8 Tricks Not to Eat Before Bedtime

Weight Loss Tips

The easiest way to become slim is not to eat at night. Many nutritionists say that one of the most effective ways to lose weight without compromising health is to stop eating after 18:00 or not to have dinner at least three hours before bedtime.

But it is not easy to refuse eating after a busy day, especially if lunch was on the run, and there was not enough time for a hearty breakfast. But there are simple and useful ways to trick your appetite.

In the cold season, you want to eat a lot and often, while it is often impossible to eat at the usual time. What should you do if you desperately want to eat in the evening?

Nutritionists recommend a simple way to get rid of your hunger

1. Eat Broth or Soup before Sleep

Have soup for dinner. Drink the broth. The liquid itself quickly fills the stomach and prevents overeating, and the broth in the soup postpones the next hunger attack for a long time. But the soup and the broth should not contain sharp spices, because they stimulate appetite.

2. Eat Only Light Snacks, Like Fruit

Eat yoghurt or apple. When you eat apples, be sure to eat all the seeds. The seeds of a single apple contain the daily rate of iodine. It inhibits the urge to eat.

3. Drink Liquids Before Bedtime

A glass of mineral water, boiled hot water with a slice of lemon, or tomato juice will quench hunger for a couple of hours. It is time to brush your teeth and go to bed.

4. Compote Fights off Hunger

Light compote of figs and plums will benefit the body and outwit your appetite. Pour three liters of water into half a kilo of fruit and simmer until the water evaporates to 2.5 liters. A cup of the compote is enough to forget about hunger for at least an hour.

5.Eat Milk Powder

A small spoonful of nonfat dry milk will rescue those who are really dying of hunge

6. Beans and Potato Give the Feeling of Satiety

The feeling of satiety can be preserved for a long time due to a small amount of beans or a maximum of two middle-sized potatoes in their skins.

7.Take a Hot Bath

A hot bath relaxes, gives you a sleepy mood and suppresses appetite. It is yet better if you add salt or essential oils into the bath. A few drops of grapefruit, lemon, orange, or any fruit oil will help to deceive a hungry stomach.

8.Exercise Suppresses Appetite

Walking or doing exercises before going to sleep suppresses hunger very well.

 

 

Five Worst Foods for Sleep

Nearly 41 million US adults are sleeping just six hours or less each night, putting them at risk of adverse health effects (such as heart disease and obesity) and potentially fatal drowsy driving linked to lack of sleep.

While stress is one of the most-often cited reasons why people can’t sleep, there’s another factor that could be keeping you up at night: your diet. Certain foods can significantly interfere with your sleep, including the five worst of the worst below.

What Are the Five Worst Foods for Sleep?

1. Alcohol

A drink or two before bed can make you drowsy, leading many to believe it’s actually beneficial for sleep. But while it may make you nod off quicker, research shows that drinking alcohol makes you more likely to wake during the night, leaving you feeling less rested in the morning.

The latest study found that alcohol increases slow-wave “deep” sleep during the first half of the night, but then increases sleep disruptions in the second half of the night.

Since alcohol is a potent muscle relaxant, it can also increase your risk of snoring. Snorers — and their bed partners — often experience restless sleep leading to sleepiness and difficulty concentrating during the day.

2. Coffee

Coffee, of course, is one of the most common sources of caffeine. This stimulant has a half-life of five hours, which means 25% of it will still be in your system even 10 hours later, and 12.5% 20 hours later (see the problem?). Plus, in some people caffeine is not metabolized efficiently, leaving you feeling its effects even longer after consumption. So, an afternoon cup of coffee or tea will keep some people from falling asleep at night. Be aware that some medications contain caffeine as well (for example, diet pills).

3. Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate, though the healthiest form of chocolate from an antioxidant perspective, can contain relatively high levels of caffeine that can keep you up at night if you’re sensitive. It also contains theobromine, a compound that has caffeine-like effects.

4. Spicy Foods

Spicy foods before bedtime can give you indigestion that makes it nearly impossible to get a good night’s sleep. But even if you can eat spicy foods without discomfort, they are still linked with more time spent awake during the night and taking longer to fall asleep. It’s speculated that this may be due to capsaicin, an active ingredient in chili peppers, affecting sleep via changes in body temperature.

5. Unhealthy Fatty Foods

When you don’t get enough sleep, you’re more likely to crave high-fat, high-sugar foods the next day. But eating a high-fat diet also has impacts on your sleep, including leading to more fragmented sleep. In fact, an animal study revealed that eating fatty foods may lead to disrupted sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness.

The link may be due to the brain chemical hypocretin, a neurotransmitter that helps keep you awake and also plays a role in managing appetite. Keep in mind that while you should limit your intake of unhealthy fats like those from fried foods, healthy fats (including saturated fats) play an important role in your diet and shouldn’t be eliminated.

Recent Study Gives Clues on How Diet Impacts Sleep

The link between what you eat and how well you sleep, and    vice versa, is only beginning to be explored, however, a recent study evaluating the diets and sleep patterns of more than 4,500 people did find distinct dietary patterns among short and long sleepers.

While the study was only able to generate hypotheses about dietary nutrients that may be associated with short and long sleep durations, it did yield some interesting data.

• Very short sleepers (less than 5 hours a night): Had the least food variety, drank less water and consumed fewer total carbohydrates and lycopene (an antioxidant found in fruits and vegetables).
• Short sleepers (5-6 hours): Consumed the most calories but ate less vitamin C and selenium, and drank less water. Short sleepers tended to eat more lutein and zeaxanthin than other groups.
• Normal sleepers (7-8 hours): Had the most food variety in their diet, which is generally associated with a healthier way of eating.
• Long sleepers (9 or more hours): Consumed the least calories as well as less theobromine (found in chocolate and tea), choline and total carbs. Long sleepers tended to drink more alcohol.

As for what the data means, researchers aren’t yet sure, but it could be that eating a varied diet is one key to normal, healthful sleep.

Sleep Tip: Stop Eating at Least Three Hours Before You Go to Bed

It is ideal to avoid eating any food three hours before bed, as this will optimize your blood sugar, insulin and leptin levels and contribute to overall good health and restful sleep. Specifically, avoiding food for at least three hours before bed will lower your blood sugar during sleep and help minimize damage from too much sugar floating around. Additionally, it will jumpstart the glycogen depletion process so you can shift to fat-burning mode.

A recent study is a powerful confirmation of this recommendation, as it found that the mere act of altering your typical eating habits — such as getting up in the middle of the night for a snack — causes a certain protein to desynchronize your internal food clock, which can throw you off kilter and set a vicious cycle in motion. Eating too close to bedtime, or very late at night when you’d normally be sleeping, may throw off your body’s internal clock and lead to weight gain.

Routinely eating at the wrong time may not only disrupt your biological clock and interfere with your sleep, but it may also devastate vital body functions and contribute to disease.

Diet Is Only One Factor in Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

There are many variables that impact how well you sleep, but to start making some adjustments to your sleeping area can go a long way to ensure uninterrupted, restful sleep.

1.Cover your windows with blackout shades or drapes to ensure complete darkness. Even the tiniest bit of light in the room can disrupt your pineal gland’s production of melatonin and the melatonin precursor serotonin, thereby disrupting your sleep cycle.

So close your bedroom door, get rid of night-lights, and refrain from turning on any light during the night, even when getting up to go to the bathroom. If you have to use a light, install so-called “low blue” light bulbs in your bedroom and bathroom. These emit an amber light that will not suppress melatonin production.

1.Keep the temperature in your bedroom at or below 70 degrees F (21 degrees Celsius). Many people keep their homes and particularly their upstairs bedrooms too warm. Studies show that the optimal room temperature for sleep is quite cool, between 60 to 68 degrees F (15.5 to 20 C). Keeping your room cooler or hotter can lead to restless sleep.

2.Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can also disrupt your pineal gland’s production of melatonin and serotonin, and may have other negative effects as well. To do this, you need a gauss meter. You can find various models online, starting around $50 to $200. Some experts even recommend pulling your circuit breaker before bed to kill all power in your house.

3.Move alarm clocks and other electrical devices away from your head. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from your bed as possible, preferably at least three feet.

4.Reduce use of light-emitting technology, such as your TV, iPad, and computer, before going to bed. These emit the type of light that will suppress melatonin production, which in turn will hamper your ability to fall asleep, as well as increase your cancer risk (melatonin helps to suppress harmful free radicals in your body and slows the production of estrogen, which can contribute to cancer). Ideally, you’ll want to turn all such light-emitting gadgets off at least one hour prior to bedtime.

 

A QUICK SNACK

Hummus, haloumi, tomato and parsley

To prep  To cook  INGREDIENTS  DIFFICULTY  SERVINGS    0:05        0:05                 5                    EASY                    1 Ingredients: 50g haloumi, cut into 4 slices 2 tablespoon hummus 2 Weat Mixed Grain and Toasted Sesame Lunch Slices 1 large tomato, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves Method: Step 1 Heat a small non-stick frying pan over high heat, spray with olive oil. Cook the haloumi, for 1 minute each side, or until golden. Step 2 Spread hummus evenly over the Weat Mixed Grain and Toasted Sesame Lunch Slices. Top each with 2 slices haloumi, some tomato slices and parsley leaves. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve.

It’s time for a smoothie

Spiced Green Tea Smoothie

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: Makes 2 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Nutritional Information

Calories per serving:	82
Fat per serving:	0.2g
Saturated fat per serving:	0.0g
Monounsaturated fat per serving:	0.0g
Polyunsaturated fat per serving:	0.0g
Protein per serving:	1g
Carbohydrates per serving:	21g
Fiber per serving:	3g
Cholesterol per serving:	0.0mg
Iron per serving:	0.0mg
Sodium per serving:	13mg
Calcium per serving:	39mg

Good to Know

Caffeine and an antioxidant called catechin are thought to stimulate your nervous system and increase fat-burning, so green tea can help you shed pounds and trim your waist.

This Recipe Is

• Low Calorie
• Low Cholesterol
• Low Fat
• Low Saturated Fat
• Low Sodium

Ingredients

• 3/4 cupstrong green tea, chilled
• 1/8 teaspooncayenne pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 TBSP)
• 2 teaspoonsagave nectar
• 1 small pear, skin on, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoonsfat-free plain yogurt
• 6-8 ice cubes

Preparation

Put all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Drink cold.

Fitspo daily dose

Top tips for healthy living

No matter what age, you can take steps now towards better health and feeling great. Even small changes can make a big difference to how you feel.

Top four ways to better health

The four biggest changes you can make to lead a healthier, happier and longer life are:

• quit smoking
• be physically active everyday
• eating healthy foods
• limit alcohol.

Make your healthy change now

Quit Smoking: You Won’t Gain Weight

If you’ve finally decided to kick the habit, there’s good news: Quitting smoking won’t make you gain weight over the long term. Some people pick up 4 or 5 pounds early on, but that’s only temporary.

To quit successfully, experts agree, get help and support from your doctor, family, friends, and co-workers. A doctor or mental health professional can help you tailor an approach that best suits you. There are many FDA-approved medications to help people quit smoking.

Combine medication with other quit strategies — like avoiding your smoking triggers or changing your daily routine — and you greatly increase your odds of quitting for good.

Another tip: Some foods and drinks make cigarettes taste better; some make them taste worse. Try eating more vegetables and less meat — and swap that coffee (or alcohol) for a glass of milk. Let your taste buds stifle those cravings!

Exercise Your Brain: Go Dancing

You know your heart benefits from exercise. Your brain does, too. Studies show that regular, moderate exercise — 30 minutes of walking or a light one-mile run — helps fight the effects of aging on the brain. No grueling workouts required!

All types of exercise count, including walking, bicycling, hiking, swimming, aerobics, and weight training. Ballroom dancing is another good one, especially fun on chilly evenings.

 How does exercise work to prevent mental decline? Researchers believe exercise may stimulate the body to fight stress that’s normally occurring in the brain — stress that causes oxidative damage. All that good stuff from a little exercise!

Healthy Food 1: Lemons

Why They’re Healthy:

— Just one lemon has more than 100 percent of your daily intake of vitamin C, which may help increase “good” HDL cholesterol levels and strengthen bones.

— Citrus flavonoids found in lemons may help inhibit the growth of cancer cells and act as an anti-inflammatory.

Quick Tip:

Add a slice of lemon to your green tea. One study found that citrus increases your body’s ability to absorb the antioxidants in the tea by about 80 percent.

Healthy Food 2: Broccoli

Why It’s Healthy:

— One medium stalk of broccoli contains more than 100 percent of your daily vitamin K requirement and almost 200 percent of your recommended daily dose of vitamin C — two essential bone-building nutrients.

— The same serving also helps stave off numerous cancers.

Quick Tip:

Zap it! Preserve up to 90 percent of broccoli’s vitamin C by microwaving. (Steaming or boiling holds on to just 66 percent of the nutrient.)

Healthy Food 3: Dark Chocolate

Why It’s Healthy:

— Just one-fourth of an ounce daily can reduce blood pressure in otherwise healthy individuals.

— Cocoa powder is rich in flavonoids, antioxidants shown to reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol and increase “good” HDL levels.

Quick Tip:

A dark chocolate bar contains about 53.5 milligrams of flavonoids; a milk chocolate bar has fewer than 14.

Healthy Food 4: Potatoes

 Why They’re Healthy:

— One red potato contains 66 micrograms of cell-building folate — about the same amount found in one cup of spinach or broccoli.

— One sweet potato has almost eight times the amount of cancer-fighting and immune-boosting vitamin A you need daily.

Quick Tip:

Let your potato cool before eating. Research shows that doing so can help you burn close to 25 percent more fat after a meal, thanks to a fat-resistant starch.

 Healthy Food 5: Salmon

Why It’s Healthy:

— A great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked to a reduced risk of depression, heart disease, and cancer.

— A 3-ounce serving contains almost 50 percent of your daily dose of niacin, which may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss.

Quick Tip:

Opt for wild over farm-raised, which contains 16 times as much toxic polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) as wild salmon.

 Healthy Food 6: Walnuts

Why They’re Healthy:

— Contain the most omega-3 fatty acids, which may help reduce cholesterol, of all nuts.

— Omega-3s have been shown to improve mood and fight cancer; they may protect against sun damage, too (but don’t skip the SPF!).

Quick Tip:

Eat a few for dessert: The antioxidant melatonin, found in walnuts, helps to regulate sleep.

 Healthy Food 7: Avocados

Why They’re Healthy:

— Rich in healthy, satisfying fats proven in one study to lower cholesterol by about 22 percent.

— One has more than half the fiber and 40 percent of the folate you need daily, which may reduce your risk of heart disease.

Quick Tip:

Adding it to your salad can increase the absorption of key nutrients like beta-carotene by three to five times compared with salads without this superfood.

Healthy Food 8: Garlic

Why It’s Healthy:

— Garlic is a powerful disease fighter that can inhibit the growth of bacteria, including E. coli.

— Allicin, a compound found in garlic, works as a potent anti-inflammatory and has been shown to help lower cholesterol and blood-pressure levels.

Quick Tip:

Crushed fresh garlic releases the most allicin. Just don’t overcook; garlic exposed to high heat for more than 10 minutes loses important nutrients.

Healthy Food #9: Spinach

Why It’s Healthy:

— Spinach contains lutein and zeaxanthin, two immune-boosting antioxidants important for eye health.

— Recent research found that among cancer-fighting fruits and veggies, spinach is one of the most effective.

Quick Tip:

Spinach is a healthy — and flavorless — addition to any smoothie. You won’t taste it, we promise! Try blending 1 cup spinach, 1 cup grated carrots, 1 banana, 1 cup apple juice, and ice.

 Healthy Food 10: Beans

Why They’re Healthy:

— Eating a serving of legumes (beans, peas, and lentils) four times a week can lower your risk of heart disease by 22 percent.

— That same habit may also reduce your risk of breast cancer.

Quick Tip:

The darker the bean, the more antioxidants it contains. One study found that black bean hulls contain 40 times the amount of antioxidants found in white bean hulls.

What quitting alcohol for a month does to your body

Sobering new research reveals how quickly your liver can regenerate if given a little time off

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It’s easy to mock the transient teetotalers who forsake booze for January (particularly when they fall over after a pint and a half on Feburary 1), but new research might make you choke on your Guinness. When 10 members of the staff of New Scientist magazine swore off alcohol for five weeks they saw their blood cholesterol level drop by almost five per cent and a 15% reduction in liver fat.

Fat accumulation on the liver is a known prelude to liver damage, so reversing this process provides far more health benefits than a faster disappearing festive paunch. “[Fat accumulation] is the harbinger first for temporary scarring called fibrosis and ultimately a non-reversible type of scarring that destroys liver structure, called cirrhosis,” said Rajiv Jalan, who conducted the research at the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health at University College London Medical School.

Ordering yet another OJ under the collective gaze of your rugby teammates isn’t a walk in the park, but it’s worth it in the long run. “It is helpful to think of willpower like a muscle that weakens if you don’t use it but gets stronger when you do,” says Dr Matt Field, professor of psychological science at the University of Liverpool. Discover how to utilise your finite store of willpower most effectively here.

After completing their challenge the mag staffers found it easier to decline alcohol, so even after a couple of celebratory benders (go on, you deserve it) a dry January will confer long-term psychological benefits.

Even if you’re not guilty of these five signs you drink too much, it’s worth backing away from the bottle. Absence, after all, makes the heart grow fonder – and the liver slimmer.

BOKWA HYSTERIA

BOKWA is a new Group Fitness Program that is rapidly spreading across the globe.

From large health club chains to independent studio’s, to schools and community centers, participants are lining up to experience Bokwa.

BOKWA is Different. It is not really a dance workout – there is no choreography and no counting steps. Participants draw letters and numbers with their feet, while moving together to music in free form rhythm.

Everyone is doing it. If you can move and you can spell, you can do Bokwa. From 4 year old kids, to men and women in their seventies, to guys with “2 left feet”, to world champion dancers, Bokwa  engages participants of all ages in the same class and to the same music.

Train Your Brain to Choose Fruit Vs. French Fries

The brain can be trained to prefer healthy food over unhealthy high-calorie foods, using a diet which does not leave people hungry, suggests a study from the US.

Scientists from Tufts University say food addictions can be changed in this way even if they are well-established.

They scanned the addiction centre in the brains of a small group of men and women.

The results showed increased cravings for healthy lower-calorie foods.

Study found program seemed to make low-cal fare an easy choice for a small group of overweight people.

You may be able to convince your brain that healthy foods taste better than unhealthy ones, new research suggests.

The study included eight overweight and obese people who were enrolled in a newly designed weight-loss program meant to change how people react to different foods. These participants were compared to a control group of five overweight and obese people who weren’t in the program.

Both groups had MRI brain scans at the start of the study and again six months later. The scans revealed that the people in the weight-loss program had changes in areas of the brain reward center involved in learning and addiction.

Specifically, this area showed increased sensitivity to healthy, low-calorie foods and decreased sensitivity to higher-calorie foods, according to the study published online Sept. 1 in the journal Nutrition & Diabetes.

“We don’t start out in life loving French fries and hating, for example, whole wheat pasta,” study senior author Susan Roberts, director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, said in a Tufts news release.

“This conditioning happens over time in response to eating — repeatedly — what is out there in the toxic food environment,” explained Roberts, who is also a professor at the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts and an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the university’s School of Medicine.

And, according to study first author Thilo Deckersbach, “although other studies have shown that surgical procedures like gastric bypass surgery can decrease how much people enjoy food generally, this is not very satisfactory because it takes away food enjoyment generally rather than making healthier foods more appealing.” Deckersbach is a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

“We show here that it is possible to shift preferences from unhealthy food to healthy food without surgery, and that MRI is an important technique for exploring the brain’s role in food cues,” Deckersbach said in the news release.

They studied the part of the brain linked to reward and addiction in 13 overweight and obese men and women, eight of whom were taking part in a specially designed weight-loss programme.

Scans of the brain’s reward centre showed that food preferences had changed

This focused on changing food preferences by prescribing a diet high in fibre and protein, and low in carbohydrates, but which did not allow participants to become hungry because this is when food cravings take over and unhealthy food becomes attractive.

The other five adults were not part of the weight-loss programme.

When their brains were scanned using MRI at the start and end of a six-month period, those following the programme showed changes in the brain’s reward centre.

When participants were shown pictures of different types of food, it was the healthy, low-calorie foods which produced an increased reaction.

The study said this indicated an increased reward and enjoyment of healthier food.

The brain’s reward centre also showed decreased sensitivity to the unhealthy, higher-calorie foods.

The Boston researchers say that gastric bypass surgery, while solving the problem of weight loss, can take away food enjoyment rather than make healthier foods more appealing.

The research concluded that when we stay on a diet for a period of time, the responses that normally occur in our brain to these types of food were dampened to a high degree which would suggest that the actual chemistry of the brain had changed making the participants more inclined to continue eating healthier foods. the stimulus was no longer present thus making the eating of poor food choices less likely.

Roberts pointed out that “there is much more research to be done here, involving many more participants, long-term follow-up and investigating more areas of the brain. But we are very encouraged that the weight-loss program appears to change what foods are tempting to people.”

Keep your eyes on the prize.
Remember your goal — whether you want to achieve a former weight, improve blood glucose control, be able to keep up with your grandchildren, or live long enough to see your children married, remember that nothing tastes as good as achieving those goals will feel. Strategically place post-it notes, pictures or inspirational quotes around your home, refrigerator or in your car to remind you why your health is so important.

Get back on that horse!
There is no such thing as a perfect diet — we all slip up at one time or another, and having an occasional treat is not going to destroy your health. It is the ongoing, habitually poor lifestyle that sends us into a slippery slope of declining health. When you mess up, don’t dwell in a state of guilt and discouragement; instead, live and learn and get back on track tomorrow!

HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS STORIES

Get Inspired to Get Fit!

These healthy weight loss success stories  will motivate you to eat right, burn calories, and get the best body you’ve always wanted

 How One Woman Lost 50+ Pounds

Mandy Martin, 26, went from 185 lbs to 133 lbs. Here’s how she did it

BEFORE: 185
AFTER: 133

“BEING STRONG FEELS AWESOME!”

When Mandy Martin, now 26, was a teenager in Gillette, Wyoming, busing tables at a restaurant helped her stay trim despite a greasy diet. “I didn’t think twice about what I ate,” she says. But in 2005, she took a new job as an equipment operator at a coal mine—and had to sit still for 13-hour shifts. On the way home, she often stopped at a gas station for a supersize burrito called “The Bomb” before collapsing into bed. In just a few months, 5’5″ Mandy tacked on 40 pounds.

The Change: Mandy started a string of fad diets but always veered off course when the weekend rolled around. One night after months of on-and-off attempts, she was opening a letter from her mom when an unpleasant surprise peeked out from the envelope: a photo of Mandy taken weeks prior at Easter. “I was stunned that I looked that bad,” says Mandy. “That was my wake-up call to do something, for real.”

The Lifestyle Shunning convenience-store food, Mandy went grocery shopping—for the first time ever—to stock up on whole grains, lean meats, and produce. Five months of clean eating trimmed off about 20 pounds. That summer, she braved the gym. “At first, I couldn’t walk on the treadmill for more than five minutes,” she says. “I worked up to 30 minutes of walking and running or other cardio.” Another month, another 10 pounds gone. But it wasn’t until she added resistance training that Mandy found her favorite fix. “I had never felt powerful before,” she says, “and lifting weights made me feel that way.” Those curls and squats also helped knock off another 22 pounds over about three more months.

The Reward: Mandy’s newfound confidence gave her the guts to pick up and move to Superior, Colorado, to study sports medicine and start a new career as a personal trainer. “Now I get to move around all day instead of counting the minutes till I can go home,” she says. She entered her first bodybuilding competition In 2009 and has now done seven shows. “I used to flip through fitness magazines and think, Why can’t I be like that?” she says. Her answer now? “I can.”

Mandy’s Tips

Plan ahead. “I arranged my work schedule so I could exercise between shifts.”
Be a protein pro. “I add it to pancakes by mixing in egg whites instead of water It helps keep me full.”
Hit the perimeter. “The food you need most—fresh produce—is around the edges of the grocery store, not in the middle.”

 Weight-Loss Success Story: She Lost 65 Pounds (29.5 kg)

“I never thought I would be 120 pounds—ever!” (54.4 kg)

Krystal Sanders

Before: 185 lbs (83.9 kg)
After: 120 lbs (54.4 kg)

Although she stands only five feet tall, 27-year-old Krystal Sanders was never petite. Growing up, she subsisted on fast food and “anything you could microwave.” A size 14 when she moved to Austin, Texas, in 2005 to work as a revenue services specialist, she continued to hit the drive-through five nights a week. When she began planning her wedding in early 2008, the added stress drove her to eat even more. “I was in denial and avoided scales, cameras, and mirrors,” she says. But she couldn’t avoid the size-18 tag on her wedding gown.

The Change
When Krystal’s wedding photos arrived in October 2008, she didn’t want anyone to see them. “I looked at the pictures alone and I cried,” she says. “It was a reality punch in the face. I was embarrassed that I’d let myself get that large.” She knew something had to be done.

The Lifestyle
Krystal emptied her pantry and fridge, tossing all chips, frozen pizza, and other junk. Instead of eating out, she started cooking healthier versions of her favorite restaurant foods, boosted her veggie intake, and measured portions. “It was an eye-opener to see the difference between what I would normally eat and what the serving size was,” she says. When she worked up the courage to step onto a scale, it read 185 pounds. She began jogging on her treadmill for 30 minutes six times a week. Over the next year, she added DVD strength workouts, cut out soda and processed foods…and reached her goal of 130 pounds. But she wasn’t finished. She began lifting heavier weights, and in December 2009, the scale flashed 120. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought maybe the scale was broken,” says Krystal.

The Reward
Now Krystal has the energy to log nine-mile runs and go biking and hiking with her husband. And she is anything but camera shy. “I used to run from cameras, but now I like what I see in photos,” she says. “I’m finally at peace with the way I look.”

Krystal’s Tips

Add iron. “Don’t be all cardio all the time—lift weights! Replacing fat with muscle means you can burn more calories without even trying.”

Greek out. “I use low-fat Greek yogurt in place of mayo in recipes, and it tastes great. It can also be used as a sour cream substitute.”

Be prepared. “Set everything out the night before: clothes, weights, water bottle. Then nothing can get in the way of your workout.”

 YOU LOSE YOU WIN. Tracey Dickson, 44

One flight attendant discovers how to lose weight during a chaotic time in her life.

BEFORE 158 lbs

AFTER 117 lbs

Although her job as a flight attendant forced her to eat out at least four nights a week, Tracey Z. Dickson, 44, of San Antonio, Texas, stayed trim by teaching cardio and boot camp classes and running about 20 miles a week. But in April 2008, Tracey discovered a cancerous lump in her breast. “My life hit a wall,” she says. Chemo sapped her strength, while steroid pills left her ravenous, so Tracey ate—and ate. “I decided that because I was going through a sucky situation, I would eat whatever I wanted,” she admits. In four months, the scale flashed up to 158. “I had never weighed that much,” says Tracey, who stands 5’3″. “I knew that couldn’t be healthy on my petite frame.”

THE CHANGE
In September 2008, Tracey’s mom tried to motivate her to get off the couch. “She told me that my body was used to being active, so the best medicine was to stop lying around,” says Tracey. “The person in the mirror looking back at me was not me, so I got moving.”

THE LIFESTYLE
After a double mastectomy, Tracey was declared cancer-free in October 2008. One month later, she stepped onto a treadmill at the gym, where she built up to running for 30 to 60 minutes five days a week; she also strength trained twice a week. By March 2009, Tracey was down 20 pounds. Encouraged, she began training for 10-Ks and tossed all junk food. When she hit 128 pounds in June 2009, she decided to “become stronger and leaner after cancer than I was before it.” After plateauing at 122 two months later, she added reps to her strength routine and was happy to reach 117 pounds in October. “I couldn’t believe it!” she says. “I hadn’t seen that number since high school!”

THE REWARD
Tracey is more active than ever, running about six 10-Ks and half marathons each year—double her pre-cancer mileage. “I am stronger than I ever imagined,” she says. “I have all-day energy and believe I can do whatever I set my mind to.”

TRACEY’S TIPS
Trick your sweet tooth.
“Instead of dessert, I’ll have a baked sweet potato sprinkled with cinnamon. It tastes like I’m eating sweet-potato pie, but for a ton less calories.”

Speak up.
“When you eat out, ask what the dishes are cooked in. It’s your body; you should be able to decide what you put into it.”

Make a workout date.
“You can’t blow it off without feeling like you’re letting down a friend, so you’re more likely to stick to it.”

 Shannon Moore

“I feel amazing inside and out!”

Playing softball helped keep Lincoln, Nebraska, native Shannon Moore, 31, a slim size 6 throughout high school, but her weight started to creep up after she landed an office job. Tethered to her desk, she never exercised–and she started ordering pizza or a giant burrito for lunch. “I ate whatever was most convenient,” she says. “I never thought about nutrition.” In 2006, Shannon wore a size 14 dress to her wedding, then tacked 25 more pounds of “love chub” onto her 5’8″ frame during her first year of marriage.

Before 179 lbs
After 138 lbs

The Change
In January 2008, Shannon’s company instituted a system that used health tests to determine employees’ insurance deductibles. Shannon, who was 179 pounds at that point, was looking at a steep increase in payments. “Finally,” she says, “I had a reason to get fit.”

The Lifestyle
For a week, Shannon wrote down everything she ate. “Turned out that if it wasn’t takeout or fast food, my meals came from a box,” she says. “And I was drinking five cans of soda a day!” She began trading processed foods for fresh fruits and veggies, learned to cook healthy versions of the greasy dishes she used to order in, and joined a gym to walk on the treadmill or use an elliptical for 30 minutes five days a week.

Six months later, she was 10 pounds lighter. To accelerate her weight loss, she stopped chasing workouts with a big bowl of cereal, upped her cardio sessions to one hour, and added strength training three times a week. By December 2010, she dropped 31 more pounds and was a size 4. “I had a fit body again, and I loved it!” she says.

The Reward
Shannon is now at a healthy weight and up for any fitness challenge. “It’s very liberating when you’re not restricted by your body,” she says. “My confidence is high, and I feel that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.”

Shannon’s Tips

Keep your thighs on the prize.
“I set new goals and give myself nonfood rewards when I reach them, such as a bottle of nail polish or a good book.”

Have night sweats.
“I’m a night owl, and sometimes I head to the gym at 9 p.m. and stay as late as midnight. I don’t feel as rushed when it’s less crowded, and I have more time to focus on my workout.”

Go au naturel.
“Running is my time to decompress, so I try to find scenic routes where all I can hear is the birds chirping. There’s nothing more relaxing, and it makes my run go by faster.”

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