Anne Collins Weight Loss Program
Discover This Simple, Small Secret Behind
9 Of The Most Powerful,
Step-By-Step Weight Loss Systems
Some Top Weight Loss Diets - Overview
By Rama Krishna
If you believe in advertisements and try weight loss diet plans, then you must have tried quite a few already. The Atkins diet, the 7 day diet, NutriSystem, Anne Collins Weight Loss Program, Beverly Hills Diet, Diet Smart and many more such weight loss programs exist in the market today.
All of them promise a much slimmer and healthier you at the end of the program. But how many of these really work?
If you are new to the market then it is easy for you to get carried away by empty claims and invest your money in a diet program that is not made for you. The result will be a loss of your precious time and money.
Firstly, it is very important that you understand your body. Every individual is unique and has a body that is different from another person. What may work for 'A' may not work for 'B' and 'C', but may work for 'D'. This means that the chances that a particular diet program may work for you are highly thin.
Here is a low down on some of the really popular diet plans in the market today.
Medifast
This one is fast gaining popularity as it promises rapid weight loss. This means that you can lose about 2-5 pounds per week. However, you will have to consume only certain meal replacement products purchased from the company. So get ready to say goodbye to your favorite foods.
Sonoma Diet
World famous author Connie Guttersen is the person behind this Mediterranean diet that is becoming one of the most popular programs ever. It is one of the better diet programs that focus on bringing about a slow and gradual change in your eating habits.
South Beach Diet
You have probably heard about this one. It was created by cardiologist Arthur Agatston. The results have been splendid to say the least. It is known as the healthy replica to the Atkins diet which has come under a lot of flak off late.
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Anne Collins Weight Loss Program
Discover This Simple, Small Secret Behind
9 Of The Most Powerful,
Step-By-Step Weight Loss Systems
Weight Loss Motivation Guidelines
By Anne Collins
Introduction
If there is one thing that all dietitians and obesity experts agree on, it is that personal motivation is the foundation of all weight loss success. No matter how healthy the diet-plan, or what combination of calories and nutrition it contains, it won't help anyone lose weight unless they follow it for long enough. Their willingness to do so depends entirely on how motivated they are to change their eating and exercise habits in order to achieve their weight loss goals.
Motivation Advice Hard To Find
The Internet offers a bewildering array of diets and weight loss eating plans, but advice on motivation when dieting is in extremely short supply. Given the strong link between diet-compliance and motivation, this lack of motivational help is surprising to say the least. It may stem from the fact that many diets are created by people who lack hands-on experience of helping people to manage their weight. Perhaps they see weight loss as a biological rather than a human process. If so, I think it's a mistake.
Motivating Yourself To Lose Weight
I tell all my clients that starting a weight loss diet is like starting a journey. And like any journey it requires preparation. We need to look ahead and plan how to overcome problems that occur along the way. By doing this we take control of the process and greatly increase our chances of success.
Unfortunately, many dieters don't plan ahead. Instead, they take things as they come, and rely upon two things: their initial enthusiasm, and (when this wears off) their willpower. But enthusiasm and willpower aren't enough to overcome the temptations and difficulties which we face when we try to change our eating habits and lifestyle.
Stop for a moment and imagine taking your family on a camping trip. Do you rely on your enthusiasm and willpower for food and shelter? Of course not. In all probability you spend hours beforehand carefully packing and preparing for every eventuality, and the whole trip is carefully planned out in advance.
Yet when you start a diet-journey, many of you set off without any kind of planning or preparation. It's as if you are convinced that everything will go smoothly. But let's face it, what diet ever runs smoothly? Answer: none! So what happens when we encounter a big problem? Answer: we wobble, and often quit.
We Need To Plan New Thinking Habits
Planning a diet-journey doesn't involve packing equipment, it involves packing "new thoughts". We need to rehearse and adopt new ways of thinking in order to overcome problems during our journey. This isn't psycho-babble - this is plain common sense. After all, successful dieting is largely a matter of motivation and attitude. It's about what goes on between our ears!
The Most Common Dieting Problem
The most common problem we face when dieting is boredom. This typically occurs when our initial enthusiasm for losing weight wears off, and we become tired of watching what we eat. We become dispirited, and slightly depressed at the idea of having to maintain our "sensible eating habits" while everyone else seems to be having a good time.
Losing Direction Leads To Boredom
We get bored when we lose our sense of direction. So to overcome it, we need to reestablish exactly where we are going. Remember, dieting is not an aimless process, it's a journey from A to B. Here's how we think when we lose direction:
"I'm really bored with dieting, it's such a pain. I don't have any freedom any more. I can't eat this, I can't eat that... I'm fed up. I can't share food with the girls at work, I can't eat at my favorite restaurants, I have to keep saying No to food when I visit friends, I have to watch my family eating in front of me, I don't have time to exercise properly, I'm never going to lose weight and I'm feeling really miserable. Heck! Life is too short for this..."
This kind of thinking is totally demotivating. It focuses exclusively on the negative aspects of dieting and signals complete aimlessness. No weight loss goal is achievable when we think like this.
A Better Way of Thinking
Now let me show you some better alternatives. Please compare them with the above example.
Example 1
"Hmm, my diet isn't going so good. But I'm not going to make excuses. I've wasted enough time making excuses to myself. From now on, no matter what happens, I'm going to be honest with myself. So what do I want? I want to lose weight and get myself into shape. Why? Because I really want that beach holiday (or other very selfish goal) which I promised myself. I want it so bad I can touch it! Okay, so I need to learn how to eat properly - big deal! I can easily do this if I put my mind to it. Heck! Eating good food isn't difficult. What's difficult is seeing myself being overweight for the rest of my life. I want something better. Something a lot better than a fistful of nachos or a dollop of fatty dessert."
Example 2
"Hmm, my diet isn't going so good. So let me remind myself why I'm dieting. All my life I've been eating to please other people. My mom said "eat this", so I ate it. My school friends said "have some of this", so I had lots. My work colleagues now say "have a slice of this", so I have two! And my kids say "you must try this", so I try it. And every time I make an effort to lose weight, everyone says "forget about your diet, eat some of this" so I do. Well that's enough! No more eating to please other people. Today I'm going to start eating to please me. And what pleases me is the idea of wearing a size (?) dress to my daughter's wedding (or other very selfish goal). I realise I need to eat properly, but this is a ridiculously tiny price to pay for achieving my goal. Heck! Eating good food isn't difficult. What's difficult is carrying my excess weight around all day. I want something better. Something a lot better than a 4-cheese pizza or a box of cookies."
Example 3
"Hmm, my diet isn't going as smoothly as I thought it would. Never mind, I'm sure this is quite normal. I can't expect to change my regular eating habits without a few hiccups along the way. Besides, I'm looking for more than the few minutes of pleasure I get from filling my stomach with junk. I want a lifetime of pleasure - real pleasure from looking good and being taken seriously and who knows, maybe finding a great partner. I know other people see me as a fat person - goodness, at times I do too! - but this is exactly WHY I want to change. I'm tired of being fat. Real tired. And if this means learning how to eat good food, then let's do it! And when it gets tough I'm going to login to Anne Collins forum and get help. All I know is, I want to make it happen!"
Example 4
"Hmm, my diet isn't going as smoothly as I thought it would. This morning I watched my colleagues eat a whole birthday cake - it looked delicious - and I sat there feeling miserable and deprived. Then I went for lunch with a friend and chose a tuna salad while she ate half a pizza followed by two slices of cheesecake. It was torture! But then I started thinking to myself "what's more important - a few slices of cheesecake, or a really lean shape?" And I decided that looking good was what I really wanted. I know that it's not going to happen overnight, but if I can persevere and learn good eating habits along the way, I know I'm gonna make it..."
Example 5
"Hmm, my diet isn't going as smoothly as I thought it would. But at least it's not a race. So who cares if I have a few wobbly moments, as long as I get where I want to go. At 26 I'm in the prime of my life, and I want to make the most of it. I'm tired of my slim friends getting all the best guys. I want to turn a few heads myself. I want the attention and I want to be taken seriously, and if I have to spend 12 months dieting - heck! I'm gonna do it. Last week I saw a friend of mine in hospital who lost a leg in a car crash. The doctors say it's going to take her 12 months to relearn how to walk. Now that is tough. By comparison, my journey is easy. And as long as I keep reminding myself of this, I'll be fine."
Points To Remember
1. A diet is a journey from A to B.
2. Feeling bored is a sign we are losing our direction.
3. When we lose direction we need to regain it, fast!
4. The way to regain direction is to remind yourself why you are dieting.
5. You are dieting because you want something better than a plate of fattening food.
Getting Help To Lose Weight
Changing our eating habits is much easier when we get support from other people. So make sure your online weight management plan includes membership of a forum. Because only people can offer you the sort of encouragement you need to achieve your personal weight loss goals.
Anne Collins, 54, is a qualified nutritionist and full time weight management consultant with over 23 years experience. Her clients range from top celebrities to ordinary people of every age and shape. Her website, http://www.annecollins.com attracts 9 million unique visitors per annum, and her weight loss forum is one of the most active support centers on the Internet.
Weight Loss Program
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Recommended ProgramWeight Loss Pills Explained
By Anne Collins
Within the pharmaceutical industry, obesity is now seen as the "trillion dollar disease". That's the estimated amount of profit a successful weight loss drug can expect to make. But are companies getting close to delivering a diet pill that really works - meaning, a pill that is both safe and effective at solving obesity? The answer, it seems, is No.
Pills To Reduce Obesity
It's true that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a tiny number of weight loss pills like Xenical and Meridia for long term use in the treatment of obesity (BMI > 30). But evidence accumulated in clinical trials suggests that the effectiveness of these obesity drugs is less than impressive. Total annual weight reduction tends to be in the range 8-20 pounds. Furthermore, the highest weight loss tends to be achieved by patients who participate in supervised trials involving a combination of drug treatment, diet, exercise and counseling. Which makes it difficult to ascertain the precise effect of the medication itself. By comparison, less well supervised obesity drug trials tend to have a higher drop-out rate and reduced weight loss. And the longer the trial, the lower the compliance and the lower the weight loss. In short, while helpful to some patients, weight loss drugs are not yet the answer to obesity, especially when factors like cost are taken into account.
Should we be surprised? Not really. After all, even bariatric surgery is no guarantee of long term weight loss unless patients comply with the necessary post-operative dietary regimen. Indeed, some obesity experts claim that medical interventions like drugs and surgery are almost by definition doomed to failure, for the simple reason that they take control and responsibility away from patients. According to this view, it is only when patients accept full responsibility for their eating habits and lifestyle, that they have a real chance of achieving a normal weight in the long term.
Unfortunately, this view satisfies no one! It doesn't satisfy the pharmaceutical companies, who need to make money. It doesn't satisfy doctors, who need to give hope to their overweight patients, and it doesn't satisfy consumers who want instant weight loss without having to change their eating habits. In short, there is an overwhelming demand for an obesity pill, but a viable product has yet to emerge.
Pills For Cosmetic Weight Loss
Demand for diet pills is not limited to those suffering from clinical obesity. Millions of consumers with less than 40 pounds to lose take non-prescription pills to burn off body fat or increase their rate of weight loss. According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan, almost 25 percent of girl students turn to anorectic diet pills when they're trying to lose weight, including laxatives and diuretics.
These non-prescription pills are more difficult to evaluate, as they are not subject to the same high level of regulation as prescription-only drugs. Thus not all ingredients need to be tested, dosages and other labeling requirements are less stringent, and reporting of "adverse events" or health problems is not mandatory. Furthermore, few long term clinical trials are conducted on non-prescription pills, so hard evidence as to their safety and efficacy is scarce. Meantime, the huge profits to be made from these weight loss products means they can be supported by expensive advertising campaigns to increase consumer acceptance, making regulation and control even more of an uphill struggle. Indeed, the FDA has found it almost impossible to ban over-the-counter diet pills, even after reports of illness and injury.
Herbal Diet Pills For "Healthy Eating"
The past five years has seen a huge rise in sales of herbal diet pills, which are marketed as a form of "healthy eating". These herbal supplements typically include a variable combination of vitamins and other active ingredients which supposedly offer a healthier type of weight loss. Such claims are not generally supported by clinical evidence, and some suppliers are under investigation by both the FDA and FTC. Nevertheless, rising demand for these herbal weight loss pills is yet another confirmation of our huge appetite for what is essentially a non-dietary approach to weight control.
How Do Weight Loss Pills Work?
In simple terms, weight loss pills are designed either to alter body chemistry in order to reduce appetite, or to interfere with digestion in order to reduce calorie absorption. Appetite suppressants include amphetamine-like stimulants such as ephedra, or pills to increase serotonin or norepinephrine levels in the brain. Pills that interfere with the digestive system include fat-blockers (lipase inhibitors) like Xenical and chitosan, carb-blockers, and very high fiber bulking agents such as glucomannan.
Are Weight Loss Pills Safe?
Obesity drugs are generally safe when used correctly and under medical supervision. The trouble starts when users do not follow the manufacturer's instructions. Adverse health events for these pharmaceuticals include heart or blood pressure problems and strokes, as well a range of less serious complaints. The same applies to non-prescription diet pills, whose adverse health effects include high blood pressure, heart palpitations, irregular heartbeats, dizziness, blurred vision, headaches, insomnia, intestinal blockages, anxiety and depression. In extreme cases, both prescription-only and non-prescription pills can cause life-threatening conditions. Even so, safety remains a relative concept. Cigarettes, alcohol, cars and stress kill millions of people every year. By comparison with these things, diet pills cause far fewer "casualties", and if you consult your doctor before taking them, you can reduce the health risk to a minimum.
The Real Problem With Weight Loss Pills
The biggest problem about relying on drugs and supplements to lose weight is not health, it's reliability. In my 20-odd years of dealing with overweight individuals and their families, I have yet to hear of anyone who achieved and maintained any significant weight loss by using pills. But I have met a huge number of people whose weight and emotional state of mind had been significantly worsened through the use of pills. They were afraid of food, they had absolutely no confidence in their ability to make sensible food choices, and tended to rely on purging, laxatives and similar products to control their eating habits. One client - a former annual weight loss winner with one of the major dieting companies - had been fed deliberately with pills in order to achieve the weight reduction that the organization required. When she came to me for help, she had regained 70 pounds of her original weight loss. In short, relying on pills for weight control can mess up your body and your mind.
The Small Print Says It All
Advertisements and infomercials for diet pills are dominated by headlines like: "Effortless Weight Loss" or "Lose Weight While You Sleep!" and so on. But the small print often tells a different story - either that users should follow a calorie-controlled diet, or only eat at certain times of the day, or stop eating certain high-calorie foods, or some combination of all three. There may also be a reference to the need for exercise. In other words, if you want the truth about a weight loss pill, check the small print. Because, as all obesity experts and dietitians will tell you, no long term reduction in weight is possible without controlling energy intake and expenditure.
If You Must Take Pills
Whether you are a diet pill addict, or just an occasional user, here are two ways to make weight loss easier. Look for a healthy, gimmick-free diet, and follow it as carefully as you can. In the process, focus on healthy eating rather than calorie reduction. Aiming to eat healthily is much more positive than calorie control. Secondly, join an online dieting forum and get encouragement and advice from other people. Because all surveys show that losing weight is a lot easier when you have others to lean on. My own forum for instance includes a large number of former diet pill users who are now enjoying their food and losing significant amounts of weight in the process. Which proves that when it comes to weight control, people power is much more effective than popping pills.
Anne Collins, 54, is a qualified nutritionist and full time weight management consultant with over 24 years experience. Her clients range from top celebrities to ordinary people of every age and shape. Her website, http://www.annecollins.com attracts 9 million unique visitors per annum, and her weight loss forum is one of the most active support centers on the Internet.
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