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Bride-to-Be Beauty Check List:

• Hair cut and color (and extensions?)
• Teeth whitened (and straightened?)
• Facials (and a bit of botox?)
• Mani-Pedi
• Spray tan
• Make-up artist
• And, most important, lose 20 pounds - fast!

The bride is ready for the red carpet!  It's a fact: Brides-to-Be are highly motivated to lose weight.

During my travels in Mexico, I’ve taken a number of trips to local supermarkets in order to stock up on healthy meals and snacks.  Large and modern supermarket complexes can be found everywhere, including some familiar huge U.S. chains; however there are some interesting differences to be found once you step inside and start exploring the aisles.

Have you ever finished a candy bar and wished you had just one more bite? Are you surprised when your hand hits the bottom of the popcorn box? Do you ever feel lethargic or miserably stuffed after you eat?

These are all symptoms of unconscious eating. When you eat quickly or while distracted, you may feel stuffed but strangely unsatisfied.

I’m sorry to report that phony exercise equipment, herbal supplements, and other weight-loss scams are not just a US-phenomenon.  Here in Mexico, where I’ve been traveling for the past few weeks, television commercials with ridiculous claims saturate the airwaves day and night.  On many cable-TV channels, it would appear weight-loss products make up more than 50% of all commercials. Here are some of my favorites:

It’s that unsung hero that has myriad functions in the body. Potassium helps balance fluid and mineral levels, supports muscle contraction (it helps the heart beat steadily), and transmits nerve impulses. It also helps blunt the blood pressure-raising effects of a high sodium diet, and may even help prevent future bone loss. While it may not inspire water-cooler conversation, potassium—a key mineral found most notably in leafy greens, fruits from vines, and root vegetables—truly deserves star status in our diets.

In Jamie Oliver’s TV series, Food Revolution, he visits an elementary school in Huntington, West Virginia and encourages schoolchildren to expand their culinary palates and enjoy more nutritious, healthy foods.  Kids that try new foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are given a sticker that says “I tried something new today” and learn to love (or at least tolerate) items they originally shunned.

If you’re like most dieters you sometimes use food to cope with difficult feelings. Instead of only eating when physically hungry, you may turn to food when emotionally vulnerable. Understanding what emotional eating means is a great first step!  The next step is to ask yourself, “What am I feeling?” and instead of turning to food, ask, “What do I need?”  Here’s a guideline to help you identify and manage your feelings so they’re not managing you. 

Last week, a magazine writer interviewed me for an article about "cheating".  I know that “cheating” is a concern of Calorie Counters because it is often discussed in the Community Forums.  And so, with that in mind, I thought you might be interested in my notes from the exchange.

Q:   Why is it important to occasionally "cheat" when it comes to your diet?  Can it make you a healthier individual overall?

Do you sometimes confuse “head hunger” with physical hunger? Sometimes I want a brownie really means I want pleasure, I need comfort, I deserve a reward, or I wish I could tell you how I really feel.

“What is my ideal weight?” Calorie Counters ask in order to set a goal weight and doctors ask to assess degree of risk. Obesity is associated with "risks" like pregnancy complications, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and more, and underweight is risky too.  But being a little overweight may not be a problem at all.  In a meta-analysis published in The Lancet, overweight heart patients had a lower death rate compared to patients of normal weight.  And so it begs the question, what is ideal weight?

Let’s face it—deep down, we all know we’re most likely to get and stay fit when we’re active and eat a nutritious, calorie-controlled diet. But what if we could burn calories, shape and tone our thighs and butts, and enjoy slimmer silhouettes simply by slipping into nylon/lycra underwear? ShaToBu™-The Workout You Wear is one of the latest products that hopes to get a share of the estimated $68.7 billion Americans are expected to spend on weight loss products and services in 2010 according to Marketdata Enterprises.

Do you postpone buying special clothes because you’re not thin yet?  Are you delaying that cruise until the weight comes off?  Have you missed your high school reunions because you feel self-conscious about your body?  If so, what are you waiting for?  It’s time to reclaim your power and live your life now! 

Do you sometimes confuse wanting to eat with needing to eat? Learning to tell the difference is an essential skill for breaking your eat-repent-repeat cycle.

You were born with the innate ability to know when and how much to eat. Have you forgotten how to use this information?

"I am on the sea food diet. Whenever I see food I eat it!"

To a hungry person, the sight of food evokes a strong positive response - and for some people, the response is stronger than it is for others.  But that strong positive response might be the key to successful maintenance of lost weight.

Salt is the latest food ingredient to make waves—and for good reason. On average, Americans consume about 3,500 milligrams of sodium each day (sodium makes up 40 percent of salt; the other 60 percent comes from chloride); that’s considerably more than the 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams recommended in the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.