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Our friendships can have quite an influence on how we live our lives. There’s a tangible link between the way we behave and the men and women we have friendships with. And yet we’re likely to have presumed this commonality concerned our likes and dislikes – for example we enjoy the same musical tastes as our friends, or hold similar political views.

However, it now seems that we also have weight challenges in common with those we associate with. The amount we eat is closely related to how much our best friends eat. An interesting study looking at how young people eat found that oversized children eat more when in the company of other oversized friends.

It appeared in fact that everyone in the study got through more food when with friends than with strangers. But it was when the heavier friends teamed up that the most calories were consumed. The research was featured in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It illustrated the part friends play in the actions of each other.

Candidly it’s no great revelation that many ate more when in the company of friends. That would doubtless be the same if adults had been surveyed. What’s more, as our friends don’t usually challenge what we do, we assume that means they condone our behaviour. Subconsciously we’re placing the permission ball in someone else’s court.

The researchers observed a whole mix of young people for this study. They were split into groups of two friends, or groups of two strangers. All were furnished with nibbles, fruit and vegetables. They also had various games to keep them occupied.

With each of the pairs, the ones who knew each other before the experiment got through more food than the ones who didn’t. However, the heavier friends tucked away the most. And the differences were quite significant.

Nearly seven hundred and fifty calories per person was consumed by the larger pairs of friends. Heavy kids with standard weight chums ate just under 450 cals, and standard weight kids ate approx 500 cals whatever weight their mate was. This influence extends to smoking and drinking as well with young teens.

A child’s social network then is significant in determining their eating habits. What this means is kids can be influenced to eat less as well as more. Hence the necessity to educate the young.

(C) Scott Edwards. Look at WeightLossDietWar.com for logical diet advice on slimming products and weight management program.

Slower eating can assist weight loss. Because it’s currently been shown that how fast we eat affects how much we eat. Under test conditions, individuals who ate quickly were found to eat more than those who ate slowly. This was proved when diners were asked to eat until they felt satiated.

You can personally empirically test this. At dinner tonight, eat as much as you want very quickly. On a different day, enjoy the exact same dinner, but this time spend at least twenty seconds with each forkful in your mouth. The first meal will probably be larger than the second. But the best thing is you’ll feel satisfied for longer after the slower, smaller meal.

Quite often we take in too much if we eat quickly because we haven’t allowed the food time to digest. That’s why we can feel bloated shortly after eating, because we’ve put too much food in at one sitting.

But there is another reason to keep food in the mouth for longer. Well chewed food assists dieters with weight loss, as the whole digestive process is then optimised.

The way we eat can also be relevant to how much we eat. For optimal digestion, we should sit in a dining chair and eat at the table. Our body is better placed for digestion in this upright position – so combined with a more polite eating pace we naturally stop when we feel satisfied.

Maybe it’s also because sitting at the table makes dining more of an occasion, so we don’t rush things so much. We definitely experience more digestive discomfort if we throw our food down in front of the telly!

We’re inclined to guzzle down food when it’s been ages since our last meal. To avoid this eat frequent small meals, which consist of slow release nutritional food. Instant highs are followed by drowsy lows if we rely on cakes, sweets and chocolate. Realistically, several meals can be hard to fit into a working day. If that’s the case, try to bridge the gap in the afternoon with some mixed seeds and nuts.

In summary, evidence is building to suggest that there’s a direct correlation between the time we take to eat a meal and how well satiated we feel. So delighting in each mouthful may well be an easy bonus that every dieter can benefit from.

(C) Scott Edwards. Try WeightLossDietWar.com for logical ideas on losing weight stomach and stomach fat loss.

Katie, my wife, and I badly wanted to lose weight. So we thought carefully about what it was we wanted and why. We were surprised to realise that our goals were fairly simple. My wife’s dearest wish was to have more energy when playing with the kids. And she wished for greater confidence in her beach clothes and lingerie.

Predominantly for me it was about buying stylish off-the-peg clothes again, instead of the dreary ageing ranges available for ‘over size’ people. Oh, and I also REALLY wanted to get to the third floor of our house without gasping for breath!

We did our research, and found that as well as considering how we look, we also have to consider how we feel about ourselves. It seems that evidence suggests we have less regard for ourselves the more weight we put on. Most overweight adults believe that being slimmer will restore their happiness. We’d like to offer some of our insights, as we can absolutely identify with this assumption.

Medical research tells us that our sub conscious mind has no scope to differentiate between actual reality, and perceived reality. This means it ‘tells’ our conscious mind anything that pre-dominates. Tell it the same notion many times; it becomes the principal thought and consequently the reality.

Just how long have we been re-affirming the concept of how fat we are? A re-programming of our sub-conscious is what’s needed – so it works for us and not against us.

It makes sense to zone in on the happy things we’ll be able to do when we’ve lost the weight. The difficulties seem more worthwhile then. We started off with all the things we’d like to do or have more of: Things like dancing, flirting, swimming, having fun, soccer, running with the kids, volley ball, cycling, sun-bathing and feeling relaxed sitting in a hot tub.

Then we envisioned ourselves in cool summer clothes, looking great as we enjoyed trips to the beach. Our confidence grew massively as others looked on with admiration. Everything was fantastic!

Consequently, the weight came off (though not too much…) Has it been worth it? You bet…

(C) Scott Edwards. Browse WeightLossDietWar.com for clear diet tips on weight slimming and weight management programs.

Food diaries are an excellent self-monitoring method for those who like to be in control of their weight loss. For seven days, stick to your usual pattern of eating. Each day, enter everything that’s passed your lips, however small. Then you’ll have a good idea of what needs modifying and by how much.

Patently if your record shows a higher consumption of alcohol or fatty foods than you’d realised, you might begin by reducing those initially. Maybe your diet looks pretty good. But if you’re too heavy then you’re probably eating too much of it. Whether it’s the first or the second situation, you’ll be able to see how to adjust your intake from the entries in the diary.

Then take the next seven days and write down exactly what you’re going to stick to. Think of what you’re going to eat and drink, and what exercise you want to include. Where food is categorised, create a list of prohibited food and ‘treat’ food. And then write down the food you can eat in generous amounts.

Next comes drink – which often contains more calories than people imagine. Restrict alcoholic beverages to four small drinks a week, and write down the days you will have them. Rule out all sweet carbonated drinks. You’ll need to commit to a fitness regime, so next write in your diary which days you plan to exercise and how.

Get on the scales just before you’re about to start your program. Then repeat the process each week. If necessary, modify parts of the plan for better results. Don’t be tempted to weigh yourself too often – once every week at the same time is sufficient.

A plan such as this will allow you to manage your weight loss programme and adjust it to suit yourself. Make comments as you go – keep the diary as a working document. Also enter the exercise you’re doing, to make sure this isn’t getting left out. A diary is a very simple way to monitor your progress – and a remarkable tool for staying with the program!

It’s vital however not to look for an instantaneous result. Although you may not be able to see evidence of weight loss in the first couple of weeks, you should be starting to feel fitter. Try to exercise patience, and do persevere. Motivating yourself over a long period has it’s challenges – but if you concentrate on the prize instead of the price it becomes much easier.

Don’t beat yourself up if you get off-track – it can be easily reversed with a bit of focus. Maybe you need to modify your plan a little. Additional physical activity can help you catch up. Are there any fitness classes you could attend in the evening?

Recognise your successes. Dieting is much more motivating when you quantify your results and reward yourself for your efforts. Clothes shopping isn’t appropriate ’til you’ve reached your target weight. However, there’s nothing wrong with a theatre trip to celebrate a milestone.

(C) Scott Edwards. Pop to WeightLossDietWar.com for superb information on diet plans and weight loss dieting.