In the developed countries the weight loss industry is booming as obesity soars. As such there are many weight loss plans that are entering the market with the aim of providing us a weight loss solution. Unfortunately there have been many diets and weight loss plans that have entered the market that promise fast weight loss, however are not offering long term weight loss solutions. The points below will have you choose a weight loss plan that best suits your weight loss goals.

Firstly a weight loss plan should meet the following needs for you:

- Match your lifestyle and food choices

- Promote healthy living habits including exercise and a balanced diet

- Meet your nutritional needs.

- Be a long term weight loss solution

Things to avoid when choosing a weight loss plan

- Avoid fad diets

- Avoid promises of excessive weight loss without exercise

- Plans that cut of out major food groups entirely (i.e. no carb diets)

- Promote fast weight loss with a wonder drug or pill

Set your weight loss goals

Before you can chose a weight loss plan that matches your weight loss goals and lifestyle you need to be clear about what you want to achieve. Do you want to lose 5-10kgs? What’s your weight loss goal? What time frame? Is that realistic. I would suggest taking a free diet profile at alfitness.com.au to help you with your goal setting to lose weight

Establish a support network

The success of a weight loss plan is accelerated when you have support from family and friends who are encouraging you to reach your weight loss goals. Perhaps look at starting a weight loss plan with a friend or family member.

Keep a food diary

Tracking what you eat is essential. Try this for a week and analyse your eating habits. There are some great online food journals and food calorie counters to help you lose weight.

Monitor your health

This is especially the case when following a restrictive weight loss plan like no carb plans for instance. Its important to monitor lipid profiles (blood fats including cholesterol and triglycerides). Very high protein plans can also effect kidney performance. If you haven’t been following a very healthy diet i would be careful about shifting to a diet that suggested cutting all carbs and only eating lean protein foods. I would check in with a doctor before starting any weight loss plan.

 

The fundamental basis of any weight loss plan that promotes long term weight loss is by providing you a healthy eating plan and fitness plan. Essentially the weight loss plan you chose should teach you skills that enable you to live a healthier lifestyle when you are no longer using the weight loss plan.. This is the basis of successful weight loss.

Good luck and i hope the weight loss plan you chose enables you to achieve your goals.

Successful weight loss Rules for Weight loss motivation.

As with any plan there are always rules. Weight loss is no different; after all it is a battle, a battle of mind over body and every battle has rules. Below is what I consider to be the golden rules of weight loss.

These are, in order,

• You are responsible for yourself and actions

• There are downsides as well as ups, take the rough with the smooth

• Pick the weight loss routine suitable for you

• Take the routine seriously

• And follow through to the end

You are responsible for yourself and actions

Remember, a diet is a selfish action; it is for one person and one person only. A diet should be undertaken for your own needs and desires, not others, for this reason alone it is your very person that is responsible for its success or failure. Pressure is applied more often than not by others and surroundings, but you will have to be strong.

There will be up’s and down’s

So, going with the theory that most people will take some time to realize the truth of the magic rules, the first thing that you need to do then to begin your weight loss regime, is to realize that it is not going to be an easy road to walk or run down.

There will be many tempting goodies like: cream cakes, full fat coffees, cream cheese bagels, the ever popular Burger chains and so on and so forth, littering your path. It is up to you to resist and not give in to these temptations.

I kid you not! It will not be easy so I will not even pretend that we can pass these by without being tempted one or two times and indeed giving into temptation. That would be delusion on a grand scale, and since we are for the moment at least, all about self-honesty, let’s acknowledge the fact that we will fall off the wagon, most do.

But as I said earlier, what matters is not that you fell off the wagon in the first place, but what you do with yourself afterwards. Get up, dust off those cookie crumbs and get right back on the weight loss wagon. You can do it.

And this is really what you need to realize so early on, the fact that you will fall off the weight loss wagon, and the fact that your road will be literally paved with tempting morsel after tempting morsel.

Once you can realize and acknowledge this fact for yourself, you will find that you are better armed to deal with these.

You will also find that being prepared for these little wayside problems, makes it easier for you to tackle them head on, and in many cases, makes it easier for you to turn a blind eye to temptation (most of the time).

Pick a Weight loss Routine Best For You

You have decided that you want to lose weight and you are going about trying to find a way to make this a reality.

Now you need to take a few minutes away from your busy schedule to deicide exactly what measures you can implement in your lifestyle to make it easier for you to lose weight, and also decide how much time you are willing to devote to doing this.

This might be more difficult for you than you think, but the thing is for it not to become daunting at this first hurdle.

If you have only a very minimal time frame on your hands to devote to your goal of losing weight, there is no need to despair.

Since you have already begun the crucial process, you only need to follow through with it and implement a plan that will enable you to do so despite your busy schedule.

Take things one at a time and don’t try to do everything at once. With a limited amount of time on your hands first concentrate on one aspect of your weight loss plan.

If you want to implement an exercise regime, then do so. Leave the diet plans for a later date when you are better able to deal with it, or when your exercise routine has become a set part of your life.

This way, you will be able to gradually incorporate your entire weight loss plan into your life, without having to leave anything out, or without having to feel beleaguered.

The key factor when going through with this golden rule is that you need to find the right balance of diet and/ or exercise for you, the one plan that will fit seamlessly into your lifestyle habits without taking you too out of your way.

Take the Routine Seriously

If you went through the earlier golden rule, you know that in choosing the best weight loss plan for you, you need to choose one that fits into your lifestyle.

The reason you are doing this, is to make this particular golden rule – the one about following through on your weight loss plan – a reality instead of a wish.

Many people, myself included, find it easiest to start something; it is the follow through that we find difficult, and because of this, we find it easy to let go of our ideas and plans when the going gets tough.

By choosing a weight loss plan that fits naturally into your lifestyle to begin with, you are making it that much easier for you to stay the course and to follow through on your weight loss plans.

If you look at it reasonably you will see that what I am saying makes sense. Think about it. If you have great ideas on how to lose weight and put them into action, you can be assured that for the first few days and weeks at least that you will go through with them.

But what happens when you have to break through your routine to attend to something else? Since life can never be planned out down to a T, you can be assured of getting these interruptions, and frequently, if you lead a busy life.

Well, to begin with, you would try and keep as close to your plans as possible, but there may be one or two days when you need to abandon them altogether to accommodate outside influences.

When this happens, which weight loss plan do you think you are most likely to follow through on, once you get back to your normal routine?

The one which is great, but which takes you out of your normal routine and which requires you to push and prod yourself to get back into it?

Or the one which is maybe not as great as your original grand plan, but which runs more or less parallel to your normal routine, and which you can fall into more easily because it doesn’t require you to go out of your way?

I know which one I would chose, but this is because I know myself. I know that if I had to go out of my way over and over again, if I had to push and prod myself to get into my weight loss routine every time life threw a curveball at me that I would not follow through with it.

In fact, my life to date is littered with many of these grand weight loss plans and schemes, and for myself at least, I can attest that none of these worked the wonders that they should have. The plans were sound; it was the execution of them that left a lot to be desired!

It took a little bit more of down-to-earth thinking, and my realization of the golden rules for me to lose weight successfully and keep it off.

What you need to take away from this section, is the knowledge that sometimes life will throw a spanner in the works. You will find your weight loss plans going for a six, but that doesn’t mean that you should quit.

Whether you have a “great” weight loss plan, or whether you have a not-so-great weight loss plan in the works, you need to follow through on your original plans and ideas and not give up.

It is at this point in your weight loss plans that it’s going to be all too easy to give up and go back to your old ways. Don’t.

If you think you might have trouble on the follow through, be prepared for this eventuality and plan for it accordingly.

And follow it through the end

The thing that will help you to lose weight, and will also help you to keep the weight off, is if you follow the plan through to the very end with your decision to lose weight.

In other words if you have set yourself a target weight, then stick to it. Follow through to the end, and don’t give up.

If you have been reading through the earlier sections, or if you have gone down this route before, then you know how much easier it is to start yourself on a weight loss regime than it is to continue on with it.

And you will also probably know how much easier it is to follow through on such a course if you give yourself a little nudge, than it is to see it through to completion.

Many of us, even if we do manage to successfully drag ourselves through our weight loss routine day after day, will find that it is harder to stay on track as time goes by and your goal comes ever closer.

In my case most of the time, even when I followed through to nearly the end, I found myself losing the will to continue.

This was mainly due to the fact that I was not as committed in the beginning as I could have been which in turn meant that I was only staying the course because I was forcing myself to do so, and not because I really wanted to.

And this meant that when the going got tough, I got going – in the opposite direction most times!

Since it was difficult enough to stay the course when things were happening normally in my life, it was near on impossible to stay the course when things went even slightly out of sync.

The end result? I would always, always find some way, some little loophole to exploit which would necessitate my going off my weight loss regime.

So to see you through to your weight loss target, you need to follow through, and make a conscious decision that you will see it through to the end. But you also need to have that commitment to yourself and to your goal that you will see it through to the end.

And really, it is only when you want to do this, when you have the commitment to stick with it come hell or high water, that you will find that you not only lose the weight, but you find that you also keep it off.

Loosing weight can be a real battle, and until I became a hypnotherapist, I didn’t realise there were so many different reasons why people have challenges loosing weight. Some of the reason I have discovered are far from the obvious eating too much, eating the wrong foods, eating the wrong quantities and lack of exercise. There is also comfort eating, self sabotage, limiting beliefs, poor self esteem and bad self image to consider.

What I have done to make my weight loss programme as effective as possible is to initially provide a free consultation. It seems to me that if you’re going to share your true thoughts and feelings with someone, you need to be completely comfortable with that person first. So the free consultation give people the option to meet me and then say, yes, I can work with you (which mostly they do) or no thanks, you’re just not my cup of tea.

Between that appointment and the next time I see them, I ask them to do a food diary. Far being from me to patronise, generally people know what’s good for them, however, sometimes seeing it in black and white gives them the nudge that reminds them, they’re not really doing themselves any favours in their diet. If it is the case that their diet is poor, I remind them of the health problems that arise as a result of an unhealthy diet.

Then it gets very individual, for example, there are NLP and Hypnotherapy techniques that would be more appropriate for some rather than others. For those that have an internal conflict (I can loose weight, no I can’t) there is a process called a parts integration that I may use. For those with disempowering beliefs, I may use a belief change. For those with a bad habit, I may use hypnosis…the list goes on. And I think it’s pleasant for people to know that the therapy is very much tailored to meet their individual needs.

Now, people do not keep coming to see me until they’ve reached their desired weight, that simply isn’t necessary. They just need to get to the stage where they know exactly what to do to loose the weight and they know like they know their own name that it is absolutely going to happen, that they will keep going until they do. For most people, that’s anything between 2 and 6 sessions, each lasting 1 hour.

So if you’re not happy with your figure, why not book an appointment to come along and see me in my therapy room in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire?

Every weight loss program has its minor differences here and there so it is easy for people to find one that works the best for them. But with all of these different programs, there are some principles that should be present as the foundation for all of these weight loss programs, especially since the majority, if not all, of the weight loss programs available keep advertising that you can lose weight super quick.

My personal belief is based in natural health so I believe that any changes you make, weight loss or anything else, should be done safely, no matter how fast or slow you go about it. So here are the core fast weight loss principles that I believe every weight loss program out there should believe:

Fast Weight Loss Principle #1: Goals are extremely important. Without goals, you will not know where you’re going with your weight loss program. Take the time to plan out on paper (or at least jot down a general idea) the goals you have for losing weight: number of pounds you want to lose, number of inches you want to shed, number of months you feel you can achieve it in.

By doing this and looking at your goals everyday, you will be able to focus so well on your end goal, that your weight loss program will speed by with fantastic results. During any down moments, by focusing daily on your weight loss goal, you will be able to motivate yourself into success!

Fast Weight Loss Principle #2: Monitor your progress. Keep a weight loss journal (or call it what you want) with you everyday. Don’t think of it as a tedious task but instead, focus on the improvements you will be able to see yourself making. Think of it as you are currently writing your weight loss success story that you can look back on and say, “Yes, I did it!”

The things you will want to monitor are the types of foods you eat as well as a rough estimate of the daily calorie intake, which is important for weight loss but not in a “You need to count calories” idea. By making yourself familiar with your daily calorie intake as well as the types of foods you eat, weight loss will become easier as you go on because you will learn what you need to do to lose weight (the specifics can change day by day).

Fast Weight Loss Principle #3: Picture your progress. It may seem silly but simple things like taking note of how your pants fit on day 1 versus day 20 or even taking a picture of yourself at regular intervals can really do wonders to motivate you and keep you going with your weight loss.

If you opt for the picture idea, your weight loss will be very clear to you in those pictures each week or month (go with week instead). So to keep yourself going, ham it up for the camera!

Fast Weight Loss Principle #4: Bottom line, cardio plus strength training are key. Beyond that, just find exercises in both cardio and strength training that fit your liking. If you’re not much for running, then go for swimming or bicycling.

For strength training, it is best to consult a personal trainer to find out the best exercises as well as a variety of exercises for you to use to achieve your weight loss and sculpting goals. With both cardio and strength training, it is important to consult your physician before beginning the physical portion of your weight loss program.

Fast Weight Loss Principle #5: Eat right. Yes, you’ve probably heard that phrase everywhere and there’s a reason why it’s absolutely essential that you make sure you eat right.

Now, each weight loss program will tell you certain things to avoid and certain things to “highlight” but make sure that the weight loss program you choose definitely includes plenty of meats and vegetables. (I can’t imagine that any program would advise you against eating meat and vegetables but you never know.)

The quantities and types of each will, as I said, differ depending on the specific weight loss program you choose but make sure the one you choose does include those two food groups.

As there are many people with different likings, there are also very different weight loss programs that will fit each person’s individual preferences. But it’s wise to make sure that the weight loss program you choose has a balanced foundation with principles that will really help you lose weight quickly and safely.

People go to great lengths to diet. Although there is disagreement on how to lose weight most effectively, nearly everyone wants to do it. From the skinny to the hugely obese, the desire to lose weight is one of the biggest common factors for almost all Americans. Yet there are few people who approach it in the correct way. They try detox diets, exercise programs, supposedly effective weight loss pills, and all kinds of other trends. None of them take the simple step of eating to lose weight. If you eat to lose wieght, you will, and that is that. Why make it difficult for yourself?

There are several commonsense strategies to eat to lose weight. Although designing the perfect diet to lose weight can be a science, eating to lose weight is easy. You do not have to perfectly calculate how many carbohydrates, how much fat, how much fiber, and how much sugar you can have. You simply eat healthily. When you eat to lose wieght, you reduce your portion size, eat much fiber is possible, cut down on fatty foods and sweets, and drink plenty of water. Combined with a healthy exercise routine, you will be losing weight in no time. Who wants to count calories when you can make things simple for yourself. All it requires is self-control and some perseverance. Everyone can do that in order to eat to lose wieght, can’t they?

Sometimes if you have diabetes your doctor will tell you to use a diabetes diet to lose wieght. Of course, when he first decide to eat to lose wieght, it can be a little bit difficult to really make things work. You see, the biggest pitfall of this strategy is that it is so easy to trick yourself. You can convince yourself that this one snack doesn’t matter, that one treat is alright, or that your portion is smaller than it is. Deciding to eat to lose wieght requires constant vigilance. You have certain luxuries when you use this strategy – you do not have to count calories, measure things out, or stick to a rigorous plan. Instead, you have to always apply your common sense and be honest with yourself. This can be a lot harder than it sounds or else everyone would be doing it.

Nevertheless, you really have to try it. Learning to eat to lose weight is the best lifelong strategy for dieting. Otherwise, you’ll be in a constant struggle of binge and purge. As soon as you lose weight, you will be tempted to go off your diabetes diet again. Then you will gain the weight again and have to start all over. Learning self-control now is the best solution!

We’ve all been there. It’s a week before the yearly trip to the beach; we try on our new bikini, and – eeeek! Looking in the mirror, we can see that we look like an over-stuffed bag of potatoes gone wrong. We know that we need to lose weight – and fast.

So for days we starve ourselves living on water and strawberries, do more exercise than an over-zealous triathlete, and drink water like it’s going out of fashion. By the end of the week, we’re exhausted, off-color, and most definitely not in the mood to get out of bed – let alone go on holidays. Which leaves us wondering: is there really a possible solution to quick weight loss?

Quick Weight Loss Solutions – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

There are a number of quick weight loss solutions out there for instant view on the internet, written about in magazines and newspapers, and heard about over the school-yard and office drinking fountains. However, many of them are not only absurd, but down-right dangerous, ranging from hour long treadmill runs dressed in a plastic bag, lotions and potions made from spices and herbal teas, and diets consisting of coffee and chilly for days on end. For any rational, health-conscience person, these ideas are enough to either make you shudder or give you a good belly chuckle – but for the crash dieter, some of these ideas are the basis for their next dangerous and detrimental weight-loss attempt.

Why it’s so absurd

When we consider that it has been estimated that half a kilo (1 pound) of body fat equals around 16,000 kilojoules (or around 4,000 calories), we can see why it’s nearly impossible to lose any substantial amount of body fat in a short period of time.

It doesn’t matter how much we run, how little we eat, or what supplements we take, we’re clearly not going to gain a calorie deficit large enough to lose any more that a kilo or two in the time-frame of a week – simple as that. Which makes any quick weight loss theory not only false, but dangerous too.

Any dramatic change in diet, exercise or supplement intake is going to have a negative effect on the body which is why many crash dieters often complain of symptoms such as nausea, headache, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, lethargy, sleeplessness or an inability to concentrate.

Losing Weight – The Effective Way

If we want to lose weight effectively, we need to do it at a realistic pace – say, for example, half to a kilo per week. And to do this, we simply need to eat less, eat healthier foods, and exercise more – simple as that. So if we want to be ready for bikini season, we need to start watching what we eat, toning up and exercising more months prior to our trip away.

After all, there’s no short-cut to losing weight – quick weight loss ideas might be a short-cut to illness, injury and bad health – but unfortunately, not weight loss.

Acai Berry Research – The Benefits of the Acai  Berries are truly Amazing? Can Acai improve your Health?

Read any Acai Berry research and you will find pages after pages detailing the numerous benefits of Acai berries. The natives of the Brazil rainforest have always known the many health benefits of this fruit. They have been enjoying the benefits for centuries. Researchers have attributed the longevity and strong immune systems for nearly every native of Brazil mainly because of the Acai fruit.

Acai Berry juice, supplements and energy drinks have now become quite popular in the United States. Recently the Acai products were featured on Oprah as one of the top super foods for anti-aging treatment. Dr. Nicholas Perricone, bestselling author and anti-aging expert has called this berry the “Number one super food in the world.”

Acai has Rich Nutritional Content

Is this stretching it a bit too far? But when you look at its nutrient rich content and its many health benefits, you say ‘no’. There is no doubt that it is one of the best super foods in the world. Acai berry fruit contains Vitamin B1, B2, B3, C, E and A. It is also a rich source of iron, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. Besides that it also contains essential fatty acids such as Omega 6 and Omega 9 and all the amino acids. It contains more protein than an average egg.

Acai Berry research has shown that Acai contains 33 times more antioxidant than red wine grapes. When compared to other juice products like Mangosteen, Wolfberry and Noni, Acai products contain 6 times more antioxidants. In fact, no other fruit or berry even comes close to matching the rich nutritional and antioxidant content of Acai berry.

Helps Your Body Fight Cancer

Acai berry research has also shown that the fruit has anti-cancerous properties. A research by University of Florida in 2006 established that the antioxidants present in the Acai fruit destroy cultured human cancer cells. Though one should not consider Acai as a cancer cure, the high level of antioxidants present in the berries do help your body fight this deadly disease.

Aids in Weight Loss

Researches have also shown that when combined with proper diet and exercise, the Acai berry fruit is very good for weight loss. These berries contain Omega fatty acids that help boost our metabolism. Furthermore, Acai also contains a lot of fiber that helps promote healthy digestion and cleanses the body of fat. Since Acai has lot of fiber, it keeps you feeling full. When you are not always craving for food, you tend to lose weight faster.

Increases Energy and Stamina

Acai Berry research has shown that it helps increase our energy and stamina. The natives of Brazil have already known this for hundreds of years, but we are only finding about it now. However, it is better late than never. Acai is easily available today in many forms, so enjoy its many benefits.

For additional information or to experience the benefits of Acai, please visit  www.acaiberriesforbetterhealth.com

A little exercise can go a long way in preventing osteoporosis, a crippling bone disease that affects 200 million people worldwide.

Medical experts say that exercising for at least one hour a day three times a week can keep the bones strong and prevent fractures of the hip and spine in women.

The best part is that you don’t have to spend a bundle or run a marathon to experience the benefits of exercise. You can stay in shape and prevent osteoporosis right in the comfort of your own home or neighborhood.

Osteoporosis or porous bones is a disease that affects primarily white and Asian women. After menopause, the ovaries stop producing the female hormone estrogen that affects the calcium content of bones. As the bones lose calcium, they become thin and brittle. Although men may also suffer from osteoporosis as they age, women are more vulnerable because they have less bone mass.

This silent disease may progress for years without any symptoms, leaving its victims susceptible to fractures of the hip, wrist and spine. Worldwide, osteoporosis causes over 1.6 million hip fractures every year. About 20 percent of these women die within a year from complications.

“One of the most crucial strategies for preventing osteoporosis is to start a lifelong exercise program. The reason is that the skeleton is responsive to mechanical load, the amount of force you use against your bones. The more mechanical load you apply, the more your bones increase in mass. The best way to ‘load up’ is to engage in activities, such as weight-bearing exercises, that use the body’s own weight as a force against gravity. These types of exercise stimulate bone-cell production,” according to the editors of “The Women’s Book of Home Remedies” published by Consumer Guide.

To improve bone strength and stimulate bone growth, exercises such as walking, cycling, tennis, aerobics or jogging are best. But before you start any exercise program, consult your doctor or a qualified physical therapist. In general, your routine should include aerobic exercise, stretching and strengthening workouts.

Regular exercise will help you lose weight, improve your looks, and increase your confidence. To enhance your exercise routine, take Phenocal, a safe, natural, and effective weight loss supplement that boosts your metabolism, suppresses your appetite, reduces food cravings, and increases energy levels to keep you in shape. Check out http://www.phenocal.com for more information.

Diet food home delivery is exploding all over North America. Having experts prepare meals for you gives you the edge both in time and weight loss.

Plus with many plans under $20 a day, it’s now more affordable than ever.

Why choose to have your diet meals prepared and delivered? Is diet delivery right for you? Here’s a quick listing of the benefits of diet delivery to help you decide.

- Have Time To Do The Things You Want.

Your time is important. What do you want to spend it on? Your family? Your career? Your friends or hobbies? Most people are so busy these days that it’s easy to let healthy eating fall by the wayside.

With all the ‘grab-and-go’ fattening foods today, people need another option.

Getting your diet meals home delivered gives you the time to live the life you want. Whether that means advancing your career, spending more time with your family or just pursuing your life goals.

Diet food home delivery helps you lose weight while freeing up your time for what’s really important.

- Have More Money To Spend.

When was the last time you noticed how much you spend on food per day? Most people spend at least $20 a day on food – usually more.

While diet delivery used to be only for movie stars and power executives, today plans are more affordable. Many plans start at $10 – $25 a day, which is what many people already spend on food.

And when you add up food costs, gas costs and time costs to buy and prepare the food, some services actually save you money.

Deprivation-Free, Easy Weight Loss.

With diet food home delivery services, you’re almost guaranteed to lose weight. There’s no calorie counting, food weighing, or portion control.

It’s all done for you by experts, dietitians and personal chefs. You don’t have to do a thing (except eat).

Recent studies show that people have more success losing weight with diet delivery services than with standard diets. Plus most services state that you can expect to lose 2 – 4 pounds per week.

As an added bonus – the meals are actually enjoyable. Some are even restaurant quality.

You feel like you have your own personal chef preparing you a wide variety of your favorite foods. So that feeling of deprivation that sabotages many diets is no longer there.

One Less Thing To Worry About.

Let’s face it – life is hard enough. We’re expected to climb the corporate ladder. Pay the bills on time. Raise well-adjusted kids. Pursue our own life goals and – oh yes – look slim and healthy while doing this.

I don’t know about you but for me, that’s just not happening without help. Diet food delivery is one of the most convenient ways to look after ourselves, lose weight and maintain our health.

It can help retain your sanity and your self-esteem.

So overall, diet food home delivery is a convenient way to lose weight, save time and even money. You have lots of choices from low carb to low fat to diabetic-friendly meals and more.

It may not be for everyone. But for many people, it’s worth the money to be at their very best and live life to the fullest.

This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni’s Fountain of Youth Summit, which can be found at fountainofyouthworldsummit.com. In this excerpt, Phoenix Gilman shares on maintaining serotonin levels in ADD, ADHD and weight loss.

The Fountain of Youth World Summit with Phoenix Gilman, the author of “Diet Failure – The Naked Truth About Weight Loss.”

PHOENIX: This whole thing with ADD, ADHD, if people and the parents and everyone were to come to understand that everything we put in our body obviously affects us physically, but to understand that it also affects us mentally and emotionally, our ability to concentrate, this whole ADD, ADHD, well no wonder most of these kids are bouncing off the walls and can’t focus. One, we have to remember what it was like to be a child, first of all. That to me is so important. That child has so much energy that should not be harnessed with a drug. If parents were to understand that everything that they put in their child’s diet, even though they probably think, I’m sure they think they’re doing right with the low fat milk and the cereals and all that, and the bagels. But all those foods are all very high GI. And the juices and things like that and of course, what kid doesn’t enjoy a Red Bull which is nothing but caffeine and sugar. All those things deplete that brain chemical which, among many things, will lead to more cravings, more binge eating and the so-called ADD, ADHD.

KEVIN: Yeah.

PHOENIX: So, just by understanding what a healthy diet will help tremendously in that child being able to focus and to lose the weight and to be a much healthier child without having to drug them with, you know, sort of Ritalin or Strattera.

KEVIN: Sure. And with kids, if we can move into that just for a little bit…

PHOENIX: A-ha.

KEVIN: …I mean, kids like chicken fingers and french fries and ketchup. I mean, how do you get them to, as a parent…

PHOENIX: Yeah.

KEVIN: …what does a parent do to get them to eat a healthier diet?

PHOENIX: Well, that’s another excellent question because I talk about it in the book saying, you know, I wrote the book in a dialogue form to one, to give a voice directly to the consumer. And so, the woman says to me, “Well, you can eat like that because you don’t have children. I have children.” And I wanted to put that out there, because I do understand that it is, when you have kids, that’s a whole another thing. I don’t have to worry about anyone, it’s just me. However, there is no better time to help your child than now and he is a child. They might not like it right away, but you can do it slowly. There are things that you can just start to incorporate. I mean, most kids like eggs. You can start instead of giving them breakfast cereal every morning.

KEVIN: A-ha.

PHOENIX: You know, Hot Pockets and Pop-Tarts and things like that. Slowly start to put other healthier things in there. And the dietary supplements as well, Kevin, that are crucial to be able to maintain that brain chemical so you can maintain on this healthy way of living and eating, is even though in our industry we have to … those standard claims, keep away from children. However, if I had a child, knowing how safe it is, I would have them on this product that they could then, because that is the most important thing for me, to maintain that brain chemical so I can get on with my life and do the things that I need to do and staying and eating healthy is the most important thing. So, that would be a good place to start to also then really educate yourself to know what’s healthy, start there and then also get on that supplement.

Because that’s the key. That’s the key. Again, all diets, generally ninety-eight percent of all diets fail unless you understand how to maintain that serotonin. And so that’s really the missing link for any of the diets that are out there.

KEVIN: Right. And you talked about supplements a little bit. What are some of the ingredients in a healthy supplement regimen?

PHOENIX: A-ha. Well, for me, I don’t really get too much into, my key focus, as I said, is to help maintain serotonin.

KEVIN: Yeah.

PHOENIX: I have my own personal thing. I mean, I’m not really big and overloading on supplements even though I’m in the industry. I could be taking twenty or thirty a day based on what the reports say that you need. I try to get as much as I can naturally through my food. I’ll take a good multiple vitamins and minerals ……

KEVIN: A-ha.

PHOENIX: I take an extra E and B. And other than that, the most important one for me, if I only had to take one, it would not be any of those, it would be the product that will elevate my serotonin. And the ones that I recommend in my book, I don’t promote my products in my book even though I spent four years developing supplements to prove these theories, that I had read, the clinical theories, it is about sharing those products and the supplements that people can go in any health food store and get. And by far, the one that is the favorite of mine and has the most wonderful studies to support and what I have used in all my products in the last seven years, is called 5HTP, 5 hydroxytryptophan.

KEVIN: OK. Tryptophans, OK.

PHOENIX: Yeah. And there’s other ones that I list but that is by far the best, and they could be picked up, as they say, it’s great. Because why? It’s safe, it’s affordable, it’s effective, extremely effective and no prescription required.

KEVIN: Wow. That’s interesting. And what does it do chemically?

PHOENIX: Well, actually the 5 is an amino, it’s a natural amino acid, it’s found from the Griffonia seed, a plant out of Africa, South Africa.

KEVIN: A-ha.

PHOENIX: And it is the closest thing to serotonin. It crosses… it’s easily…to cross the blood-brain barrier, which the blood-brain barrier is very, very protective for obvious reasons. From anything that can go in there. But the 5 has what I like to call, the “Key” to quickly get across that barrier. And so, once it gets in across the blood-brain barrier, it transforms into serotonin, thereby elevating this brain chemical.

KEVIN: Wow.

PHOENIX: And unlike any diet that anyone’s been on in the past, Kevin, I always say, you know, “What do we think about it especially women when we’re on a diet?” We think about all the foods we can’t wait to eat once we get down to that perfect size.

KEVIN: Yeah, it’s true.

PHOENIX: And so, and plus, diets are associated with starvation, deprivation and frustration. And eventually, we end up with our head in the bag for whatever it is we crave. Because, not knowing that what’s driving us to consume those things is this brain chemical depleted. So, unlike any diet that anyone’s been on, whether you’re trying to lose weight, whether you want to help alleviate depression or ADD or help lower your risk for heart disease, cancer, all those things, it is absolutely imperative to be able to maintain it. And to maintain it with a safe effective dietary supplement, Kevin. Once you’re able to maintain that brain chemical, the most amazing thing happens and that is, you will no longer be driven to consume those things. You could have those foods, those trigger items, those comfort foods that you thought you couldn’t live without, you could have them right in front of you and you would no longer want them. Why? Because the brain is now satiated. It’s content. It has no need, no desire to push you for those things. And that is what makes this work long-term. Because what happens when you maintain the serotonin, you subsequently stabilize the insulin. You’re no longer consuming the food and/or beverages that constantly trigger the insulin, making the body store more fat, more fat, leaves depression, more cravings, all the issues that will come to a cycle you now start to stabilize the body. The body starts to burn its own stored fat instead of constantly triggering it, and that is the crucial long-term link.

KEVIN: Wow. It sounds just fantastic to be able to have that power.

PHOENIX: A-ha. It is. Absolutely. That’s why I have so many wonderful testimonials. People say, “Look, for the first time in my life, I’m not driven to consume those.” They just simply lose the desire. And a lot of people say, “Oh, you know, I just found new willpower.” I said, “I don’t care what you want to call it as long as it’s working.”

KEVIN: Yeah.

PHOENIX: What it is is just simply, because it happens within your own head, it really is. It feels like, “Wow, I finally got it.” But it’s nothing more, you know, not to take away, it’s powerful but it’s simply nothing more than you finally understanding how to safely maintain that neurotransmitter.

KEVIN: Wow. You just mentioned testimonials. Why don’t you share with us, you know, a story or two about how, you know, this has worked for the people you worked with.

PHOENIX: There’s two I’d love to share. There’s one, it’s so emotional, though, it was a woman I was doing a show out at Minnesota and I do that really early in the morning and she wrote me and she said, “I heard you one cold wintry morning on WCCO and I almost drove off the road in shock of how you could know what I struggled with all my life with food addiction, carb addiction, never being able to keep the weight off. I felt like such a failure.” Anyway, this woman went on to lose forty-five pounds in about four months, which is a nice, steady pace, not too quick…

KEVIN: Yeah.

PHOENIX: …which I tell my clients, “Look, I will never tell you you’re going to lose thirty pounds in thirty days. I’m not even going to tell you you’re going to lose fifteen pounds in thirty days. This is about coming to understand the long-term solution, and to how far you want to take it, if you add in working out, doing some weight training to help build that lean muscle mass, you could take it probably a little quicker but it is, for me, always about long-term.” But anyway, that woman with a huge…she was a binge eater for her whole life. She was about my age, forty-seven at the time. And she just could not control it. She said, “I felt like such a failure.” Having lost the forty-five pounds, she had kept it off for a year, which is a huge success, because sometimes, like people say, “Oh, I can lose the weight. It’s keeping it off that’s an issue.” So, most of the people that I have now, the book has been out a year, these people have maintained that. And she says now, she says, “You know Phoenix, it is so wonderful to finally be able to go out to dinner with my two boys, enjoy a meal, have a nice piece of pie without wanting to eat the entire pie.”