Pre-packaged food is no diet

Quite a number of people are starting their New Years resolution to lose weight. I’m sure the number of health club memberships skyrocket this time of year. For the past 3 months or so using the NutriSystem diet and along with twice a week exercise program I have lost about 15 pounds. But you know the saying, “No pain. No gain”, and I have experienced some pain. The pre-packaged meals, which do not require refrigeration and contain things like mozzarella type cheese, are portioned and labeled for each meal of the day. This setup is geared for the busy or undisciplined person to grab a days worth of meals with little or no preparation. The plan has you eating frequent small low calorie portions throughout the day which boosts your metabolism and doesn’t leave you hungry. In theory these are very good eating habits and can be followed without pre-packaged meals. However, the food is less than appetizing and while there are a variety of choices, you will soon find that you gravitate toward the few that you can tolerate. In addition to the pr-packaged meals you need to supplement your diet with veggies and proteins like low-fat yogurt. The plan even has “snacks” and desserts for your cravings, which compared to the rest of the food is a welcomed relief.

If you don’t want to have to think about what to eat or don’t have time to prepare your meals ahead of time and you can stomach them, then these pre-packaged meals are the way to help you shed some weight. The real key is to get more regular exercise and to eat small partitions all day to keep your metabolism up and hunger down. You cannot spend the rest of your life living off of pre-packaged meals so you may be better off learning to eat right and get into healthier habits that will keep you on the thin side.

How to make a New Year's resolution and stick to it

The new year is upon us and that means the parties are all over and it's time to get back to business. The new year makes us feel as if we've got a clean slate to do the things we have been meaning to do the past year.
If you have written down your New Year's resolutions and stuck them to the refrigerator your not off to a bad start. The first thing on you list should be to get the book"Getting things done" by David Allen. David Allen is well known as a "productivity guru" and gives seminars on organization and effectively completing projects. This book shows methods of productivity for both home and office.
One of the methods in the book is to write down your goal in a notebook or pad of paper then write specific tasks or milestones that will get you to the goal. So if one of your resolutions is to "lose 20 pounds", write down the tasks that will get you to that goal such as "Exercise 20 min a day". You can get as detailed as you need so the task can be completed without making you make you feel overwhelmed. The next tip from Allen's book is if a task takes only a few minutes to complete, just finish it and get it done with. If it is paperwork make sure that you file it away if it needs to be filed. If it not important or does not need to be kept, throw it out. You do not need to clutter you desk with completed work.
What is great about the methods in this book are that you can start using them right away. By the end of the book you will have a system to deal with and organize your life, which will help to keep you focused and actually stick to those resolutions throughout the rest of the year. Happy New Year!