Weight loss and Miracle Diets

"You don't have to change your life, just eat this!"  Bullshit.  You know what?  If you're unhappy with your weight, you need to do something about it.  Taking a pill doesn't count.  You need to get up, get out there and make a change.  Stop drinking soda, no, don't cut back to diet soda, that's going to make it worse.  Cut out the beer, too.
DO NOT DRINK ANYTHING CARBONATED.

The dissolved gasses in the beverage come out of the beverage and dissolve in to YOU!  This is one thing that makes you bloated.
Don't believe me?  Try it.  Don't drink anything carbonated for 2 weeks.  I bet you'll start to notice a difference.
Want to notice a bigger difference?  Go one month!
Contrary to popular opinion, your body does not change overnight.  It takes a few days to a few weeks to completely rid itself of toxins and other polutants.
REMEMBER - Your body is a complex mixture of chemicals; acids, bases, water, proteins, etc...  The key to being healthy is to BALANCE these things!
"But Drew!  Shouldn't I lower my calorie intake???"
Probably, but how the hell should I know?  I'm not monitoring you 24/7
MISCONCEPTION: "Calories = Fat"
TRUTH: A calorie is a unit of measurement used to describe the amount of energy contained in a substance.  Don't get me wrong, an excessive amount of calories in your diet will lead to stored fat in your body.  That excess, however, means the calories that you do not need to stay energized.
What that boils down to is this
BALANCE (There's that word again...) YOUR DAILY CALORIC INTAKE WITH HOW ACTIVE YOU ARE.
So if you're going to sit on the couch and watch tv all day, DON'T eat a lot of calories.  If you're going to go run a marathon and then climb a mountain, DO eat a lot of calories.  Get it?

CARBS - This is COMPLEX (pun).
Carbs are complicated.  The basics are that carbs are SUGARS.  We have COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES and SIMPLE SUGARS.  This isn't my area of expertise, but I DO know one difference.  Your body has to work to break down COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES because, you guessed it, they're COMPLEX.  Remember, SUGAR = BRAIN FOOD.(This is not a recommendation to eat a lot of sugar.)
I'm not gonna go into gluten free vs. fructose vs. sucrose vs. glucose, because I really don't know and don't care.  If you want to trouble yourself with all that, go for it.

COMING BACK TO THE MAIN POINT
If you want to lose weight, feel better, look better, be HEALTHIER, you have to MAKE A CHANGE.
Like my good friend Chachi Riot always says: "Don't wish for it, WORK FOR IT."

THE BOTTOM LINE:
If you want to BE HEALTHY, you have to EAT HEALTHY and LIVE HEALTHY.
It's simple, really.

Stay Shiny!