Much like street drugs, sugar triggers the release of chemicals that set off the brain’s pleasure center, in this case opioids and dopamine. Some studies have suggested sugar is as addictive as cocaine. And, as they do with street drugs, people develop a tolerance for sugar — meaning, they need more sugar  [Read more...]

If you’re going to the gym as a complement to your decision to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle, that’s good. If you’re going to the gym in an attempt to burn off the bad calories you know you’re eating and really don’t want to stop, well obviously, you’re wasting your time.   [Read more...]

You had a bad Saturday night; you fell off your diet. You weigh yourself Sunday morning. No gain. You look to the heavens and praise the Lord and vow to got right back on track. Sunday is perfect: the right foods, the right portions. Lots of water. You weigh yourself  [Read more...]

Most diets set you up to fail. They’re either too quick, too narrow-focused, too restrictive, too fake. They’re just not sustainable. Not a way of life. A weight loss plan should enhance your life. You should feel capable, accomplished, organized and energized by your food plans. There might be  [Read more...]

Too often, I hear from clients: “I don’t want to buy new clothes until I lose weight?” or “I’m waiting to get slim before I spend money on clothes.” If this is you, I’ll tell you the same thing I tell them: STOP! It doesn’t work. Usually, the first instinct may  [Read more...]

When a client says to me, “It’s not working . . .” — trying to suggest that eating normal, regular, everyday foods from each of the food groups every day, using portion control, planning ahead and packing meals and snacks throughout the day, is the reason they’re not losing weight — what they’re  [Read more...]

Many people I meet and take on as clients do suffer from a negative, defeatist attitude,  “the fattitude,” as I call it. Having a defeatist attitude means that you give up before you’ve even started, like the runner who is so convinced he’s going to lose the race that he doesn’t even  [Read more...]

We know that making healthy choices can help us feel better and live longer. Maybe you’ve already tried (and more than once) to eat better, to start exercising or get more sleep, to quit smoking, or reduce stress, just to name a few. You know it’s not easy. In order  [Read more...]

I was recently asked my opinion about intermittent fasting for weight loss. I’m not a fan. Intermittent fasting severely limits calories during certain days of the week or during specified hours during the day. If someone who is slim, fit and healthy in every way does an occasional fast to rid  [Read more...]

Are you spending time hoping or are you busy doing? I see people daily who say, “I hope I can do it . . . “this time.” These are folks who for years have done one quick-trick-diet-shtick after another. I always ask, “How has hoping worked out for you thus  [Read more...]

As someone who is very active on LinkedIn, the professional business networking platform, I often come across great thought-provoking questions and such was the case the other day. One of my connections posted a very good, thought-provoking question and that was: “Should you care more about solving your buyers’ problems than  [Read more...]

Daily, we see obese females posting their photos on Instagram and other socials saying things like “This is what a real body looks like,” and “No man wants skin and bones.” Hmm . . . should we call that “skinny shaming” I wonder? These messages conveys to overweight young girls that  [Read more...]

It’s been only a few years since my daughter graduated high school. And if there’s one thing I remember from dropping her off at the same primary school campus for 15 years it was seeing the expansion of so, so many overweight students (first as kids in the Lower School, then as tweens  [Read more...]

An apple a day may not keep the doctor away, but it’s a healthy choice anyway. For one thing, you can’t beat the convenience of an apple. They are an easy go-to and grab-and-go snack as they come in their own packaging—meaning you can eat the skin. They also play nicely  [Read more...]

As everyone knows, obesity in kids is something that I write about often because I’m so passionate about it. Like you, I see it everywhere, and it pains and angers me. A few months ago, after a visual experience at the Freehold shopping mall in NJ, I posted something on LinkedIn about  [Read more...]

If you’ve been scarfing down scrambled egg whites because you’re afraid to eat the yolks, you’re missing out on one of Mother Nature’s most potent fat-fighting nutrients: choline. Found abundantly in egg yolks, this nutrient squelches the body’s output of leptin, a hunger–stoking hormone that fuels between-meal cravings. (Yolks also deliver vitamins  [Read more...]

Does sweating mean more fat loss? I get asked this question a lot from clients. They’re soaked in layers of sweat after a work out, thinking those droplets translate into tremendous fat burn (and weight loss). But does that show up on the scale? Well, let me put it this way:   [Read more...]

It’s easy to fall into the trap: A workout buddy passes along an exercise tip, and then you pass it along to others. Your kid’s coach gives you some advice, which you’ve heard elsewhere so you figure it must be true. In the world of fitness and weight loss, myths and half-truths abound.  [Read more...]

Is a𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞? If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. That may be tough to accept, but it’s the truth. If you’re over-fat, stop making excuses for  [Read more...]

A question posed to me on Quora not too long ago: 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹? The short answer: Yes. There are, of course, significant causes of obesity, such as those with mental health issues who use  [Read more...]

If you travel, you plan your trip. If you are getting married, you plan your wedding. If you throw a party, you plan the event. You wouldn’t dream of doing any of those things without prior planning. For your business and your health, you must do the same.   [Read more...]

Driver behavior and driver health can have a serious impact on the lives of drivers, their passengers and the motorists and pedestrians around them. I’ll bet most of you have never considered that obese people are not as safe behind the wheel. I’ll bet you have never considered that obese people are  [Read more...]

When we are trying to manifest any idea, reach any goal, achieve any measure of success, there will be setbacks, failures and disappointments. **Newsflash** — Setbacks, failures and disappointments are good for us! They are the best education we can get because they teach us to adapt. Giving up is  [Read more...]

When it comes to achieving a goal, we’ve all heard the expressions about having to take baby steps instead of giant leaps, about having to learn how to walk before we can run, etc. And that’s true . . . always. Only in the movies do people switch lifestyles overnight, suddenly cutting  [Read more...]

Be honest: Would you be friends with someone who constantly told you how fat you looked? Probably not for very long. Would you tolerate a friend who constantly berates you, who never misses an opportunity to tell you you’re hopeless and weak and that you’ll never lose weight? I doubt it.  [Read more...]

It’s almost summer, and millions of folks will head to beaches and pools.Way too many people don’t drink any or nearly enough water at these locations: sodas, six-packs of beers are too commonplace . . . as is people falling asleep on beach chairs and towels. Why is this a problem?   [Read more...]

Obesity in men has doubled in the last 25 years. According to the American Medical Association, more than 70% of American men are considered overweight, while over 30% are considered obese.The highest rates of male obesity are in the 45-74 age group, where one-third of men are obese. Yet, despite these numbers,  [Read more...]

Obesity and sperm health are not a healthy pairing which is why obesity is a central cause of male infertility. Sperm health is measured by three factors: Motility – Ability to swim efficiently; Vitality – Percentage of living healthy sperm in a specimen; and Morphology – Size and shape of individual sperm.  [Read more...]

The first set of organs affected by obesity is the reproductive system. It affects women’s menstrual cycles, ovulation, and ability to become pregnant. It affects men’s production of sperm, both in quality and motility. And that’s only part of the infertility equation. You can’t get pregnant if the libido ain’t working, right?  [Read more...]

Men, want to know why you develop type 2 diabetes at a lower BMI than women? It’s because where fat is distributed makes a big difference in one’s risk for the disease. Women gain weight, initially, in places that are metabolically safe – hips, thighs. (As they gain more weight, it  [Read more...]

When we consume alcohol, our blood alcohol level can rise very quickly. When that happens, a metabolic regulatory mechanism kicks in and our pituitary gland stops releasing one of the hormones that it stores up – a hormone called “anti-duretic hormone” or ADH. When ADH is blocked, our kidneys know to  [Read more...]

The first group of organs impacted by excess body fat is the reproductive system. For men, being overweight or obese most often leads to low sperm count, less fertile sperm and definitely a lower motility in the sperm, with greater difficulty penetrating the egg. For women, too much body fat wreaks  [Read more...]

Although obesity can’t actually spread like an infectious disease, contact with other obese people does influence the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese yourself. This is because not only do friends spend a lot of time together, and more often than not eat similar foods and engage in the same physical (or lack  [Read more...]

There’s something wonderful about getting older . . . about transitioning from middle aged to “seasoned citizen.” (I mean, let’s face it: The alternative isn’t ideal, is it?) For one thing, as we age we have better coping abilities. Older people have a lifetime of experiences and, therefore, tend to deal better with  [Read more...]

Childhood obesity is a a result of adult behavior. And the adults most responsible are: Parents. And the adults who come into contact with parents on a regular basis who are in the best position to advocate on behalf of their children? Pediatricians. Based on my experiences over 20 years working  [Read more...]

Recently, a question was posed to me on Quora: Do you believe most fat people are fat by choice or is it something not everyone can control? The short answer: Yes. There are, of course, significant causes of obesity, such as those with mental health issues who use food to self-medicate much  [Read more...]

“The Rule of Three” principle suggests things that come in 3’s are inherently more humorous, satisfying and effective than any other number of things. The three little pigs had to deal with a big, bad wolf. Goldilocks had to put up with the three bears. The three blind mice ran up the  [Read more...]

Momentum. It’s an important word, one that I use a lot with my clients . . . I mean, a real lot. The dictionary definition of the word is: strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events In his #LinkedIn article, How to Know if it’s Working,  [Read more...]

One of the more uncomfortable encounters (for them, not for me) with a weight loss client is when they lie to me . . . and I know it every time. Two of the more common scenarios in which this happens are: Lie #1 A client will show me a perfect  [Read more...]

You’ve heard over and over again how a food diary is the most powerful proven aid for dieters, that those who keep a food diary lose more weight. And that’s true. But, food diaries are also a very important tool for those who have lost weight and need to keep it off, as well  [Read more...]

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠? In my opinion, yes, they should. 📌 There’s weight criteria for our checked luggage. If we’re over, we are charged for it at check-in. Baggage weight is taken very seriously by the Federal Aviation Administration. In 2003, the  [Read more...]

“Why is getting in the right frame of mind the key to achieving weight loss results?” By starting that question with the word “why,” the person who asked it was conveying two things to me: That he thought it to be a fact; and That he assumed I agreed with him.   [Read more...]

One of the more common resistances I encounter with new clients is to the issue of drinking water. Many — dare I say, most — do not drink it on a regular basis, if at all. They drink plenty of coffee or tea and Diet Snapple (both hot or iced), and they think that’s  [Read more...]

I received this testimonial from a client last week. David is in his mid-to-late 50’s. The part about how I take a great personal interest in clients’ lives is the biggest compliment . . . and what sets my program apart. The weigh-in takes a minute. Checking a client’s food plan for the  [Read more...]

Do you obsess over the scale? In my office, I meet people all the time who not only weigh themselves every day, but several times a day. This is so self-defeating for so many reasons, not the least of which is because you can get on a scale 10 times a day and  [Read more...]

I read a great article in 2017 entitledHey Sales Reps: Stop Chasing Shiny Objects and Get to Work!by Larry Levine, sales guru, trainer and coach. Anyway, his article was about how sales organizations focus too much on the “shiny new thing” — “social selling” (encouraging sales reps to establish their own brands on social  [Read more...]