It’s kind of funny, in a sad sort of way, that the number of ineffective, short-lived fad diets continues to grow. And they grow despite the fact that they don’t work, at least not as a long-term solution to losing weight. So, what are you supposed to do if you want to lose weight? Eat better.

Yep. That’s it. Eat better.

Okay, seriously, it wouldn’t be much if that’s all I said. I believe we all know, deep down, that we need to eat better if we stand a chance of shedding those extra pounds. Don’t worry, this is going to be as common sense as it is easy to follow. No fad diet nonsense, just what works.

Food is nothing more than fuel for the body. It contains the vitamins, minerals and calories we need to survive. We only get in trouble when we eat too many calories without burning them off. Some foods are better than others, but nothing is forbidden. Here’s how you can use food to put the odds of weight loss in your favor.

Start the day with something to get the internal furnace started. That means eating breakfast. There is no reason to skip breakfast. It takes virtually no time at all to grab a piece of whole-wheat toast and spread some peanut butter on it, then wash it down with a glass of orange juice. Or boil up some eggs for the upcoming week. Then have an egg, a banana and a granola bar. Even a ready made breakfast shake is better than nothing. The trick is to get your body use to burning calories for the day.

Now that you have your metabolism fired up, you need to keep it going by snacking. A light snack every two hours is all it takes. A small handful of nuts, some carrot sticks with non-fat yogurt, or a protein bar, are good choices. Regular snacking will prevent you from experience mid-afternoon burn out, too.

So, now it’s lunchtime and you’re feeling great! You’re eating food you like and you’re not hungry. Let’s keep going with turkey breast on whole-grain bread, romaine lettuce, tomato and a smear of mustard. Add a veggie-rich salad and a small glass of juice or skim milk and you’re all set.

Don’t forget your two-hour snack break.

For supper try some baked salmon brushed with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Include some fresh veggies of your choice (bake them with the salmon if you like), and a cup of homemade soup. Yummy!

Remember to eat your next snack.

As you can see, this is all reasonable, simple eating. Food is there to keep you going, and it needs to be tasty, too. Remember, nothing is off limits. If you must have some ice cream, just keep the portion under control. Make it a habit to increase the better foods, and eat less of the not-so-good ones and you lose weight fast. Faster than you may have thought possible.

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Healthy Fondue A Guide To Making Broth and Hot Oil Fondues
Anthony Tripodi

A pot of hot oil that you dip meat into sounds downright barbaric but it can also be heart healthy. Broth and hot oil fondues are much less decadent than their siblings, cheese and chocolate fondue but theyre just as tasty. If a little care is taken when selecting ingredients and overeating is avoided, then both broth and hot oil fondues can become a healthy meal.

Fondue Bourguignonne (also known as hot oil fondue) consists of diners who cook their own food on long forks in a pot filled with hot oil. The oil is heated in a fondue pot to about 325 degrees and guests spike cubes of meat and place them directly into the hot oil. While waiting a minute or two for the meat to cook and also to enjoy some wine and their company (the best part of fondue) the cube is removed from the oil and ready to be dunked into a variety of dipping sauces.

In order to make hot oil fondue healthier you need to start with the oil. Peanut oil is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in monounsaturated fat. This means that that just like olive oil, peanut oil will improve the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.

Next you will need to use lean cuts of meat. Beef tenderloin, pork tenderloin and loin of lamb are good but chicken or turkey breast are your best bets. And keep the portions small. The general guideline is that the portion should be about the size of your palm of your hand.

Dipping sauces can also be made healthier with ingredient substitutions. Try using low sodium soy sauce or fat free sour cream. Take a small dip and dont drown your food in the sauce. Just say no to the barnaise or hollandaise sauce.

Broth fondues are similar to hot oil fondue except they are cooked in broth instead of oil. The benefit of cooking in broth is that it takes on the flavors of the ingredients dunked in it and you can eat it. Often broth fondue (or Shabu Shabu) is followed by a course of noodle or rice soup that is made with the leftover broth.

Start your broth fondue with low sodium chicken or beef broth. Like hot oil fondue you should use lean cuts of meat, small portions and limit the use of dipping sauces. Broth fondues add vegetables to the mix. Try adding mushrooms, green onions, carrots and celery to the broth. Loading up on vegetables will not only fill you but theyre healthy for you.

When running low on ingredients, add the remainder to the fondue pot along with some noodles or rice. Let simmer for a few minutes and serve this wonderfully flavored soup as an after dinner treat to your guests.

Chocolate fondue is delicious but fattening. Cheese fondue is not something you should eat every day. When dieting you should probably skip them both and stick to broth and hot oil fondues. If some care is taken while gathering ingredients, fondue can become a healthy meal.

About the Author

Anthony Tripodi is the webmaster of GoFondue.com – The Home of Fondue. For more information about fondue including recipes, ideas and equipment, visit GoFondue.com

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The quickest way to lose belly fat, thats the million dollar question. If you are looking for a solution in a weeks time then you are kidding yourself. Thats your first step, realizing what quick really means.

However, there are ways to lose that belly fat its just not going to happen overnight. The safest and quickest way to lose belly fat is to diet and exercise. Notice I said safest as well as quickest.

Now, you have to make your mind up that you are going to do this and nobody is going to stand in your way, thats called getting your mind right. Once you have done this you will have taken your 2nd step.

Before you jump into something you really need to make sure that any type of program is going to work for you. You want something that will keep your interest and will be fun for you.

However, this may take a couple of tries to find the right programs, you may find a good diet plan, however your exercise program just isnt working or your exercise program works; but the diet just isnt doing it. The right combination is very important.

Now a few examples of a diet that would work lean protein and low carbs. The lean protein examples good be chicken breast, turkey breast, and egg white. A few examples of low carb meals would be grilled chicken and a salad.

The exercise program is just as important as the diet program. A few good examples would be a high cardio workout. This would include jogging, speed walking, or really just anything that will get your heart rate up and your metabolism in overdrive.

There is one more thing which would make things go by quicker and seem a little simpler. You should get people around you that have the same weight loss goal as you. This way you can lean on one another when one is weak or you can just feed off each others positive energy to motivate each other that much more.

Finally you have your diet plan in front of you; you now have chosen the workout regimen that best suit you and you even have people around you that want the same thing you do.

All you have to do is put it all in place and get ready to rock and roll because in no time you will have want you want.

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This is a battle that millions of people around the world go though. The battle is losing stomach fat. With all the temptation that is out there with fast food and it being so easy just to give into it, its really hard to lose it.

There are some people think that there is a conspiracy theory out there that government puts this stuff out to make it tougher for us to not spend our money. Now personally I dont know about that however but thats for another time and place.

Losing stomach fat isnt easy, we know that. However it can be done if you have a few things in place, and it can be done quicker than you can ever imagine. However those things in place have to be firm and you have to stick with it.

Pick out a good diet plan, there a plenty of them out there however choosing the right one is tricky. Remember not everyone is the same, so that means what might work for your best friend, may not work for you.

A couple of the diets that would work would be a low carb diet and lean protein diet. Low carb food would be grilled chicken and a salad. Really anything grilled would work just make sure it has nothing on it. Lean protein would be turkey breast, chicken breast, egg white.

Now you have the diet in place; now its time to pick out a good workout routine. This can be as tricky as finding a good diet. The reason is you have to find a routine that works for you, you do not want to get into something and then three weeks later get bored of it.

This type of thing happens all the time; people get burned out because they lose interest and frankly just arent having any fun. Having fun is really a big key part of your success so make sure you pick something you are going to enjoy doing.

The types of exercises that are out there a dime a dozen, and like I mentioned before, its just picking the right one. For instance, jogging is a great way to lose that bulge, and if jogging is a little rough on your joints and bones then a brisk walk is just as good. Its all about getting your heart rate and metabolic rate going through the roof.

Once last thing that will help you get rid of that stomach is finding people that want the same thing you do. Not only will it be fun to have those people around, you can lean on each other when things are tough and you all can help each other make it through.

There you have it, the plan is out there, all you have to do is go get it.

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