Many people who want to lose weight will go (or dream about going) to a weight loss retreat for a week or two. These retreats are typically quite pricy and the emphasis is on low calorie meals, physical activities and nutritional counseling.But another option that is often much cheaper and can be much more successful in the long run is to attend a spiritual retreat instead. I attended a Buddhist retreat several times a few years ago (in my pre-baby days). The objective wasn't to lose weight. At that time I didn't have any issues with my weight. My incentive for going was to work through and let go of some of my hang-ups and deeply ingrained habits and thought-patterns.
It was no holiday. It was a very rigorous schedule of group meditation for a seven day period. We had three meals a day. These meals were extraordinarily healthy and nutritious. I never failed to lose a few pounds on these retreats though I never felt hungry while there. And my physical body felt incredibly invigorated after returning home. Not to mention the mental and emotional breakthroughs that occurred at each retreat. If only I could do it again. My son just turned three so I am fantasizing about starting up a serious meditation schedule again and getting away for one of these retreats later this year.
Just as there are many different levels of weight loss retreats (some go as far as going entirely without food for a whole week, and some are quite indulgent) there are also different degrees of difficulty in spiritual retreats.
I wouldn't recommend anyone who hasn't got some experience with group meditation to the kind of retreat I went to. It would be almost impossible to handle mentally and physically if you have not had some prior practice. But there are many less demanding spiritual retreat options out there. A relaxed and easy-going scheduled yoga retreat would be a more realistic alternative.
The Buddhist sesshin I attended was non-profit and run by Zen monks. It cost only $350 for eight nights stay including meals and shared accommodation (four people to a room). The typical weight loss retreat, in contrast, would cost $3,000 or more.
So for those people who feel that a focus on mental barriers and hang-ups may assist with their weight loss struggles, this is just an idea thrown out there for your 2007 vacation plans.
Steve Bezner is a recent convert to marathon training. He used to make fun of people who ran. Two and a half years ago he weighed 330 pounds. He lost most of his weight by changing his diet and didn't start exercising till he weighed 200 pounds. 
Smoking cigarettes creates countless health risks and we all know that. But how many people are aware that smoking can change your body shape?
Do celebrities lie about their weight? The short answer is a resounding yes. We can't really prove it without forcefully getting them on a weight scale but there is no doubt that many celebrities lie about their weight.
So we went and checked it out and indeed it does say on 
Online dating is incredibly popular these days. And many people are much happier for it. Apparently for every seven couples who get married today, at least one met via online dating. I personally know several couples who met online so I don't doubt these numbers.
A severe frost has destroyed seventy percent of the current crop of fruits and vegetables in California. Prices of oranges and lemons will be very high this year. 
Do you need more incentive to get out there and exercise today? Here's three beer belly pictures via Flickr. 
For people who are addicted to alcohol and need more than the moderate one drink per day, this can certainly lead to weight gain and make it almost impossible to achieve dieting goals.
Skinny people should be a little more sensitive when they complain about their little fat deposits in front of fat people. 
I wasn't sure whether to talk about the horrible thing I just read, but in the interests of those who want to lose their appetite or want more incentive to eat more vegetarian foods, here we go.
I don't have enough time in the day to exercise regularly. At least that's my excuse. With a toddler around most of the time, and with my part time work and household chores, how am I supposed to find the time to work out?
No matter where she is she gets up at 4:30 each morning and does a 40 minute cardio workout, typically on 
I find my jeans don't look so hot on me as they did just a few years ago. No doubt this would change if I would only get out there and exercise more. But based on my track-record the last couple of years, life might pass me by before that happens.
There's a fun page that lists about eighty different foods and shows pictures of what they look like on a plate. The only thing these foods have in common is they have all been limited to 200 calorie portions.
There's a young woman who went ahead with a gastric bypass operation seven weeks ago. She is also one of the best writers I've encountered anywhere online.
I made a strange New Year's resolution this year. Of course I want to lose weight, but that is a daily mind struggle; I know what I need to do. So I didn't make any specific New Year's resolutions around that this year.
