Most vegetables are low in calories, and packed with fiber and nutrients, helping immensely in burning fat and shedding pounds. But does it matter if you cook the vegetables? Or should you eat them raw most of the time? 

Most of us have done it at one time or another; scarfed down a big meal when we're upset, angry or depressed about something. Have you ever noticed that you don't feel so good after eating when upset? There are several reasons why it's never a good idea to eat when you are angry, sad, stressed or laboring under any kind of negative emotion:

Have you ever noticed the endless array of experts in the health and weight loss field? While most of them seem to know what they are talking about - why is it that so many of them differ in their beliefs and assertions? This one tells you to do this, that one tells you to do that. This one says you should never do this, and that one says you should never do that, or always do that, or ...

The truth is, no one is better qualified to take care of your body than you. And that includes your desire to lose weight. Deep down inside you already know why you struggle with weight. Most people do but they keep searching for "the answer" - an expert to tell them exactly what to do to drop the pounds for good.

To overcome this need to be guided and start trusting your own inner guidance more, follow these steps:

Snacking in front of the television is one of the more challenging habits to overcome for people who are dieting. Sometimes such a habit has been in place for years so it has become very strong - compelling, even - and changing it seems incredibly difficult.

However, like anything else, it's just matter of changing your daily routine and forming better habits.

Below are 10 ways to start moving away from the rut of mindless night time eating:

Are you one of the many people in the world who LOVES sweets and wants to curb sugar cravings? You are not alone! Some people even consider sugar obsession to be an actual addiction. Reducing sugar intake is an important step in any weight loss or health program, simply because it helps you consume fewer calories and maintain better health. Unfortunately, knowing how important it is still doesn't make it easy to overcome that sweet tooth, right? Below are a few tips to curb sugar cravings and loosen the grip that sugar has on you:

If you have a hard time breaking a bad habit, try this: Find one small habit you can change and make a commitment to yourself to change it for 5 days.

That's it! One little habit, for only 5 days.

Tell yourself it's just an experiment and you can go back to the original habit if it doesn't work out. An example might be replacing an unhealthy breakfast with a healthier one, or buying a regular coffee instead of calorie-rich fancy coffee, or choosing stairs instead of elevators/escalators.

Is it really true that some people can eat as much as they want and never gain weight? Is it true that they have faster metabolisms than heavier people? Perhaps you know someone like this; a person who loves to eat and doesn't measure, weigh, or calculate anything they put into their mouth. They don't even have to think about it and they maintain a perfect, healthy body weight. Perhaps they trigger a wave of jealousy within you as they say, over and over again, "I can eat anything I want."

You may be interested to know that these people don't have anything that you don't have. They aren't using magical means to stay thin - but rather they are usually DOING things differently than a person who struggles with weight.

They have deeply ingrained habits that prevent them from gaining weight - just like you and others may have deeply ingrained habits that make you more likely to gain weight.

What kind of habits would make a person be "naturally thin"?

When you think of a person who is "naturally thin," you probably imagine a person who eats whatever and however much they want, and they never gain an ounce, right? That may be true for a few rare people - but more often than not, a "naturally thin" person simply has different lifestyle habits that set them apart from people who are overweight. Just like certain habits will make you more likely to gain weight, there are other certain habits that make you more likely to lose weight (or maintain a lighter weight). Once you understand what these habits are, you can start practicing the "thin" habits and gradually become one of those "naturally thin" people. Below are 3 habits of naturally thin people that you can adopt starting today:

Virtually any weight loss plan you start will go smoothly at the beginning because you are fired up and eager to do what it takes to reach your goal weight. But over time, it's very common to start losing that inner spark. Before long, you may start feeling annoyed about having to prepare special foods for yourself, or just wishing you didn't have to work so hard at maintaining a healthy weight.

When this happens, you have reached a crossroads. You can either continue down the path of "this sucks and I don't want to do it any more" - or you can do a few things to rekindle your motivation so losing weight becomes exciting and fun.

While dieting, have you ever felt pressured to eat fattening foods in social settings? Do your friends and family love to tempt you with rich, high calorie goodies even though they know you're trying to lose weight? This kind of "peer pressure" can be frustrating for sure - but you don't have to cave under the pressure. Below are some coping strategies to help you handle it the next time it happens.