Advice on losing weight

Make sure that you drink enough fluids. Sometimes at some stage in a hectic work day, you feel you need food when in truth you may need a refreshing glass of water or cranberry juice. The feelings of hunger and thirst are somewhat similar, but one of them ends in weight increase and the other one leads to no damage.

Some low carbohydrate diet pointers:
* It is possible to make wonderful smoothies using low carb yogurt. Ok, well, it is not really cooking, but if you must have smoothies you can make perfectly acceptable alternatives by using low carbohydrate yogurt and your favorite fruit. Clearly, you should make sure you only make use of fruit that is low in carbs and the whole fruit as the fiber is beneficial.

* Know what is in your food Be sceptical of the food label that claims 'low carb' - check the nutritional information on the reverse of the product. Many are only a little lower and in some instances still higher than a competitors standard brand. In addition, beware of 'low sugar' and 'low fat' labels - 'low sugar' does not always mean 'low carb' - usually the carbs are exactly the same.

Lycopene super foods
(includes apricot, red bell peppers & rosehip)

The nutrient lypcopene is a naturally occurring chemical compound and a member of the same group of phytochemicals as carotene. Lycopene is accountable for the red color of quite a few natural foods.

Usefully, unlike most other nutritional compounds, this useful phytochemical does not degrade if cooked, but is noticeably increased in efficacy by cooking.

. Lycoprene's most valuable health contribution is that it is an antioxidant and appears to be an asset in the battle to lower the risks of developing cancer.

This useful phytochemical is the most potent fighter of singlet oxygen, which is correlated with skin aging. It's also believed to slow down the growth of atherosclerosis.