Experts suggest our difficulty with slimming and eating wholesome foods is identical to breaking an addictive habit. Research suggests that it often takes a number of attempts before people are able to kick cigarettes or give up alcohol for good; this might also be true for weight loss.

In a study in 2007, in France, cocaine addicted rats were offered super-sweetened water and within three days the rats swapped addictions to the sugar. Yes that's correct sugar was more addictive to the rats than the cocaine was!!!!!! Info sourced from http://eating.health.com So maybe we kick smoking for sugar?

It's OK to feel pressure, in 250 million years from now it won't really matter - you yourself will be a diamond and I will be a rock and your friends will be gold and we will hang out in a cave - there will be no bills, no rent, no hunger, no pain, no disappointment, no liars and lots and lots of freedom, there will be no pressure only sanctuary. There may be continental drift. We may get separated. But just wait - another space of time and energy and our nucleoli will be as one. Life is this simple.

This means all us rats must go out and get some lollies?

It takes 3 weeks to break a habit. Or create one. See also Fitness and Health If you can cut 100 calories out of each day, you'll have a habit in three weeks and you will lose a pound in just over a month.

Read this Health slide show - quick and painless.

How many diets are there?- check out 50 popular ones at this link.

1. How to make it work - do it with a buddy.
2. Create a daily food diary - get a free one from Special K, or here.
3. Combine the menu with your own Excel spreadsheet of how much you exercise, here's one I whipped up. But I got bored so update it often.
4. Better foods with out exercise will not stick in your brain and you will fail at slimming down long term.
5. Get competitive with your buddy - have a one year goal post for yourself - a holiday or something worth a weeks salary for instance.
6. It will mean you have to compete with a friend which will motivate your brain into non failure mode.
7. Experts believe the physical act of writing down something amplifies the learning curve. “It amplifies your attention, so write what your going to eat, then what you've actually eaten, keeping in mind 5 types of food are Savoury, sweet, bitter, sour and tart, and you need three lots of Calcium boosts a day to digest properly and get your metabolism happening, folic acid is also a biggy in the digestive happenings - the better you digest - the less congestive fat storage"
8. Make sure you take in 20 minutes a day of sunlight, and only eat raw foods for snacks to get your appropriate doses of vitamins.
9. Experiment with recipes to get out of mundane habits - write your own menu planner, start with tabouli, (1 Cup Bulgar wheat, oinion, spices to taste with 1 1/4 Cup Water, and 1/4 cup olive oil) instead of white rice or potatoes - limit the starch and introduce the less processed wheats - my favourite recipe website: http://www.recipezaar.com
10. Replace or swap out foods - more suggestions here.
11. Introduce a twenty minute brisk walk or some form of pleasurable exercise - partners welcome - each day.
12. Substitute sandwiches where you can:
    This might seem strange at first, but when you realize how much body-fat you will lose just by replacing 2 plain slices of bread with a single lettuce leaf, or rice paper ( 7.605 KG or 16 3/4 lbs. each and every year ), most people are willing to give it a try.

No more vending machines, no more fizzy drinks in the everyday diet, carbohydrate addiction may be a bigger problem in our society than we suspect. It is very likely that diets high in carbohydrates cause us to become physiologically addicted to them. I have managed to only include soft drinks in my alcoholic pursuits now and yes I have my faults.

Uh ohh - exercises we can do at home.

Appetite Suppressants

Attempts to suppress appetite have been around almost forever. In the 1800s, tree sap & camphor tea were thought to suppress appetite. Ice water is purported to both suppress appetite and increase short term metabolism. Along the same lines, soup based diets (see Cabbage Soup diet) claim to suppress appetite.

Interesting: A talking website http://www.dietblogtalk.com It means more if you hear the theory from a stranger - this triggers something in the brain that motivates me, personally.

If you have an Ipod you can purchase an assistant to track your goals: http://www.allofzero.com/iscale/

Why fruit?

In addition to the great taste, fruit is loaded with cancer fighting fiber, vitamins and minerals and high levels of antioxidant phytochemicals. I don’t want to sound like I hate cereal, but I think the benefits of grains has been overstated by the companies and lobby groups that rely on breakfast cereal sales. Grains are calorie dense and have lower nutritional benefits than fruits and veg. (Source: http://healthhabits.wordpress.com)

Why Fibre?

* Insoluble fiber. This type of fiber promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and increases stool bulk, so it can be of benefit to those who struggle with constipation or irregular stools. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts and many vegetables are good sources of insoluble fiber.

* Soluble fiber. This type of fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. You can find generous quantities of soluble fiber in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley and psyllium.

See also Fitness and Health - well that was fun now back to work.

USDA data on foods with high levels of antioxidant phytochemicals (GOOD) Cinnamon ground 100 grams 267,536 excellent Red Delicious apple 1 apple 5900 Granny Smith apple 1 apple 5381 Gala apple 1 apple 3903 Plum 1 plum 4118 Black bean ½ cup dried beans 4181 Russet potato 1, cooked 4649 Black plum 1 plum 4844 Sweet cherry 1 cup 4873 Pecan 1 oz 5095 Strawberry 1 cup 5938 Raspberry 1 cup 6058 Prune ½ cup 7291 Blackberry (cultivated berries) 1 cup 7701 Artichoke hearts 1 cup, cooked 7904 Cranberry (whole berries) 1 cup 8983 Blueberry (cultivated berries) 1 cup 9019 Wild blueberry 1 cup 13427 Pinto bean ½ cup 11864 Red kidney bean dried beans ½ cup 13259 Small Red Bean dried beans ½ cup 13727 Aronia black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) 100 grams 16062       Fibre How much fibre? Age 50 and younger Age 51 and older Men 38 grams 30 grams Women 25 grams 21 grams       Food item Fiber content in grams* Split peas, cooked, 1 cup 16.3 Red kidney beans, boiled, 1 cup 13.1 Raspberries, raw, 1 cup 8.0 Whole-wheat spaghetti, 1 cup 6.3 Oat bran muffin, medium 1 5.2 Pear, medium with skin 1 5.1 Broccoli, boiled, 1 cup 5.1 Apple, medium with skin 1 4.4 Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked, 1 cup 4.0 Green beans, cooked, 1 cup 4.0 Brown rice, cooked, 1 cup 3.5 Popcorn, air-popped, 2 cups 2.3 Whole-wheat bread, one slice 1.9 So to recap, 20 minutes exercise, 1 serving of oatmeal with cinnamon, 2 servings of fruit a day and a bran muffin, a wholemeal bun and some veggies for dinner along with my meat.