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Approaching the matter of nutrition and weight loss, we have to emphasize the two basic issues that nutrition itself is a culture of eating proper food in a proper manner. Let's start with the first, proper food.

All cells and tissues in our body are formed by the food we eat. And also food is the energy source for our body functions. So, this can explain why proper food is so important.

Food is one of our strongest motivators. And unfortunately, most of us consider food to be a source of pleasure only!

Our bodies are not fixed statues * they are always in process, which we call metabolism.

Perception, memory and all the intricate complexities of bodily functions are possible because of having or producing enzymes, hormones and a thousand other wonders * that are produced in the body from what we eat.

As a source of energy our body uses carbohydrates (sweets), fat and protein. To be more specific, carbohydrates are the source of immediate energy, proteins are the body building blocks, and fats are the high-energy storage. But these roles sometimes overlap.

And faulty nutrition is the usual cause of illness!

At the same time, with correct choices we can prevent many food-related diseases such as heart attack (!), stroke, essential hypertension, diabetes and * even cancer!

More than a century ago, Ellen G. White, in "Counsels on Diet and Foods", shared her observation: "At mealtime cast off care and anxious thought. Do not feel hurried, but eat slowly and with cheerfulness, with your heart filled with gratitude to God for all His blessings". Isn't it wonderful?

Just let me share with you part of our experience with nutrition and weight loss. If you haven't had any previous experience of following the simple principles I suggested when discussing how to reduce the amount of daily food, you might find them difficult to follow, but this is just on the face of it.

In reality it is much easier than it seems! And I promise, I'll teach you how to master it. Because this issue of how to practice eating habits is essentially an important one!

The same food or eating process itself can bring you joy and fullness of life, or, on the other hand, if taken wrongly, can cause considerable damage to your health and even shorten your life!

How does overeating or eating the wrong food cause harm? The answer is: whatever food that our organism is not able to digest normally, becomes poisonous to us. Thus any poison will shorten our life!

This is the reason, why I suggest that my clients practice this: before starting to eat, gently close your eyes for a few moments, forget all your problems for a while and give yourself a smile! And then you can start eating.

Another recommendation is this: when eating, try to keep your eyes gently closed (or just turn your eyes away from the served food), while slowly chewing a small portion of food in your mouth.

Believe me, this process will bring you much more flavor, and benefits at the same time. Because just by doing this small thing you will lessen the portion of consumed meal by three to five times!!! (As I have already mentioned)

I would emphasize the importance of taking time to eat. When eating, if possible, make it a social occasion to communicate with your family or with your friends. But! (Always, there are some "buts"). If you decide to improve your eating habits, see if the company would be appropriate at this time, especially at the beginning. For this reason, it is better at first to have all the changes stabilized, so that you can resist any temptations...

But even when in difficult situations, we should never compromise basic principles of good nutrition. Always watch what you eat or drink!!! A well mannered person will know how to do this without compromising friendly relationships.

As we do this, we will have the added benefits of alertness, clear thinking, and a perception that is fully aware of life's joyful events. But real joy comes from facing reality and patiently dealing with whatever life has to offer. If we take time to learn what is good for us and make a serious effort to put it into practice, we can expect to be rewarded with extra energy and a longer and happier life!

Let's take a look at sweets. Which are conglomerates of simple sugars, most important of which is glucose. This simple sugar is the supplier of the most bodily energy. Penetrating into the blood stream it meets the constant need of all the cells. Due to insulin, glucose is able to pass through the cell membrane and become available for use.

At the same time, our bodies are capable of properly handling only a limited amount of simple sugars in a given period of time. When exceeded (if we eat too many sweets), the pancreas is forced to work overtime producing insulin for converting excess sugar into fat.

Small amounts of sugar will not do this, but we must remember that there is hidden sugar in most processed food and drinks. And this is the problem * we usually eat far more sweets than our pancreas can cope with!

Let's see how we can avoid this problem. When we plan our diet we should give preference to the natural source of sweets, like fruits, then wheat, rice, potatoes, beans, and other starch-containing foods. Because these vegetable foods require quite a long period of time for to be digested, and simple sugar is released gradually. This allows our body to process this energy in an orderly fashion.

Latest scientific researches have revealed that: consuming excessive sugar (too many sweets) can lead to such problems as:

* Constipation.
* Causing dental caries by providing an ideal culture medium in the mouth, and by slowing down the internal fluid circulation in the teeth.
* Depression of the immune system, by interfering with the germ-killing capacity of white blood cells.
* Promotion of adult-onset diabetes.

Now we come to the practical application of the above for the weight loss. With the exception of some fruits the ideal diet will include only a minimal amount of sugar, and provide an abundance of complex carbohydrates such as those found in vegetables and whole-grain pasta.