Helpful Diet Resources

Since a lot of people on his-lordship are working on some form of weight loss or diet, I wanted to share a online few diet resources that people might find helpful.

1. Email Daily Tips And Suggestions

There is a site that has a lot of helpful information and suggestion on it, and that will send it to you by email, once tip a day. Their program is general and helpful, for the most part. They want to lead you gently down a path towards a goal of being a vegan vegetarian who only eats "raw" (e.g., uncooked) foods. While I don't recommend going anywhere near that extreme, their steps to get you to start moving in that direction can be extremely helpful and they will probably move you towards eating more fruits and vegetables and less fatty and empty calorie foods. That type of 'nutritious' eating change will make you healthier, and many people are able to loose significant amounts of weight on it without "counting calories" or going hungry.

There is a small drawback to this free program. They will, at times, try to get you to buy things (like an online weight loss coaching program, books, and even a $400 blender.) I don't advocate buying the things they are selling, but I do feel that there is a lot of value in their tip of the day program. It has strategies, motivational articles, psychological insights, practical how-to articles, etc. And the tip of the day program is absolutely free. You can sign up for it on this web page:

http://www.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day.aspx

2. Peertrainer Web Site

The same folks who offer the tip of the day program also have a web site that allows you to log your eating and exercise, and it is loaded with helpful articles and short video clips on diet, nutrition, fitness and exercise. They also have a concept of online small support "groups" of up to 4 individuals for anonymous communication/community type of support and encouragement. Again, this site will actively try to sell you things (their coaching programs, books, etc.). But they offer a lot of excellent resources for free. I personally have used this site for 2 months now and find it helpful...but I tend to have very good sales resistance. The site is located at:

http://www.peertrainer.com

3. Sparkpeople Web Site

I have not personally used this web site, but I have heard very good things about it. It offers a free "program" that is bases primarily on counting calories and customizing your program to your needs. Their plan claims to offer personalized diet and fitness plans, a calorie counter and exercise tracker, fitness demonstrations and videos, articles, recipes and tips. They also offer question and answer access to professional trainers on bulletin boards, plus some type of bulletin board community support. This site is located at:

http://www.sparkpeople.com

4. Over Eaters Anonymous: A 12-step program

Some people find the 12-step program very helpful, because it strongly deals with emotional issues and behavior modification. This approach has a spiritual dimension (relying on a "higher power") built into it. The gottya is that it is not "Christian" per sae, as people are free to define the higher power to be anything they want it to be. It still doesn't address the spiritual factors (like curses, or generational spirits or spiritual warfare and enemy oppression), but it can be used to draw you closer to God.

Their program is derived from the Alcoholics Anonymous program (and mirrors it closely), but targets eating disorders and addictions instead of alcoholism. It is also has a precise built into it that each of their participants is "sick" and in need of "healing," and their program offers the ability to "control" that sickness instead of being controlled by it. You can either find a live (face to face) group in your area or you can participate in online meetings via a chatroom type of interface. Their web site is:

http://www.oa.org

5. Online Food/Workout Diary and Calorie Counters

If you just want some practical tools that don't come attached to a whole diet "system," then you might find the free online Diary And Calorie Trackers helpful. There are a lot of them out there, but I am only familiar with two. They both have slightly different features, so you might want to try both and see which one you like' better. They are:

http://www.nutrawatch.com

and

http://www.fitday.com

6. The Ticker Factory

This tool won't really help you per sae, but it is a fun (and visual) tracking tool, and sometimes adding a fun into the process really helps you stick with it. This site lets you design your own customized tracker as UBBC codes in signatures, which you can use on the bulletin boards.

http://www.tickerfactory.com/ezticker/ticker_designer.php?type=3

I am sure that there are many more excellent resources available, but these are a few that I know of and wanted to pass on to you.