I was never impressed by the 100 calorie packs. If I’m going to count calories I want to stretch every one of them as far as I can. So I’ve compiled a list of foods that are around 100 calories and will fill you up longer:

- 1 Cup of La Choy Chicken or Beef Chow Mien

- 1 Cup of Cheerios (many non-sugary cereals give you more food for fewer calories)

- 25 Crinkle Cut French Fries

- 1 Cup of Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup

- ¼ Cup Artificial Crab with 5 Ritz Crackers

- 1 Cup of Strawberries with 1/4 Cup Whipped Cream

- 40 Pretzel Sticks

- 3 Cups of Popcorn with 0 Calorie Butter Spray

- 1 Cup Tomato Soup with 20 Oyster Crackers

- 2 Large Pickles

Of course eating low calorie foods, especially junk foods, is not a solution to weight loss. But I hope this gives you some ideas of what you can get for every precious calorie you take in. If you have your own 100 calorie foods, please share your ideas below.

If you haven’t figured it out already, I’m all about losing weight the easy way. I don’t mean popping a couple pills before bed easy though. I truly believe that you have to be willing to make lifestyle changes to be successful. I’m talking about the fun kind of easy. That’s right, exercise, diet and fun.

So, what if you just don’t like to exercise? If that is what you are thinking right now, I’m going to prove you wrong. Dead wrong.

But to do this, I need your mind to be opened and ready for change. Okay- are you ready?
First, think of what you crave doing most. If you have the day off, what do you picture yourself doing? Why does this matter? Well, I think that there are three types of weekenders and there is a different exercise plan that each will enjoy.

Weekender Type 1: Working is relaxing. You like to enjoy the outdoors to the extreme. Mountain biking, hiking, boating, skiing, you love them all and you’re not afraid to get dirty. You probably don’t struggle as much with keeping a regular exercise routine either. Because these activities are what you like to spend your time doing, you naturally work them into your daily routine.

It’s not hard to prove that these weekenders have a reason to enjoy their workout, so let’s move on to something harder.

Weekender Type 2: You like to be with and around people. Your weekend is spent with friends or family at dance clubs, restaurants, or even an evening around the fire chatting until the early morning hours.

So for your exercise routine, focus on things you can do with other people. Go to an aerobics class with a group of friends, take a morning walk with a neighbor or co-worker. If you can’t find someone to exercise with you on a regular basis, go to the gym and find inspiration from the other people working out all around you. Because you feel energized just being around people you love, you will feel motivated to work longer and harder.

Weekender Type 3: For those of you who pictured yourself reading a book, taking a bubble bath or watching your favorite movie, I haven’t given up… In fact, this is the category that I fit most.

Here are a few exercise ideas for the more relaxed weekender. Purchase a treadmill or a low impact exercise machine and place it in a room where you can visibly see a television. Any thoughts of quiting you might have will be washed out when you flip on your favorite show.

If you love shopping, then spend, spend, spend (this is my personal favorite). The more you shop, the more time you spend walking and shedding calories. You can also try more low impact exercise routines like yoga or pilates and send yourself on a relaxing journey to weight loss.

The small changes are what will make the biggest difference for you. Try getting a balance ball to give your core muscles a workout while you’re sitting at a desk. And get on a diet plan where healthy meals are delivered to your door.

For all types of weekenders, take the stress out of weight loss, and feel guilt free about it. Use the variety of dieting options out there to your advantage. Check out the review section to find a plan that fits into your lifestyle- but make sure above all that you have fun doing it.

You probably already know that the United States is the most overweight country in the world, but how big is the margin? Well, it has been reported that as much as 30 percent of the U.S. population is overweight. Compare that to 3 to 4 percent for Japan and Korea. Our closest neighbors, Mexico, come in second but are still 8 percent behind us. There is a huge disparity between the U.S. and other countries as far as obesity goes.

So what are they doing differently? It must be all that healthy food they’re eating, right? But that can’t be. Foods fried in oil, flower tortillas, corn, fried rice, are all the kinds of things I’m told to avoid when I’m on a diet. At least that’s what I get when I go to Asian or Mexican restaurants. And that’s what my husband go the two years he lived in Korea.

They do eat a lot of fish in Korea and Japan which is certainly healthier than other kinds of meat, but do they eat more fish than us in Mexico? That doesn’t seem to be the answer either. I would say its McDonalds and Burger King that are making us fat, but they have those in every country in the world and they are definitely making money everywhere. They open new American fast food joints in Asia all the time, but it’s not making them fat.

Could it be that people in other counties are simply exercising more than us? It’s possible. But I seem to recall reading recently that PC rooms and video games are extremely popular in Japan and Korea, not to mention 50 hour work weeks; I even read once about someone kneeling over from being in a PC room too long without moving. I don’t know how well Mexicans are doing with exercise, but with all the Spanish channels available on cable TV I’m sure they’re doing their fair share of sitting around in front of the tube.

So what is it? I don’t have the answer but it’s clear that they are doing something right. Will we Americans ever catch on and get in better shape?

Have you noticed it’s getting harder and harder to remember the names of your favorite actors and actresses, musicians, idols? I found myself struggling today to remember the name of my favorite band in high school. I finally remembered after pulling out my old cds but it bothered me that my memory has gotten so poor.

Or is it my memory? There are so many stars today compared to just five or 10 years ago that it is impossible to remember even our favorites. Radio stars, movie stars, reality tv stars, musical stars, even internet starts. Just a few years ago no one would have imagined that kids running into fences, ’singers’ like William Hung, and even people looking to lose weight could get famous from doing well, anything.

There are so many venues and so many people looking for entertainment of every kind that really everyone that wants to has a chance to get famous in their own way. I think we are starting to see the wisdom in Andy Warhol’s words, that every one would have their 15 minutes of fame in the future. We have every opportunity, it’s just a matter of having the guts to take them.

So, when is your 15 minutes of fame due? Don’t worry, they’re coming soon. Enjoy them while they’re there and then love your life even more when they are quickly over.

That’s right, love. And when I say love I mean the kind of feeling you get when you eat chocolate, take a bubble bath or watch a romantic movie that makes you cry. In other words, a diet plan that you’d feel ‘in the mood’ for almost any time of the day.

The reason I say this is because I went through years of trying different products and exercises but none of them worked until I used those that I enjoyed most to build a new, healthy lifestyle. So here are a few tips to ensuring that your next diet is as exciting as a new pair of shoes (which you should reward yourself with as soon as you lose your first few pounds):

1. Stop thinking of weight loss as a painful thing. Whether it is jump roping, replacing meals with yummy fruit shakes or listening to my favorite song instead of eating when I get a craving, I’ve learned that dieting doesn’t have to be as excruciating as we make it up in our minds to be.

2. Stop thinking of diet plans as temporary. If you do, you’ll expect yourself to do something you don’t enjoy for a short time, gain the weight back and then have to do it again. I think that most weight loss programs on the market will work for somebody on a long term basis, but where most people fail is when they try to force themselves to starve themselves when they love cooking or run when they’ve always hated it in the past. Instead, fill your life with the activities you enjoy and can live with for a long time.

I’m not a big fan of long walks, but I love window shopping. You see where I’m going with this… You might be surprised at which of your guilty pleasures turn out to have healthy consequences. I use it as an excuse to do them more often.

3. Think of what you’re lifestyle was like when you were closest to your goal weight. Did you enjoy the kinds of activities you were doing then? If you were successful, it’s probably because you had found an activity that motivated you beyond the pain.

Why? Because you were doing what you enjoyed. For me, this was when I was a cheerleader in high school. I remember sweating through the push ups and running through several pairs of shoes but mostly I remember the rush .

But I know I can’t up and join another cheer squad. Instead I do what I enjoyed about it through other activities. I’m unashamed to say that the bouncing around really got me pumped, so now I jump rope often to get that same rush of energy.

If you’re not sure where to start, I’ve compiled reviews of diet plans to help you get ideas of what you enjoy. So here’s to loving your next, (and last) diet.