A person following a diet plan is said to be

Do you have a weight loss before after picture of yourself? If not, consider why not. Are you worried that you won't like the look of it? You may not want to admit that you had gained all that weight. Or, you may not realize why this can be one of the best motivational tools that you have. Today, people make the mistake to diet and diet and diet and never reach their goals. There are many reasons why this happens, but one of them is because they don't have motivation.

A weight loss before after can be one of the best tools you have to motivate yourself. The process is simple. Find a picture of yourself that shows you at your heaviest. If you have already lost a significant amount of weight, you'll want to put these two pictures side by side. This gives you instant understanding of what you've accomplished. It helps you to keep the weight off and helps you to see where you are going, too.

With a weight loss before after picture up on your refrigerator, you'll be less likely to dive into that snack in the afternoon. You'll be more likely to eat a healthy treat instead. What's more is that you can continue to change these pictures to reflect the current weight that you are at. Soon, you'll see yourself transform into the thin person that you want to be and need to be for your health.

You can find many weight loss before after photos of celebrities, famous people that have lost weight or even just diet users that have been successful. Yet, when you have these photos of yourself, you can use them for motivation that is unlike any other. You won't be tempted to make the same mistakes over and over again. You may even find yourself losing weight faster this way!

Many people hate the idea of rigid diets - the good news is that if follow the five proven weight loss tips below, you will lose weight easily.

The diet tips require no real willpower and can improve anyone's diet and chances of healthy weight control.

1. Drink Water

One of the most effective diet tips is to drink plenty of water. In fact, water is possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off.

Water acts as a natural appetite suppressant by keeping your stomach full and fending off dehydration that leads to hunger cravings. Water also provides the additional benefit of flushing out toxins from the body and keeping it hydrated.

Water also helps your body metabolize stored fat by helping the kidneys flush out waste. When you don't drink enough water the liver that works to provide stored fat for energy also takes on the role of helping the kidneys eliminate waste and thus becomes less effective at metabolizing fat.

2. Eat Breakfast

Many people believe one of the best diet tips is skipping breakfast, as it will help them lose weight, this is totally incorrect. Skipping breakfast can make you hungrier later in the day leading to distorted satiety signals (i.e. it's hard to determine when you're full). This can actually result in eating more as a result.

If you don't have time to eat breakfast or don't like to, at least have a liquid meal to fuel your body after sleeping and having no nutrition for several hours.

3. Increase Fibre Intake

Eating lots of foods rich in fibre helps keep food moving through your bowels. Just like water, fiber rich foods bulk you up and make you feel full. In fact, the average person could lose around 10 pounds a year just from doubling their fiber intake.

High fiber foods are generally low in calories and fill you up, so eating more of them means you're eating fewer calories and leaving less room for calories from other foods. Fiber also cuts calories by attaching itself to some of the other proteins and fats that you eat and eliminates them as well.

The average person consumes about 8g of fiber per day, but many experts recommend 25g. Start your day with a high fiber cereal and keep eating fibre throughout the day.

4. Eat Healthy Fats

Many experts claim that fat causes obesity, raises your cholesterol and causes heart disease, but this is not strictly true. If fat is all that bad, why is it part of our natural diet chain? The reason is fat can be very good for you.

Fat provides the body with essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acids) needed for normal reproduction and growth, as well as for production of prostaglandin, a hormone like compound that regulates blood pressure, blood clotting, and inflammation.

When eating fats you should eat healthy fats. Eating "healthy" fats includes the cold-water fish, mackerel and salmon, nuts, and olive oil. By eating healthy fats over unhealthy ones you will lose weight.

5. Lean Protein

Protein is a great weight control tool because of the immediate satiety factor and because it keeps you full for longer periods. It also balances out carbs by preventing insulin spikes that can lead to a drain in energy and sugar cravings.

Protein also helps maintain muscle mass, which is very important in the fat burning process. At least 20% of calories should be in the form of protein.

What causes cellulite? There are several elements that determine whether an individual has or will have this frustrating cottage cheese! Cellulite is a common name for the accumulation of fat that presses against the connective tissues underneath a person's skin. So how do you know if you have cellulite butt?

While most people who have cellulite can look into the mirror and plainly see its development, the most common way to determine if you have it is to squeeze the skin around the upper thigh area. If you are able to see some bumping and dimpling, you probably have it. To be honest almost 90% of the female population has this condition. There is no way around it. Being wealthy, famous or skinny is no exception to the rule!

What causes cellulite are several things. These include: <ul> <li>Genetics/Hormones <li>Age <li>Body fat level <li>Food Consumption <li>Composition/Thickness of skin </ul>

Genetics are the greatest factor in the formation of cellulite. In fact, most development of cellulite can be traced from each generation to the next. Basically, your body is a factor of who your ancestors were and that is not changeable. It's bad enough that women's skin is created differently from men's which makes it prone to this condition but, also changes in estrogen and progesterone levels can also dictate how much fat the body can store or release into the bloodstream for metabolic burning.

As we age, the condition of our skin tends to worsen, by becoming less toned and thinner. Unfortunately, as the skin breaks down, so does the skin's ability to fight against the tendency to store fat under its surface by allowing any unprocessed excess to be pushed upward and dimple the skin's surface. Usually, this begins in the late teens.

In today's fast food on the go lifestyle, we rarely think about what we put into our mouths. But the consequences over time can truly reflect the cellulite butt we see in the mirror. Many foods such as the fast and fried type, alcohol consumption, high caffeine and excess sugars form toxins in the body. Unfortunately, if we lead a sedentary lifestyle that does not include a healthy type of diet and regular exercise (for better circulation) coupled with a good amount of water consumption (flushes waste), these toxins will build up and the body is unable to eliminate them. Another unfortunate contributor to what causes cellulite.

The good news is this condition can be improved upon by doing several things: <ul> <li>Eat a healthy diet, high in lean meats (chicken, eggs, fish), nutritious vegetables and fruits and healthy fats. <li>Drink a good amount of water daily (one gallon minimum) to flush the body of toxins. <li>Exercise on a regular basis with a program that includes weight training and cardiovascular exercise to burn off excess fat stored in the body. <li>Get a regular massage or try a massage technique at home coupled with an anti-cellulite product <li>Keep stress to a minimum!! Take time to breathe deeply!! </ul>

So the next time you ask yourself what causes cellulite, think closely about the contributors to cellulite butt and what steps you are actually taking in your life to improve the condition. Remember, there is no miracle that will appear and zap it from your life. I think we all wish that would happen, but until then it's important to take note of the condition if it really bothers you and try to fight back as best you can.

This series of articles has been taking a look at nutrition, and any look at nutrition just wouldn't be complete without examining meat. Long considered the ultimate staple of the American diet (meat and potatoes anyone?), meat is the usually the centerpiece of our meal.

High in iron, zinc and protein, meat is important (or should be important) to all of us. The question is, what kind of meat is healthiest and which is most affordable?

Some meats are simply too high in saturated fat for regular consumption. Examples include most beef steaks, fatty pork chops, and of course the traditional breakfast meats (sausage and bacon). There are, however, quite a few meats that deliver all the good nutrition we seek without loading us down with artery-clogging fat.

+ CHICKEN Hands down, the best choice for healthy and affordable meat is that old favorite the chicken. Choosing white meat portions (breast) will significantly reduce our fat intake. Chicken breast is one of the primary foods of bodybuilders, some of the healthiest people on the planet! The most economical way to purchase chicken breast is usually to buy the bags of flash-frozen fillets; these can be found for $1.49 to $1.99 per pound.

A boneless skinless chicken breast (3 oz. serving) delivers only 3 grams of fat (5% of RDA) and 0.86 grams of saturated fat (4% of RDA). That's about 1/2 the fat in even the leanest cuts of beef! Be aware, however, that the 'dark' meat on a chicken is not nearly as healthy as the breast - a boneless skinless chicken thigh has 9.2 grams of total fat and 2.6 grams of saturated fat…..that's triple what we find in the chicken breast. Get more nutrition information about chicken at www.eatchicken.com.

A good way to incorporate more chicken into our diet is to substitute skinless ground chicken for ground beef. When used in a recipe (tacos, spaghetti, etc.) it's hard to tell the difference, and the health benefits are HUGE. Be sure to look for SKINLESS ground chicken though, because if the package doesn't say skinless then it's guaranteed to be high in fat!

Finally, don't forget about that popular chicken alternative: the turkey. It's not just for thanksgiving anymore!

+ BEEF Beef. It's what's for dinner! Many of us just couldn't imagine going without our daily beef serving, but have we considered the cost to our health? It's all too tempting to save some money and buy the "high fat" ground beef instead of the leanest. It's also true that the fattiest cuts are the least expensive (chuck is a great example).

But beef doesn't have to aid our expanding waistline! Take the time to compare nutrition facts on the different cuts, which you can get from your butcher or from www.beef.org. One of the healthiest cuts of beef is the flank steak which, when prepared correctly, is absolutely delicious! Top round is also quite low in fat, although it tends to get tough when served as a steak.

Love burgers? A great way to enjoy healthy and tasty ground beef is to purchase a top round roast and ask the butcher to grind it into ground beef (make sure he or she trims off the excess fat first). If you have trouble making this grind 'stick', try adding a raw egg to the mixture before forming into hamburger patties.

When shopping for beef, look for the words 'round' or 'loin' in the name of the cut. Eye of round roast, for example, boasts only 4 grams of total fat and 1.4 grams of saturated fat. Don't be afraid to ask the butcher to trim off some of the excess fat - most grocery stores will do this for free.

+ PORK No other meat has been transformed into such 'fatty' variations, from sausage to bacon to salami. For those of us who are pork lovers, however, there is hope! It is possible to buy lean(er) cuts of pork!

The tenderloin is the leanest cut of pork: a 3-ounce serving contains 139 calories and 4.1 grams of fat, which is roughly comparable to a skinless chicken breast. Other lean cuts (based on a 3-ounce serving) include boneless loin roast with 165 calories and 6.1 grams of fat; boneless sirloin chops with 164 calories and 5.7 grams of fat; boneless loin chops with 173 calories and 6.6 grams of fat, and boneless ham (extra lean) with 123 calories and 4.7 grams of fat. A 2-ounce serving of Canadian-style bacon contains 86 calories and 3.9 grams of fat.

Get more information about pork at www.otherwhitemeat.com.

+ FISH In the lean meats contest, fish is hands-down the undisputed winner! Unlike the fats in most 'meat with feet', the fats we find in fish are primarily the HEALTHY omega fats.

Although there are literally hundreds of different ways to buy and prepare fish, many of us find fresh fish to be expensive. Halibut, swordfish, shark and others start at $8.99 per pound. It is possible, however, to buy fish without 'breaking the bank'.

Look for salmon on sale, and consider buying the whole fish to save money. It's not unusual to find quality salmon for $2.99 or less per pound - which is less expensive than the leanest cuts of beef.

Of course, canned fish is typically very inexpensive and delivers a powerful nutritional punch! Consider, for example, canned tuna fish…..one can of tuna provides 32.5 grams of protein and only 2.5 grams of fat! Even better, that same can of tuna has ZERO grams of saturated fat! Talk about a wonder-food! Look for canned tuna on sale, when it's possible to stock up the pantry at 4 cans for $1.

+ THE BOTTOM LINE The bottom line is that we can all enjoy meat without adding to our own 'bottom' line. Take the time to learn which cuts are the leanest, look for them on sale, and stock up when the price is right.

We'll see you at the butcher counter!

* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: www.letspickupthepace.com.

* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.

Getting good weight loss help is quite easy now-a-days with the help of the internet. If you have a computer and an Internet connection the whole world of weight loss information is at your finger tips. You can find anything you need and you can get information on losing weight just by searching for it. There are many websites dedicated to people who are looking for good weight loss programs.

A good weight loss site will have a discussion board or forum. You can post any of your queries in these websites and the members of the sites will answer you. Discussion forums are there to help filter the information on weight loss programs and other related queries to your weight loss questions. How to keep yourself in shape, walking and types of aerobic exercises, nutrition for weight loss, and losing 10 pounds in two months are some of the hot topics that you can find in these discussion forums. Opinions about the different diet programs and other issues related to weight loss programs can be found in websites like

http://www.thirdage.com/.

Low-carb diet programs like Atkins are available on the Internet. Information on other programs like Protein Power are also available in these discussion forums. The metabolic aspects of restricting carbohydrates in our body are discussed and articles related to weight loss. Information on low carb diet programs can be found at www.lowcarb.ca. Articles that compare the different diet plans are also found in these websites. This comparison offers you an idea on which program to choose. Information and articles on breast cancer caused by rich carb diets are also discussed in these forums.

Success stories of the people who have followed these programs are also available on these websites to create interest in others who are undergoing changes in their diet for weight loss. You can find the success stories at http://www.lowcarb.ca/stories.html. Some of you might be interested in preparing your own low carb foods items at home. Recipes are also found on the page http://www.lowcarb.ca/low-carb-recipes.html.

Losing weight requires you to keep track of how well you are losing weight. You might require tools such as BMI calculator, Nutrition calculator, and Calorie Calculator. These tools help you to track your progress in weight loss when you are using a rapid weight loss program.

You can find these tools at websites like weight-loss.fitness.com. Nutrition facts, articles, and tips on weight loss are also available at these websites.

Whether you are looking for information, the proper tools or just a place to start. Using the Internet to do your research on losing weight can be very beneficial. Just remember that with every good site there is a bad site giving you mis-information.

A staggering number of adults and children are either overweight or obese in the United States today. Obesity is one of the main contributing factors associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, psychological disorders like depression, and some forms of cancer. Obesity is no longer an adult disease; its prevalence has nearly tripled among adolescents within the past two decades. There are a number of factors associated with maintaining a healthy body weight. These include genetics, body composition, environment, and physical activity and its relationship to metabolism, as well as excessive calorie intake.

<b>GENETICS AND METABOLISM</b>

Calorie expenditure is not completely dependent on exercise. Metabolism is an involuntary activity that affects an individual's ability to burn calories. When you are awake and resting, calories are burned just to keep you alive; this is considered your resting energy expenditure (REE).

The REE between men and women is significantly different. A woman's metabolism is 10-15 percent slower than a man's because males naturally have more muscle mass, while females have a greater proportion of body fat.

In addition, hormone activity, like the hormones produced by the thyroid gland, establish overall metabolic rate. Body composition, unlike genetics, can be altered to some extent.

<b>BODY COMPOSITION AND METABOLISM</b>

REE naturally decreases with age because of muscle mass loss. As a result, weight loss at a younger age is easier to accomplish. In general, losing body weight from fat or muscle lowers daily REE. It should be noted that at rest fat burns approximately 1-2 calories per hour versus muscle, which burns about 30-35 calories per hour. Therefore, maintaining body weight while decreasing fat and increasing muscle will raise REE greatly.

<b>ENVIRONMENT AND METABOLISM</b>

The last and most modifiable factor for REE is environment. Certain stimulants can elicit a response in metabolism. Two of these that are used on a day-to-day basis are caffeine and nicotine. It has been reported in studies that two to three cups of coffee can raise REE as much as 12 percent. Cigarettes, which contain nicotine, also stimulate metabolism. People who smoke cigarettes often experience a weight gain after quitting. This may be due to a decrease in REE, as well as increased caloric consumption.

Temperature is another major environmental factor affecting metabolism. In cold environments, the combination of releasing certain hormones (i.e. adrenaline) and shivering can increase REE up to 400 percent. REE is raised in warmer environments due to increased cardiovascular activity and sweating.

<b>PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND METABOLISM</b>

As you can see from the examples above, your metabolic rate is regulated by a number of factors. Exercise, in general, will increase your metabolic rate. When you exercise your body releases stored fuels to aid in energy production. Remember, your body composition greatly affects how many calories you burn in a typical day. Therefore, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn because muscle is metabolically active. Resistance exercise is the best way to increase muscle mass, while aerobic activity is better to increase your circulatory system and strengthen your heart.

However, exercising is just one part of the picture. In order to maintain a healthy body weight, you must match your energy intake with your energy output.

<b>EXCESSIVE CALORIE INTAKE = SUPERSIZED WAISTLINES</b>

The average adult consumes about one million calories per year. The human body has evolved to be a highly efficient system, which is the reason why excessive caloric intake leads to weight gain. For example, if you were to eat just over 50 calories every day of your energy expenditure, you could expect to gain about five pounds of additional fat per year. This is equal to just five potato chips.

Everyone knows that fast food is not the healthiest option, yet millions of people visit fast food restaurants everyday. Although fast food is not the only way people get too many calories, it is a major contributor.

If you were to go to Wendy's and order a Classic Single Burger Value Meal, you will probably meet half of your allotted calories for a single day, given you were an average adult on a 2000-calorie diet. One Classic Single, with all the fixings, has about 410 calories, a Biggie fry has about 470 calories, and a 22-fl. oz regular soda has about 277 calories, for a whopping total of 1157 calories. Now if you were to Biggie Size that order, the total calories would increase to about 1383 calories.

Burger King burger's are flame broiled so does that make them healthier? Not exactly. A BK Whopper with cheese contains about 850 calories. If you ordered the Value Meal, which includes a large fry and 22 fl. oz soda, your meal total has been raised to 1630 calories. Going for chicken instead of beef is a healthy alternative, as long as it is grilled breast meat without the breading.

Subway has been marketing itself as a healthy alternative to other fast food chains. What they fail to tell you in the commercials, or mention in small print, is that you cannot have a regular soda, extra condiments (i.e. cheese or mayo), or a 12" sub to consider it a low-fat or low-calorie meal. One 12" roasted chicken breast sub has about 622 calories, without cheese or mayo. Without chips, if you added a medium 22 fl. oz regular soda to that meal, it has just been increased to 900 calories. Even worse is the signature Subway 12" meatball sub, which has about 1000 calories.

As you can see from the examples above, fast food can really pack a calorie-punch. Value Meals seem like a great value when you consider the cost of creating your own meal versus one suggested to you. There is nothing wrong with going to fast-food joints once in awhile. The problem lies when you frequent these places too often. I only mentioned total calories here, but I should remind you that these places not only offer a lot of calories but high amounts of total fat, particularly saturated and trans, and cholesterol.

So what does it take to burn off a Whopper, French fries, or a sub everyday? Let me ask you this. "While you supersize those meals, are you also supersizing your exercise routine?" To burn off an average value meal (approximately 1500 calories) you could choose from any of the following activity options:

* Run 15 miles in 2 1/2 hours (10 minute/mile pace).

* Climb flights of stairs for 7 1/2 hours.

* Walking at a light to moderate pace for 10 hours.

* Drive your car for 13 1/2 hours.

* Stand up for 15 hours.

As you can see from these examples, it takes an excessive amount of activity to burn off those calories. So does this mean that you should never eat at a fast food place ever again? No.

If you were to go to these places, I would first tell you to look at the calorie content of the foods that you intend to purchase. Fast food restaurants should have their nutrition facts available; although you may have to do some searching. Just a few quick tips to cut calories:

1. Order small sides with your burger

2. Drink diet vs regular soda

3. Load the veggies on your sub and use vinegar instead of mayo

All in all, eating too many calories, while not being physically active, are the two main causes of weight gain. If you eat too many calories, you must also boost your exercise routine to compensate for this. Adjustments in nutrition, exercise, and overall lifestyle are the best solution. Eat moderate amounts and adjust your day-to-day activities to reflect changes in diet.

Atkins Diet is the method of burning carbohydrates by drastically minimizing the intake of fat.

But the people who consume potato, starch, to the maximum extent find it harder to follow this pattern of diet. The protein-rich foods do not belong to this category. There are four distinct stages to follow this diet. The first step in the Atkins diet is the induction stage where you are allowed about 20 grams of carb intake daily. You must eat more vegetables during this period and avoid the intake of baked foods and fruits. After the induction you can leisurely increase your intake of carbohydrates to about 60 to 90 grams per day.

According to the Atkins diet, the ill effects of excess carbohydrates include increased weight, increased appetite, etc. The slow metabolism process helps in converting the carbs into fats. But when you follow the Atkins diet pattern you are bound to lose weight within a shorter span. You can hence, regulate the cholesterol content in the body and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

In general Atkins diet suggests consuming the right type of food in the right manner and adequately providing exercise to the body. According to this diet it is not advised to lose weight rapidly but losing about 2 to 4 pounds a week is ideal. Do not hastily attempt to lose weight but plan reasonably to keep your weight under control and also see that you remain healthy. Most Atkins followers have reported weight loss with no visible side effects. A lot of studies are going on to find whether the Atkins diet is really helpful.

No area of human addictions is so badly served or exploited as that relating to food, eating and dieting.

The very same substances that form the food and eating addictions are being repackaged and represented as the possible cure

Sorry to say this but if your BMI (Body Mass Index) is more than 27 then you are obese. Though many theories exist on how an individual becomes obese; excess food intake, laziness, medication for other diseases, lack of physical activities and gene factor are considered to be some of the many which makes a person obese.

Though obesity is a disease, unlike other diseases there is no short cut method to get rid of it. Surgery and liposuction may be considered short cut methods to get away from it but they may require re-operation plus these procedures are costly. Exercise and a controlled diet pill are natural and cost effective method to get rid of it but both of them are time consuming.

Obesity for the matter is mainly due to excess food intake meaning having more food than an individual's body requires. Xenical (Generic name