Weight Loss

Ask Dr. Sheila: How to Balance Kapha
If you’re feeling a little unmotivated, lethargic, dull, or have put on some extra weight, have sluggish digestion, or can’t get out of bed, there’s a likelihood that this is an expression of excess Kapha in your mind-body physiology. This is fairly common this time of year due to the heavy energy that has accumulated over the winter and early...
3-Day Weekend Ayurvedic Detox Plan You Can Do at Home
Learn our home remedy for detoxing the body that can facilitate your body’s release of toxins. Reverse some of the effects of chronic stress and detox at home in 3 days.
7 Ayurvedic Secrets for Weight Loss
We live in a diet-obsessed culture. It seems like every week a new diet makes headlines, claiming to be the best path to weight loss. From Paleo, South Beach, and Atkins, to Primal, Ketogenic, and Zone, it can be hard to decipher the best way to shed excess weight. Isn’t there a tried-and-true plan that has been around the block...
7 Ayurvedic Tips to Avoid Weight Gain During the Holidays
Trying to keep off the pounds during the holidays? Follow these 7 Ayurvedic tips and recommendations to keep the weight off.
A Mind-Body Approach to Diabetes
Part of truly appreciating our human experience is enjoying the sweetness of life. A perfectly ripe peach. A fresh slice of homemade bread. A scoop of chocolate ice cream. In life’s paradoxical way, however, at the same time that we have greater access to the world’s rich variety of sweet delicacies than ever before, the number of people with difficulties...
Conscious Eating for Perfect Weight
What is perfect weight? It is tempting to think that there is a certain number on a scale that defines a person’s “perfect” weight. The problem with this, as many recognize, is that even when they reach their goal weight, they still don’t feel healthy and vital. On the other hand, some people may not meet the criteria for “ideal...
8 Healthy Ways to Lose Weight in the New Year
If you are like many people, you want to start off the new year with clear goals for yourself. While there are many types of goals to consider as you begin a brand-new year, weight loss is one that many people choose to focus on.There are many healthy ways to lose weight in the New Year. Some of them are...
14 Tips for Preventing Winter Weight Gain
While you may think that winter weight gain is inevitable with the colder, shorter days; the holiday bustle; and your inherent urge to hibernate more, consider these tips for taking charge of your weight and health.1. Eat Whole FoodsYou may have heard of the whole food movement. This eating style is focused on eating foods that are in their whole...
8 Reasons You May Be Gaining Weight Even If You’re Eating Healthy
"Have you started a diet and still have trouble losing weight? Learn which factors could be contributing to your weight gain despite eating healthier."
Is Stress Making You Gain Weight?
You know that stress is an epidemic of the time and that more folks are coping with high-stress levels than ever before, but do you know about the impact that chronic stress can have on your weight?You may have noticed what happens with your energy, cravings, mood, food, and sleep when you are stressed, but you may not have realized...
The Estrobolome: How the Gut Impacts Estrogen Levels, Metabolism, and More
Maintaining your gut health goes beyond digestion. Your gut affects your estrogen, which affects weight & libido. Balancing probiotics and estrogen is key to gut health.
Does Coffee Boost Your Metabolism?
If you are someone who reaches for a warm cuppa joe first thing in the morning you are surely not alone. In fact, according to the National Coffee Association, 63 percent of American adults drink coffee daily. While many folks are looking for a morning pick me up, help with focusing, and/or an overall boost in energy, others simply enjoy...
Do You Need a Metabolic Makeover?
Do you start off running with a brand-new diet each year only to lose steam after the first couple of weeks? Are you in a constant conversation with your bathroom scale that can either uplift or depress how you feel each day?Your metabolism keeps you energized and moving. If it slows, you are likely to feel its effects on your...
6 Reasons Why You Need a Health Coach
’Tis the season where you may envision a new year filled with health, renewed energy, honed habits, and hope for feeling your best. While you aspire to transform your health, you may have also found, through past attempts, that you have been left confused, deflated, and scattered with your general direction.You are not alone. You may be confused about which...
10 Habits to Help You Lose Weight and Keep It Off
To lose weight and keep it off, you must be willing to make changes. While there are multiple factors beyond your control that can affect your ability to lose weight (including genetics, race, and age), there is plenty you can do to experience the transformation you desire. Are you ready to make wellness changes that stick?Creating the right kind of...
Coping with Weight Means Coping with Life
Eating is a natural part of digestive rhythms set in your genes, largely controlled by two hormones, leptin and ghrelin. When these hormones are in balance, the alternation between being hungry and being satisfied is also in balance. But these simple facts about the physiology are beside the point when weight becomes a problem.A Whole-System Approach to Weight ControlThe real...
5 Signs You’re Working Too Hard Toward Your Health Goals
During a routine visit, your doctor tells you that you have high blood pressure. Panic-stricken, you join a gym, buy an annual pass to a yoga studio, and hire a nutritionist. After doing all of those things, you take your blood pressure, and it’s even higher than before. You ask yourself, “What is happening? I’m determined to lower my blood...
Understanding the Differences Between White and Brown Fat
The term “fat” often has a negative connotation these days, but fat doesn’t have to be something that’s negative. The key is understanding how your body uses fat to function properly.Body weight, body proportions, and being “overweight” can mean many things for different people and cultures. Being overweight used to be a sign of privilege (i.e., you were wealthy enough...
4 Myths About Dieting and Weight Loss
When it comes to overall health and weight loss, there’s an excess of advice out there. Unfortunately, most of it is terrible, misguided, outdated, and scientifically disproven.This ubiquitously poor advice can create weight-loss roadblocks and even damage your health. Here are four prevalent misguided myths that drive me nuts.Myth #1: All Calories are Created EqualA calorie is a calorie, right?...
3 Steps to Setting Effective Weight Loss Goals
Are you tired of setting unrealistic weight loss goals?If you are like most people, you have probably set some lofty weight loss goals for yourself several times in your life. Did you ever stop to think, “Is this goal realistic?” “Is my goal sustainable?” “Am I just participating in one of those fad diets?”If you’re ready to make a change...
9 Foods That May Increase Metabolism
It can be tempting to blame your metabolism for weight gain and other health problems. Although your metabolism influences your body’s energy needs, your digestive fire and physical activity, the foods you eat actually determine your weight and overall health.There are some foods that may increase your metabolism because they contain important elements that are vital to maintain a steady...
The Health Risks of Obesity, and How to Prevent Becoming Overweight
Being overweight or obese isn’t just a cosmetic issue. Both conditions put your health at risk and can contribute a number of diseases, including diabetes and cancer. That risk only increases in individuals who have a family history of health problems, have a sedentary lifestyle, smoke, or have an unhealthy diet.Despite the mounting research about the risks of excessive weight,...
5 Simple Ingredients to Having the Body You Want
Most of us have at least once in our lives felt like we wanted to lose weight, wanted to wear a certain clothing size, or just wanted to feel more healthy and/or attractive. We try different diets and cleanses, and we try to change our eating habits.If you’re like me, you may have lost the weight many times only to...
Q&A with Dr. Andrew Weil
Editor’s Note: Andrew Weil, M.D. is a world-renowned leader, best-selling author, and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine. This March you have a special opportunity to hear Dr. Weil in person at the Chopra Center’s signature workshop Journey into Healing: What Are You Hungry For? where he will be a keynote speaker and guest lecturer. Question:I lost 25 pounds...
The Fat You Eat: A Study in Paradox
The whole issue of fat in the diet should be simple, as it once was. Doctors followed the dictum of “fat puts on fat,” assigning blame for overweight on a fatty diet. Of the three major sources of calories – fats, proteins, and carbohydrates – the one with the most calories per gram (8) is fat. It only makes sense...
Type 2 Diabetes and the Circle of Life
Type 2 diabetes has become an increasing problem in modern America. Because it is chiefly linked to obesity, as more people become overweight, and as the age of gaining weight reaches down into childhood, a largely preventable disease turns into an epidemic. The litany about such lifestyle disorders is now familiar to almost everyone. The changes that prevent Type 2...
No More Laughing at Fat Kids
It’s a paradox that a problem like childhood obesity should crop up in a country like America where we are flooded with information about nutrition. At any age, obesity is generally considered a lifestyle disorder. Only a small percentage of patients suffers from hormonal issues, for example. For everyone else, weight gain is related to choices that we can make...
How People Actually Lose Weight
Our bodies are designed to remain in balance, and when they go out of balance, a natural mechanism has been interfered with. Usually this occurs through decisions that we make that turn into habits. Decisions are conscious and can be reversed. Habits are unconscious and are considerably harder to reverse. Even so, the more awareness you can bring to any...
Healthy Fat vs. Unhealthy Fat: What's the Difference?
What comes to your mind when you think of fat? Do you believe it’s good, bad, or are you indifferent? There are many varying viewpoints, and studies show about half of consumers are confused and don’t know which are good or bad. Let’s clear up some confusion by exploring the different types of fats.The truth is your body needs fat,...
A Look at 4 Popular Diet Plans: Which Is Best for You?
The word diet doesn’t necessarily mean deprivation. It’s a term that you may hear and instantly associate with drinking detox drinks and eating rice cakes to lose weight. But that’s not the case. A diet is just a specific way of eating. Your diet is the food that you consume on a daily basis.Which diet is best for you? What...
The In’s and Out’s of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting (IF) continues to have its moment. Click around the internet and you’ll find that it lands in nearly every top diet trends round-up. Albeit popular, it isn’t new.Fasting is one of the oldest dietary interventions and healing traditions known to us. It’s been part of human culture and religion for thousands of years.Today, intermittent fasting has arguably helped...
3 Warming Soup Recipes to Fend Off Winter Weight Gain
Cold weather, post-holiday hustle, sweet treats, and added stress—sounds like winter! And with all those things it’s easy to put on a few (or more) pounds. In cold weather, your body uses energy to keep the body warm, which takes energy away from digestion and metabolism. Your metabolism naturally slows down so it’s easier to gain weight during winter.In Ayurveda,...
10 Popular Diets Explained
Vegan or paleo? Gluten-free or whole grain? Whole food or fat-free? What you should eat gets a lot of press. Wanting to eat healthily is a great first step, but when it comes to aligning with a particular eating style, there are many factors to consider.People are often confused about which dietary approach to choose in order to obtain optimal...
Learn to Fast the Healthy Way
Discussions about improvements for health frequently focus on additions to your diet and exercise plan. You resolve to exercise more, eat more vegetables, take more supplements, or drink more water. However, one of the simplest strategies to improve your longevity and decrease disease could lie in taking in less.Fasting, or a periodic refraining from food, drink, or both, is an...
Exploring the Mindset and Psychology Behind Your Food Choices
As you look into the future of nutrition and weight loss, it is evident that dieters are in need of a new approach. There were an estimated 108 million Americans on a diet in 2012. Surprisingly, there is no single scientific study that proves that dieting even works for long-term weight loss. Even though consumers are spending $66.3 billion on...
A Dietitian Breaks Down 4 Popular Diets
Many of you may be focused on healthy weight management at the end of the year. With the seemingly endless string of fad diets, differing “expert” opinions, and conflicting information out there, it can be hard to grasp why some styles of eating come highly recommended by dietitians. The following is a breakdown of four popular diets as explained by...
Summertime Gardening: How to Balance the Heat
Summer is in full swing, and that means you’ll experience high temperatures just about anywhere you go. While summer is a great time for being active outdoors, the natural occurrence of increased heat and light have the effect of raising the Pitta quality in your life. There are many benefits to this (drive, activity, spontaneity), but for those who are...
Portion Control: How Much Are You Actually Eating?
Perhaps food has always been an issue for you. Maybe you’ve never had an eating disorder, but eating too much and lack of portion control have seemed to be a struggle since you were young.Even if you’re a health food nut, you may have often reasoned that as long as you’re eating organic, healthy food, it’s okay to overindulge.But the...
6 Ways to Lose Weight Without Dieting
Diets are not the answer for long-term weight loss. If you’re tired of losing and gaining the same 20 pounds over and over again, you probably already know that.For the past 50 years, most people have turned to restrictive diets and intense exercise as the answers to weight loss. However, since the early 1960s the prevalence of obesity among adults...
An Inside Scoop on the Pros and Cons of Ice Cream and Other Frozen Treats
Summer is a season synonymous with ice cream and frozen desserts because nothing quite highlights a stroll through a park, picnic, or end of a bike ride than something cool and refreshing. When you have a craving for that frozen treat, it can be difficult deciding what kind to grab. Frozen desserts have different characteristics; wide variety exists even within...
6 Ways to Reduce Your Carb Intake
There was a time when low-fat, high-carbohydrate (carb) diets were all the rage and it was thought that eating fat caused weight gain. Now research shows that eating carbs can pack on the pounds more than eating fats (especially healthy fats). While there are many benefits that come from eating a low-carb diet, be sure to reduce carbs in moderation;...
How to Take Control of Your Overeating
What is insanity? Albert Einstein has been widely credited for describing insanity as doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results. This is how many people approach dieting and weight loss: they move from one diet to next, each one failing like the last.Managing your weight is not about the diet or the dietician; it’s all about...
Why Healthy Fats Won’t Make You Fat
Many people still believe that eating fat makes you fat. As it turns out, the idea that low-fat diets are healthy was a myth, and the low-fat craze of the 1990s did a huge disservice to our bodies and our brains.Healthy fats and oils play a critical role in the function of many parts of the body. For example your...
20 Tiny Acts of Kindness to Make a Positive Impact
Sometimes carrying out small acts of kindness can be a simple way to make a huge difference. When you commit to practicing mindful acts of kindness every day, they become a part of who are and how you engage in the world around you. Here are 20 kind and easy things you can do to cultivate compassion and improve your...
10 Creative and Cheaper Ways to Spice Up Holiday Gifting
Focus on giving the gift of yourself with these creative holiday gift ideas. These creative gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other gifting occasion prove your heart expands more easily than your wallet.
Unveiling Reality: The Mystery of “Who Am I?”
At a public lecture, a psychology professor was reported to say, “Until you are 50, you won’t know who you are.” This seems overly optimistic, because much more than maturity is involved in discovering who you are; in fact, much more than psychology is involved. To answer “Who am I?” requires you to take a stand about reality itself, in...
No Regrets: 10 Ways to Start Each Day with a Clean Slate
“Forget regret, or life is yours to miss”—Jonathan LarsonThere’s a Buddhist parable called The Second Arrow. The story explains that in life, pain is inevitable. You will experience the pain of loss, betrayal, diagnosis, or grief. The pain is likened to being shot by an arrow and is outside of your personal control. However, when you get stuck pulling on...
Say No to a Sedentary Lifestyle: 5 Reasons to Get Active
Spending the day relaxed on your couch, binge-watching your favorite Netflix show isn’t always a bad thing … unless it becomes your norm. Or perhaps you don’t even watch TV, but find yourself fairly inactive, spending more time sitting at home, work, or in your car rather than being active.Research has shown that many adults in the U.S. spend 70...