They don’t work because most of us have jobs, kids, and other pressures and don’t have time to follow a stringent weight-loss plan that includes lists of foods to eat, foods not to eat, shopping, cooking, measuring, and so on.

The best program for you is one that you’ll follow. Here’s what works for me: (Three steps- pretty idiot-proof!)

• Eat less (I eat what I like, just less of it.)
• Eat better (I try to choose fruits & vegetables rather than high-fat foods whenever possible)
• Get more exercise (Whatever is convenient and fun. I do workout videos in the morning, and try to do something active and fun after work  like gardening or riding my bike.)

Your own plan will be different, since we’re all different people with different schedules.  The best weight loss plan is the one that’s easy to follow.

Are there beans in these cookies? Seriously?

I’m not a fan of beans, so I was reluctant to try this, but on assurances from a friend, I finally did.

Replace 1/2 or all the butter in a baked dessert recipe (cookies, brownies, etc.) with cooked mashed beans.

Sounds really, really weird, I know. But you really CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE. Cookies turn out moist and delicious. I’ve done this with my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (which are actually kind of good for you other than the fat and sugar!)

In fact, here’s a recipe on Epicurious that uses beans in oatmeal cookies. But honestly, you don’t need a special recipe. I’ve tried this with many kinds of cookies and it’s worked really well.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Oatmeal-Chocolate-Chip-and-Bean-Cookies-230170

Just try it once. I promise it will be OK. Or if you’re worried that your family will notice, try replacing just 1/2 the fat the first time.

I love workout videos. I love the fact that I can get up in the morning and work out without having to get myself presentable enough to show up at the gym without scaring people.

That said, I’ve done a lot of them.

I’ve also done a lot of videos that promise a complete, tough workout in 20 or 30 minutes. Yeah, right!

And I’ve found that a lot of the “celebrity” videos about trendy shows are often lightweights. I’d never heard of Jillian Michaels, I had just heard she was a reality TV star (on the Biggest Loser and as a guest on other reality shows.) I don’t watch a whole lot of TV and I’m not impressed with the reality TV that I’ve seen. Too much hype and drama, too little substance.

So, I was skeptical about this one, which had those two credibility strikes against it to start with.  But this one actually delivers. It’s one of the toughest workouts in my collection. It’s also the shortest.

It actually ends up being more like 30 minutes if you count the warm-up and post-workout stretch. But I love the format, which does three circuits of 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs.  This is really motivating and actually makes me “leave it all on the mat.”  When I do longer workouts, I save some energy in reserve because I know I’m in it for the long haul.  This workout is more like a sprint. You think to yourself, oh, I can do ANYTHING for three minutes!   So you work harder, and you get better results.

And the “done-in-30-minutes” format gets me to work out on some mornings when I otherwise wouldn’t because of time constraints.

I noticed the best (and fastest) results in my shoulders and quads., but I also feel it pretty much all over, which is a great thing.

Eat This, Not That!

This is the kind of diet book I love, because it

1) Has lots of pictures

2) Shows very easy, no-sacrifice ways to make a big difference.

I like the philosophy that David Zinczenko used in developing this book. He is an editor at Men’s Health magazine, which probably influenced the highly-visual style.   His grading system is based on overall healthy choices, not just fewer calories.  Preference is given to “real” food without trans-fat, cheap fillers, high-fructose corn syrup and sugar.  As an example, he cites some examples of “guacamole” that have very little avocado and are mostly cheap hydrogenated fat.

The section on salad dressings was a big eye-opener for my family.  We eat a LOT of salad in the summer, and we were undoing all the “good” we thought we were doing by pouring on a popular brand of Ranch dressing. I had no idea there was so much bad fat and sugar in most popular brands.  I resorted to making my own dressing.  It’s easy and we don’t have to sacrifice flavor and we can still eat lots of salad.

Did it influence our habits at the supermarket?  You bet.

Will it make us lose weight?  That remains to be seen, but if the calorie counts are any indication, I think we’re heading the right direction.

If you're craving fried or starchy food, you may have an emotional eating situation!

Eating is a part of life. Your body gets its nutrients from food. Sometimes we can go overboard with our eating habits and it can result in gaining weight. One issue with food is emotional eating.

The problem of emotional eating may end with the scale but it begins in the mind. Stress takes its toll on your life. When your defenses are compromised your health takes a hit and so do your emotions.

Everyone has good days and bad days. How we deal with the bad ones brings emotional eating into play. You look for comfort for your hurts. People who turn to food for comfort find a coping mechanism that won’t judge them, hurt them or tell them “no.” To complicate the issue, eating pleasurable foods can stimulate the release of endorphins just like exercise. So, after you eat, you feel better.

Emotional eaters use food to relieve stress. They hide behind the food instead of seeking solutions to the problems. This is not uncommon when the stressor is something horrible such as physical abuse or a death.

But, how do you know you are using food in this way? The first sign is obvious. You will gain weight if you eat too much. In light of the weight gain, examine other areas of your life:

* Have you been under stress lately at work or at home?
* Has anything traumatic happened in the last year?
* Are you dealing with a problem but haven’t found a solution?

Answering “yes” to any of these questions could mean that you are an emotional eater. You eat but you are not necessarily hungry at the time. The foods that you choose are what we term “comfort foods”:

* High fat foods like French fries, fried foods
* High carb foods like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes
* Sugary foods like ice cream, donuts, cookies, cake

There is help for emotional eaters. The first step is recognizing that you have a problem. You’ll experience feelings of helplessness and guilt. The guilt is over potentially ruining your health and the helplessness lies in the fact that you don’t see a way out.

Secondly, seek counseling. There are many types of counselors out there that can meet your need. Emotional eating has nothing to do with dieting or changing your eating habits but gaining control over your emotions.

A counselor might suggest things like visualization, practicing problem solving skills, relaxation techniques and family support. Visualization helps you to see your problems in a realistic way and not blown out of proportion. You will also learn to see food as nutrition for the body and not an emotional crutch.

Thirdly, your family can learn your triggers for stress and be on the lookout for changes in your eating habits. They can help you be aware of the foods you are eating, assist you in making healthy food choices and exercise along with you. Proper diet and exercise increases immunity, blood flow and positive thinking. Yoga enhances the mind/body connection so you don’t eat when you aren’t hungry.

Finding new ways to solve your problems and deal with stress will push food out of the equation. You’ll feel good about finding solutions which will replace the dependence on food.

Sounds much better to me!

Beautiful skin

Have you ever wondered why it is that many people who have lost a lot of weight don’t look very healthy?

Their skin and hair have lost their elasticity and shine.

I know there are a lot of reasons to lose weight, health probably being the primary concern. But frankly my motivation is also to look good! And if I can’t look better by losing weight (rather than worse) then I’m not so sure I want to do that!

There seem to be a few keys to keeping beautiful skin while you lose weight:

1. Lose weight slowly. 1 or 2 pounds per week.
2. Stay hydrated. This keeps your skin moist.
3. Use body lotion regularly, and massage your skin to help it shrink with your body.
4. Don’t cut out fats and oils altogether. A little healthy fat (an avocado or some olive oil) are not out of place in a healthy diet.
5. Get some exercise to improve circulation and keep moving.

If you do these five things, you will emerge from your fat loss journey without the saggy skin that undermines what you were hoping to achieve by losing weight!

Adult Acne

One in five women between the ages of 25 and 40 suffer from adult acne.
-About.com

Well, I don’t know about you, but having company doesn’t make me feel any better about it!

Things I’ve noticed that cause acne:

1. Stress!  I tend to break out when I’m concerned about a situation at work or home. This may be the most powerful factor.  And one of the most difficult to control.
2. Diet.  If I’m taking the time to drink 8 glasses of water a day, eat lots of fruits and veggies, and I’m cooking at home rather than eating out,  I’ve noticed a pretty dramatic improvement in my skin.
3. Exercise.  I’m convinced that if I do something that works up a good sweat every day (and take a shower immediately) that this helps clear my pores.
4. Products I use on my face.   I’ve become very particular and generally don’t use anything on my face unless it comes from a very reputable company that publishes complete ingredients on the package. I avoid products that contain mineral oil, talc, and fragrances whenever possible.

Weight Loss

I should have caught it before now, and it wouldn’t have been a major project to lose it again, but I had millions of excuses:

Oh, it’s just water fluctuations. It will go away by itself.

Oh, it’s just because we just got back from vacation.  It will go away when I get back into my routine.

Oh, it’s just because I’ve been too busy at work lately.  It will go away when we get through this project.

Oh, it’s just because we’ve had so many birthdays/weddings/parties in the last month. It will go away when things get back to “normal.”

The problem is that it doesn’t just go away without effort!

So, we have two choices – we can stay on top of our weight, be honest with ourselves, and be willing to do a little bit of work along the way, or wait until it gets out of hand.

The problem with “letting it go too long” is that you end up with a 20-pound variation in your weight.

Yo-yo dieting, also known as weight cycling, is a repeated loss and gain of body weight due to excessive dieting. The term “yo-yo dieting” was coined by Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., at Yale University, in reference to the cyclical up-down motion of a yo-yo. In this process, the dieter is initially successful in the pursuit of weight loss but is unsuccessful in maintaining the loss long-term and begins to gain the weight back. The dieter then seeks to lose the regained weight, and the cycle begins again.

The best way to prevent all this is to keep track of our weight and do a little bit along the way to keep it in the healthy range. I’m as guilty as the next girl, but I’m not gonna be 20 pounds on the wrong side of this journey ever again!

Alternatives to Liposuction

Liposuction is advertised everywhere these days – one billboard in our city says “Lose inches. No sweating.  No kidding!”

This sounds great when you’re in the middle of a tough workout, or saying no to your favorite foods.  But is it really an answer?

Even surgeons say no.

Using liposuction as a means to lose weight can cause disappointment down the road, he says, because “liposuction changes the way you gain and lose weight.” The human body has a predetermined number of fat cells, or a set-point. When fat is removed by liposuction, it can prompt the body to gain weight in areas that previously weren’t problem spots. In fact, Da Lio says he frequently sees patients return two to four years after their first procedure to request it again.

- Dr. Andrew Da Lio, M.D., a clinical associate professor of plastic surgery at the UCLA School of Medicine

Although liposuction can be helpful if there are specific areas that you’d like to reduce,  and you’re already following a great plan for healthy eating and exercise, there are no shortcuts.

Too bad – I’m still waiting until they invent a risk-free, exercise-free, deprivation-free method.   But for now, I’d better go work out.