The program has three main components: medical, behavioral and nutritional. To participate, you must first undergo a medical evaluation to see if you meet the standards of the OPTIFAST plan. Once you are a patient of the OPTIFAST program, you have a team of physicians, dietitians and counselors at your…
Diet & Fitness / Healthy Eating
by Amy Daughdrill Fasting has been instituted by people of nearly all faiths as a religious practice since before recorded history. By definition, it is the act of abstaining from food, drink or both for a period of time. As a spiritual practice, it is believed to be an act…
Many people live and diet by the number on the scale, but does a weight-loss program really have to be dictated by a number? When that number becomes the be-all, end-all of your success and ultimately your self-esteem, then its value starts to dwindle. If one or two “bad” weigh-ins…
Diet & Fitness / Healthy Eating
Fasting is a practice that predates biblical times and the relevancy of fasting has been debated for many years. When considering whether fasting is right for you, you must first understand your own body and know what you can handle. Fasting is a deprivation of the body from food for…
Reaching a state of complete bliss is possible through meditation, but it requires a lot of practice. Most new practitioners face a lot of resistance from their overactive mind. Lack of focus, inability to relax, not being able to meditate beyond a few minutes are some of the common problems…
When you’re exercising, it’s crucial that you engage in proper breathing techniques. It goes beyond keeping you alive. In fact, learning how to breathe reduces stress while also increasing your energy levels. Breathing exercises get the oxygen and blood flowing. In doing so, your blood pressure goes down, the metabolism…
It can be easy to fall into a stale routine of plodding along on the treadmill or plopping down on the same stationary bike day after day. If you find yourself sick of the same old cardio, then it’s time to shake it up. First, ask yourself if you might…
When it comes to food, learning to just say no can be difficult when faced with a friend or loved one’s offerings. Regardless of their motives, people love to push food onto others. Whether it’s a girlfriend who likes to bake and give her creations as gifts, or your mom,…
Diet & Fitness / Healthy Eating
When it comes to dropping those extra pounds, are you unknowingly sabotaging your own efforts? Below are 10 mistakes that people make that throw them off the path to successful, permanent weight loss. 1. Not doing the math When it comes to counting calories, there’s no eyeballing those mashed potatoes…
By Richard Nicastro, Ph.D. Q: I love my husband, but somewhere along the line we’ve become more like friends than lovers. We had an amazing sex life early in our relationship but now we’re lucky if we have sex once a month, and when we do it’s pretty unremarkable. I…