How to Lose Weight in a Week

I usually don't recommend that dieters try to lose weight in a week. But lets face it - we all have special occasions when we need to lose weight in seven days and we'll do just about anything to slim down quickly. So if you're serious about a one-week weight loss plan, these are the two steps you can take to change your diet and your daily routine for quick weight loss.

2 Steps to Lose Weight in a Week
1. Change Your Diet to Lose Weight 


You don't have time to count calories, balance micronutrients and manage your energy balance.  Those are the steps you would take to make lasting changes to your body. Instead eliminate these three things from your diet for one week:

Baked goods. For seven days, don't eat any sweet or savory baked goods. That means you don't eat cake, cookies, cupcakes, muffins, bread, or bagels. You should also pass up salty baked snack foods like pretzels, baked chips or tortilla strips. Got a sweet tooth? Eat a single serving of fresh fruit. When you need something crunchy, grab some raw veggies.

Fried foods.  Fried foods are high in calories and high in salt. So don't eat any fish, poultry or meat that is breaded or fried.  No chicken nuggets, french fries, potato chips, battered or fried veggies.  Keep in mind that many frozen products (like frozen french fries) are fried before they are frozen, so those are on the banned list as well. Eat lean protein that is grilled without oil and free from sauces and spreads.

High calorie drinks. Sweetened beverages are full of calories.  Drink water this week and avoid all alcohol (wine, beer and cocktails), juice, sports drinks, sweetened teas, flavored coffee drinks, soda, and commercially flavored water (things like vitamin waters). You can make flavored water at home if you don't like plain water.

2. Increase Daily Movement for One Week

In seven days, you don't have time to put together a total weight loss workout program. And if you try to do hard core fat-burning workouts without any previous experience, you could injure yourself. So if you want to lose weight in a week, you'll increase your steps per day to burn more calories.

If you currently exercise, continue to do your normal workouts and add up to 10,000 steps per day.  If you don't exercise at all, add 10,000 steps to your daily routine. Want bonus points? See if you can increase the number to 15,000 or even 20,000 steps per day. Use an activity monitor or a downloadable app to measure your steps per day.

If you follow these two steps and don't make any other changes to your normal routine (don't eat more because you're walking more) you should be able to lose weight in a week. But keep in mind that unless you make permanent changes to your lifestyle, the weight loss is not likely to last.  If you're ready to lose weight for good, take just one hour to set up a solid plan for long term weight loss to get a better body that lasts.

6 Ways to Set Good Sleep Habits in Your Child

We all know that good sleep habits are important for children. But parents' busy work schedules, after-school activities and homework can all cut into family time on school nights, and can have a big impact on how much a child sleeps.

Given the fact that time together for so many households starts at around 6 or 7 o'clock or even later in the evening on a school night, it can be tough to set an early bedtime.


Try these tips to help your child develop good sleep habits and sleep well every night:

1. Stick to a routine. A good bedtime routine is essential when it comes to instilling good sleep habits in kids. A bath, pajamas, brushing teeth and a few pages from a book -- whatever your nighttime ritual is, be sure to stick to it consistently so that your child knows what to expect and can easily move through every routine efficiently each night.


2. Limit the electronic stimulants. Don’t let your child use the computer, check her phone, or watch TV at least an hour before bedtime. These electronic screen activities can be stimulating, and can interfere with falling and staying asleep.

3. Keep her room comfortable for sleeping. Make sure your child's room isn't too hot, too stuffy, or too bright. (If your child is afraid of the dark, choose a night light that will keep her room as dim as possible.) Bedrooms that are quiet, dark and cool are optimal for a good night’s rest.

4. Set aside extra time for catching up. If your grade-schooler has younger or older siblings, be sure you give each child individual time with each parent. (To save time, you can switch off with your partner and alternate dad and mom time on each night.)

5. Curb the sneaky caffeine. You wouldn’t let your grade-schooler down a cup of coffee before bed. But caffeine can also lurk in foods and drinks you may not suspect such as chocolate, bottled tea, and even some non-cola sodas.

Watch for foods that contain caffeine and if your child asks for dessert, stick to healthy fruit when it's close to bedtime.

6. Watch your child instead of the clock. How much your child needs to sleep can vary depending on his individual needs. Some kids may do just fine on 8 hours of sleep while others need a solid 10 or more. Look for signs of sleep deprivation such as hyperactivity, crankiness and memory or concentration problems. If you see these signs, get your child to bed early, take steps to banish fights over bedtime, and be consistent about bedtime routines every night.

Top Depression Symptoms

The following are the nine symptoms which are used in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to diagnose Major Depressive Disorder.

1  Depressed Mood


Echo/Cultura/Getty Images
A person with a depressed mood may report feeling "sad" or "empty" or may cry frequently.  Having a depressed mood is one of the two core symptoms which is used to diagnose depression.  A person must have at least one of these two core symptoms in order to be diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder.

Beyond Sadness

2  Decreased Interest or Pleasure

The second core symptom of depression is a decreased interest or pleasure in things that were once enjoyed.  A person exhibiting this symptom will show markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, daily activities.

In addition to having at least one of the core depression symptoms, a person would need to have at least five other depression symptoms from this list in order to meet the diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder.

What Is Anhedonia?

3  Weight Changes

Significant changes in weight when not attempting to gain or lose (a gain or loss of 5% or more in a month) may be indicative of depression. In children, this may also present as a failure to make expected weight gains.

Weight Gain and Antidepressants

4  Sleep Disturbances

Either insomnia or sleeping too much may be a symptom of depression.

Tips to Beat Insomnia
5  Psychomotor Agitation or Retardation

The person may be observed to be either agitated and restless or physically slowed down in their speech and movements.

What Is Agitated Depression?
6  Fatigue

Deep fatigue or a loss of energy is a symptom of depression.

Light Therapy May Help Fatigue
7  Feelings of Worthlessness or Guilt

A depressed person may feel that they have no value or they may feel inappropriately guilty about things they have no control over.

Teen Self-Esteem and Risky Sexual Behavior
8  "Brain Fog"

A depressed person may have a diminished ability to think, concentrate or make decisions.

Stop Procrastination--Now!
9  Thoughts of Death

A depressed person may have frequent thoughts of death and suicide although they may or may not have an actual plan for carrying it out.

Whom to Call If You're Feeling Suicidal
How to Help Someone Who Is Feeling Suicidal
Teen Suicide Fact Sheet

5 Top-Level Tips to Help You Hit Your Goals

Here are my five top-level tips to help you get there from here.

1. Be the Boss
I know very few people who would spot some random article of clothing left lying around and put it on.  People like the clothes they like and tend to choose them carefully.

Amazingly, people routinely see food on display, and simply eat it with no thought about what it is, why it’s there, who put it there, whether or not it’s something they really want to eat, or even if they are at all hungry. We joke about this and call it the “See Food Diet”—I see food, and I eat it.

Approach food at least as thoughtfully as clothes, jewelry, or antiperspirant. Choose what’s right for you, and try not to let other people’s random choices influence you. To exert greater control over your choices, do what I do and load up an insulated snack pack with some wholesome snack choices—fresh fruit, nuts, yogurt, hummus, etc.—you keep handy all the time.


Actively control the foods you choose to put in your body.

2. Simplify
There are a lot of competing claims about the best foods to eat for health or weight control, but the truth is simple and your choices should be, too.

Whenever possible, eat minimally processed plant foods. One good rule of thumb is that the very best foods of all have an ingredient list just one word long: blueberries or carrots, for example. The more of your diet you construct out of simple, wholesome choices, the better your weight and health will be.

3. Trade Up Your Choices
This relates closely to the previous point, but extends the approach to all packaged foods. In general, the shorter the ingredient list the better. There are better options in almost every food category, from bread to breakfast cereal, salad dressing to pasta sauce.

One of the many established virtues of better food is that it helps us fill up on fewer calories. If you need help making better choices, I recommend checking out information from NuVal (a resource that scores food based on nutritional value) and Turn the Tide Foundation, an organization I founded to empower people to achieve sustainable weight control and live healthier lives.

4. Call in the Cavalry
I think one of the mistakes The Biggest Loser participants make is losing weight in front of a national audience, rather than on their own. We all know that in unity, there is strength—but the strongest unity comes from the people we love.

Involve your whole family in an effort to eat better—not just to lose weight, but to find health. There isn’t a better gift we can give the people we care about, or that they can give us, than better odds at a long, vital life. You can help one another get there by making the journey together.

5. Move It to Lose It, and Gain Even More
Exercise is rarely the best way to lose weight, but it is an important element in weight maintenance and crucial to good health. Besides, by giving your body the motion for which it is adapted, you simply start feeling better—and that provides energy and motivation you can translate into better food choices. It’s a virtuous circle you can set in motion by setting yourself in motion every chance you get