(ARA) – Many overweight individuals try to lose those extra pounds on their own, instead of finding help that can teach them how to get and stay healthy. Interestingly, recent studies show that not only does the likelihood of being overweight increase among friends and family members, but also the opposite holds true.  

When people joined a group based weight-loss program with friends and family, they lost more weight and kept it off better than those who joined the same program alone, according to research published in the Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology.

“Obesity isn’t a problem that occurs in a vacuum,” says Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer of Weight Watchers International. “It should be no surprise, then, that the solution also doesn’t occur in one either.”

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I try my hardest to keep junk food out of the house. If it’s around, and I see it, I’m much more tempted to have a little sneak.

A little bit of junk food once in a while isn’t a problem. The problem is when you keep saying, “I’ll just have a bit,” over and over again. When you add up those little “bits” of calories, chances are you end up overeating — and gaining weight.

What I’ve started doing is playing peek-a-boo with the junk food — only I don’t play the full game: I keep the food hidden! Out of sight, out of mind definitely works for me. My hubby loves to buy dark chocolate and it’s been creeping into the house more and more often. So I’ve taken to hiding it in the back of the food cupboard. If he wants it, he can go look for it!

What’s great about this “out of sight, out of mind” method is that science backs it up!
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Here’s a different way to look at all the extra fat you’re carrying around. See, your body stores any extra calories you eat as fat, right? Your body thinks, “Hey, it might be awhile before we get some food, so let’s stash away all this extra energy.”

The problem is, for most of you reading this, the next meal is not very far away. You don’t even have to go out to “hunt and gather” — chances are you’ll “walk and raid (the fridge)” or “drive and order (some fast food).”

So, for every 3500 extra calories you eat, your body gains 1lb of fat.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument (and easier calculations!) that an average, healthy meal is 500 calories (normal portion consisting of protein, carbs and some fat).

That would make 1lb of extra fat the equivalent of SEVEN meals!

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It’s such a common occurrence, it’s become a cliche: you spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, on a treadmill, exercise bike or an elliptical machine, only to see it gather enough dust to make your mother weep when she visits — or worse yet, you can’t even see the darn thing because it’s a rather expensive clothes hanger. Out of sight, out of mind seems to be your motto.

When I bought my elliptical machine, I was determined to get my money’s worth. Who wants to spend that much money on an overgrown door stopper? So, if you can’t even remember what your exercise equipment looks like, I’ve got 4 tips to help you dust it off and start using it again.

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Allow me a great, big WHOOHOO! You see, I’ve been wearing my “fat” pants for awhile now (not to mention my, ugh, sweat pants), but they started getting too loose. I had been trying on my “next-size-down” black jeans, but they were still too tight. (Take it from me, if you can’t sit down for long in your jeans, they’re too tight!) I didn’t even bother trying them on anymore, figuring I’d try again when I lost more weight.

So, 10 days ago, I bit the bullet and told myself to get a pair of jeans that fit, even if I had to go up a size. (Can you tell I’ve been watching What Not to Wear?) Problem was, the next size up was too big. So, I ended up buying a pair of blue jeans the next size down — even though they were a bit snug. After a couple of days, they stretched out a bit, and by the end of the week, they were fitting great.

But then this week-end, I looked at the tag of my new blue jeans. They were THE SAME SIZE as my “too tight” black jeans!

So, guess what I’m wearing right now? Yup, my “too tight” black jeans now fit me! There’s just a teensy-bit of a muffin-top, but it’s just a matter of time (and discipline) before that’s gone.

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