One of the struggles that many people endure as they try to lose weight is seen with going on a diet then going off that diet. When you've lost an amount of weight that you feel successful with, many times a dieter will then think it's ok to have "a little extra" or a "treat".  Afterall, with things 'under control' and a sense of empowerment because weight has been lost and the formula for losing it has been figured out, the presumption becomes "an extra cookie or ice cream or hamburger and fries won't hurt."

A diet is usually a prescription for what to eat until the weight is off. A healthy eating plan is not usually something that most people will subscribe to because the big picture of getting to a healthy weight and living a healthy lifestyle is not the true goal, when it should be. So when does the diet end and a healthy lifestyle begin? It doesn't.

The real focus for a dieter who wants lasting success - that means health in every sense of the word - should be to begin down the road toward a healthier lifestyle, one that includes a healthy diet. The best way for this to happen is not to start an eating plan that you can't adhere to for the long term. The best way that is also the most effective for lasting fitness and health is to start with one action and master it. That means making it a part of your daily life. The first step in The Vice Busting Diet Plan is eliminating most all beverages other than water, and to be sure that a minimum amount of water is consumed each day. The results from this one step are many times great enough to give the dieter a sense of empowerment, hope, and clarity that healthy living really only involves a few simple steps done one at a time and made into habits.

Then it builds from there. Changing one aspect of your diet or meal plan by eliminating a food that is consumed regularly that is contributing the most calories and therefore weight to your body. Replacing it with a healthy food. Mastering this action so it becomes ingrained into your daily life. And so on. This is the way to build a healthy lifestyle so that there is no beginning to your diet and no end to your healthy lifestyle. That is, in a nutshell, the way to true success when it comes to lasting health - fitness, weight, or otherwise.

If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

Note: If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Medifast - try a 4-week plan and get the fifth week free. Medifast is physician developed.

What is Oprah doing? What does Oprah recommend? There are too many people Oprah-obsessed, instead of being concerned with their own health.  While 'we' seem to like our celebrities and watching everything they do and what they eat, our obsessions go a bit too far (hence, obsessions).

Apparently, Oprah's Vegan chef has left her - probably in pursuit of some bigger purpose like saving the world - and she is now in search of a replacement....or, something to fill the void. You've heard about her 21-day vegan cleanse, well that has been interrupted now. (Reference on this article...)

So the point is this - is a cleanse good for you, health? Absolutely it is. But it can be quite overwhelming for most people who don't have either the money for a chef or a motivation coach to stay on track, nor the discipline to maintain the duration of such extreme measures. Afterall, with most diets consisting of so many unhealthy foods and drinks, it's not realistic to think the other end of the spectrum can be followed for any length of time.

Here's a suggestion (actually 2) on how to approach this. First, you can start by going through a 6-week preparation period whereby you start with eliminating all drinks other than water.  Then after 2 weeks of maintaining this action, eliminate the unhealthiest food that you're consuming on a regular basis - usually that will be at least once per day, sometimes once every 2 days - and replace it with a healthy food, namely a fruit or vegetable. You can use a different fruit or vegetable each day, but you need to be sure you aren't consuming the item that's putting on the extra weight. Then after 2 more weeks, all this time you've been drinking only water, and having eliminated your first 'diet vice' replaced with a fruit or vegetable, then find the next most unhealthy food that you're consuming - and it may be a broader ID like breads - and replace it again the same way as you're first one.  Do this for the remaining 2 weeks. 

If you can stick with this 6 week plan, then maybe you're ready to do a cleanse.

However, and this is suggestion #2: I would approach your cleanse with a shorter duration - say 3-4 days, rather than 21 days. Again, work up to a longer cleanse so you know what you're going to be in for, and 3-4 days would certainly give you a peek at what's to come. Not to mention that it will still provide benefit, especially if you do a cleanse made for a 3-4 day stretch.

The real benefit long-term is the elimination of 2 most unhealthy foods that are contributing negatively to your weight and health, and the elimination of unhealthy liquids that are probably doing the same. These actions alone have resulted in a major improvement in weight loss and health. But a cleanse will take it a step further.

Bottom line: any changes in your diet, even ones that will last temporarily, should be approached with some caution.  Research it, be sure you know what you're getting into, and be prepared for some difficult physical changes that may result.  And for the long-term, make your diet and weight loss efforts be about making one small change at a time until you build a healthy and permanently fit lifestyle.

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

Although we condone healthy diets and choosing healthy foods over processed foods, fast foods, soft drinks and the like, there are limits to how far you should go with your food choices. For instance, celebrities are a perfect example of going to far when it comes to dieting. Many, not all, celebrities will go to extremes to maintain a low weight due to the demands that Hollywood place on their figures for television. While this may be true, it doesn't mean it's healthy especially when their diet may be void of proper nutrition - macro and micronutrients. That is, the body needs micronutrients from fruits and vegetables and macronutrients in the form of adequate carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. In the case of extreme diet choices, or lack thereof, the body can lose bone mass, organ function, and even proper brain function from lack of proper nutrition. Here is the story of what can happen to a child that doesn't get the nutrition needed for proper growth and developement:

A girl of 12 brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old.

Doctors are under pressure to report the couple, from Glasgow, to police and social workers amid concerns her health and welfare may have been neglected in pursuit of their beliefs.

The youngster, fed on a strict meat- and dairy-free diet from birth, is being treated at the city’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children. She is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones. The condition is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is needed to absorb calcium and is found in liver, oily fish and dairy produce.

Dr Faisal Ahmed, the consultant treating the child, said he believed the dangers of forcing children to follow a strict vegan diet needed to be highlighted. “Something like this needs publicity,” he said. However, he refused to blame the parents, who are understood to be well-known figures in Glasgow’s vegan community: “We shouldn’t name and shame \. Mum feels guilty about the whole thing and feels bad about it.” Read on...

Bottom line: Don't deprive your body or that of your child's of the basic nutritional needs for proper function, maintenance of good health, and growth and developement. Fruits and vegetables are the primary source of the most important micronutrients needed for good health, while macronutrients - healthy fats, compound carbohydrates, and lean protein sources - are necessary for bone, organ, and brain development. Good health is a choice. Choose a healthy diet.

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.

Medifast diet program (located at http://www.drinkchooselive.com) controls portions and calories so you don't have to. Avoid calorie counting, diet pills, and confusing point systems with this simple, convenient 5 & 1 Plan. The plan is clinically proven to burn fat and help your body lose weight quickly, up to twenty pounds in a single month. The plan keeps you eating every two to three hours to help ensure that you don't get hungry between meals.

The 5 & 1 plan allows you to eat six meals a day. For five of your meals, choose from over 50 delicious Medifast options, including scrumptious shakes, satisfying soups, oatmeal, bars, pudding, drinks, snacks (crackers, soy chips, etc.), and scrambled eggs. These great-tasting, nutritious meals are low in calories and allow you to create a healthy gap between the calories you take in and the calories you burn so that you'll lose weight quickly and safely. The meals can be used interchangeably for your convenience. In addition to the five Medifast meals, you'll prepare a Lean & Green meal, which balances 5-7 ounces of lean protein (fish, poultry, pork, lamb, etc.) with a salad or vegetables. This weight loss program also provides a list of foods that can be used to replace the meat portion of the meal if you are a vegetarian.

This weight loss program is not a fad diet that abandons you after the initial stage. Once you reach your goal weight, you'll begin a Transition phase in which you can reintroduce foods you eliminated in the early stage of the diet, such as fruits, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, and higher-carbohydrate vegetables. Then, you'll move onto a Maintenance phase, in which you'll discover how to sustain your weight loss for life through activity and healthy diet. Medifast.com also provides an Exercise Guide to equip you for a healthy lifestyle essential for the maintenance of weight loss.

This company offers program packages for women, men, and diabetics. Studies have shown that people with Type II diabetes lose twice as much weight on this diet plan than they do following the ADA's recommended food guidelines. Medifast's program for diabetics may also make it possible for you to reduce your diabetes medication. In addition to providing a meal plan and healthful foods, Medifast1.com offers members weight loss tools and a supportive, online community. You can share your recopies and success stories on the message boards, find a physician, calculate your body mass index, or monitor your daily activities using downloadable PDF files. If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.