Despite millions of dollars spent on fad diets and diet medications there has been a dramatic increase of the number of people who are overweight and obese in the US.  According to a 2009 report by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado and Washington DC are the only areas in the US with less than 20 percent of their population who were obese.  The severe restriction of calories often seen in yo-yo diets, instinctively the body stores energy (since it is in a starvation mode) as fat since fat has higher calorie content.  The body will continue to store a little more fat when you go off the diet because it remembers the starvation period.  That is why after a period of time off the diet you can gain the weight back.

Eating sensible starts with us helping to appropriate digest food correctly by completely chewing your food.  Slowing down and chewing our food in a relaxed atmosphere helps in the breakdown of the food and helps in the absorption of the nutrients.

Reducing the caloric intake by 250 to 500 calories a day will assist you in losing 1-2 pounds a week, losing more than this a week isn’t healthy.  Counting calories and fat grams are important, however concentrating on foods that are low energy foods (like fruits and vegetables) instead of higher energy foods like meat, dairy or refined foods can be a great option to lose weight.

Fifty percent of our diet should consist of fruits and vegetables, 2 servings of fruit and 7-10 servings of vegetables.  A serving is one cup of raw or cooked vegetable or fruit or the amount of fruit that will fit in the palm of your hand.  Twenty-five percent of diet should come from carbohydrates found in whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal and barley).   Protein (grass feed beef, wild fish, poultry and legumes) should be the final twenty-five percent of your diet.  A serving of meat is equivalent to the size of a deck of cards in your hand.

Dairy products in your diet should come from cultured products like whole milk yogurt, defer, sour cream or blue cheese.  Avoid drinking milk, not only does this lead to weight gain, but it can cause gas and bloating along with allergy symptoms including sneezing, eczema, hives and asthma.  The cultured products are easier to digest and are beneficial to our bowel bacteria.

Having a diet rich in fruit and vegetables will insure that we are consuming an appropriate amount of fiber.  Fiber helps in reducing the absorption of carbohydrates, which reduces the peaks and valleys of sugar levels.  It is when our sugar levels fall that gives us the symptoms of hunger and craving for sweets.

Exercise should be part of healthy life style to lose or maintain a healthy weight.  You should have a goal of fifty minutes a day, five days.  Walking is still one of the best forms of exercise without the risk of injuring your joints.  In addition adding light weights twice a week will increase lean body mass, which will help you to burn more calories.

This information was a compilation of articles from Medicines from the Earth compendiums.

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