I’ve been getting a lot of exercise from my new job, constantly moving all day long, but it’s not helping me lose weight and it’s doing nothing for my body. I need to tone. Starting tomorrow after work I’m going to pick up the weights every day and do something with them.

I’ll start with upper body tomorrow and do lower body the next day. You never want to work the same muscle group two days in a row, it’s just not good for your muscles.

I really need to work that area under my arms, you know, the wing area. Being almost 40 it’s starting to droop a little. Then I need to work on my but, so I look good in my jeans. Working the stomach and back muscles are a must. They’re the core of your body and all else works around them.

I had a couple days off from work, so I cheated on my diet a lot. The reason I did this was to get it all out of my system. I’ve been pretty good with my diet, but not good enough the past few weeks.

I started a new job, and although my job keeps my pretty active all day, I haven’t lost a pound since starting it. I’m not really sure why except that I’m eating more when I get home from work because I’m hungrier from working all day.

Tomorrow I’m back on the diet, even dinner. I packed my lunches for the week based on my diet plan, and I’m going to stick to it. Now that it’s out of my system, I’m ready to start all over again.

You see them everywhere. They’re listed as healthy alternatives to the snacks you really enjoy. But are they really? Reading the labels is more important than ever with all these snack foods out there trying to fool you. Just because they’re listed as low fat or low sugar, it doesn’t mean they’re low calorie, and it certainly doesn’t mean they’re any healthier for you than the original.

Next time you’re at the grocery store pick up a box of Oreos and a box of fat free Oreos and compare. You’ll find that although the fat free version has less fat it has more sugar. The savings in calories is negligible. Try comparing other items that you like to buy and see if the same holds true.

For years companies  have been replacing fat for sugar and sugar for fat. Low fat ends up meaning high sugar and low sugar often means higher fat. There are exceptions. Items made with sugar substitutes like Splenda will be low calorie. Items make with fat substitutes may also have less calories. You decide.

When you diet, sometimes you skip the much need nutrients your body craves. This can cause you to be tired, sluggish and even sick. If your eating a low calorie diet, or skipping food groups to lose weight, make sure you replace those lost nutrients by taking some vitamins.

If your diet is under 1200 calories, you may want to consult a doctor on what kinds of vitamins you need to take to supplement your diet. If you feel extremely tired while dieting you may also want to see a doctor. Otherwise you should be alright with a good multivitamin.

Symptoms such as lethargy can be related to other conditions too. If you’re not feeling well, see your doctor and get your blood tested. There may be something else going on you don’t even  know about.

Everyone knows that frying your food is not good for you. It’s high in fat, mostly because you soak your food in fat when you fry it. Instead baking is better and can create foods that are pretty close to the taste of fried foods if done right. When baking though, your food is still  sitting in it’s own fat. So although it’s healthier, it’s still not healthy.

Try broiling or try using a rotisserie. Both styles of cooking allow all the excess fat to drip off your food while you cook it, making it better for you. Broiling must be done carefully though, otherwise you’ll end up with dry or burned food. Done right though, you have something that tastes great.

It’s hard for plus size women (that’s women size 14 or higher) to find clothes that fit the right way on their unique figures. Some women are bigger up top and have smaller hips. Some have hips that are wider than their waist, some have the opposite shape. So how do plus size women find the right clothes.

Finding clothes that fit is very important. It will make you look better and may even make you look a little slimmer, even if the size is a little bigger. Remember, no one can see the size tag except you so don’t worry about the size, worry about the fit. If your clothes is too tight it’ll show every bulge, making you look heavier.

Fortunately there are clothing stores that cater to the plus size woman. I found one by chance at my local mall. It’s called Lane Bryant and not only is their clothes made for the plus size woman, but they actually have three different fits for three different types of plus size women.

When you go to Lane Bryant the clerk will measure you and then recommend a size and a fit for your clothes. Your jeans have never felt so good. Even better is that they’ll fit you for a bra. Believe it or not, most women are wearing the wrong size bra and have no idea what they’re actual size is. Let someone at Lane Bryant measure you and tell you about their bras. You’ll be happy you did.

While you’re there ask about other items they have at Lane Bryant. They have some special items there that you can’t find anywhere else.

The more stressed you are the more weight your body is likely going to want to keep. I don’t know why, it just does. If you want to lose weight you’re going to need to do a little more than just watch what you eat and get more exercise, you’re going to have to learn to calm down and relax.

Easier said than done. Don’t tell me about it, I work full time and have 3 boys, one with autism. I run them to their activities and make sure the house stays in a constant state of not quite clean. Relaxing doesn’t come easy to me either.

I’m going to give you some of my tips for taking a much needed time out. I’m also going to give you some other people’s ideas of relaxing amongst the chaos.

1. Stop! Right now I want you to stop everything and go to a safe place. Your bedroom, with the door shut might be a good place to start. Then do something you want to do. Read a book, watch TV, look at the clouds. Do this for at least 10 minutes, then come back.

*Now that you’re back I’m going to give you some other ideas.

2. Take a deep breath through your nose very slowly. Hold it for 5 seconds. Then slowly but forcefully blow out through pursed lips for about 3 seconds. Do this 3 times.

3. Meditate. Turn off the lights, get comfortable and just do nothing.

4. Do something relaxing that doesn’t require much thinking. Go for a bike ride, knit, listen to the radio, it just needs to be something you like.

5. Get a massage. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done to relax.

Often times when you join a gym you get some personal trainer visits along with your membership. If you belong to a gym, ask about this benefit. People who use a personal trainer to get their workout started loose weight faster and keep it off longer.

Having a personal trainer show you the ropes will get you motivated. It will also help to make sure you’re doing the right exercises for what you want to accomplish. If your goal is to lose weight and your friends goal it to get stronger, the personal trainer may give you both different exercises to do to reach your individual goals.

If you’re already in a routine but you’ve reached a plateau, it may be time for that personal trainer visit again. The personal trainer can change around your exercise routing to get your goal back on track.

Iron is essential to a healthy diet. Make sure you eat iron rich foods every day to keep your body running on track. Without enough iron in your diet you will feel tiered all the time and your body just won’t want to do anything you want it to do.  Anemia is a condition sometimes caused by not eating enough iron rich foods. If your iron gets this low your doctor may put you on iron supplements. Don’t let this happen, eat your iron.

Here’s a list of iron rich foods you need to add to your diet:

- tofu
- baked potato
- pasta
- certain cereals
- lentils
- kidney beans
- black beans
- spinach
- liver
- clams, mussels, oysters
- beef
- shrimp
- sardines
- turkey

I’ve never personally tried the vegetarian diet, so I can’t tell you if you can lose weight on it from first hand experience, but I can tell you a few things I know about it. It may be healthy to eat all those fruits and veggies, but not if that’s all you eat.

You need the four basic food groups, I don’t think they teach this one to kids anymore, so I’m going to touch on it here. There’s, of course, the fruit/veggie group. Then there’s the meat/protein group, the bread/starch group, and the milk/dairy group. You need all of these groups in your diet to be healthy.

If you cut all the meat out of your diet, you’re missing a whole food group. If you also cut dairy out of your diet, because it comes from animals, you’re now missing an whole other food group. You need to replace these food groups some how. You still need the vitamins, minerals and proteins that they provide.

Replace the missed vitamins and minerals with iron rich foods and vitamin C rich foods. Then replace your protein with beans or soy foods at every meal.

Water is really good for you, but face it, it doesn’t have any flavor. It’s hard to drink eight glasses of water a day when you crave something sweet and you’re not getting it. Here’s a way to add some flavor and some sweetness to your water to make it easier to get it all down.

Cut up some fruit and put it in your water pitcher before adding your water. Try this with oranges, mangos, raspberries, lemon or lime and make your water taste a whole lot better. Of course, you’ll want to let it sit for at least 15 minutes so the water has time to pull the flavors out of the fruit. Longer if you can wait.

For a twist try freezing some fruit and using it as ice cubes in your water. Grapes, raspberries and chopped up apples are great for this.

I love fruit, especially peaches, nectarines and apricots. The great part about fruit is that it’s only about 60-80 calories per piece. That’s a really low calorie snack, and completely fat free. If you have 2 pieces of fruit for a snack you’ll feel satisfied too. Fruit fills you up even though it’s small because it’s filled with water.

If you combine a piece of fruit with a small piece of cheese, you’ll feel fuller longer. That’s because of the protein and fat in the cheese.  Fruit also has all kinds of vitamins and minerals that make you feel good and can help to keep your sugar levels stable.

Eating while watching TV is a sure fire way to eat too much and pack on the pounds. While you’re sitting there you have no idea how much food you’re stuffing into your mouth. Before you know it your dish, or bag, is empty and you don’t have any idea what the food really tasted like. Then your body craves more, so you eat more.

If you turn off the TV and focus soley on your food, you’ll find that you eat less. Your food will taste better too. Take your time and just eat, nothing else. You’ll also eat less because your bored from sitting at the table with no TV. If you want to turn the TV back on, put your dish in the sink and be done with eating.

Exercise is a great way to keep your heart healthy. People who exercise have less problems with their health in general. Here are some things that you can make better just by exercising more.

1. Asthma - Regular exercise can keep your lungs from becoming inflamed hence making your asthma seem like it’s gone away.

2. Blood Pressure - Lower your blood pressure by exercising on a regular basis.

3. Cholesterol - Boost your HDL cholesterol by exercising so it can help filter away the LDL and keep your cholesterol from building up.

4. Arteries - Keep your arteries from hardening by working out.

5. Triglycerides - Keep those pesky triglycerides low by working out.

You think you’re going to need to work out so you can lose weight. While that’s true there are many other reasons to make sure you work out every day. Fitting into a smaller pair of jeans is not the only reason.

Looking better is another reason, and I don’t mean size wise. When you work out people can tell. The glow in your face, the tone of your skin, the way you walk (more confidently).

The way you feel is another reason to work out. After a couple weeks of working out, you are going to start to feel great. You’ll have more energy and you may even feel happier. You’ll find that going up the steps is a whole lot easier too.

Sex will be better. Not only will you have more energy to do it, you’ll also be able to do it better. On top of that, you’ll be able to achieve the big O easier.

The the endorphins flowing from your work outs you’ll also be able to sleep better, imagine, a good  nights sleep. This will help you deal with stress better too.

Instead of going to the beach and just laying there eating sandwiches all day, choose to do something more exciting that helps you keep fit at the same time. No, I don’t mean go to a fitness spa, that’s not fun. Here, try some of these fun and fit vacation ideas.

- Learn to parasail or hang glide. If you’re the adventurous type you’re going to love giving parasailing and hang gliding a try.

- Take a rafting trip. Most major rivers offer some sort of rafting tour. Get out there with nature and try something new.

- Join a cattle ranch. This kind of hard work may not sound like a vacation, but if you live in the city, this may be just the thing you need.

- Go hiking. Park your car on one part of a trail and take a bus, or have a friend give you a lift, to the other end of the trail. Then hike back to your car. Make sure you pack everything you need, and don’t go further than you can realistically go.

If you live less than a mile from your local grocery store and you just need a couple things, take a walk. Get a light backpack and take it with you. Then you can put your groceries in the backpack and carry them home.

A great way to get some exercise is to walk to where you need to go, then walk home. There’s no place near me to walk to, but if I’m out at the park and need something to drink, I’ll walk to the store.

If you live a little further than a mile, ride your bike. Don’t worry about the hills. If you can’t ride up the hill, you can always walk up it.

If you really want to burn more calories, but you want to stay walking and you don’t want to take up anything like jogging, try walking uphill instead. Walking uphill burns a lot more calories than just walking on a flat surface.

You’ll also tone your lower body when you walk uphill. As you walk up the hill you’ll work your legs, back and stomach muscles. Try to find a hill and walk up and down it for a good workout.

If you don’t have a hill set your treadmill’s incline at 10%. Walk uphill for a minute or two, then turn around and walk downhill. Keep doing this for at least half an hour.

So your mom ate a lot when you were a kid, and she expected you to do the same. Fill your plate and eat it all, she would say. After all, there are starving kids on the other side of the world who would be really happy to have your food.

You’re all grown up now, it’s time to forget about what your mom said and start eating the right way. Don’t fill your plate anymore. Don’t cook for two people when it’s just you eating. Don’t finish it all if you don’t want to.

It’s better for the extra food to be in the garbage then in your body adding calories. It’s time to grow up and do what you know is right.

Do you eat when you’re sad or when you’re really happy? How about when you’re bored? This is my favorite, eating when  you’re depressed about being overweight. Most overweight people have one or more of these problems.

What you need to do is think before you eat. If it’s not mealtime, or if you’ve already had your meal, then you shouldn’t be eating. If you think you’re hungry and it’s not mealtime, think about why you thing you’re hungry. Decide if you’re really hungry, of if you’re just bored.

If you really think hard before you eat, you may  just realize that you’re not really hungry at all. If it’s only an hour until lunch, you can wait that long.