press focuses stress on the lower portion of the chest. The flat bench press simultaneously targets both the upper and lower chest muscles.

2. Dumbbell Bench Press – Again, this includes all three varieties of bench press. The primary advantage of the dumbbell press over the standard bench press is that dumbbells allow for a much more natural range of motion and as such help to prevent shoulder injuries. Additionally, dumbbells also help to prevent strength imbalances since each muscle must work on their own rather than in conjunction with each other. Unfortunately, you will not be able to do as much weight with dumbbells as you would with normal bench press.

3. Seated Dips – If possible make sure to use a wider grip while leaning slightly forward so as to alleviate the stress on the triceps and better target the chest muscles. Seated dips are great because you can adjust the weight according to your specifications in contrast to standing dips where the weight is limited to your body weight.

No matter what the season, finding easy and healthy recipes to keep yourself and your family from succumbing to food boredom can sometimes feel like a challenge. We can hear you saying, “Chicken? We’ve had it three nights in a row! Fish? Well – that’s a thought but I don’t usually keep fish on hand. Beef? Isn’t that terribly unhealthy?” The best recipes are those which are healthy, fun, and easy to make. Here are some tips for helping you to choose the right ones.

Tip #1: Look For Ethnic Recipes

Unlike many American favorites, foods from various cultures that emphasize vegetables, whole grains, and healthy cuts of meat can be an interesting departure from the ordinary, and they also tend to be much healthier. Most favorite easy and healthy recipes from Indian and Asian cultures for example, do not give you a list of canned items to purchase for the recipes. Instead, they call for spices like ginger and turmeric. They usually call for very little fat, and many times, you can substitute broth for much of the fat used in sautéing.

Tip #2: Look For Foods Your Whole Family Will Enjoy

Making a lot of foods no one in your family will enjoy, much less try, is an exercise in futility. If your family is very picky, you can begin transitioning to easy and healthy recipes by adding some different touches to the recipes you already use. For instance, if you usually use the highest fat ground beef available to make your tacos, then use low fat ground beef instead. Increase the amount of vegetables you use, and next time, make it taco salad instead of tacos, eliminating the taco shells and using a sprinkling of organic corn chips to garnish the salad instead of as a base. Use more salsa and less sour cream, and enjoy a healthy scoop of guacamole. This type of transitioning lets your family enjoy the flavors they are accustomed to, while increasing the amount of healthy food they (and you!) are taking in.

Tip #3: Healthy and Easy Recipes Don’t Have to Be Expensive to Make

A tight budget is often a fact of life, and there is no reason to spend more than necessary on your meals. The good news is that many of the best easy and healthy recipes you can create are based around whole grains,lentils and fresh vegetables, using very little processed food if any. You can buy in bulk and save money, and you can double your recipes, portion out healthy foods you have made, and have them for lunch instead of buying expensive pre-made lunch items that could be contributing to an expanding waistline.

The bottom line? Look for healthy foods in season and stock up on fresh herbs and spices. Changing the way you eat doesn’t usually happen overnight, especially if you are cooking for a family. The good news is that every step you take toward healthy cooking and eating is a positive one. Soon, you’ll have new selection of easy and healthy favorite recipes to enjoy.

You can build a fairly strong neck with a great neck strengthening exercise or routine. If you are trying to build a great physique, you need to devote time to building a strong neck as well. There are many benefits to building a strong one.

Benefits of Having a Strapping Neck

You are into wrestling or mixed martial arts, you will benefit from having tough neck. It will help you resist being easily overwhelmed by your opponent. You will be able to control your opponent. It will protect you against injuries. You will be able to defend yourself against a choke. You will also be able to deal with punches more effectively if you have a well-built neck. A strong neck represents power and this will prove as a deterrent against attacks. Your opponent will think twice about attempting a choke against you.

Neck Strengthening Exercise Tips

You can actually get someone to help you with your neck exercises. In fact, having a partner and getting him to help you with your exercises can be fairly beneficial. This is also quite effective and it is a good option if you do not have the funds for good equipment or gym membership. You only need to get a few tools like a neck harness. Of course, you have to make sure that you get the best for durability, effectiveness and comfort. Here are some tips on how to strengthen your neck:

• A harness is really great for developing the muscles in front of the neck, but you do not need the same thing to strengthen the back of your neck. You just need to have your partner sit on the back of your head – yes, the back – and he will perform abdominal work while he seats on top of your head.
• To work the front of your neck, your partner should first stand up and straddle your body. He will have to put his hands on your forehead and then he has to pull your head back. You need to resist the pull and attempt to pull your forward while he continues to pull your head backwards. Try to do 3 sets of 10-20 repetitions.
• To work the sides of your neck, you can also work with a partner to strengthen the sides. Many wrestlers ignore the sides of their neck, choosing to focus on strengthening just the front and the back. They do not realize that they can be hit anywhere. Their opponents can hit from all angles especially during a grappling match. In order to work on the sides, you need assume an all-fours position. Then, you need to place your head against a fixed object or equipment that is bolted on the floor. Once you have assumed the position, you can then push the side of your neck against the immovable equipment as hard as you can and maintain this for 10 seconds. Continue to breathe as you push your neck against the object. Do 6 sets of 10 seconds.

This is a great neck strengthening exercise routine if you are on a tight budget. You can start this exercise by doing 3 days every week for 4 weeks. Gradually, you can do neck training for 5 days every week. If you are into wrestling or MMA, you should definitely do this 5 times a week.

Bodybuilding is not just about building your body it is also about gaining and losing weight. For skinny guys who want to build their bodies, they will be advised to first gain weight while guys who are fat will have to engage in certain exercises that will build their body as well as burn fats.

The beautiful thing about body building exercises is that they can be broken down to focus on some specific areas of the body, giving you the opportunity to build specific areas of the body or burn fats in problem areas (usually the guts, butts, thigh and arm). The following exercises were tested and proven by many athletes and spotters and will help you shed weight while toning your body.

Exercise one

Aerobics- Several bodybuilding exercises that help shed unwanted weight incorporates aerobics, exercises like this targets your bum, legs, and hips which are often the areas that people want to tone. You can do aerobics for one hour each day, just split the time into two different sessions, which will be thirty minutes each. Aerobics will help you burn 800 calories in one hour. It will be hard at first, but with time, you will find it easy. Make sure you are doing it right otherwise, you will not get a good result.

Exercise two

Cycling- This exercise is a real calorie burner particularly if you are a fast rider. You can either do this indoor or outside (usually more fun-filled). Bicycling is very easy to learn. It adds fun to bodybuilding exercises, which will increase your motivation especially if you are riding with other bodybuilders. If you are the type that is restricted by time or any other factor and can’t ride outside, then ride indoor while watching TV or listening to your favorite music. If you must ride outside or live in an environment that permits outdoor riding, make sure you learn the rules and regulation of the road to help prevent accidents. You will burn an amazing amount of 500-1000 calories in an hour with bicycling.

Exercise Four

Elliptical burner- this machine has low impact and very easy to use, it not only gets your abs in shape it builds your entire body. An elliptical burner will not have any impact on your back and knees as other machines do, it also helps to tone the stomach and build your muscles. Elliptical burner will help you burn up to 600 calories per hour.

Exercise five

Rowing -This is a brilliant and effective way to tone your arms, work on your legs and get your abs tightened, it is also an a fun-filled exercise that will help burn an amazing amount of 500-600 calories per hour. If you cannot get a boat of your own, join a local rowing club, you will be able to try this exercise for free, and the fact that you will be rowing with other people will increase the fun and make the experience worthwhile. There are also rowing machines in gyms that will give you amazing result, tell you how much you have rowed and even allow you row against other rowers.

I love to eat! I guess that’s why I hate dieting so much.

Most of those fad diets either totally restrict you from eating the foods you love (and crave), or they make you eat an overabundance of the foods that are well, not my favorite.

After all, how many eggs, peanuts or oranges can you really eat? I guess that’s why I was so hesitant to follow my friends on the South Beach Diet bandwagon.

They were all trying it, and yes, even losing weight. I watched enviously as their waistlines got smaller and smaller, but couldn’t get their groans and complaints out of my head during those first few days and weeks on the program.

Give up all sugar, carbs and fats for two whole weeks! Not me! No way! Not even for a smaller dress size.

Then I went to see my doctor for an unwell feeling I couldn’t shake. I wasn’t really sick, I just felt tired and icky all of the time. After some tests, he told me my glucose levels were rising, my cholesterol was hitting an all-time high, and even my blood pressure was boiling.

Me? Ms. Healthy? I knew it was time to get serious, so I asked around and did some research and actually found out that, in addition to being a “diet,” the South Beach plan was being used by people not only as a safe way to lose the weight that affects your health, but it also teaches you how to eat in a more nutritious and satisfying way.

Okay, time to give it a try. And the very first thing I ran up against – you’re probably heard about it — was the dreaded “Phase I” of the South beach Diet Plan: the “hell of restriction,” as my friends like to cal it.

Luckily, I knew so many people who’ve been on the diet already, I could turn to them for assurance and advice.

By the way, that’s Tip #1: Get a Support System in Place.

For me it made all the difference. I honestly don’t know if I would have succeeded without the support of my friends. They shared their tips and stories of surviving the first 14 days on the program and made me feel like I could too. Here are some of my favorite survival tips:

o Indulge in one last favorite meal and dessert before starting the diet

o Get everything that’s not allowed to touch your lips in the first 14 days out of the house and threaten anyone who dares to sneak in contraband foods

o Keep a daily journal about your feelings during Phase I (its great to read how those cravings and yearnings really affected the way you think and feel after it’s all just a distant memory

o Avoid mall shopping during Phase I (the smells of the food court will kill you)

o Don’t plan on attending any family gatherings, school functions, parties, etc. for two full weeks (become a hermit)

I’ll admit it, during those first few days on South Beach all I wanted was to dive headfirst into a bag of chocolate chip cookies, dipped in whipped cream, with a side a fries and a big slice of pizza.

But when a friend came over and cooked me the most delicious meal of lean chicken and sautéed veggies sprinkled with low-fat cheese (yes, I said cheese!), I knew that I’d make it.

That’s Tip #2: Presentation.

The plate she set before me could have rivaled one found in any five-star restaurant. I learned that night that a beautifully prepared plate of colorful veggies cooked to perfection out beats a bag of Oreos 10 to 1.

Within a week my grumpiness was subsiding – after all, my sugar levels were leveling out and my blood pressure was coming down – and I wasn’t even craving junky stuff anymore. I was actually looking forward to finding new ways to prepare and serve my new healthier food choices.

Which leads me to Tip #3: Learn to Cook.

Since starting South Beach I have learned how to really enjoy cooking. Watching a variety of cooking shows and incorporating their ideas using my South Beach approved foods was one way I found to survive the first phase of the program, since you can always find new and interesting ways to prepare and enjoy the foods I was permitted.

I couldn’t believe when the two weeks were over. It seemed to go by so fast, and then I was allowed to start reintroducing some of my favorites again into my daily eating plan, like fresh fruit and bread (thank God!).

The best part was I no longer craved some of those no-no foods like cake, ice cream and even, yes, those diet buster cookies! And I managed to lose a whopping 12 pounds, a true triumph for someone like me who had never been able to follow any diet for longer than a day or two before!

Was starting the South Beach Diet difficult? Yes, in the first few days, but it sure was worth it!