Stop looking for the magic bullet, the achieve optimum weight AND TO MAINTAIN it one has to get healthy first, but what is true health?
The media and the fat cats don't want the masses to become healthy otherwise too many would live for too long and pensions must be paid!
The fat cats with their big corporations want you to rely on supplements, drugs, their cheap and addictive food and toxins to make money IN 25 years drinking water will be more expensive than petrol, imagine how much money there is to make by selling bottled water. Why is that when doctors prescribe a course of anti-biotics most of the time they don't suggest you taking probiotics after you got better?

  

Anti-biotics wipe out bad and GOOD bacteria in the gut so you are left with an even weaker immune system, probiotic supplements and foods recolonize the gut with good bacteria so again why are we not advised to eat buttermilk (kefir), sauerkraut and other fermented products?
Maybe without a strong immune system chances are bigger you stay sick and buy more drugs. Stomach problems, depression, headache, flu and stuff that can be treated (not healed) with over-the-counter drugs are fairly cheap and heavily advertised on TV and other media and of course if you are not 100% healthy you are not 100% happy either, mood swings can be nicely treated (not healed) with things like shopping for clothes and gadgets, entertainment, anything that gives you a kick will do because your body can't produce happiness hormones meanwhile stress, cheap sugary and fatty food and the lack of physical activity makes many ill and fat and unhappy.
 If you think you want to start fresh in the new decade, make a change for yourself then its time to get selfish and do what is good for you, plenty of information is out there, self-help books, websites and even organizations so you can start your journey. I personally recommend the following sources :

  

Book: How To Eat, Move and Be Healthy by Paul Chek, Why Zebras don't get ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky,  CD's:You are what you eat Website: www.chekconnect.com and www.mercola.com video: http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/ don't entirely agree with everything but interesting thoughts there.
Feel free to contact me if you don't know where to start your journey to fitness and well-being. http://www.everfit.co.uk/contact-us.html

           This time of year everyone is making New Year resolution plans, whether these plans are fitness related or not the most important element of planning is setting realistic goals, without them you are more likely to fail and thus more likely to be put off next time you think its time for a change.
           For example you know you would look 10 years younger by dropping 2 stones so you think if you went to the gym 4 times a week and lost 1 kilo every week by Easter you could achieve this goal, this sounds good though deep down you know 4 times a week 1 hour plus 1 hour with changing, taking a shower, get to the gym and then home would not fit into your schedule, so after a month or so when you start to see results you ease off a bit and decide that if you only went 3 times a week for the next two months you could still lose 1 and 1/2 stones and still would look much better then before. Plus you haven't had take away and pizza for 5 weeks now so you think you deserve it and believe me next thing you know at the end of the second month you didn't lose any weight, with only 4 weeks to go you decide to forget about the whole thing and promise to yourself to start fresh after Easter and will get in shape for the summer.
          It is very easy to set goals but even easier to fail if you were too strict with yourself. Plus the thing is there are many factors that could slow down or even inhibit fat loss, food sensitivity, inflammation of the gut, impaired detoxification health, higher than optimal total GI levels of meals, Dehydration, Inadequate sleep and recovery and the physical stress being put on your body by any or a combination of these. If fat loss was as easy as running 1 hour 4 times a week there would not be such places as gyms and health clubs.
          To minimize the chance of making similar mistakes sit down and write down you goals on a peace of paper, then imagine you have achieved this goals and now write down how do you feel, how do you look, what compliments do you friends make about your new look, what clothes do you wear and how did your life change after all your hard work.
          Feels good, doesn't it, now imagine you failed to achieve your goal and write down how you feel, look, what people think about you going to the gym and not achieving what you wanted and how you would feel about that. Also write a list, an action plan, things you have to do in order to achieve your goal, for example drink nothing else but water, pack my lunch, cook 4 times a week, write my grocery list and stick to it, go to bed before midnight, train 3 times a week, cycle to work etc. It is a good idea to create a list of things that surely contributed to your current weight or well-being and reassess your action plan whether or not you have to add anything.
          Now that you have all these lists you can read them a few times and take time to adjust them, see whether any part of the action plan needs adjusting or  are the any other things that could get in your way such as spouse's negative attitude towards your plans, your favourite tv show, your favourite 9 o'clock snack and make extra notes, discuss them with your partner or family if you think it would help. These might sound pointless but we do need to see things clearly, you might read your lists and say there is to much to sacrifice and wait until you are ready and it might be a much better decision than not planning at all and failing half way through it.
          Have you ever failed to achieve your fitness goal, despite the fact that you did your best and there might be some other factors that you have never considered before and could get into your way this time too? Are you not completely sure what your diet should look like or what exercises are most suitable for you? Do you have any questions? Please do not hesitate to contact me or any other Chek practitioner through ChekConnect!
        I hope you had a wonderful time during the Hol