People today are highly concerned with their bodies and their health so it is no surprise that more and more people are hiring personal trainers to help them lose weight and get in shape. For the most part, this is a good thing. It's great to see people taking a positive step towards weight loss and a healthy future.

However, do you really need a trainer? There are some people out there that can greatly benefit from the regular expertise of a personal trainer. There are many other people who could likely do it just fine on their own if they would only set their mind to it. The trainer merely serves as a person to answer to; the person you are paying to kick you in the tushie when you don't get moving!

It's true that your trainer knows a lot about helping you get in shape and lose weight to be a healthier and more beautiful you. So what are some big secrets your trainer doesn't want you to know?

1. You don't have to "feel the burn". We've all heard the phrase "no pain, no gain". You may have even chanted it a few times yourself during your workout but one thing your trainer might not want you to know is that working harder and pushing further won't help you lose weight if you are injured. Remember, for beginners, slow and steady wins the race!

2. You do not have to give up junk food entirely. Trainers have a habit of blacklisting certain foods that just might happen to be your favorite. There is good reason for this. Most people that are overweight may already have a problem with saying no to food. However, cutting out a favorite treat altogether can lead to serious cravings and secret binges. It's okay to have a little chocolate or a soda now and then

How many times do you hear overweight people say things like, "I'm only this way because I'm big boned" or "both of my parents are big so it's in my genes" or even "all of the women/men in my family are overweight".

So now the question is, if other members of your family are overweight and have always been, does it mean that you might have inherited the "fat" gene and are predisposed to being overweight yourself? Is there anything that can be done about it, or are you doomed to be overweight for the rest of your life?

There are some facts that must be considered before you assign blame for your weight problem to your family tree. Genetics do decide what the shape of you body will be as well as determining your height and possible risks to your health. If there is a history of obesity in your family, you may have a higher potential for it, but it does not mean that you are doomed to a life of plumpness.

The fact is, even though you may have inherited a higher concentration of fat cells from your family gene pool, it is the bad habits that you inherit from them that will contribute more to your weight than your genes.

Here are the facts about what makes you overweight that you must know to help you break the family tradition of living with that extra padding.

For openers, the food choices that you make play a very important role in whether or not you will become overweight. Not knowing what a proper portion size is during mealtime will also hurt your weight. If as a kid growing up, your parents always went back for seconds during meals, you probably will have inherited that habit as well. If your parents always ate high calorie snacks at night while watching TV, well, you get the picture.

Another downfall to losing the weight gain battle is physical inactivity. While just being physically inactive does not add extra fat by itself, most overweight people are inactive and that means you will burn less calories throughout the day. When an inactive person eats even a normal amount of food daily which is usually still more than they need, they are more likely to store the extra calories as fat.

Your age plays a part in your weight also. When people age, they typically become less active. Also, after age 30 or so, an inactive person will lose around ½ to 1 pound of muscle tissue per year. This makes your metabolism slow down being that muscle is active tissue and the more you have, the higher your metabolism, the less you have, the lower your metabolism. This will account for weight gain.

Most overweight people are not that way because of the genes they inherited, but because of the bad habits they inherited as well as ones they developed on their own. According to the American Medical Association, less than 2% of all obesity can be directly attributed to any kind of metabolic disorder or hormone imbalance.

The bottom line is all of the excuses in the world for being overweight won't take one pound of fat off of you. The whole thing comes down to modifying your lifestyle to one that is conducive to proper weight control. That means eating less than you've been used to eating and being more physically active than you're used to being.

If you've continued reading beyond the title of this article, it's likely that you've grown convinced that most diet and weight loss programs are ineffective — or at least marginally effective. To further illustrate this, look no further than the advertisements of the companies that make their living selling weight-loss products and programs. In almost every instance, you will see the words results not typical in fine print at the bottom of your screen or ad copy.

So if meaningful, lasting results are not typical of even the most popular diet programs and weight-loss products, why do we continue spending billions of dollars a year on programs, drugs and herbal remedies designed to help us lose weight? The answer is simple to anyone who has struggled with their weight in any significant capacity. We are desperate optimists, willing to spend the money in hopes that the next product or program around the corner will provide us with the results we've been looking for.

While we continue striving for real solutions to our battles with weight issues, the truth is that <b>diets, drugs and herbal remedies do not work.</b> Specifically, while any of these methods may provide short-term results, they are ineffective in producing long-term solutions. This is because our eventual return to "normal" eating habits will ultimately cause a correction that will drive us back in the direction of our original weight prior to beginning the program.

<b>Affecting Lifestyle Change</b>

Before we can address our weight loss goals with a long-term strategy in mind, we need to undergo a process of lifestyle change. At this point it's best to take the process step-by-step — don't try to change too much at once! It's best to set "smart goals:" specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timeable. Before we can set these goals, however, there are a few issues that we must first address.

1. Understand Why We Overeat : This process of self-inspection is the first step towards identifying the areas of our lives that need to change in order to achieve our weight-loss goals. Common triggers to overeating include depression, stress, fatigue, boredom, anger, lack of intimacy, feelings of insecurity, and in some cases our own brain chemistry. I recommend keeping a journal for at least 1 - 2 weeks to identify the typical emotions and situations that cause us to overeat. Until you realize why you do what you do, your weight will continue to be a struggle over the long-term.

2. Consider the Cost: Once we have identified the triggers behind our overeating, it's worthwhile to consider the cost vs. reward argument for remaining in this lifestyle. This begins with a realization that food did not solve the problems we faced in the previous step. It only provided a temporary anesthetic.

At this point it might help do draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On one side, list the costs of remaining in your current lifestyle. On the other, list the rewards of changing. We do not need to include the cost of changing or the reward of staying the same, because we actually identified these in the previous step. Our reward for staying the same is that we continue to anesthetize ourselves to the situations that triggered our overeating. Or cost of changing is a lifestyle that includes moderation (notice I didn't say deprivation), exercise and accountability.

3. Find a Partner: It has been proven anecdotally as well as scientifically that our chances of success in any endeavor are greater when we have the accountability and support of another person. In this case, our "partner" doesn't necessarily have to be someone who is currently trying to — or has already managed to — lose weight, although that would be ideal. It simply needs to be someone who can listen to your concerns and struggles along the way, keep you accountable, and provide some much-needed encouragement. If you are married, your spouse makes an excellent partner, especially if (s)he could benefit from joining you as you pursue a healthier lifestyle.

4. Cut the Cord: This is the most drastic step of the process. At least until eating habits are under control, our target foods — be it sweets, salties, simple carbohydrates, soft drinks, or something else — simply cannot enter our shopping baskets. Until we have really dealt with the issues identified in the first step of this process, we cannot trust ourselves to consume these products even in moderation. My recommendation is a minimum 30-day fast from your most favorite comfort foods. After you and your accountability partner agree that you have dealt with your Step 1 issues, then careful, moderate use of these foods may be resumed.

5. Set a Budget: Many of us have no idea how much (or, in most cases, how little) food our bodies need to function and remain healthy. I strongly support Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) or "burn rate" testing, not just at the beginning of our weight-loss endeavors but periodically throughout your life. This measurement, which can be performed for under $100 at many gyms, health centers and personal trainers' offices nationwide, gives you an accurate snapshot of how many calories your body consumes in a given day. Your goal from here will be to stay within the guidelines of healthy caloric intake for weight loss as outlined by your RMR.

6. Make Wise Choices: A related point is the issue of caloric density. You will quickly learn which foods pack a lot of calories into a small, unfulfilling (at least in the long term) package, and which ones can help you stretch your caloric budget to the max! Some of these foods actually contain fewer calories than your body uses during digestion! One of the products outlined in my review of the Top Three Weight Loss Programs I've found on the Internet includes a menu of these negative-calorie foods.

7. Get Physical: Your body was designed to move! If you make it a point to do some form of aerobic exercise (jogging / walking, swimming, biking, aerobics, etc.) every day (preferably first thing in the morning), your metabolism will respond by speeding up! After your body is used to the added physical activity, try to supplementing your daily activities with 15 - 30 minutes of aerobic activity 5 nights a week and resistance training (weights) 5 - 6 times per week.

There are a few points to keep in mind while you're practicing these seven steps. First, they are not meant to be mutually exclusive! It's especially a good idea to revisit Step One on occasion, to take care of the psychological element of permanent lifestyle change.

Second, remember that deprivation and skipping meals does far more harm than good. If you have a craving for your favorite comfort food (after you have initially weaned yourself), try indulging your craving with a very small amount (ideally controlled by your accountability partner). After fifteen minutes you're satisfied, your craving has passed, and you didn't fall off the wagon! Also, remember that skipping meals slows the metabolism. This is weight-loss suicide!

Third, I cannot stress enough the importance of setting modest, attainable goals throughout this process. There is nothing more discouraging than missing a goal you have set. Miss too many, and you're likely to quit altogether.

Finally, you'll be surprised at how productive small lifestyle changes can be. When you're at a restaurant, they'll typically serve you at least twice what one would reasonably eat. I've found it quite satisfying (and not the least bit embarrassing) to split meals with my wife or my kids at restaurants. Alternatively, you may also ask the waiter for a takeout box as soon as the meal arrives. That way you can place half the meal in the box immediately, and you're less likely to overindulge. Also, try parking at the far end of the parking lot, or walking to the grocery store down the block. You'll be surprised how quickly those extra steps add up!

I certainly wish you the best as you embark on your own process of permanent lifestyle change. Should you desire more information on the topic, please feel free to visit my daily blog on health and nutrition topics.

Even as the words of this article echo through your dome, your non-active, physically hibernating peers are slowly growing guts that will plague them ten years from now. And you know what's funny

Unlike chicken pox, polio, and even the common cold, obesity is not spread by germs in the air or by shaking hands with an obese person. Although the number of overweight and obese people in the United States keeps rising (the last numbers I heard were around 60% of adults and 25% of children), obesity can't be cured by a vaccine. Washing your hands more often won't help keep you slim and trim.

We've all heard a lot of news recently about the bird flu, and the possibility of a world-wide pandemic. A pandemic could kill millions of people around the world in a very short time. Obesity can also be a killer, but may involve a much slower and more painful death.

Children who are obese are now developing diseases which, in the past, were only seen in adults. Type II diabetes was formerly called adult-onset diabetes, because it was rarely seen in children. It is now frequently being diagnosed in children under the age of 10. Type II diabetes can cause very serious health problems, including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, amputation of limbs, and much more. Parents who wouldn't dream of starting the car unless their children were buckled securely in their car seats are turning a blind eye to their children's potential health problems caused by poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles.

What is the answer? Children don't need temporary diets. Their bones and muscles are growing rapidly, and they need good nutrition to ensure proper growth. The best solution is a lifestyle change.

Start by restricting the time your children watch TV or play video games. Most pediatricians recommend no more than 2 hours a day of screen time (except for homework done on the computer). Will your children be angry at you? Probably, at least for the first few days, but they'll get over it! Remind them that you love them, and loving them means that you will sometimes have to make decisions based on what is best for them and not necessarily what they prefer. Use some of the time that they now spend watching TV for family activities involving physical activity. Play ball in the yard or park, romp with the dog, fly a kite, take a walk or bike ride after dinner. Take turns picking the activity for the day.

Eat more meals at home and limit fast food or pizza delivery to one or two times a week. Make your pizzas veggie pizzas with thin crust, and skip the extra cheese. Stop buying sodas for home use, and drink water, fat-free milk, or unsweetened iced tea. Instead of snacking on chips, cookies, and ice cream, stock up on fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, and nuts. Make sugar-free gelatin with fresh fruit, and top with fat-free frozen whipped topping. Spread low-fat plain yogurt on a chocolate graham cracker, add another cracker to make a sandwich, and freeze. The result is a healthier "ice-cream sandwich". Look for other low-calorie snacks in magazines or online recipe sites.

If you need help planning well-balanced meals, look for programs or websites that offer menus based on the USDA Food Pyramid, or consult with a registered dietician if your family has food allergies or medical conditions that restrict certain food groups.

If your child is overweight, his primary concern may be physical appearance. That is important too, because his self-esteem and confidence may suffer because of teasing or bullying by other children.

Assure him that you want to help, and that changing his lifestyle will improve his appearance and confidence at the same time it improves his health.

Treat obesity like the serious health risk that it is, and let's work toward starting a "pandemic" of good health for future generations!

Almost one in five school-aged children is considered obese in the United States. In addition, kids are showing signs of chronic diseases that usually don't appear in human beings until middle age - diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart problems, and gall bladder diseases, diseases that develop largely because of a lifetime of poor eating habits. And school lunches aren't helping!

The combination of poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle - lots of time in front of the computer, TV, and video games - are wreaking havoc on kids from preschool through high school, and the practice of hiring corporate fast food giants like McDonald's and Pizza Hut to run school lunch programs, coupled with the presence of vending machines filled with candy, sodas, and other sugary snacks, is contributing to the problem.

Luckily, parents and health professionals have wised up, and are fighting back. School administrations around the country are removing vending machines from schools or filling them with healthier snacks, and rejecting McDonald's in favor of healthier school lunches. Sodas filled with sugar or suspect sugar substitutes are giving way to bottled water or pure fruit juices, still containing some natural sugars but devoid of added sugar concentrates like high-fructose corn syrup, and containing more nutritional value. Fries, burgers, and pizza are being replaced with baked potatoes, salads, fresh fruits and healthier protein sources such as chicken, fish, and even vegetarian sources like beans and tofu.

Both Senators Frist (R-Tennessee) and Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced bills in the U.S. Senate in 2005 to reduce childhood obesity by improving school lunch programs around the country, prodded by Parentsaction.org, a parents' lobbying group determined to changes things for the better in the country's lunchrooms. Meanwhile, kids are responding surprisingly well to changes that have already been made in many schools, many students opting for healthier foods even when the less healthy versions are still available side by side with the healthy options. School fitness programs are also being reviewed and adapted to assist children with weight issues, with varying degrees of success.

The problem of childhood obesity grew over a period of years, and isn't going to go away overnight; but with parents, teachers, school administrators, and even politicians looking at the problem, the possibility of long-term solutions for kids at risk look better than they ever have. And with more of an understanding of how obesity overtakes a child, and possible solutions, kids today are more likely to get help than the ostracism and blame they would have received in the past.

It has become a fact that much of the population today is considered overweight. Some just accept this fact, however more and more people are deciding to take action to lower body fat. It is best to get your weight under control before it becomes a serious personal health issue. With so many different diets out there today, it can be difficult to decide which diet is right for you. Recent studies state that Low Fat diets are better for you in the long run.

Many people who have been successful in weight loss have done so by limiting fat rather than carbohydrates. Low fat, high carb diet plans work better at keeping weight down. Only a minority of successful weight losers consume low carbohydrate diets. Many who chose a low carb diet are successful at first but end up gaining back the weight over time.

More than half of Americans who have tried a low carb diet have given up. Even the American Institute for Cancer Research has urged dieters to "come back to common sense." It's best to eat a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. You should also reduce portion sizes and increase your physical activity.

Low fat cooking is a great idea for your daily meals. Yes, I agree that much of the flavor in the favorite foods we love comes from fat. Many feel it is difficult to get back that flavor that is lost, but it certainly isn't impossible. With a little guidance and experimentation you will discover the combination of seasonings that will make food enjoyable again. You can even lower the fat content just by using a different cooking method. Replace frying with baking and always use non-stick cookware.

We all want to be healthy. The best way to get on the right track is to start lowering your fat intake. A good low fat diet will help you lower weight and keep the weight off. At the same time, you will lower your risk of heart disease as well as other physical conditions. If you are not sure where to start, the internet can be a great resource for low fat cooking tips, recipes and other dieting support.

I just finished reading an article in Chatelaine magazine. I believe this is a Canadian only magazine. On the front cover was Jan Arden. She is a Canadian folk signer that I love. The headline is "I'm 50 pounds lighter and louder than ever". In the article she talks about how she changed her lifestyle. She has been continuously on the road in 2006 travelling with Michael Bubble. She talks about how being "on the road" is a lifestyle challenge and after every show she would be at the bar chatting with the band drinking beer etc. Now after every show she heads back to the hotel and exercises.

This made me think about how we do things in our lives out of habit, and if we just change the pattern a little bit we can make drastic improvements to our life (lose weight). What thing or things do you do everyday that are just habit that you will be able to change for a walk, trip do the gym or something that is going to benefit the body to lose weight. My life over the last 5 months has really gotten out of control trying to get my websites functioning and trying to finish writing a book. As a result my exercise routine has suffered. I spent much of the New Years holiday doing a pattern interrupt and exercising when the habit said not too. I feel better and more productive now. I thought this would be a really great thing to document on this Blog. For the rest of the year I am going to update my progress on my Blog. We get so use to "doing" our life that we forget how easy it is to change sometimes.

Jan Arden decided that rather then go for a beer with the boys after a concert she would go to the gym instead. We need to look for opportunities to supplement a not so productive habit with something that is a benefit to the body. Sit down right now and write down on a piece of paper where you could replace some habit with exercise. This one thing will assure you of losing the weight you want. Here is to a prosperous 2007

If you could find out about a way to get much more out of the food you are already eating, allowing you to lose weight at a faster rate, would you be interested?

If you could find out how to not feel as bloated, gas-y, or down-right "heavy feeling" in the stomach after eating a meal, would you want to know?

If you could find out an easy way to help your body better use the protein, carbohydrates, and fats you already eat help you burn more body fat, how would you react?

No. This isn't some sales pitch. This is for real.

What I'm talking about are Digestive Enzymes.

Digestive enzymes come in pill form, and can be bought in just about any grocery store, pharmacy, or supplement store (which should be your last resort).

When we eat or drink a meal / shake / liquids, the body uses digestive enzymes that it makes on its own to break down and digest the food.

Now, here's the kicker.

Being imperfect humans, our digestive systems don't necessarily work to its capacity.

Or, many times our body doesn't make enough of a certain enzyme, which results in you not being able to properly digest your food.

For example, take a look at people that suffer from lactose intolerance.

The reason why these individuals can't have any dairy products is because their bodies has stopped producing enough or any of the digestive enzyme called Lactaid.

Lactaid is the enzyme in the body that specifically breaks down dairy products.

However, if that person were to take the Lactaid enzyme in pill form, they could now digest and enjoy dairy products………instead of having really bad gas and having to go to the toilet every 3 minutes.

Now, there are different enzymes for different foods / calories.

I'm not going to sit here and list all of them, since there are many.

But I am going to tell you of the 3 that you definitely need to know about, and that I'm going to recommend to assist you in your weight loss / fat burning goals.

(Hey, if you are spending money on food, and are breaking your back in the gym, you should also be making sure you are getting everything out of what you eat).

There is an enzyme pill called Pancreatin.

In this one pill you will find that it contains 3 very important enzymes……

Protease, which helps break down protein…………

Amylase, which helps break down carbs / sugars / starches……..

and

Have you ever experienced a burning sensation in your chest, almost as if your heart is on fire? Have you ever felt a burning sensation in your throat followed by a foul taste in your mouth? If you have, then what you've experienced is acid reflux, commonly referred to as heartburn.

Acid reflux is a common condition that almost everyone experiences at least once during their lifetime. During digestion the stomach produces enzymes and acid to digest food. When the mixture of stomach acid and enzymes are refluxed into the oesophagus more frequently than they should, or for an extended period of time, acid reflux occurs. The most common symptom of acid reflux is a burning sensation behind the breast cavity.

A number of factors can contribute to acid reflux including: