Why is it that Summer can be a time of putting on Five Extra Pounds? Well, I can tell you from personal experience, no I am not perfect, I too can put on weight...and this is how - enjoying life to the fullest. I believe that during the summer months it is a great time to get caught up with friends and family, as we tend to hibernate in the Winter, and getting together with friends and family can mean that extra glass of cold white wine, those delicious sweet potato fries… These are my downfalls. What are yours?

Well, Fall is around the corner and I always look at after Labour Day as a time to get back on track. So here are a few suggestions for a healthier diet that I am going to use and perhaps you would like to try out as well. I would love to hear how they work for you.

Root Vegetables such as yams, turnips, beets, red potatoes, squash and even a few carrots actually help you to lose weight because they are high in fiber and contain high water levels which helps to fill you up longer. Also they have a lower concentration of calories compared to other foods such as pasta.

Research has shown that individuals who eat breakfast live longer, have healthier hearts and are less prone to depression and stress and are slimmer. Research has also proven that people who do not eat breakfast will be hungry mid-morning and will turn to high fat snacks such as something sweet, and this in turn is likely to cause them to put on weight.  

by Leslie Traill





Green Leafy Vegetables such as spinach, cabbage and broccoli (check out my Facebook Timeline for a great broccoli recipe) can prove to be very filling. They are bulky veggies because of plenty of leaves and stalks, they also contain folic acid which is important for nerve functioning and helps to prevent heart disease. Broccoli contains one/seventh of the calories found in pasta.

A recent study from Canada is suggesting that a key chemical in chilies can boost your body's ability to burn fat and curb your appetite because capsaicin, the chemical that gives chilies such as cayenne and paprika their pungency actually stimulates a natural process whereby some of the food that we eat is converted immediately to heat. This is called diet-induced thermogenesis, and this process is great for people wanting to lose weight because it means that we burn up calories automatically rather than storing them.