• Never go to a party hungry
• Limit your alcohol consumption
• Get in some extra time at the gym
• Stay away from all the treats around the office and at parties
• Focus on socializing, NOT food
• Stay active
• Drink water. Try drinking a glass of water right before a meal, it will fill you up so you don’t overeat
• Take a walk
• Don’t give up just because you had one bad thing, don’t use “all or nothing” thinking. Never throw in the towel just because of a slip-up.

As defined by wikipedia – Sedentary lifestyle is a medical term used to denote a type of lifestyle with no or irregular physical activity. If you are involved in LESS than 30 minutes of VIGOROUS exercise 3x per week, you are considered sedentary. Do you fall into this category? And no…taking a stroll to walk the dog, doing a bar crawl, and walking around the mall does not count.

A lack of physical activity is one of the leading causes of PREVENTABLE deaths worldwide and is estimated to cause 1.9 million deaths worldwide. A sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity can contribute to or be a risk factor for:

* Anxiety
* Cardiovascular disease
* Diabetes
* Depression
* High blood pressure
* OBESITY
* Osteoporosis

Sound like something you want hanging over your head for the rest of your life? Then take charge and get exercising.

Sounds like a self explanatory question, but I get it all the time. The benefits of resistance training (lifting weights) and aerobic exercise are endless, check out the list below to see just a few.

* Increased strength
* Improves attitude and fights depression
* Body fat reduction
* Increased metabolism
* Improved athletic performance
* Decreased rick for osteoporosis and heart disease
* Boosts energy and promotes better sleep
* Increased sex drive

If you drink soda on a regular basis it might be time to consider other options. If a soda is your choice for hydration, you need to make a change. According to the American Beverage Association, the average American drinks an estimated 54 gallons of soda per year. That’s about 19 ounces per day (1.5 cans of soda). The average teenager drinks 31-42 ounces a day.

An average 20oz bottle of soda contains about 250 calories (mostly all sugar). Do the math, 20oz of soda every day will add up to about 91,000 extra calories per year, this equates to 26 pounds of fat. Still thirsty?

We can survive for two months without food, but only a few days without water, yet most people grossly overeat and are consistently dehydrated. Why does this make any sense?

Second only to air, water is the most important element for survival. Why then do we choose to deprive our bodies of one of its most needed resources? Most people know that water is good for our health, but seldom do we know why. Water is used as nourishment and more importantly to remove waste. Without enough water to remove waste, we would be poisoned by own our waste products. Water lubricates our joints and it plays a big role in the chemical reactions related to digestion and metabolism. It carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells through the blood and helps to cool the body through perspiration. We need water to breathe as our lungs must be moist to take in oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide. I won’t go into great detail about how our bodies use water, but I want to list a few things that inadequate consumption of water can cause:
Constipation, joint and muscle pain, dry and itchy skin, acne, nose bleeds, repeated urinary tract infections, dry and unproductive coughs, constant sneezing, sinus pressure and headaches.

# Eat regularly. Eat 5-6 small meals per day in order to keep your metabolism in check and keep your craving under control.
# Exercise. Exercise improves your mood, causes the release of endorphins and can help combat cravings.
# Relieve Stress. Don’t turn to food to relieve your worries, find a healthy way to relieve your stress such as a quick run or some yoga.
# Do NOT go to the grocery store hungry. You will buy things you don’t need and always overspend.
# Get rid of the bad stuff. If you have unhealthy/bad foods in your pantry, you will eat them, simple as that! So, in order to stay in control, don’t buy the food in the first place.
# Stay away from sugar. Refined sugars wind up in processed foods that lead to cravings.
# Stay away from processed, instant and pre-package foods. These all contain chemicals that will just make you more addicted to them.

A salad full of Vegetables can be packed with healthy vitamins and minerals, but depending on what else you throw on top, it can also be loaded with calories.

Salads can be healthy, but are easily tainted with things like dressings, croutons, and cheese. Just because it’s a salad does NOT mean in any way that it’s healthy, it’s often just as bad as the hamburger or pasta you were trying to stay away from. Here are some quick facts that you should know…
• 2 tablespoons of dressing (ranch, blue cheese, caesar, etc) has +/- 20 grams of FAT
• The worst salad is the TGI Fridays Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad which has 1,360 calories and an undisclosed amount of fat (the company will not disclose the nutritional content of the food they serve you)
• Chili’s Southwestern Cobb Salad has 1, 080 calories and that’s before you add the dressing. That’s more than half the amount of daily calories recommended for the average person trying to lose or even maintain weight
• Wendy’s Mandarin Chicken Salad has 540 calories and 25 grams of fat, this is almost the same amount of calories and fat in a BIG MAC

Make sure that if you pick a salad as a “healthy” meal you are aware of what you’re really getting. To keep a salad nutritious, use fat free or low fat dressing and pay special attention to the extra items inside.

1. Not getting enough calories.
2. Not knowing the caloric value of the food you eat.
3. Assuming that salads are “healthy”.
4. Not eating enough protein.
5. Drinking your calories.
6. Starving yourself.
7. Skipping breakfast.
8. Eating fast food.
9. Letting cravings control what you eat.
10. Going to the grocery store hungry.

Most structured diets or nutritional programs include the infamous “cheat day”. The question is whether or not you should really be cheating or how much cheating is too much? There are different ways to incorporate cheating into your diet and as expected there are positive and negative aspects to each side of the argument.

Cheating is usually done in one of two ways, the first is a cheat meal in which you are allowed one meal per week to eat whatever your heart desires. The second way to cheat is to have a cheat day which allows you to eat whatever you want for the entire day. Now, its hard to say which is better, but I always recommend a cheat meal as opposed to a cheat day. Those who use a cheat day tend to over indulge on food and will actually eat much more than was intended.

The psychological effects of a cheat meal are often more useful than the physiological effects. Knowing that you can have a cheat meal should keep you on track and in line for the rest of your meals throughout the week. It gives us a chance to satisfy cravings and enjoy something that may not necessarily be too healthy. Its a good way to keep your sanity and reward yourself for having a great week of clean eating. Just make sure that your cheat meal is just that, a meal. Don’t let that meal carry over to the next meal or the next day or you will find yourself playing catch up!

20 Worst Foods in America-courtesy of Men’s Health
The U.S. food industry has declared war on your waistline.
By: Matt Goulding

20. Worst fast food-chicken meal
Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips from McDonald’s (5 pieces) with creamy ranch sauce
• 830 calories
• 55 grams (g) fat (4.5 g trans fat)
• 48 g carbohydrates

19. Worst drink
Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo’d Power Smoothie (30 fl oz)
• 900 calories 10 g fat
• 183 g carbs (166 g sugar)

18. Worst supermarket meal
Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie (whole pie)
• 1,020 calories 64 g fat
• 86 g carbs

17. Worst Mexican entrée
Chipotle Mexican Grill Chicken Burrito
• 1,179 calories 47 g fat
• 125 g carbs
• 2,656 milligrams (mg) sodium

16. Worst Kids meal
Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni ‘n’ Cheese
• 1,210 calories 62 g fat
• 3,450 mg sodium

15. Worst sandwich
Quiznos Classic Italian (large)
• 1,490 calories 85 g fat
• 4,510 mg sodium 96 g carbs

14. Worst salad
On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef
• 1,450 calories 102 g fat
• 78 g carbs 2,410 mg sodium

13. Worst burger
Carl’s Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger
• 1,520 calories
• 111 g fat

12. Worst steak
Lonestar 20 oz T-bone
• 1,540 calories
• 124 g fat

11. Worst breakfast
Bob Evans Caramel Banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes
• 1,540 calories
• 77 g fat (9 g trans fat)
• 198 g carbs (109 g sugar)

10. Worst dessert
Chili’s Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream
• 1,600 calories
• 78 g fat
• 215 g carbs

9. Worst Chinese entree
P.F. Chang’s Pork Lo Mein
• 1,820 calories
• 127 g fat
• 95 g carbs

8. Worst Chicken entree
Hili’s Honey Chipotle Crispers with Chipotle Sauce
• 2,040 calories
• 99 g fat
• 240 g carbs

7. Worst fish entrée
On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos with Rice and Beans
• 2,100 calories
• 130 g fat
• 169 g carbs 4,750 mg sodium

6. Worst pizza
Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza
• 2,310 calories
• 162 g fat
• 123 g carbs
• 4,470 mg sodium

5. Worst pasta
Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce
• 2,430 calories
• 128 g fat
• 207 g carbs
• 5,290 mg sodium

4. Worst nachos
On the Border Stacked Border Nachos
• 2,740 calories
• 166 g fat
• 191 g carbs
• 5,280 mg sodium

3. Worst starter
Chili’s Awesome Blossom
• 2,710 calories
• 203 g fat
• 194 g carbs
• 6,360 mg sodium

2. Worst “healthy burger”
Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger
• 1,145 calories 71 g fat
• 56 g carbs

1. Worst food in America
Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing
• 2,900 calories
• 182 g fat
• 240 g carbs.