I come from a fat family. My dad was fat. My uncle was fat. My Aunt was fat. My cousins were (and still are) morbidly obese. This was back in the '80s, before we had TV shows called, "My 600 Pound Life". Heads would literally turn when our family walked into a restaurant. Only my mother could be called chubby. The rest of them were FAT. I am the oldest of four girls and I think my mother was scared we were all going to end up fat too. She spent a good deal of her free time worrying about it I think. When I was in the 6th grade, she took me to the doctor for my weight. I was probably 5'2" and about 105 pounds. I didn't feel fat.

I come from a fat family. My dad was fat. My uncle was fat. My Aunt was fat. My cousins were (and still are) morbidly obese. This was back in the '80s, before we had TV shows called, "My 600 Pound Life". Heads would literally turn when our family walked into a restaurant. Only my mother could be called chubby. The rest of them were FAT. I am the oldest of four girls and I think my mother was scared we were all going to end up fat too. She spent a good deal of her free time worrying about it I think. When I was in the 6th grade, she took me to the doctor for my weight. I was probably 5'2" and about 105 pounds. I didn't feel fat.

Regardless, the doctor put me on a fiber pill diet. You ate fiber pills, drank water and stuck to 1000 calories a day. That lasted about two days. I was hungry and the fiber pills tasted like chalk. All it really did was send me into an unhealthy obsession with food and my body. I never did get fat. I eventually got a little taller and never got above 120 pounds in high school. But I did gain shame. Shame about how I looked. Shame that is there to this day.

It's not a surprise that I ended up being a fitness personal trainer and health coach. I enjoy helping people getting fitter and feeling better. Like most trainers, most of my clients want to lose weight. They want to lose weight badly. And yet many fail. A client I used to have when I first started out, let's call her Cindy, is typical. Cindy was about 35 with two kids. She was perhaps 80-100 pounds overweight. She had not always been obese. It was only in the last few years that the weight had piled on. Her outside demeanor was cheerful. I liked her immediately. We became friends inside the gym and out. She showed up to every training session and worked out hard. She left it all on the floor. And she was getting more fit. But she wasn't really losing a lot of weight. We decided to hammer in on her diet.

One of the best ways to lose weight is to simply keep a log. It's critical no matter what diet you are on. So she did. Like most of us, she did well in the morning. But by 3pm, she was going off the rails. Even though she desperately WANTED to lose weight, hunger was doing her in. Back then, I thought you just had to will power through the hunger. I didn't have the tools to help her then. I thought she was weak. She eventually got frustrated, and her workouts waned. We sort of lost touch. I'm Facebook friends with her still, and it looks as though she still is carrying the extra weight. She wasn't weak...the girl was hungry. Damn. I let her down.

I've learned a lot since then. I've been lucky enough to learn the secrets of how the fittest, leanest people on the planet get that way. We are talking fitness models, bodybuilders and fitness competitors. Now I am NOT suggesting that you take it to the level that these folks do. Probably 99% of them do hard core drugs to build that muscle and lean out. But like everybody they get hungry. Really hungry. To keep going for the weeks and months that they have to diet, they are have tricks. YOU HAVE TO CONTROL HUNGER to make a weight loss plan work for the long term. Here are the top three tricks I've learned from them. Please see a doctor before embarking on any weight loss program. Use these tricks at your own rick.

1. TRY A KETO DIET Keto stands for Ketogenic. There a million resources on the internet that can explain the diet to you in detail, so I will keep it basic. It's very low carb (think 20-30 grams a day), moderate protein and high fat diet. Eating carbs this low forces your body to turn from carbohydrates as energy to fat. Contrary to popular belief, you don't actually lose weight faster because of some magical chemistry. You lose weight because after about a week, it completely squashes your appetite. The first time I tried this, I almost quit because every day for the first week because I woke up feeling like I had drank a 5th of Tequila with beer chasers and smoked a joint the night before. Don't ask how I know what that feel like. But after about a week, like magic, I started feeling wonderful and I was barely eating 1400 calories a day. That's a miracle for me. Because I am always hungry. Whenever I need to lose a few pounds this is my first step. Personally, I don't suggest this diet for more than a couple months a time. Just throw "Keto Diet" into any search engine and you will have more than enough information to get started.

2. Coffee & Chocamine Extract If low carb isn't for you, you will have to turn to other means. A cup of coffee contains just about the right amount of caffeine for appetite suppression for the average person. If you add a 1/2 teaspoon of chocamine extract in, it works even better. Chocamine is highly pure cocoa extract that is not only good for you, it is a powerful appetite suppressant. Start with 1/4 teaspoon in your morning coffee. Work up to 1/2 teaspoon. Don't take past early afternoon as it will cause insomnia. Which leads to my last secret.

3. Valerian Root, Passion Flower and Melatonin Studies show that a poor nights sleep will cause your appetite to soar and causes the average person to ingest almost 400 extra calories. A bodybuilder I admire turned me onto this concoction. Valerian root is a mild sedative. Passion flower has anti-anxiety properties similar to Xanax (without the nasty side effects) and melatonin is the hormone that helps us fall asleep quicker and easier. Taken together, they are a powerful natural cocktail that helps ensure restful sleep that helps regulate the appetite. Different brands will have different strengths Follow the dosing on the bottle. I don't use this cocktail every night, but when I do, I absolutely see difference.

I have several other tips, tricks and secrets. Some are controversial. But I'll leave it here for today. I'm happy to answer to any questions you have.