Best Diet Tips #4

My next best tip for weight loss is to get connected. If you can find a group that holds regular sessions, this will be most helpful for you. Studies have shown that the more group sessions a person attends, the weight they lost.

Get help from your family and friends to keep you motivated not only to lose the weight, but also to keep it off. There is nothing more detrimental to your plan, than a family member or friend who continually functions in a non-supportive way. These things may not be in the conscious mind of the person, but what they do or say makes it easier for you to fall away from your plan. An example of this, would be my husband, who was OK with me losing weight, but when he would cook, we would have a huge meal. I finally asked him to stop cooking for the army when there were only 2 of us and that I would dish up my own plate. Believe me, I cut a lot of calories just by eating less.

#5 Healthy Habit

Yesterday I spoke about family. Perhaps more important than family is having a network of friends. Studies have shown that individuals with large networks of friends are less likely to die than those with fewer friends.

Remember this is part of keeping your brain going too. Those large social networks are a good thing.

More on Brain Health

You may find it interesting that you are less likely to develop dementia if you are socially active. Many studies have indicated that if you have a large social network, you are less likely to develop dementia.

This doesn't have to be a formal thing. Just hanging out with friends and family can really make a difference in your mental health. Research has shown that social interaction has a positive effect on both memory and cognition.

This doesn't mean you have to spend the entire day in social interaction, but you should look to have at least one social interaction a day. That is not a terribly big order, but as you get older it is more and more important for this to happen.