Do You Lack The Willpower To Stick To A Diet?

If you are the kind of person who can start a diet, but can't stay motivated for long, then the 3 week diet might be for you.  Our reviewer Karen has tested it out,  click here to read her 3 week diet blog, find out how much weight she lost and whether she would recommend it.

That fat loss diet is not for everyone, so we've reviewed a range of the most popular, well regarded weight loss programs so you can find something which will suit your individual needs.

You may be searching for the fastest way to lose 10 pounds, or perhaps looking for a solution which will help you lose more weight over a few months.  You may even be needing to look good without your clothes on! Whatever you're searching for, we have something to help you achieve the body of your dreams.

Our Top Story:

For most women, how easy or hard it is for them to lose weight is determined by their hormones. Women who have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome find losing weight especially challenging.  Indeed, one of the symptoms of PCOS is weight gain and great difficulty in losing the weight.

We examine the causes of PCOS weight gain, the close relationship between polycystic ovaries and insulin resistance and explain how to use this information to lose weight successfully.

Click here to read more about how to beat PCOS weight issues…

In The News:

Have you ever noticed how food affects your mood?  When we're stressed or depressed we tend to reach for sugary, fatty comfort foods, chocolate, ice-cream or perhaps pizza.  But could that be actually making us feel worse? Could eating better make us feel better?

In 17th-century England, a “hot and moist diet” was thought to provide a cure for melancholy. Today, the idea that food can have an impact on emotional health hasn’t gone away; it just looks a little different. The internet is littered with food-based mental-health fixes, ranging from books with titles like The Happiness Diet to recipes for things like “better than Prozac” turmeric lemonade. read more at sbs.com.au

But is there any science behind this?  We know that some foods are healthier for our brains, so perhaps I shouldn't have been suprised to discover that there's a new field of research called nutritional psychiatry.  Professor of nutrition at Kansas State University, Mark Haub describes it as “a field where both mental health and nutrition professionals can cross over and better understand how food and nutrients can affect mental health.”

Deakin University have a whole department called the Food and Mood Center. They study the link between diet and mental health. One of their recent studies took 67 men and women who were being treated for depression. This group of people who all admitted to eating a classically unhealthy diet, rich in sweets, salty snacks and processed meats.  None of them ate much in the way of fresh fruit or vegetables.

Half of the group were made to eat a healthy diet focusing on extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, eggs, fruits, vegetables, fatty fish and grass-fed beef. The other half continued eating their usual diets and as a were required to attend social support sessions.

The group's symptoms were graded on a standard depression scale. After three months of healthier eating, those in the healthy eating group saw their scores improve on average by about 11 points. Impressively, a third of the healthy eating group now had scores so low that they were no longer classed as depressed. The other group who had social support but no special dietary instructions improved by only about 4 points and only 8% were no longer depressed.

This may be one small piece or research, but over the past 10 years, many more studies have had similar findings. Researchers analyzed the results of 21 similar projects from a variety of institutions and came up with the following conclusion:

A dietary pattern characterized by a high intakes of fruit, vegetables, whole grain, fish, olive oil, low-fat dairy and antioxidants and low intakes of animal foods was apparently associated with a decreased risk of depression. A dietary pattern characterized by a high consumption of red and/or processed meat, refined grains, sweets, high-fat dairy products, butter, potatoes and high-fat gravy, and low intakes of fruits and vegetables is associated with an increased risk of depression. The results of this meta-analysis suggest that healthy pattern may decrease the risk of depression, whereas western-style may increase the risk of depression. Via sciencedirect.com

So not only can a typical Mediterranean diet loaded with fresh vegetables, fruit and lean meats,  help you lose weight, it can also improve your mood.

For anyone experiencing depression, talking to a mental health professional should be the first port of call.  However, a change in diet is a complementary approach which could certainly help. 

www.weightodiet.com brings you the latest in diet science to help you become slimmer and feel better. We sort the fact from the fiction and find the best diets to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

One of the hidden causes of obesity may be that people underestimate the number of calories they consume.

The UK's Office of National Statistics have just released new research which shows that Britons underestimate the amount of calories they eat by up to 50%. Continue Reading…

Many people enjoy a plant based diet and there is a lot to be said for the extra vitamins and minerals which a varied vegetarian diet can provide.

Vegetarianism is something that has never really been part of my life. It's not that I don't eat meatless meals – and I enjoy them. However,  the pressure of being put on the spot and having to cook interesting and tasty vegetarian food for for my friends I find  really stressful.  Continue Reading…

Whether you're already vegetarian or simply trying to add more plant based foods into your diet, one of the main challenges can be to find good vegetarian sources of protein.

This problem is even more difficult if you are trying to lose weight. A high carb diet is much easier on a vegetarian diet, but trying to swap to a regime where you are eating protein at every meal makes meal planning much more difficult.

Nutritionist Jessica Cording writing in mindbodygreen has observed the problem in her own clients:

Sometimes it can be a challenge to work protein in consistently throughout the day. I find that many of my clients who complain of feeling hungry are falling a little short of their goal or having most of their protein at one meal rather than spreading it out throughout the day. This also comes up when someone is transitioning to a plant-based diet that involves less of the animal proteins they’re used to. read more at mindbodygreen.com

Most people know that eggs are a great source of protein.  Cheese also contains a significant amounts of high quality proteins.  Cottage cheese is particularly good if you're following a weight loss diet.  If you find the texture of cottage cheese unpalatable, then ricotta is a great, and very versatile, alternative.

Continue Reading…

Keeping Your Brain Sharp With The Right Diet

Needing to lose weight should not be the only reason to watch our diets. Dr >Alessandro R Demaio points out that our weight or body mass index is not necessarily related to good health. Even if we're slim we should still make a point of eating healthy foods.  He says:

The most compelling reason to eat healthy foods is the correlation between good nutrition and well-being. Coupled with regular exercise, eating a diet rich in whole foods and grains, healthy oils and low in sugar and salt, has been shown to convey a number of benefits. These include a longer life with less pain and suffering, less risk of back pain or muscular problems and even an increased libido… read more at theconversation.com

As important as our physical wellbeing is the effect of what we eat upon on our brain. Continue Reading…