So I figured I would post this here, rather than weight loss or something along those lines. Although I do want to lose weight, I ultimately want to live a healthy life. But it is so hard. I don't know where to begin. I read about flushing out the system, fasting and so on. Should I do any of these things? Do I have to get out all the bad things in my body? I know what I should it, althought at times, it is hard to stick to them. Whole grains, fruits, veggies, low fat dairy, lean protein. Did I get all that right? From there, I am lost. Portions, times of the day, 6 meals a day, 3 meals a day, snacks. I am also trying to exercise for health rather than weight, but sometimes it gets so hard when I have no energy and I am always so damn tired. Do I exercise 30 min, 60 min, how much? And how many times a week? HELP!!!

Detoxing is a bit of a controversial topic. Some people say you need to detox to rid your body of chemicals (drugs, food preservatives, ect.) and some people say your liver takes care of that. However, it's never a bad thing to take milk thistle which is excellent for your liver health. And when it comes to living healthy, don't try to do everything all at once. Start slowly by introducing more whole grains in your diet. My family is finally eating whole grain bread only and it took forever to switch over (especially my son. He is a white bread kid!). I am now looking into good recipes for veggies and new ways to eat them. I want to get at least five in a day and maybe more. You are on the right track - whole grains, lean meats, lots of veggies and some fruit a day. As far as exercise, if you are not used to it, start with walking 30 minutes a day and work up to 60. Add in some weights also. If you can't go to a gym, you can buy some hand weights. My problem is sugar. I know I am addicted to it. I have started buying Splenda and add in half of that and half sugar to get used to it. I need to lose weight but more importantly, I want to change my whole way of eating and eat that way from now on. When I eat what I know is right - veggies, lean meats, fruit and very little bread - I feel so good! Good luck, Cindy

Your tiredness could be caused by not eating enough foods with B vitamins in them, not enough calories, not enough sleep, or not enough carbs. You've got the right idea of what to eat in reguards to lean meats, low-fat dairy, veggies, whole grains, and fruit. It's just that you need to find the balance that's right for your body, since everyone's body is different. The perfect idea is to eat 6 small meals per day....Personally, that is not practical for my life so I eat 3 meals per day plus 2 small snacks. (Morning snack and night snack.) You shouldn't feel hungry or stuffed. Serving sizes aren't really that difficult....Single servings are; meat/fish is the size of your palm or a deck of cards.......potatoes or rice is the size of your fist....veggies are the size of your fist.....fruit is 1 cup or 1 apple or 1 orange....milk is 1 cup......cheese is a pair of die. (Yea, I was disapointed about the cheese too.).....bread is 1 slice. Hope this helps a little.

If you're too tired to exercise and feel overwhelmed thinking about doing 30 or 60 minutes/day...just add 5 minutes to what you're already doing. If you aren't exercising at all right now, then just do 5 minutes...if you're exercising 15 minutes right now, increase to 20...and so forth. Just work up to it...it's better to do just 5 or 10 minutes of exercise than to feel so overwhelmed with a longer regimen that you aren't able to stick with. Then, hopefully, exercising will give you more energy and with more energy you will be able to exercise more.