The Slim Habit is not a restrictive process like a diet, instead it concentrates on helping you to change your behavior by learning new habits, Slim Habits.

In the last few years there has been a huge rise in the number of people who are either overweight or obese. The numbers going on a diet has increased dramatically too. Clearly something isn’t working.

The sad fact about diets is that they fail to deliver permanent weight loss. A recent study by psychologists at UCLA which analyzed the results of 31 long-term studies which followed people on a range of diets for between 2 and 5 years, found that you can lose between 5% and 10% of your weight on a diet, but in all but a few cases the weight reappears – with interest. In another report, the failure rate was put as high as 99%!

Those who have tried lots of diets will understand how depressing and damaging it is to your self-confidence and self-esteem to constantly fail to achieve permanent weight loss. Serial dieting is bad for your health – mental and physical.

There is a way out of this dilemma. The way forward is the Slim Habit.

By learning to change your behavior and by learning new habits, new Slim Habits, you are able to make a permanent difference to your life. No short-term diet fix, but a lasting solution which will allow you to enjoy a slim, healthy life, free form diets.

The Slim Habit is a very comprehensive program. It answers the ‘why’ and delivers the ‘how’. It helps you to gain control of your life through learning and development. Through a Personal Exercise Plan it helps you to establish your own exercise program and it offers huge support through the Cycle 9 Journal and the online Slim Habit community, SlimPals.

The Slim Habit is revolutionary in its concept, but also in its simplicity. It is straight forward and easy-to-follow. It is revolutionizing weight loss. If you want to lose weight permanently, join the revolution and get the Slim Habit!

A speaker and writer on diet and how to get slim, Henry John is committed to helping people to change their behavior and lose weight permanently by learning new eating and lifestyle habits. Learn more about how to lose weight permanently – visit http://www.slimhabit.com.

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You have probably noticed that the diet industry is never shy about coming up with new ideas or new fads, trying to convince us that they have the answer to the best way to lose weight. There is always some new potion, pill or plan popping up trying to catch our eye.

They often offer what might seem to be the impossible, and often is. What’s most remarkable is the emphasis on speed. Why is there such a fixation on rapid weight loss?

 Don’t you think it’s odd that weight that has taken you years to accumulate is going to disappear in an instant? Is it really realistic? Blink and you might miss the weight falling off! Is it too good to be true? Well, it depends what you’re looking for. If it’s short-term weight loss and you don’t mind if the weight comes back again, then a new fad diet is probably just the thing for you. If you want to lose weight permanently, then you need to think again.

 Sometimes it’s wise not to go after the new. Some plans are untested and may not deliver. The other side of the coin is that what has been on the market for some time may not have delivered.

 We have an obesity epidemic which shows no sign of getting any better. People are just not able to lose weight with what is on offer to them. It really is time for some drastic new thinking about how to lose weight and keep it off.

 There is a solution. The key to losing weight and keeping it off is not about dieting or pill popping. It is about changing what we do. Excess weight is almost certainly the result of accumulated bad habits.

 These can be eating habits or exercise habits (lack of exercise habits!) and a combination of the two. There are other factors as well, but what is not being addressed is the need to change.

 The way to make change? You do so by learning new habits, slim habits. This enables you change your behavior. When you do this you can make the changes that lead to permanent weight loss. It can be done!

A speaker and writer on diet and how to get slim, Henry John is committed to helping people to change their behavior and lose weight permanently by learning new eating and lifestyle habits. Learn more about how to lose weight permanently – visit http://www.slimhabit.com.

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What do you think the phrase ‘We’re all creatures of habit’ means?  Can it be true? Does this mean that habits control our lives? Actually, we would be totally lost without habits.  Habits help us to run our lives more efficiently. They help us to manage and survive in our world.

It’s helpful to think of a habit as a learned response. The way we learn habits is through repetition and practice. Once learned we can do it without thinking. Our actions become ‘automatic’.

Having the ability to do something ‘automatically’ or without having to think too much, allows our brain to concentrate on more important things. Established habits allow us not to have to think about basic routines or take fresh decisions about everyday occurrences. They give us more time to evaluate and reason, and make sense of things. They allow us to explore new ‘possibilities’ and to make progress.

When we learn a habit through repetition and practice, it gets ‘hotwired’ onto our brain, and there it will stay. We can’t change a habit, but we can learn a new one to supersede or act in place of it. Which is just as well because not all the habits we learn are good ones. We learn lots of good habits and we learn lots of bad ones. Bad habits can make us lazy. When it comes to our health, if we allow it, bad habits can do us a great deal of harm.

The cause of most people being overweight or obese is nearly always because they’ve have learned lots of bad habits. They’ve probably given into temptation on a number of issues and not had the self-discipline to prevent bad habits becoming established. These bad habits then take over their lives.

What is the most common reaction to being overweight? Of course, to go on a diet. The weight loss that follows is, unfortunately, only short-term. The weight soon returns, and the bad habits remain.

This is why The Slim Habit is so ‘revolutionary’. ‘Revolutionary’, is an overused term, but it is exactly what it is. Why? Because it gets to the heart of the problem. It gets you to learn new habits, slim habits, and this makes permanent weight loss possible. It creates the conditions that allow change to take place – which is important because if you stay doing the same old things, nothing will ever change and you’ll never lose weight.

The Slim Habit is a weight loss program that will change the way we look at weight loss. It’s simple and straightforward, but it delivers what all people who are overweight want – the ability to change the way they are by learning new habits, and lose weight – permanently.

A speaker and writer on diet and how to get slim, Henry John is committed to helping people to change their behavior and lose weight permanently by learning new eating and lifestyle habits. Learn more about how to lose weight permanently – visit http://www.slimhabit.com.

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Exercise – The Best Way to Lose Weight

Do you know that exercise is the best way to lose weight? Read this article to know more about the importance of exercise in losing weight.

Everybody must be aware of the fact that exercise is one way to lose weight. There are other means to lose extra calories such as following a low calorie diet, taking diet pills or undergoing a surgery. The question is which is the best way to lose weight that we can rely on.

Well, exercise is the best way of healthy weight loss with no side effects, if followed carefully. Regular exercise helps in burning the fats and in turn aids in gaining muscle tissues. Exercise also increases the production of fat-burning enzymes by the body, thus leading to weight loss in a natural way. Diet products and surgeries like liposuction have certain side effects in the long run. According to recent studies, it has been found out that consuming lower calorie diets is a harmful and ineffective way of losing weight. Low-calorie diet disturbs the body metabolism by lowering the body metabolic rate. It results in temporary weight loss and leads to gaining of weight after returning to the normal diet.

Exercise not only helps in losing the extra pounds but also maintains the physical fitness and the overall health of a person. The benefits of exercise are many; it stimulates the immune system and helps in keeping a person healthy. It helps in maintaining a healthy bone density and body mass index (BMI). Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for many of the serious health problems, for example, cardiovascular diseases. Exercise assists in lowering the blood cholesterol and also helps in avoiding diabetes and heart diseases. Exercise aids in keeping a person happy. Yes, it is true since it counters stress, anxiety and depression. Also, if somebody is suffering from insomnia (sleeping disorder), exercise is the best option to avoid sleepless nights.

If you want to stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly. Schedule 30 minutes everyday for physical activity; if possible increase the time to increase the health benefits. There is no specific time for doing exercise; you can find time at home, during leisure or at office. One can exercise in a structured exercise program or simply do household things since all physical related activities benefit health. There are mainly three types of exercise depending upon their overall effects on the human body, namely flexibility (stretching movements), aerobic (walking, running, cycling, swimming) and anaerobic (weight and functional training) exercises.

Certain easy and comfortable steps of exercise can be included in the daily routines like walking, cycling, gardening, cleaning the house, swimming, jogging and dancing and participating in games . Some of the easy ways of exercise include taking the stairs instead of an elevator, parking vehicle away from the workplace and walking the way. You can always make exercise fun to do like listening to music while walking or riding or playing the sport of your choice. The best way to enjoy is exercising with a partner and changing the daily routine. It’s never late to maintain a healthy weight and stay fit. Choose the right type of exercise that you can have fun with.

It is to be kept in mind that too much exercise may be harmful to the health as exercise is a way of stressing the body. There should be adequate rest and sleep in between to recharge the energy of the body. During exercise, the proteins, carbohydrates and fats of the body are utilized as an energy source. However, eating proper diet can compensate the loss. Also, there can be micro-tears in the connective tissues. People with certain health problems like chronic conditions (diabetes) and physical related problems (arthritis) should follow additional guidelines while doing exercises.

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Today, however, our food sources suffer from a lack of quality, diversity, and balance. Natural foods have been replaced with processed and synthetic foods, which have weakened our digestive systems resulting in poor nutrition to the cells, tissues, organs, and systems of our bodies.

To achieve peak performance in any activity requires your body to burn energy. Energy, then, is the byproduct of high performance fuel that will improve the quality of your life and make you healthier than you ever thought possible. In fact, the higher the energy level, the more efficient your body becomes. The more efficient your body becomes, the better you feel. And, the better you feel, the easier it is to achieve the results you are striving for.

So, what is this high performance fuel that will create this abundance of energy for our bodies to burn? The answer is simply the food we eat.

Good nutritional choices play a major role in a healthy weight loss plan. By making small, but effective changes in your daily food intake, you can begin feeling better and improving the quality of your life.

Nutritional science is so confusing and contradictory that to even begin to adapt a universal set of principles to your lifestyle would be nearly impossible. Nevertheless, there are specific key concepts of a well designed healthy weight loss program that include:

1. Making good food choices can be nutritious, enjoyable and energizing.
2. Dieting not only does not work, but can actually take years off your life.
3. Simple modifications in meal choices can reverse how we age.
4. The program is sensible and easy to maintain even when dining out.
5. Losing weight and body fat is achievable & sustainable without drastic alterations or limitations in your lifestyle.

The ideal weight loss program will take a balanced approach to nutrition. By incorporating medically sound and scientifically based research into a healthy plan, your program will not only be effective, but also easy to incorporate into your lifestyle. The two main components of the medically sound nutrition plan include:

* Macronutrient combination
* Stabile blood sugar

Macronutrient Combination

Through the prescribed combination of both macro- and micronutrients, the entire nutritional puzzle is solved. The macronutrients make up the vast bulk and balance of our diets and are found in whole foods. The micronutrients are found within the macronutrients and will be discussed in a supplemental article. The primary macronutrients found in our foods include:

* Proteins
* Carbohydrates
* Fats

Your understanding of each of these components and how you combine them in the foods you eat will determine how successful your overall outcome will be.

Protein:

Proteins contain amino acids, which are the building blocks of your body. Your body can utilize proteins to maintain immune strength as well as to build and repair muscle tissue. Simply put, the greater the muscle mass, the more calories your body will burn. Proteins also promote the release of glucagon, a powerful fat burning hormone.

How much protein should you eat and what are the best sources?

For each individual, the amount of protein may vary. In general, active individuals should consume at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight. A sustainable nutrition plan understands the importance of protein as it relates to muscle building and fat burning and will usually recommend meal plans that are 50% protein. We have found this combination to be the best at optimizing fat loss and losing weight.

When selecting protein sources, ideally, you want to opt for protein sources that are low in fat. Protein sources that are the most desirable include chicken, turkey, fish, whey protein and low fat soy and dairy products. Current studies have shown that incorporating these nourishing proteins in your daily nutritional regimen can help slow the ageing process and prolong your life. Because a greater protein intake is encouraged, proper hydration must also be maintained. For protein to be effectively broken down and utilized by our body, appropriate water intake is a must.

Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates are an important source of energy for your body. Unfortunately, not all carbohydrates are created equal. Your body processes simple and complex carbohydrates differently. As a result, your energy level, mood, and metabolic processes are all influenced by your choice of carbohydrates.

Simple carbohydrates are the refined sugars. Common sweeteners such as honey, table sugar and brown sugar are considered simple sugars. What many people do not know is that alcohol, white bread, pasta, and fruit juice are also simple sugars. These foods when digested, are converted to glucose (sugar), and cause an immediate rise in your blood sugar level. With a spike in your sugar levels, insulin is released, which converts these excess sugars to fat.

Complex carbohydrates are eventually broken down into sugar, however, the process by which this occurs differs from simple carbohydrate break down. Complex carbohydrates assimilate into our system at a much slower rate. As a result, blood sugar stability is maintained and insulin levels remain at normal levels. Typically, complex carbohydrates are high in fiber, low in sugar and have a low glycemic index rating. Examples of high quality carbohydrates include broccoli, cauliflower, apples, oranges, whole grain breads, beans and sweet potatoes.

How much carbohydrate should you eat and what are the best sources?

The best sources of complex carbohydrates are raw, non-starchy vegetables and whole fruits. These foods are high in fiber, which is critical for elimination and stable blood sugar. In addition, complex carbohydrates are your best source of glucose, which is the only fuel your brain can burn. Complex carbohydrates are also involved in assisting the body in burning fat and antioxidants, necessary for disease prevention.

Recommendations on the amount of carbohydrates needed by the body will vary. For the most part, however, a healthy meal plan will usually recommend at least 1 cup of carbohydrates per meal. This should account for about 30% of your total food consumption

Essential Fats:

As Americans we consume almost 35% of our daily calories from fat. Most often this is saturated fat. Studies have shown that consuming a diet high in saturated fat can lead to heart disease and decreased immune function. In other words, consuming foods high in saturated fat will shorten your life.

An important point to remember is that consuming the right kind of fat can be beneficial in your attempt to manage your weight, and live an enhanced lifestyle. These fats and oils speed up metabolism, regulate your hormones, facilitate fat burning, and strengthen your immune system. Of particular importance is role essential fats and oils play in stabilizing blood sugar levels by slowing the emptying of the stomach. Essential fats provide you with:

* Concentrated energy
* Compounds needed for cellular metabolism
* Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids, which aid in the burning of fat

How much essential fat should you eat and what are the best sources? Essential fats occur naturally and do not undergo any additional processing. Examples of foods that contain these valuable essential fats include fish such as salmon and tuna, raw nuts, avocados, flax seed oils and olive oil. The best sources of essential fats and oils come from plants. Most healthy weight loss plans recommend that no more than 20% of your diet come from fat. This translates to a minimum of 1 – 2 tablespoons of raw oil, or ¼ cup of raw seeds or nuts, or 1 – 2 tablespoons of raw nut butter per meal.

A solid healthy weight loss program will add years to your life and provide you with an abundance of energy.

Do you want to learn more about how to lose weight and keep it off? I’ve just finished a new ebook on how you can get lasting weight loss results, “The 10 Step Permanent Weight Loss Formula”.

About The Author

For the past 25 years Malton Schexneider has been a practicing physical therapist, a nationally known educator, a former university professor, a published author, a clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy, and personal success coach to thousands of people just like you who were seeking lifestyle transformation.

Click here if you would you like to discover the secret of permanent weight loss.  Get your FREE A-Z Calorie Counter

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Another way to keep your tummies full is to sip on glasses and glasses of water. It does not only make you full but can keep your skin well hydrated. It also flushes the toxin out of the body which is healthy for normal digestive process. Water also cleanses the system which includes the heart, the liver and the kidneys. Therefore, detoxifying and metabolizing fats are a lot easier when done with water.

Work It Out Through Workouts

Although many diet plans work, the need of exercise should never be neglected. If you want a fast healthy weight loss progress, you should include 30 minutes of exercise in your lifestyle each day. You should take time to do some workout so you can burn calories at a much faster pace. Workouts aid a fast healthy weight loss process and should therefore be a part of your everyday lives.

Fill Your Tummies With Fiber

Fiber rich foods are a good way to keep the excess pounds off of the body. It binds with certain fats and drives them out of your system. Fiber rich foods may include oats, apples, and other fruits and vegetables.

Keep Track Of The Food You Eat Through A Diary

Calcium and other vitamins and minerals are known to have positive effects in weight loss. Fast healthy weight loss plans usually incorporate vitamins and minerals in their record. You should also try to balance the calories you eat per day. You can choose to eat more protein so you do not starve easily all throughout the day.

Are you PLAIN tired, frustrated and vexed at your efforts to LOSE WEIGHT?

Don’t Blame Yourself

We are surrounded by so many FRAUDULENT weight loss diet plans/products/programs that run on artificial hype, false weight loss theories and outrageous success claims, that a great majority of them are PLAIN SCAMS and RIP OFFS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kajay_Williams

Author: Kajay Williams

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The reality is that you always see people at the gym doing this stuff and never seeing the results they want.

The real secret to getting your thighs slim involves 3 components: 1) proper nutrition, 2) strength training and 3) cardio (but not the typical kind of cardio everyone does).

1. Proper Nutrition: I am going to be honest with you. You will never ever get slimmer thighs if you don’t put the right foods in your body. It doesn’t matter how great your workout routine is or what you may have heard or read. If you eat the wrong foods your body will maintain or store more body fat around your midsection, your arms, your butt and your thighs.

And fat is what blurs the visibility of the underlying muscles. When you have excess body fat you cannot see any muscular definition.

So, if you want to get your thighs slimmer you have to eat enough of the right kinds of nutritious, fat burning foods that will help keep your legs sexy and lean.

A great rule of thumb I tell my clients is to make sure you eat at least 5 small meals each day. But, all 5 are not really “meals”.

3 are meals and 2 are snacks. So, it looks like this:

Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Dinner

Getting into the habit of eating more frequently is how you start to boost your metabolism to burn fat so you can begin to get slim thighs much faster than if you eat fewer meals.

2. Strength Training: Usually when I tell women they need strength training to make their thighs slimmer they look at me like they’ve just seen a ghost.

“But, I don’t want to get bulky muscles” is a typical response I get. I don’t know where this myth came from but I want to clarify something here.

Getting “bulky” muscles just from strength training is 100% pure myth. Here’s why. Building the kind of muscle mass that you see on a bodybuilder is absolutely unrealistic for the majority of people especially women.

Women naturally have lower levels of testosterone which makes it more difficult to build muscle mass versus men.

Here is something else to consider. If you want slim thighs with nice “tone” you have to possess a certain level of muscularity anyway.

You can burn all the body fat you want but if you don’t have any real muscle on your legs your slim thighs will look more like toothpicks instead of sexy legs with curves.

That doesn’t mean you will “bulk up”. You simply fit the level of muscularity to match your goal. Adding some lean muscle to your thighs will give you that sexy curvacious appeal you are looking for.

And that comes from intense strength training and not from doing the leg machines at the gym with light weights and lots of repetitions.

You will never get slimmer thighs with nice definition that way. You have to lift heavier and smarter with just the right amount of rest in between to allow your body to recuperate which is when your thighs slim down.

Try these thigh slimming exercises to get you started:

squats
forward lunge walks
sideways lunge walks
box or bench jumps

Learn how to get slim thighs faster and lose 10 pounds in the process-
click here

3. Cardiovascular Training I never said no cardio. I said not the traditional cardio everyone else does. I am going to suggest a different twist on your typical cardio routine that will burn more calories and fat while stimulating your thighs to add some lean, sexy muscle tone.

Getting your thighs slim requires the combination of sufficient muscularity and low body fat.

Your muscles lie underneath a layer of fat cells. Fat cells store body fat. The more fat you carry the bigger your fat cells become and the less visible your muscles are.

So, to see those slim thighs underneath you also need to burn the fat from your fat cells.

Here’s a tip to get you started:

Perform 90% Heart Rate Peaks- Instead of doing the typical marathon cardio workout in your “fat burning zone” you are going to perform a much higher intensity workout but for a shorter time period.

This will allow you to burn more calories and fat long after your workout is over. Here is what you do:

Use the formula 220 – your age to get a number. Now, multiply that number by .85 and write down the product. Next, multiply the number by .75 and write down that product. The 2 products are your low and high end heart rate ranges.

Example for a 35-year old: 220 – 35 = 185
185 X .85 = 157
185 X .75 = 138

Heart rate range would be 138 (low end) to 157 (high end).

You will perform your cardio workout on any piece of equipment of your choice. Warm up for 5 minutes by gradually building your heart rate up to your low end range (138 in the above example).

Then you will increase the intensity until your heart rate peaks at your high end range (157 beats per minute in the above example).

Once you reach your high end range you immediately drop the intensity and recover back down to yoru low end range. Once you reach your low end range peak back up again.

Repeat this process of peaking and recovering for 30 minutes. Then record the total number of times you peaked to your high end range.

The next time you perform this you will try to beat the total number of peaks.

Cool down for 5 minutes by gradually decreasing the intensity until your heart rate is at your low end range or lower.

Stretch for 5-10 minutes.

And there you have it. The real secret to getting slim thighs is by adding some lean fat burning, thigh slimming muscle and dropping your body fat levels low enough to see those sexy trim legs.

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Many people who want to lose weight will ask themselves the question do I need to exercise to lose weight? This is a common question and the answer to that is relatively simple. Losing weight requires a combination of factors and exercise is one of them. It is needed along with proper diet and nutrition. With no exercise your body cannot make the most of its calorie burning ability. If you are only incorporating part of an overall plan to achieve your weight loss goals then you are short changing yourself. You can achieve your weight loss goals easier when you include exercise into your plan. How to lose weight with simple diet and exercise is explained here.

Proper diet and nutrition is part of the overall system to lose weight. Your body needs fuel to function. You have to supply it with the appropriate nutrients throughout the day. This is how your body will get the enery it needs to get you through the days activities. Your body will require a certain number of calories simply to function normally. This is called your resting metabolic rate. Consuming an ample number of calories to reach your resting metabolic rate in the end will help you efficiently burn calories to lose weight. The basis for this is if your body is struggling to obtain fuel to function it will begin to burn calories from needed supplies for energy such as reducing your muscle mass. You want to accomplish getting your body to the stage where it has enough energy stores that it will burn calories from body fat vs. muscle mass.

How to lose weight with simple diet and exercise is critical. Exercises play a crucial role in getting your body to the point where it burns bodyfat. Performing exercises has a number of benefits to your wellbeing and overall development. Performing exercises will ultimately help enhance your tone and build muscle mass depending on the type of exercise that you do. As you diet and exercise and ultimately lose bodyfat you want to have sufficient tone and mass to achieve that fit and toned look. If you put your muscles through actions that make them stronger and more tone then they will respond. Meaning if you are sitting the majority of your time or you are not taxing your muscles to help them grow then they will stay in the state that they are in. So you can lose bodyfat without achieving a toned look if you remain sedentary. That is why exercise is so important.

Do you need to exercise to lose weight? Absolutely. Combined with proper diet and nutrition it is the most successful combination to realize your body fat and weight loss goals.

About The Author

Peter Harris is a health care professional and author and writes frequently about diet, exercise and nutrition.

If you would like to learn more about how exercise can help you achieve your weight loss goals then click here now: Exercise

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What he has done is to show that there are a lot of people who want to change their eating and lifestyle habits. What they lack, and what he supplies, is information, inspiration and support. All are essential ingredients for successful behaviour change – and the Ministry of Food is essentially about changing people’s behaviour.

He has also uncovered the power of community. If you can harness the energy and enthusiasm of like-minded people within a community, you have a very strong driver for change. Although for lasting change, you need lasting support.

Jamie rightly highlights that too many of us are too fat. 60% of us are either overweight or obese, and it’s a problem that is getting worse, not better. Eating the right food, and learning to cook fresh, good, nutritious food is what people need to do. But this won’t cure the obesity crisis.

The problem with obesity is that it is socially contagious. To be either overweight or obese has become acceptable in society. It has become a new social norm. If you have a friend who is overweight or obese, you have 60% chance of being overweight or obese too. Overweight or obese people stick together. They feel comfortable in each other’s company, free from ridicule or criticism. This ‘social contagion’ is probably the main reason why obesity levels continue to rise.

What is the answer? Diets only deliver short-term weight loss. 95% of people who go on a diet never achieve permanent weight loss. The only real way to achieve permanent weight loss is to change your behaviour. What’s the best way of doing this? By changing small behaviours. By changing small behaviours you can change more complex behaviours. This is the principle of the Slim Habit, a behaviour change weight loss programme which achieves lasting change by learning new eating and lifestyle habits, slim habits. It also supplies the essential ingredient for successful behaviour change – support.

What is interesting is that there is a unique synergy between Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food initiative and a behaviour change based weight loss programme. This is particularly relevant following the identification of the social element of obesity. Why? Because of the opportunity to harness the power of community, not only to learn how to cook and to eat good, nutritious food, but to lose weight – permanently, by learning new slim habits. Both programmes have behaviour change as their main element. Both programmes provide support. Both programmes have the means to provide long-lasting results.

How fantastic would it be to be able to actually reduce the level of obesity in the country? How great would it be to be able to give people back their lives so that they could realise their full potential and enjoy a long, healthy life?

It is possible. There is a social solution to what has become a social problem.

The community has to become the driver for change. The Ministry of Food has already started the ball rolling. By providing the community with the right guidance, and support so that people can change their eating and lifestyle habits by using an effective weight loss behaviour programme, and the practical and educational support offered by the Ministry of Food, the tide could be turned on obesity. It’s a grand thought, it’s a great idea.

A speaker and writer on behavior change and weight loss, John McPhie is committed to helping people to change their behavior and lose weight permanently by learning new eating and lifestyle habits. Learn more about how to lose weight permanently – visit http://www.slimhabit.com

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 In Britain, by 2050 60% of men and 40% of women will be obese. The cost to the NHS is well over £4 billion a year and this will rise to over £6 billion by 2015. For a condition that is entirely preventable, this is an unacceptable burden on society. For millions of individuals it means a life of unrealised potential, unnecessary health problems and a very uncomfortable and unhappy old age. Obesity is set to sap the strength of the nation. It is the greatest health challenge we have ever faced.

So why is the obesity crisis seemingly out of control? What is driving more and more people to become overweight or obese? Of course it’s about eating and lifestyle habits. We are all individually responsible for what we put in our mouths and how much exercise we take, but there is a new dimension.  Obesity has become socially contagious. The main driver of obesity is a social one.

What has happened is that being overweight or obese has become a new social norm. It is now perfectly acceptable to be overweight or obese. It is not seen as being out of the ordinary or different. If you are overweight or obese you are more than likely to have overweight or obese friends. You mix with people who don’t threaten or criticise you. You feel comfortable in their company. In fact friends have the greatest influence on body weight. You are nearly 60% more likely to be overweight or obese if you have overweight or obese friends.

The discovery, or realisation of this new dimension actually offers some amazing opportunities that could transform the way we tackle the obesity crisis. The basis for this optimism is that if obesity is socially contagious, then being slim can be socially contagious too. It has become a social problem that has a social solution.

Up until now all weight loss programs have been directed at the individual. They have all been singularly unsuccessful at delivering permanent weight loss. At best they have delivered short-term weight loss, but the weight comes back again in over 95% of cases. The main reason for this is that they have not been directed at the one thing that can deliver permanent weight loss, and that is behaviour change.

The simplest and most effective way to change behaviour is to learn new habits, slim habits. By modifying small behaviours (habits), complex behaviours can be changed. This is the method that is used in the Slim Habit behaviour change program, which also offers a very important ingredient – support. The social solution to the obesity problem lies in the community. Why? Because it can offer unparalleled support. By mobilising and organising overweight or obese people within a community into groups, and giving them supervision, education, advice – and a good behaviour change programme, you can use the power of community to be the driver of change. Do this and you have the means to end the obesity crisis.

A speaker and writer on diet and how to get slim, Henry John is committed to helping people to change their behavior and lose weight permanently by learning new eating and lifestyle habits. Learn more about how to lose weight permanently – visit http://www.slimhabit.com. For your FREE Slim Habit A-Z Calorie Counter Click here

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