Combine the science of eating water rich foods with the psychology of choosing to eat appropriate foods, and you are on the road to maintaining your weight.

For many people, losing weight seems to be a life-long process. Dieting and following new fads on television and in magazines is a lifestyle for some people, rather than a short means-to-an-end. This is because many don’t understand the science behind losing weight.

Think of your body as a machine and the process of losing-weight will become a lot easier to understand. It is a game of science and maths. Here’s the good news – you naturally burn energy by simply existing. A day spent sat at a desk still requires energy – not as much of course, but you still burn a set amount of calories.

Eating smart, not eating less is the key to losing weight and keeping it off. It’s all in your head. Being motivated to stick to a healthy diet is what drives results. Eating low in calorie density foods that are rich in water, such as vegetables and fruit, promotes healthy weight loss and prevents chronic illnesses. It also helps people control their hunger. They’re eating more, but actually less in terms of calories. What they learn is to make appropriate food choices for a low in calorie density diet.

So really, by simply knowing and controlling what you put into your mouth is going to make losing weight an achievable task. The science is eating low in calorie density foods. The psychology is choosing to make smart food choices and sticking to it. And that’s it! Combine the two rules and you’re set for a healthy diet.

In any area of your life, to be successful, you need motivation, a strong will and the sheer desire to see something through to the end. Be it in your working life or even just becoming good at a new hobby.

A massive amount of people are very unaware just exactly what is involved when it comes to their health and fitness, and often have no idea about the amount of work it takes to attain a healthy well-balanced lifestyle. It takes extreme dedication, hard work and a huge amount of personal motivation to attain the perfect shape.

 Just because the person next to you isn’t exercising or working out regularly doesn’t mean that you should do the same. Following the crowd and living in ignorance will never get you anywhere. Just because everyone else does it, doesn’t mean that you should too. When it comes to your personal well-being, this kind of ignorance is the first thing you need to get rid of. When you understand exactly how hard it is to get in shape then you’re taking the first step to do doing it. Ignorance may be bliss, but it certainly isn’t when your health is involved. It doesn’t pay to be ignorant about your health and it doesn’t pay to follow the crowd.

Even if the person you’re following is living a nice and healthy lifestyle (which of course, in comparison, is a far better role model), it is also important to get your personal health and exercise regime correct. What works for someone else may not work for you.

So, get wise to what’s involved, stop doing what others do, and work on a regime that suits YOU!

Everytime I hear about the expansion of FaceBook, thoughts of specticism flood my mind. I immediately wonder when people are using it. Is it during work hours or is it in their own time? After discussions with many people about this, I found that people frequently use FaceBook for personal reasons (not professional) during work hours. In my belief, this is a form of theft as they are being paid to work but in fact not doing so.

Well known Personal Development author Larry Wingett discusses this concept in his best selling book “It’s Called Work for a Reason“, a fantastic book about becoming more successful. He suggests that time stealing is no different to taking money out of the bosses bank account or cash register and I agree. This tendency to work on personal matters during work hours is not surprising, particularly as most Australians are unhappy in their jobs.

So why am I writing about this when my passion is really about improving the health of the nation you may ask. It is because I believe that many people who are unhappy in their jobs often turn to food, drugs and alcohol as forms of comfort or as a means of achieving happiness. As a result, their health is in jeopardy.

I am proud and fortunate enough to be able to say that I love what I do. I don’t feel like I have really worked since about 1992, when I switched from working in Accounting firm as a trainee accountant to “play” in the fitness industry. Hence, I don’t have the desire or need to turn to food, alcohol or drugs as a means of happiness. In fact I am proud to say that I have never taken drugs. 

To me surfing FaceBook for hours on end purely for personal reasons is a complete waste of time. Similarly, eating poorly quality food, drinking alcohol excessively or taking drugs simply prevents you from maximising your potential to achieve worthwhile goals.  My advice to those out there who are victims of these destructive behaviours is for them to find a career, sport and / hobby that ignites their passion. Once this is found, the need or desire to steal time from the boss or lead a destructive lifestyle will be a thing of the past.