Empower yourself through eating right.
Many times our eating habits that have been created in our childhood, remain with us.  Here's a story from a friend, Bill Elias:

"For me, growing up on a farm with 5 siblings, the food was placed on the table and the rush was on.  Dishes being passed, arms flying around you, if you didn't eat fast, you lost out. You always had clean plates.  Food was not to be wasted.  You always ate whatever was placed in front of you. It wasn't about taste, it was about volume. If you ate fast enough, you received the ultimate award. A fullness in your stomach that seemed to be a bit of heaven. Food becomes "comfort."

As I got older, these eating habits remained.  I didn't eat what was healthy, it was what made me feel full.  High carbs, highly processed foods and soda.  We rarely had soda as kids, so now when I was in control, I drank lots of soda.  I enjoyed walking and biking.  I walked to work (3 miles per day) in all sorts of weather. On the weekends I would bike, many times biking 20-30 miles a day.  But, even though I was physically active, I was gaining weight.  My cholesterol was rising.  My blood pressure was rising.  I peaked at 248 pounds on a 6'3" frame at 50 years old, with a stomach that made me look like I was with child!

That was 3 years ago.  What happened?  Well, my oldest brother had a heart attack. Then, when seeing my doctor for my routine cholesterol screening, my doctor infomed me that my cholesterol had climbed to 245, and it was time to start taking medication or lose the weight.  I decided to lose the weight.

For me, switching to a high protein, low carb diet did the trick.  But most importantly, learning about foods and their effects on the body has given me the confidence to control my weight.  And there was this one other thing, gratitude.  Using gratitude, I began to appreciate who I was and I gained the confidence to begin to just say no to foods that were not good for me.  If I was full, I would even leave food on my plate.  In just 4 months, I had lost 40 pounds and my cholesterol had dropped to 180mg/dL.  Today, at 53 years old, my cholesterol is now at 160mg/dL, with a 55mg/dL LDL.  My health continues to improve.  I start every day with 2 glasses of water (and drink lots of water throughout the day), I drink green tea with ginseng regularly, and I no longer drink soda.  There are mornings that I wake up and I have the energy of when I was a teenager! Eating correctly changed my life." 

Who you are today and how you feel at this moment, is the result of what you have eaten previously.  Eating processed, high-carb foods, tires the body out and can lead to obesity and disease. These foods also create cravings for more of the same, putting your body into an unhealthy cycle of feeding and fatigue.

Toxins in your body and diet lead to disease, heart attacks, obesity and fatigue. The best way to get rid of these tiring toxins is to not put these toxins into your body in the first place. Eating natural, unprocessed foods gives your body energy without the penalties of cravings and fatigue. 

Watch your portion size. If you're concerned about eating too much while at a restaurant, have a healthy salad with a low calorie dressing or an appetizer.  Most of today's appetizers are the correct portion size for an entire meal.  Another good way of measuring portions is to try not to exceed 2 handfuls of food per meal.

And always remember, "the later, the lighter."  Eat your big meals early in the day, and the lightest meals later in the day.  Try not to eat anything 4 hours before bedtime. If you are hungry close to bedtime, try a negative calorie food.  Negative calorie foods take more energy from your body to consume than the calories contained in the food, resulting in a net calorie loss from the body.

Negative Calorie Foods