Motivate and Lose the Weight
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to dieting is maintaining your level of motivation. To help keep your regimen on the straight and narrow, try weighing yourself just once a week instead of every day (daily weigh-ins can be discouraging), and keep a photo of the "old you" taped to your mirror to remind you of an unhealthy past that will soon be a distant memory.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
When it comes to safe and effective dieting, a slow and steady marathon is likely to work better than a lose-weight-quick sprint every time. While following the latest fad diet trends can certainly help shed pounds in the short term, most nutritionists agree that permanent changes in lifestyle and eating habits are also much healthier in the long run.
Mind Your Food!
Do Buddhists know something we don't? When it comes to the meditative practice of mindful eating, they just might. Though intended to teach the practitioner to be in the present and slowly relish each and every morsel, mindful eating can also work as an effective counteroffensive to our own infamous Western wolfing ways, a tactic that often results in unintentional overeating. Savor the flavor!

Outwit Your Hunger Monster
The signals that tell your brain that your tummy is ready for more treats can be among the dieter's worst enemies, and your ability to recognize and work with those signals could have a sizable effect on your dieting success. Two simple ways to outwit your hunger are to eat slowly (it can take up to 20 minutes for the brain to realize you've had enough) and don't wait until you're starving to eat, which can increase the chances of overeating.
Get With the Program
Overeaters Anonymous, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers – you're probably quite familiar with these programs' names. Question is: Will they work for you? While we can't endorse or dismiss them, we can offer a mini-survey to help you determine yay or nay to joining.
1. Will peer pressure help you maintain your diet?
2. Do you have the time and commitment to attend weekly meetings?
3. Can you afford to join and pay for special foods?

If you answered "yes" to at least two of these, a diet program just may be the ticket for you.

Chip Away at the Caloric Stone
Crash diets are aptly named, since the mental and physical effects of such drastic measures are just as likely to leave you a wreck as they are to help you permanently lose weight. A simple rule-of-thumb for new dieters is to try to eat about 300 to 500 calories less per day, which alone can help shed up to two pounds a week.

Take it From the Long-Term Losers
A recent FDA report on weight loss mentioned the National Weight Control Registry, which includes a database of over 3,000 American adults who have lost an average of 60 pounds and kept it off for an average of six years. The group's secret? According to the study's co-developer, R.I. Wing, the majority shares four common behaviors: they eat a low-fat, high-carb diet, they monitor themselves by weighing in frequently, they are very physically active, and they eat breakfast. Presto, magico!http://www.hardwaresoftwarearticles.com

Can You Say "Carbo-mania"?
When we Americans do a fad, we do it big. And in case you've been living in a cave, the low-carb diet trend is in full swing. If you're in a spin calculating low-effective carbs or net-carbs on all those fancy, new, low-carb snack foods out on the market, stop right now. The latest word from Consumer Reports [June, 2004] is that counting calories, not carbs, is still the best way to lose weight.
Just Say "No" to Empty Calories
Though carbohydrates are a necessary and vital part of the equation for a healthy diet, one of the problems many dieters face is an abundant choice of empty carbohydrate calories. Empty calories in any form are a sure way to weight gain and ill health. When choosing which carbohydrates to include in your diet, vegetables and fruit in moderation are usually a good bet.
When Low-Carb Turns to Low Ebb
One of the most common side effects of living the low-carb life is a feeling of sluggishness that some dieters get; aka the dreaded "low-carb crash." Since carbs are our primary source of fuel, depriving our bodies of them taxes our systems to keep blood sugar levels up, which can result in fatigue. One helpful hint is to make sure your diet is also low in saturated fats, a notion adopted by South Beach, but not by Atkins.

I'm in the Mood for Carbs
There's a reason why carbohydrates have been referred to as "mood food." Nutritionists believe that eating them may increase serotonin, a brain chemical that effects everything from sleep and mood to pain tolerance. Though high levels of seratonin may soothe your crankiness, low-carb enthusiasts insist that the effects are minimal. As one recent dieting book put it, "pasta isn't Prozac."
Learning the Online Low-Carb Lingo
While there's plenty of online support for low-carb enthusiasts in the form of bulletin boards and forums, it can be a jungle out there if you're not familiar with some of the more popular acronyms. Here's a quick primer to some you may encounter: BMI (body mass index), CAD (Carbohydrate Addict's Diet), DANDR (Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution), LC (low-carb), OWL (ongoing weight loss), SAD (Standard American Diet), SF (sugar free) and WOE (way of eating). Happy surfing!

A Low-Carb Sushi Alternative
You can have the seaweed and sushi rolls you love and still be true to your low-carb way of life. If you're making a roll at home, try using tofu instead of rice. Just take firm tofu, slice it and pan fry it in a bit of tamari and water. Then lay it on the seaweed sheet along with whatever else you want (avocado and cucumber work great). Keep on rollin'.
Oh, Be-have!
A recent study from the Yale School of Nursing discovered women who adapted six sequential behavioral patterns were the most successful in keeping off significant weight loss (10% of body weight) for a year plus. Patterns were as follows: http://www.hardwaresoftwarearticles.com
1. Were vulnerable, nave, self-conscious with low self-esteem
2. Recognized the need for, and became ready to change; felt energized
3. Took control, engaged in behavior change; felt empowered
4. Incorporated changes, increased awareness of food
5. Joined support groups
6. Gained confidence, self-esteem and maintained loss
BBQ the Low-Carb Way
While your typical outdoor barbeque may not seem to jibe with your new low-carb ambitions, you can still enjoy the 'cue while minding your diet. Burger and hot dog buns, baked beans and potato salad can be no-nos, as are many BBQ sauces typically used to marinate meats. But a rub made exclusively of spices and herbs can be just as tasty, while a fruit salad or parfait is better than the usual pie.
Blood Sugar Carb Magic
One of the most touted benefits of a low-carb diet is the effect it has on blood glucose levels. Concentrating your carb intake on foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains can help control the sugar highs and lows that create hunger pangs. It can also help you concentrate better and eliminate those tiring bouts with post-lunch lethargy.
Those Crazy Carb Cravings
Low carbohydrate dieting works for one very important reason: most of our favorite foods to overindulge in are pure carbohydrates. Once you've grown used to cutting out some carbs, you should ideally find it easier to eat only when you are hungry. As the carb-induced cravings subside, your body begins to learn how much is actually enough. That's a lesson that can help your health no matter what you're eating.
Make Fiber a Fixture
Since most Americans consume just half of the recommended intake of fiber, it's a no duh that low-carb enthusiasts sometimes find it even tougher to fit fiber into their diet plans. To insure that you get your RDA of 25 to 35 grams of the rough stuff, the September 2004 issue of LowCarb Energy suggests supplementing a low-carb diet with whole foods such as veggies and fruit and whole-grain products, like the very retro (ancient, really) quinoa, millet, wild rice and amaranth. http://www.hardwaresoftwarearticles.com
Fat-Busting Alternatives
Starting to reduce some of the fat in your diet can be as simple as choosing some of the great alternatives to foods that are currently available. Opt for the wide variety of low-fat or fat-free salad dressings, mayonnaise, yogurt, milk and cheeses that currently crowd store shelves. Also, avoid high-fat processed meats like cold cuts in favor of tasty, fresh meats with words like round and loin in the name. Buon appetito!
Berry Berry Good
Low-carb guru Dr. Atkins extolled the goodness of berries, which are lower in carbs than most fruits, and you should take him at his word. "Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and other berries are sweet little powerhouses full of valuable ingredients," he wrote in his best-selling book, Atkinsfor Life. Frozen berries are as rich in nutrients as the fresh ones are; just make sure to check out the ingredient list and pick brands that don't have any added sugar.
Dental Diet Aid
You've done this diet and that diet and they all don't work? There's a new tool on the market that might be right up your alley. The Dental Diet System (DDS) sits up in the roof of your mouth, thus making it smaller and forcing you to chew food into baby bites. In studying this tool, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA has discovered that people using it eat, on average, 660 fewer calories a day!
Check Your Thirst, First!
That hunger pang you have immediately after rolling out of bed may not be hunger at all. Many people mistake dehydration for hunger, and fill up with food before slaking their thirst. Next time your tummy grumbles, reach for a big glass of H2O and hydrate your body first.
The Dating vs. Dieting Dilemma
Dating and dieting; mutually exclusive, right? You can shake that negative attitude right here and now. Conscious behavior is one easy way to balance both your newfound healthy habits and wooing from your date. Anxiety tends to make us eat faster, thus more, since our stomachs haven't had time to tell us, "stop!" Taking time to breathe between bites and chewing each bite thoroughly will allow you to know when enough is enough.
Got the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Blues?
Feel like a spoilsport each time you turn down the fam's invite to the local buffet because you're on a special diet? Now you don't have to. Simply plan your meal ahead – call the restaurant and ask what they are serving. With this knowledge, you can choose your meal carefully at home before being tempted by the cornucopia of sights and smells. You can even count your calorie intake before you go!


About the Author
Adam Fletcher is the webmaster of Hardware Software Articles http://www.hardwaresoftwarearticles.com .

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