We all know that living under stressful conditions has serious emotional, even physical, consequences. So why do we have so much trouble taking action to reduce our stress levels and improve our lives?

Researchers at Yale University finally have the answer. They found that stress reduces the volume of grey matter in the areas of the brain responsible for self-control.

So experiencing stress actually makes it more difficult to deal with future stress because it diminishes your ability to take control of the situation, manage your stress and keep things from getting out of control.

A vicious cycle if there ever was one.

But don’t be disheartened. It’s not impossible to reduce your stress levels; you just need to make managing stress a higher priority if you want to reverse this effect. The sooner you start managing your stress effectively, the easier it will be to keep unexpected stress from causing damage in the future.

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” –William James

Luckily, the plasticity of the brain allows it to mold, change, and rebuild damaged areas as you practice new behaviors. So implementing healthy stress-relieving techniques can train your brain to handle stress more effectively and decrease the likelihood of ill effects from stress in the future.

Here are seven strategies to help you fix your brain and keep your stress under control:

1. Say No

Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying no is indeed a major challenge for many people. “No” is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, avoid phrases such as “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.

2. Disconnect

Technology enables constant communication and the expectation that you should be available 24/7. It is extremely difficult to enjoy a stress-free moment outside of work when an email that will change your train of thought and get you thinking (read: stressing) about work can drop onto your phone at any moment.

Taking regular time off the grid helps you to keep your stress under control and to live in the moment. When you make yourself available to your work 24/7, you expose yourself to a constant barrage of stressors. Forcing yourself offline and even—gulp!—turning off your phone gives your body and mind a break. Studies have shown that something as simple as a weekend email break can lower stress levels.

If detaching yourself from work-related communication on weekday evenings is too big a challenge, then how about the weekend? Choose blocks of time where you will cut the cord and go offline. You’ll be amazed by how refreshing these breaks are and how they reduce stress by putting a mental recharge into your weekly schedule.

If you are worried about the negative repercussions of taking this step, try first doing it at times you are unlikely to be contacted—maybe Sunday morning. As you grow more comfortable with this, and as your coworkers begin to accept the time you spend offline, gradually expand the amount of time you spend away from technology.

3. Neutralize Toxic People

Dealing with difficult people is frustrating, exhausting, and highly stressful for most. You can control your interactions with toxic people by keeping your feelings in check. When you need to confront a toxic person, approach the situation rationally. Identify your own emotions and don’t allow anger or frustration to fuel the chaos. Also, consider the difficult person’s standpoint and perspective so that you can find solutions and common ground. Even when things completely derail, you can take the toxic person with a grain of salt to avoid letting him or her bring you down.

4. Don’t Hold Grudges

The negative emotions that come with holding onto a grudge are actually a stress response. Just thinking about the event sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. When the threat is imminent, this reaction is essential to your survival, but when the threat is ancient history, holding onto that stress wreaks havoc on your body and can have devastating health consequences over time. In fact, researchers at Emory University have shown that holding onto stress contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease. Holding onto a grudge means you’re holding onto stress, and emotionally intelligent people know to avoid this at all costs. Letting go of a grudge not only makes you feel better now but can also improve your health.

5. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a simple, research-supported form of meditation that is an effective way to gain control of unruly thoughts and behaviors. People who practice mindfulness regularly are more focused, even when they are not meditating. It is an excellent technique to help reduce stress because it allows you to reduce the feeling of being out of control. Essentially, mindfulness helps you stop jumping from one thought to the next, which keeps you from ruminating on negative thoughts. Overall, it’s a great way to make it through your busy day in a calm and productive manner.

 6. Put Things In Perspective

Our worries often come from our own skewed perception of events. So before you spend too much time dwelling on what your boss said during the last staff meeting, take a minute to put the situation in perspective. If you aren’t sure when you need to do this, try looking for clues that your anxiety may not be proportional to the stressor. If you are thinking in broad sweeping statements like “Everything is going wrong” or “Nothing will work out” then you need to reframe the situation. A great way to correct this unproductive thought pattern is to list the specific things that actually are going wrong or not working out. Most likely you will come up with just one or two things—not everything. The key to keeping your cool is to remember that your feelings are exaggerating the situation and the scope of the stressor is much more limited than it might appear.

7. Use Your Support System

It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To be calm and productive you need to recognize your weaknesses and ask for help when you need it. This means tapping into your support system when a situation is challenging enough for you to feel overwhelmed.

What’s so bad about carbs?

By now we’re all well aware of the low-carb diet craze, and many have tried to skip the bread from time to time, often with mixed results. Most of us are still left asking:

What exactly is all the fuss about?

When you munch on a muffin, here’s what happens to the carbs that you just put in your mouth: they’re converted into glucose, which is essentially the body’s energy. The problem is that there’s only so much glucose that you actually need. The rest is converted into glycogen and stored in the liver and in your muscles. When glycogen storage reaches full capacity, all the extra carbs are converted into fat.

 How Much is Too Much?

When it comes to carbs, there’s a range, depending on several factors. First and most importantly, how much time you’re putting in on a treadmill or at the gym is crucial. An elite athlete needs more carbs to fuel her lifestyle than someone who spends most of her day sitting at a computer.

Here’s a ballpark range of what’s appropriate, safe and effective, depending on your level of activity:

0-50g Carbs Per Day: Accelerated Fat Burning Zone

If you’re trying to lose a lot of water weight in a couple days, cut your carbs below 50/day. This isn’t easy to do, and very restrictive, but any professional model or bodybuilder knows it’s the fastest way to lean out in a short amount of time.

This is when your body goes into ketosis, a metabolic state where you’re burning your own fat as a main source of energy. But ketosis doesn’t come without its risks – so talk to your doctor before making any major changes in your diet.

50-100g Carbs Per Day: Weight Loss Zone

If you’re staying in this range, chances are good that you’ll achieve healthy weight loss.

I like the way my friend Mark Cisson (creator of the popular blog Mark’s Daily Apple) describes this range: “The primal sweet spot for effortless weight loss.”

100-150g Carbs Per Day: Weight Maintenance Zone

This supports healthy weight maintenance, because it allows optimal fat-burning and muscle development based on body weight and activity. Here, you get to enjoy ample amounts of vegetables and fruits while avoiding grains and sugars.

150-300g Carbs Per Day: Weight Gain Zone

Even though this is represents the low end of a typical American’s daily carb intake, the truth is that this number can lead to gradual weight gain (depending on the types of carbs you’re eating, and your activity level).

Over 300g Carbs Per Day: DANGER Zone!

If you’re eating in this range, you’re almost guaranteed to experience continuous weight gain. Mark aptly describes this as “The Danger Zone.”

How to Read Your Carb Label:

The carbohydrate count of the food you eat is usually right there in plain black lettering. If it contains over 30 grams in a small serving, with little to no fiber content, you might want to try a healthier option. Remember, the higher that fiber count is within those carbs, the better. (I could go on about the benefits of fiber, but that’s for another newsletter. For now, just know: Carbs with a high fiber content are generally considered the “good carbs.”)

A Carb Cutter’s Cheat Sheet

Here are a few carb-count examples of some typical foods:

1 Slice of whole wheat bread: 13-16 g/slice
1 can of soda: 35.6 g
1 slice of chocolate cake: 35 g
Mocha Frappucino: 44 g
Cinnamon Raisin Bagel: 65.1 g
1/2 cup of All Bran Cereal: 23.5 g
8 oz. Low-fat Blueberry Yogurt: 48 g

For comparison, here are some carbs that are combined with a little more fiber, which helps you digest them more slowly, and doesn’t create that unfavorable blood sugar spike (which leads to weight gain) caused by other carbs:

1/2 cup of Oatmeal: 12 g (2g of fiber)
1 small Banana: 23.1 g (2.6g of fiber)
1 medium Apple: 19 g (1.7g of fiber)
8 Asparagus Spears: 5.2 g (2.4g of fiber)
1/2 cup of Steamed Kale: 3.6 g (1.3g of fiber)

Take The Next Step:

Due to years of consuming a diet full of processed carbs, most people have grown quite insensitive to one of the most important hormones in our body—a hormone that can either be a huge asset to your body transformation goals, or a total fat loss and health-derailing nightmare.

Its name is insulin.

And insulin’s function is to help your body keep blood sugar at bay, clear it quickly from your bloodstream after a carbohydrate meal, and (hopefully) shuttle that blood sugar to muscle tissue for energy instead of fat.

I say “hopefully” because that’s actually the exact opposite of what occurs when most people eat carbs. Going back to insulin sensitivity and carbohydrate tolerance, due to a diet full of processed, insulin–and blood–sugar-spiking carbohydrates, most folks are suffering from some level of insulin resistance, a state in which insulin is no longer able to efficiently remove blood sugar from the blood stream.

The result? Dramatically reduced fat burning and increased fat storage.

With celebrities such as Natalie Portman and Madonna joining the barre craze, it’s no wonder why barre studios are sweeping the nation. But this ballet-style workout is more than just a Hollywood hype. Barre workouts are the perfect way to improve balance and range-of-motion while developing lean muscle mass…especially in those hard-to-reach areas.

The best part is, you can reshape your glutes and get that beautiful curve without any weights. All you need is a chair, and you’re ready to work your rear! Remember, the key is to maintain proper form…keep your core activated, your abs pulled in, and your posture lifted.

Follow these 5 techniques to make the most of this lower body barre-tightening routine:

1. Tap into your inner ballerina as you practice the exercises, and it will reflect in your movement patterns.
2. Check your posture – if you catch yourself hunching over or leaning to one side, re-align your positioning. You shouldn’t feel tension in areas that you’re not targeting.
3. Think and focus, and the body will follow. Imagine trying to pinch a coin or a dollar bill in-between your cheeks. In other works, squeeze your buns toward the midline as you move through the routine. With each pulse, contract just a little harder.
4. When you’re all done, remember to stretch to help counteract the intensity of the workout!

The New York Times referred to a study about why high-impact exercises (such as jumping rope) are good for your bones, and important as you age, saying, “Bones should be jarred, for their own good. Past experiments have definitively established that subjecting bones to abrupt stress prompts them to add mass or at least reduces their loss of mass as people age.”

Today’s 4-min jump rope video from my Cardio Knockout DVD isn’t complicated…in fact, you don’t even need a jump rope…just use your imagination!

But, be prepared…this routine will take your calves, cardio and coordination to the next level. And, it will amp up your metabolism.

Plus, it’s fun.
Here’s what some women on Facebook shared with me about this workout…

Studies show walking is one of the best ways to banish the belly bulge. It’s simple. Only 2 1/2 hours of brisk walking a week (about 20 minutes a day) can shrink your belly by about 1 inch in 4 weeks.

But in order to get the most out of your walk and turn it into a tummy-toning workout, it is imperative to focus on activating the muscles in your core during your walk.

Here’s a trick to core activation which translates into a slim, trim belly…

Once you’re in your steady-state, activate your abdominals every other step. This will help keep your spine in a neutral position. And believe it or not, it will allow you to walk faster, which means burning more calories.

If you activate your muscles before your walk, it will increase your training effect dramatically.

The study in the New York Times followed contestants from The Biggest Loser (Season 8), and shockingly showed that out off all the participants, only one had kept their weight off.

In fact, the winner of the season ended up regaining more than 100 lbs.

“It has to do with resting metabolism, which determines how many calories a person burns when at rest. When the show began, the contestants, though hugely overweight, had normal metabolisms for their size, meaning they were burning a normal number of calories for people of their weight. When it ended, their metabolisms had slowed radically and their bodies were not burning enough calories to maintain their thinner sizes.

“What shocked the researchers was what happened next: As the years went by and the numbers on the scale climbed, the contestants’ metabolisms did not recover. They became even slower, and the pounds kept piling on. It was as if their bodies were intensifying their effort to pull the contestants back to their original weight.”

But with your body being a genetic warehouse, is dieting destroying more than just the metabolism? Yes. In fact, it can damage one of the body’s key hormones…leptin.

“Slower metabolisms were not the only reason the contestants regained weight, though. They constantly battled hunger, cravings and binges. The investigators found at least one reason:plummeting levels of leptin. The contestants started out with normal levels of leptin. By the season’s finale, they had almost no leptin at all, which would have made them ravenous all the time. As their weight returned, their leptin levels drifted up again, but only to about half of what they had been when the season began, the researchers found, thus helping to explain their urges to eat.

But, simply gradually cutting calories isn’t the final answer for weight loss success.

“There are no doubt exceptional individuals who can ignore primal biological signals and maintain weight loss for the long term by restricting calories,” [Dr. Ludwig] said, but he added that “for most people, the combination of incessant hunger and slowing metabolism is a recipe for weight regain — explaining why so few individuals can maintain weight loss for more than a few months.”

“The difficulty in keeping weight off reflects biology, not a pathological lack of willpower affecting two-thirds of the U.S.A.”

• Weakens the muscles for up to 30 minutes after stretching (athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all)

• Decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent

• Reduces strength in the leg that’s not being stretched, most likely because the central nervous system rebels against the movements.

The right warm up needs to both warm up the body and lubricate muscles and tendons. The best way to do this is with “Dynamic Stretching.” These stretches are actually specific movements that loosen up muscles, increasing blood flow and body temperature. Today, I’ll guide you through a 5-min warm-up that uses dynamic stretching to warm muscles, and dilate blood vessels so your body can  pull oxygen from the bloodstream more efficiently and use stored muscle fuel more effectively.

Do you feel like it’s getting harder to lose weight? Your metabolism may be to blame. As we age, metabolism slows down, mostly because we start to lose about 0.5 percent of muscle mass every year, and that mass is responsible for burning calories. But don’t worry: There are ways to boost your metabolism without hitting the gym for hours on end.

What is Metabolism?

Metabolism is the chemical process in which the body converts food into energy. The number of calories a person’s body needs to perform basic functions is called basal metabolic rate (BMR). There are several factors that can influence BMR, including body size and composition (those with more muscle burn more calories), gender (men tend to have less body fat and more muscle), and age (muscle mass decreases with age). Weight gain is the result of taking in more calories than you burn.

A slower metabolism can start as early as your twenties; that’s when bone stops growing. After this age, the metabolic rate decreases by two percent or more per decade, which may be why some of us notice a few extra pounds even though diet and physical activity has been consistent.

Not all weight gain can be attributed to a slow metabolism. It’s a combination of diet, genetics,hormones, physical activity, and stress. But being more active—even if that means just fidgeting more—can help burn more calories and reduce the risk of weight gain.

Remember, in order to maximize your metabolism, it’s important to workout smarter, not harder. The key is interval training. Working out this way means you’ll decrease your fat, increase your muscle, and amplify your energy. It’s simple. It saves time. It’s effective.

Calorie Intake

As BMR decreases each decade, we need to consume fewer calories for energy. But consuming too little can have unintended consequences. If you crash diet and drop a large amount of calories from your usual daily intake, your body assumes you’re starving and will slow down your BMR to preserve energy. Losing any amount of weight, whether intentional or unintentional, slows down metabolism slightly. A crash diet may result in a drop in weight, but it is typically temporary. Decreased calorie intake can lead peoples’ bodies to burn fewer calories and gain weight faster than before a diet.

So how much should you consume?

Though it’s not an exact calculation, you can multiply your current weight by 11 to lose around a half pound to two pounds per week. So a 140-pound person who wants to lose weight should aim for around 1,540 calories a day. Don’t drop below 1,200 calories a day—research shows women who consume less than that had their resting metabolic rate plummet by 45 percent.

Bump up Protein Intake

Protein is the building block of muscle mass so it’s a good idea to eat a variety of protein sources to equal about 20 grams per meal. Digesting protein uses more energy than digesting carbohydrates or fat. Variety is key; research shows animal protein can actually speed muscle loss. Along with lean meat, add legumes and grains, such as beans, lentils, asparagus, quinoa, and buckwheat, into your diet. Eat a protein-packed breakfast such as hard-boiled eggs or Greek yogurt.

Love smoothies? Add a scoop of whey protein powder to the mix. It increases calorie burn and fat utilization and helps the body maintain muscle. One study shows whey may be the most effective non-meat protein, beating out soy and casein. If you follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, try hemp protein powder for a 100 percent plant-based option that’s high in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Brown rice protein powder and pea protein powder are two more great options.

Drink Coffee

Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, which boosts metabolism. A study also found that people who drank caffeinated coffee had an average metabolic rate 16 percent higher than those who drank decaf. It’s proven to increase energy levels during exercise and help people work out harder. Sipping java is also beneficial after a workout: It can increase muscle glycogen by 66 percent. Muscle glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates and the primary fuel for muscles.

Muscle glycogen depletes during your workout and it’s important to replenish it after exercise since it is the primary fuel for muscles. Go ahead and have a cup every morning; just don’t overload it with cream and sugar, which can add up to 70 extra calories. Avoiding empty calories (like sugar) helps people achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Another reason to skip the sweet stuff? A new study suggests a diet high in sugar can increase your risk of breast cancer.

Sip on Green Tea

Don’t like coffee? Green tea, with its caffeine content, also boosts metabolism. On top of that, it has a rich source of catechins, which are antioxidants that can reduce body fat. If you tend to drink several cups of coffee throughout the day, try switching one out for a cup of green tea in the afternoon. Drinking five eight-ounce cups of green tea daily can increase calorie burn by 100 calories per day. And when combined with three hours of moderate exercise each week, green tea can reduce abdominal fat over time. But don’t reach for the bottled stuff: It’s usually loaded with added sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Eat Smaller Meals More Often

Nibbling throughout the day instead of eating three large meals helps keep metabolism ticking along throughout the day. Try to eat at least every four hours and vary the types of food. If you go a long time without eating, you risk becoming so hungry you may overeat.

Don’t Be Scared of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates sometimes get a bad rap because refined carbohydrates—including bagels, white bread, and pasta—can create a surge in insulin that promotes the storage of fat, decreasing metabolic rate. But good carbohydrates, like whole grains, starchy vegetables, and fruit, are an important, fiber-rich part of a healthy diet. If you crave pasta, choose a spaghetti squash recipe or whole-grain variety that won’t wreak havoc on your metabolic rate. Whole grains can help the body burn additional fat because they require more energy to break down than do processed carbohydrates.

Spice up Your Meals

Capsaicin, the substance that makes chili peppers hot, may increase your metabolism by 23 percent. It may also inhibit the generation of fat cells, so go ahead and sprinkle some red pepper flakes on your pasta dish or cook with some chopped red or green chili peppers.

Incorporate Strength Training

Since we slowly lose muscle with age, it’s important to counteract that loss. Incorporate two or three 30-minute strength-training sessions each week along with moderate exercise. Compound movements such as squats, lunges, and planks engage multiple muscles at once. Every pound of muscle uses about six calories a day, while every pound of fat only uses about two calories daily.

When you strength train, take it slow. Count to three as you lower the weight back to its start position to increase the breakdown of muscle tissue. The repair after your session boosts your metabolism for as long as 72 hours.

Interval Training

Longer doesn’t always mean better. Studies show that short bursts of intense activity combined with rest periods torches calories after you leave the gym. (So don’t worry if you don’t have an hour to kill at the gym every single day.) Try alternating one minute of fast running or biking with one minute at a much slower pace. Repeat this cycle for 25 minutes for a quick calorie-burning workout. Alternating speed with slow cardio also increases aerobic capacity and improves endurance.

Say No to That Second Drink

There’s nothing wrong with a glass of wine. In fact, enjoying one drink can raise your metabolic rate. But having two or more cocktails can cause the body to use the alcohol for energy, which reduces your its fat-burning ability.

Get More Sleep

Hitting the sack early helps keep metabolism stable. Irregular sleep patterns and lack of sleep can disrupt the hormones that help regulate energy and appetite. One study showed adults who slept for nine hours had fewer cravings for sweet and salty snacks, reduced hunger, and healthier metabolisms than those who slept for four hours.

Think you can’t get rid of cellulite? THINK AGAIN! Living with those lumpy bumps can be a real drain on your confidence, and keep you from enjoying activities you love.

In fact, top Beverly Hills Dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein says that nearly 85% of all women have cellulite. No wonder women across the country are spending millions of dollars on anti-cellulite creams that claim to diminish the dimples!

If you are struggling with unwanted orange peel bumps on your thighs or buns, here are 4 surprising ways to banish cellulite.

Remember, at the end of the day, it’s not just about having sleeker-looking legs, but about having increased energy and vitality as well as a decreased risk for back paint and joint issues.

It’s important to first understand that cellulite is not a medical condition. It’s is nothing more than fat lying directly beneath the skin. What happens is there’s only so much room for these fat cells and they get pushed up toward the skin. This action puts pressure on the surrounding fascia.

Fascia is a web of connective tissue surrounding muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. Think of it like the netting of a tennis racket with the strings representing the fascia. Over time, though, those strings or tissues lose their collagen and elasticity or too much fat develops and the fat gets pushed through the netting. That’s what gives a dimpled appearance, or what we call cellulite.

The good news is that there are four key ways to effectively minimize cellulite for the long-term:

1. Increase circulation

Sitting is the new smoking! It’s not enough to work out for 30 minutes at a time, you need to keep blood flowing to the lower body throughout the day. If your job demands you sit at a desk, get up to walk around every 20 minutes to increase you circulation.

Also, If you have time and money, get a massage to restore the fluid state of your connected tissue. In between massages, use a foam roller to help support the tissue on a daily basis.

2. Maintain a healthy weight

The more weight you carry, the more fat cells push through the fascia. Losing weight can result in a noticeable reduction of cellulite. To get an accurate predictor of a healthy weight, start by measuring your waistline with this 10-second string trick…Cut a string to the length of your height, and then fold it in half and wrap it around your waist. If the ends of the string overlap, then your waist is less than half of your height…right where you want to be! If the string is snug, you’re not alone. In fact, two-thirds of all women are affected by abdominal obesity. If you’re a woman, you fall in this category if you have a waistline of more than 35 inches. For men, abdominal obesity is defined as a waistline of more than 40 inches.

And then, start moving! I can’t stress enough the importance of getting 150 minutes of exercise each week. Research shows that less than 30 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT) three times a week is just as effective as moderately exercising for 40 minutes or longer four or five days a week.

3. Eat high-fiber and diuretic foods

When the body holds onto extra fluids, it adds more pressure to the fascia. If you’re feeling like your cellulite is more noticeable or you’re getting ready to wear something that shows a little skin and you want to minimize dimpling, then fill your plate with foods high in fiber or natural diuretics, such as: asparagus, steel-cut oats and artichokes. Also, green tea is one of my all-time favorite beverages, can give relief from bloating.

4. Stay hydrated

Not enough fluids or dehydration also contribute to cellulite.  Most studies show that about 2/3 of us are dehydrated and need to drink more water…so stay hydrated throughout the day! I aim to drink a gallon of water a day (yes…a gallon!). Although this may be a hefty goal for you, aim to drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

To achieve this goal, set an alarm on your phone every hour on the hour from 8 am to 5 pm. When the alarm goes off, it’s time to get up, get your blood circulating, and drink a glass of water.

Remember, while you may not erase cellulite completely, being active and eating healthy is the best way to control it. 

You already know that the formula for burning insane amounts of fat and keeping it off, is more than cutting calories and guzzling detox juices. All that will do is revert you back to old patterns and gaining weight faster than you can say yo-yo!

The vital process in the weight loss journey is to transform good habits into a LIFESTYLE. This requires a mental shift – a new way of thinking that, just like any other new habit, requires practice. Often times, women are hesitant to go all-in on the weight loss journey, because they’re afraid that eventually, their engine of motivation will ware off, and their train will de-rail and fall off the tracks. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Studies prove that the best predictor for lasting weight will be to analyze how many pounds you drop within the first 30 days. But, the first two weeks of your weight loss journey are the most important…this is the time where you develop habits and guidelines for healthy eating that you can follow throughout your life. During this time, you learn to curb unhealthy cravings and shift your mindset to change course. Results are motivating, and if you see the pounds start to drop in the first two weeks, you will naturally build momentum, to transform your new habits into a healthy lifestyle.

During the first few weeks when you feel the urge to pick up the fork and go crazy, remember the H-A-L-T method. Ask yourself:

H – Am I actually HUNGRY, or am I…
A – ANXIOUS or ANGRY?
L – LONELY?
T – TIRED?

If you’re still undecided after answering those questions, try the apple test. If you’re truly hungry, the sweet, juicy flavor of an apple will excite your taste buds. If not, it’s time to keep investigating your feelings. Remember, if hunger isn’t what you’re feeling, then food won’t be the solution. Instead of grabbing for the nearest chocolate cake, try lacing up your shoes for a 10-min walk outside.