Dear Speedy,
I'm a former competitive bodybuilder and personal trainer. Mind you it's been YEARS, but some things about nutrition and exercise do stand the test of time.
Due to a health problem, I have gained some extra weight, lost a lot of muscle, and generally hate what's happened to my body. I am very skeptical when it comes to all the crazy diets and exercise gimmicks out there, but recently began some serious research to see what I could do about jump starting my body back to the way it was.
As far as reading is concerned, I read the book "You On A Diet", by Dr. Oz about a year ago. GREAT book. Gives you no-nonsense information on how your body actually works when it comes to food. That way when you put certain things in your mouth, go too long without eating, or not eat foods in the right combination, you KNOW what effect it will have and you know the little tricks to avoid any negative impact. That being said, I'm the kind of person that would rather follow a program that has a good track record than try to read a bunch of books and figure it out myself. So, here's what I ultimately decided on for ME:
Food Lovers Fat Loss System (FLFL) by Robert Ferguson - It is the ONLY system, that as a former athlete, makes sense to me. The Glycemic Index is a proven science, and successful programs like Weight Watchers and diabetes nutrition/control programs use the same principle.
I ordered the FLFL program for myself online. I found it to be affordable at roughly $19.99 per month for six months (although you're first payment has about $40 added to it to cover the shipping and handling). I just ordered it a few days ago, so it has not yet arrived. However, considering the 8 weeks you get to try the program and send it back if you don't like it, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet for me.
The infomercials air quite often early in the morning and late at night, but I couldn't view it online. So, here's some info you may want to check out before deciding if it will work for you:
A third party review of the program can be found at
http://infomercialreviews.tv/food-lovers-f...system-reviews/The actual website to order the product is
https://www.foodloversfatloss.com/Also, I use a WONDERFUL website that only costs me $9/month at www.MyFoodDiary.com. It is awesome because you can use it any way that works best for you. I personally do not use it to count calories because that method just doesn't work for long for most people, and I know if doesn't/won't work for me. Instead, I use it as a personal log to keep track of what I eat and make adjustments to items or meals that aren't nutritionally sound. It gives you so much feedback regarding the nutritional content of what you log that you can see areas you might want to tweak just for general improvement of your nutrition and health.
For example, I absolutely LOVE cheese, and I LOVE sugar. I eat way too much of both. Also, I was not getting enough fiber in my diet and I have always had incredibly high cholesterol. By simply entering an item or meal either before or after I eat it, I can tell if I need to make a healthier choice the next time I eat a meal like that. From day one, I could see that while my fat intake is in line, my saturated fats are too high because of the cheese I add to my homemade breakfast sandwich. Also, I use regular eggs for that sandwich. However, because my cholesterol is already way too high, I see from the daily food reports in my food diary that I can dramatically improve the nutritional quality of that particular meal in the future just by cooking it using reduced fat cheese and either Egg Beaters or just egg whites. (All the cholesterol is in the egg yolks).
Also, you can log your exercise and body weight/measurements as well. You set targets for yourself and can view all types of "reports" on your progress. The Daily Report even gives you "smiley faces" and "frownie faces" to let you know what you're doing well and what you could improve. There are articles available in the Resources section of it, AND it has a food database of over 55,000 items. It also has practically every type of exercise and physical activity known to man. That way you get a general idea of how many calories you burn doing a given exercise or activity.
Can you tell I'm a detail-oriented LAZY person who wants all her info streamlined and organized for me? LOL
Hope this info helps...let me know how you're doing!
Kimberley (DancerKeegan)