The most important aspect of any healthy diet plan is the ability to keep the weight off long-term once you’ve lost it. Although weight loss can be rapid, the ability to maintain the weight loss permanently is the key. In order to lose weight diets need to be reasonable and sustainable.

Maybe it helps to really consider how dangerous it is to be overweight.

Let’s be honest, people who are overweight or obese are at greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and cancer. Using a healthy diet plan to reduce your body weight can dramatically reduce those risks and positively impact every part of your life, including your mood, your relationships and your productivity at work and home.

Here are 5 tips that will help you lose weight

Take a Class
If you make the commitment to be somewhere and you pay someone to be there you are more obligated to go than if you just vow to start “working out more”. If you are trying to get into an exercise routine, it may be easier if you sign up for a yoga class or make an appointment with a personal trainer at the gym.

Don’t Go it Alone
It’s always easier to create a new habit if you have a friend or someone to hold you accountable for your efforts. Weight loss is no different. Set expectations with friends or relatives and find someone who is also trying to lose weight or get in shape. Exchange progress updates and challenge each other. You’ll be less likely to allow yourself to lose the competition and also less likely to let your buddy down

Develop good habits
Studies show that if you do an activity for 21 days, it is likely to become a habit. Although bad habits are often ingrained,it works the same way in reverse too-21 days!. Anyone can do something for 21 days if they are committed to it. Whatever it is; walking, yoga, bike riding or going to the gym, once it becomes a part of your routine it will be much easier to find the motivation to continue.

Don’t Eat Just to Eat
Make sure your hungry when you eat. This is obvious, but a lot of people eat when they aren’t hungry. If you use smaller dishes and eat each meal more slowly, you will eat less. Don’t “nibble”. Try to eat only when you are sitting for a meal

Don’t Rush Your Progress
Most diets don’t work because they are not sustainable. Phase in fruits and vegetables instead of giving up all your favorite foods at once. Shift gradually towards healthy eating. Start the day with a banana instead of a danish. Over time your body will become accustomed to the healthy food and the junk food will actually make you feel bad if you eat it.

A healthy diet plan is not a lofty goal. It is a lifestyle that simply requires training and consistency

Peace!

Alternative herbal medicine is not new. It’s only the “alternative” part that’s new. As a matter of fact I think we should all go back to our roots to get healthy. The success of alternative herbal medicine is only one of the pieces of evidence that reaching in to our past might be our best bet to a healthy life.

It has long been argued that general health and health problems such as cancer, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are not just born of newly developed bad habits but are genetic and historic as well.

I don’t just mean that we inherit the genetic composition of our parents, but that we are physically victims of evolution going back many generations. Doesn’t it make sense then that these realities should be factored into how we choose our lifestyle? From the food we eat to the fitness source of the exercise we choose.

In a way it’s pretty obvious that this must be true. I mean we really don’t use our appendix and the story I heard as a kid was that man has an appendix because in our caveman days we needed it to help in the digestion of the grit we used to eat when we ate off the ground. It also is clear that our immune systems used to have to fight off epidemics like malaria and cholera and since I was a kid we’ve been sucking down antibiotics like fruit juice.

One theory is that many of the auto-immune diseases that are getting all the press today are increasing because the human immune system has weakened as we’ve cleaned up our environment and drowned ourselves in artificial medicine.

Obesity is another obvious one too. Both of my grandfathers worked outside and I’m sure never once thought about “working out”. One of them worked for months at a time out at sea as a fisherman on a whaling boat. His fitness source was the sea, he never worried about his “abs”! And I don’t imagine the cavemen needed any extra “legwork” after a long day of getting chased by mastodons.

Look at how our “healthy diets” have changed as well. I don’t just mean artificial ingredients and trans fats either. Our agriculture based economy is the main reason our carbohydrate intake is as high as it is and eons ago we were a meat eating society. I guess the cavemen just didn’t know how to market that “Atkins Diet” to the masses 10,000 years ago.

You see all these medical wonder products out there that do things to supplement or channel our body’s production of adrenaline and cortisol as “weight loss” solutions. I’m thinking that survival of the fittest made sure our bodies produced enough adrenaline and cortisol. Watch “Braveheart” or “300″ a few times and you’ll get the picture. Back in the day, cortisol wasn’t an alternative herbal medicine or a supplement, it was a natural survival potion.

Many scientists and doctors would agree that our skin color and pigmentation has evolved from darker to lighter as we’ve gone inside over the years. This would explain why we don’t get enough vitamin D anymore – everyone lives and works indoors!. Lawrence of Arabia wasn’t rubbing “Bullfrog” on his exposed bits before he hopped on his horse, but I bet Peter O’Toole was during the filming.

So when you ask yourself why you “feel fat” sometimes, think about this simple logic. We need to spend more time outside, eat more protein and fewer carbs. We should also continue to research alternative herbal medicine and other natural ways to boost our immune systems and stay healthy. And if your dad or mom or grandfather or grandmother had health issues, then you can rest assured that you should be paying specific attention to those genetic triggers too.

I know – I have a tremendous grasp of the obvious….

Start with this stuff if you are so inclined. I use it and swear by it

Comment on this one and I’ll get back to you. Stay healthy

There is a great deal of information out there preaching this or that alternative herbal medicine. Much of it is sound, but a lot of it is people just speculating or trying to make money.

Another confusing thing about alternative herbal medicine is that it isn’t really regulated like prescription medicine so there is tremendous room for abuse and misinformation.

My brother in law has been studying alternative herbal medicine for most of his adult life including stints in China as well as other countries where this is more the norm than mainstream scientific medicine.

So we are talking about a product that is all the rage here in the states call “Stemulite” and he says to me
“The ingredients are well known , if people you know are happy with it and you are drawn to it – then say no more, but from my perspective it has too many ingredients and the science is from the 1980′S”.

He has a great track record with this kind of thing so I dug a little further. Suffice it to say it turns out that for extra endurance, quicker recovery time, less lactic acid build up and much better longevity, well being and mood, the thing to take is called

Pycnogenol

This stuff is a natural plant extract from the bark of the maritime pine tree which grows exclusively along the coast of southwestern France. It grows in a forest region that is devoid of pesticides and chemicals and has benefits well beyond what I have mentioned here

He recommends 50mg every morning or 50mg twice a day.

You can take a long and well researched look at the manufacturers site at www.pycnogenol.com and you can get capsules from Swanson vitamins 50 by 50mg caps for just $13.00.

He ends with “Everyone I sell this stuff too is amazed by it”.

Check it out and I’m pretty sure you’ll be impressed (These guys don’t take affiliates so I don’t get any money for this)

To your natural health!

Most “new” healthy ideas in Western society are not really new. We usually find out that they have been around for years, but we simply don’t know about them. Or we know about them, but don’t associate them with having “nutritional” or “medicinal” value.

So, it’s no surprise that the “latest greatest” healthy ideas from the East are two things that have been on our grocery shelves since great grandma started cooking at the turn of the century.

Cinnamon and honey!

You can bet the drug companies won’t be advertising this. Honey and cinnamon are essentially organic supplements that can be used without any side effects for quite a few ailments and conditions

Although I always say it’s wise to check with your doctor if you have any condition that might make you sensitive to any new additions to your diet, these two healthy ideas have got to be pretty harmless to everyone.

Here is a list of conditions that are likely to be positively affected by simple healthy recipes of cinnamon, honey and warm water in most cases.

WEIGHT LOSS:
A cup of honey and cinnamon powder mixed with hot water in the morning on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping. Talk about a simple weight loss meal plan!

CANCER:
Recent research in the Far East has revealed that cancer of the stomach and bone have been affected positively with the use of these two good supplements. One tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day is suggested in this research.

HEART DISEASE:
A paste of honey and cinnamon powder spread on bread instead of jelly or butter for breakfast over time may reduce loss of breath, strengthen the heart and revitalize arteries and veins that typically weaken as we age.

ARTHRITIS:
Honey and cinnamon before breakfast has been associated with relief of pain, and diminished severity of arthritis in people who stick with the protocol for over a month

BLADDER INFECTIONS:
Cinnamon and honey mixed with warm water may destroy the germs in the bladder that cause infection.

HIGH CHOLESTEROL:
Honey and cinnamon mixed in hot water has been found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the bloodstream by as much as 10 percent in certain studies.

COLDS AND COUGHS:
Small amounts of cinnamon daily can alleviate coughing, colds and can clear the sinuses.

UPSET STOMACH, GAS:
Honey taken with cinnamon can relieve stomach aches and ulcers at their source and is associated with relief from excessive gas.

YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
Daily consumption of honey and cinnamon can strengthen the immune system and protect the body from bacteria and viruses. Honey is a known effective immune system supplement. Honey can strengthen the white blood corpuscles which helps to fight bacterial and viral disease.

INDIGESTION:
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on a small amount of honey and eaten before a meal can relieve acid reflux and improve digestion

INFLUENZA:
It is believed that honey contains a natural ingredient which kills certain germs such as influenza and can inhibit the common cold and flu.

LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests many of the symptoms of aging. among other things

PIMPLES:
A honey and cinnamon powder paste can improve the condition of your skin. Apply this paste on the affected areas before sleeping and wash in the morning with warm water. If done daily for a few weeks it may reduce the appearance of blemishes

SKIN INFECTIONS:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts can reduce many types of skin conditions

FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is helpful rather than detrimental to the strength of the body. Alertness, vitality and flexibility have been cited as improved.

BAD BREATH:
Gargling with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water can help keep your breath fresh

HEARING LOSS:
Daily morning and evening honey and cinnamon “tea” has affected hearing in certain cases.

I’m not saying the FDA and other “official” governing bodies will confirm specific quantifiable levels of improvement in the conditions listed above.

What I’m saying is that as far as healthy ideas go, this honey and cinnamon combo is getting a lot of positive press lately.

Try it out, do some of your own research and I think you’ll be impressed with the results

Here in the United States the study of healthy diets is difficult to nail down to a few easy tips because there is so much information out there to wade through and much of it can be confusing. For example, I think everyone would agree that a low fat diet plan should be part of a healthy diet. But is low fat enough or do you need to know which fats are good and which fats are bad?

Exactly!

As Mark Twain said:

“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.”

When you come right down to it though, eating healthy is pretty straight forward and the evidence to support it is less scientific than it is obvious. Let me explain.

Back in the 1940’s the World Health Organization defined health as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
Unfortunately, recent studies have also suggested that somewhere between 70 to 90% of people in the U.S. can be classified as “unhealthy”

So how do we fix this? Most people would agree that plants, vegetables, and fruits are healthy diet foods. They are often credited with reducing the incidence of disease, weight loss, lower cholesterol and longevity.

Healthy diets are diets in which fat, sugar and cholesterol are reduced and “nutrients” are consumed at consistently high levels. Some people define healthy diets as diets that either prevent or at least combat illness, because following a healthy diet plan would provide sufficient nutrients to the body to help keep illness at bay.

Current obesity epidemics are creating a ton of press for healthy diets . Fast food and other processed food consumption in the United States far exceeds consumption levels of the same types of foods in other countries. Coincidentally, our obesity rates in the U.S. far exceed most “Eastern” countries

There are two countries in particular that are fascinating examples of the impact of “healthy diets” on countrywide health patterns. One is China and the other is France. As a matter of fact, there are many practitioners of nutrition and fitness that refer to diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity as “Western” diseases because they simply don’t exist at near the same levels in countries like China because their diets are rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains. They also eat far more fish than red meat.

In France it is purported that the French suffer a relatively low incidence of heart disease and obesity, despite eating cream sauces, pastries and cheeses which are relatively rich in saturated fats. What the French do differently than Americans is they eat less processed food, trans fats and refined sugar, they consume lots of red wine and they do a lot more walking. We call it “exercise” – the French don’t drive cars near as much as we do .

The average American consumes about 50% of their carbohydrates as refined sugars, as opposed to sugars that come naturally in fruits and vegetables. Refined sugars are present in sodas and fast food. Over the course of a year, the average American consumes 54 gallons of soda, which contain the highest amount of refined sugars. Carbohydrates are necessary for health, but not all carbohydrates are created equal. When “processing” has been used to remove bits of high fiber, the carbohydrates are refined. These are the carbohydrates found in white bread and fast food.

So are healthy diets “Un-American”? Whether they have been or not, they don’t have to be. Based on the information above, it would seem that all we need to do is eat less processed food, walk more and load up on the fruits and vegetables. Oh yeah and “More wine!”.

It’s either that or move to China or France. Seems like motivation enough for me to change some habits… How about you?