10 Things Never to Tell Yourself If You’re Trying to Slim Down

Overeating and skipping the gym aren’t the only ways to derail your weight-loss efforts: Simply telling yourself certain things could program your brain for failure. “When we consciously make negative statements about our abilities, it gets embedded in the subconscious, which can then control our behavior,” says Anandhi Narasimhan, MD, a Los Angeles-based psychiatrist. What’s even trickier: Some sabotaging self-talk doesn’t sound that harmful! Steer clear of the following common statements to get back on the right mental track.

1. “I always…” and “I never…”All-or-nothing statements, like “I always choose the unhealthiest meal at restaurants” and “I never work out as hard as I should,” cause you to do that exact behavior, says Dr. Narasimhan. You feel you can’t help yourself, so these become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dr. Narasimhan suggests instead vowing to “get better every day at achieving my healthy diet and exercise goals.”

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How About We Stop Saying “You Look Great — Have You Lost Weight?”

Should commenting on a person’s weight be off limits?

It always catches me by surprise when I run into a person I haven’t seen in a while and they comment on my physical appearance. Whether it’s a new haircut or shoes, it always astonishes me. And the weight question, to me, always seemed in a league of its own. Every time I hear the ol’ “You look great! Have you lost weight?,” I think, how dare you comment on my, or his, or her, weight?  Well, maybe I’m the oddball here, because I hear it all the time, so the line I see must be drawn in sand.

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Fat Dad Skinny Dad: Super Bowl Weight Control Tips, Fantastic Recipes

Fat Dad Skinny Dad: Super Bowl weight management tips, fantastic easy recipes 

NFL Super Bowl XLVIII

Sunday, February 2, 3:30 PM on FOX

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Adam Silberstein, Psy. D. of The Source Health and Wellness Treatment Center, which specializes in helping people who have an unhealthy relationship with smoking or food issues, walks the talk about weight management, and was once over 300 pounds himself.

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Mayor Bloomberg’s E-Cigarette Indoor Ban Praised

Michael Bloomberg bans e-cigarettes from indoor use in NYC Picture copyright by Marco Sagliocco / PR Photos

Mayor Michael Bloomberg held his last bill signing Monday — while his opponents literally lit up cigarettes in the City Hall Blue Room as Bloomberg signed a ban on indoor use of e-cigarettes and other measures on his next to last day in office.

Mayor Bloomberg, by reported accounts a generous politician who paid for extras for his staff and for constituents, signed a bill on Monday banning the use of controversial and unregulated e-cigarettes indoors.

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Diet Pills Still Kill, Weight Loss Experts Discuss ‘Quick Fix” Dangers

Remember the prescription drug combination Fen-Phen? The quick fix pill that was supposed to cure obesity?

Fen-phen was a diet product that combined fenluramine with phentermine. Fen-phen may have disappeared from store shelves back in 1997, but it hasn’t disappeared entirely. Neither has PPH and Fen-phen–and Fen-phen side effects that cause primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). The adverse health issue launched a record number of PPH class action lawsuits.

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E-Cigarette Health Row Catches Fire

As New York and Chicago become the first major U.S. cities to propose tighter regulation ofelectronic cigarettes, the row over their safety has caught fire. Supporters believe the battery-operated cigarettes are a harmless alternative to tobacco smokers, while opponents say they may carry the same dangerous health effects.

Tom Kiklas, the president and co-founder of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, said he believes the fears about e-smoking, or “vaping,” are unfounded, and a bit misleading.

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Tips for Sane Eating on Thanksgiving

Most people have a love/hate relationship with Thanksgiving.  It is great being with family and friends, having a long relaxing weekend and being able to take a break from the daily stresses of your life.  On the other hand, those stresses can be replaced with new ones, being with family, trying to be a perfect hostess/host and wondering how you are going to stick to your diet.

Thanksgiving is basically a great excuse for overeaters to well… over eat!  This holiday is the ultimate test for a food-aholic.  But just because the rest of America is gorging doesn’t mean you have to as well.

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Rob Ford’s TODAY Interview with Matt Lauer Tuesday, Nov. 19 2013

Matt Lauer talks to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in his first sit down interview with the U.S. media since his drug scandal broke in the news.

Interview to Air Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 19 on NBC’s TODAY

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who recently admitted to smoking crack cocaine, talked to Matt Lauer in his first in-depth sit-down interview since his ongoing drug scandal.  The interview will air tomorrow, November 19 on NBC’s Today.

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Holiday Food Binging, Top 8 Tips to Keep it in Check

We love the holidays. And by “we” I mean me.

The tinsel and lights festivities precedes the Television Critics’ Association winter press tour I attend in early January for two solid weeks.  This non-stop food orgy that begins October 31st (Halloween candy) and “keeps on keeping on” until the third week of January can pack on an easy 20 pounds if I throw caution to the wind.

The holidays serve up a myriad of temptations, whether you are Jewish, Christian, whatever your stripe. The smells and tastes we look forward to are deeply rooted in our individual family traditions, fond childhood memories and the emotional triggers that spur the palate this time of year.

My holiday “Achilles heel” for food? Egg nog.

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