Drop those crazy diets for good! Losing weight and staying healthy can go hand-in-hand for longer-lasting results than all those fad diets.

Grapefruit diet, all-bean diet, tapeworm diet, you name it and someone out there has done it! Put the tapeworm down and learn how to lose weight fast without compromising your health with these tips from some of Toronto’s top health and fitness gurus:

Be realistic

Healthy weight loss occurs at the rate of about 0.5 to 1 lbs per week, according to Hugo Low, a conditioning expert at Toronto-based fitness club Xtreme Couture, but weight can fall off quicker during the first few weeks of a weight loss regime. “Understand that during the beginning of someone’s fitness journey the numbers will be higher than the average. Someone who is severely overweight, with maybe 30-50% body fat, will lose more than the average person, sometimes anywhere from 5-10lbs per week.” And while this may sound great (and if you happen to lose a little more than planned, it is just an added bonus), it is important to be realistic about how much you will lose in the first few weeks in order to avoid disappointment. Remember, you are aiming for healthy and happy, not malnourished and miserable.

Be consistent

Evidence doesn’t lie and for women eating a 1,200-1,500 calorie a day diet that includes three healthy, portion-controlled meals and two small snacks, every day is the best way to lose those extra pounds and maintain a healthy weight. “The six days on plan with one free-for-all day does not work in the long term,” says Mary Bamford, a registered dietician with the Adelaide Clinic in Toronto.

Drink up

You know those hunger pangs you feel? Most often they are are actually thirst pangs and keeping your body hydrated is one of the best ways to ensure healthy weight loss. However, what you drink to quench that thirst is equally important. Skip the juice and the sodas (even the diet ones!) and reach for the H2O. No matter how you measure it, nothing can beat your standard eight to 10 glass of water a day. It will flush your kidneys of waste, will help your body metabolize fat more effectively, and will make you feel fuller when meal time comes around, which prevents you from gorging.

Hit the gym

Aim for 30-40 minutes of gym time three to five days a week, with lengthier and more frequent sessions if you are on a tight deadline. Mix up your routine, with a healthy dose of both cardio and weight training on different days, to keep you motivated and to see the best results. “Cardio will be very successful for most,” says Hugo. “However, the weight training is what keeps the weight off, so in the long run you cannot neglect this…it makes sense to do both frequently.”

Skip the crash diets

You know those drastic measures mentioned above? Skipping meals, cutting carbs, and eating nothing but grapefruits all fall under that heading and all will likely fail to produce the results you are looking for. “Most people on extreme crash diets just feel lousy; low energy, grumpy, achy, difficulty concentrating, thoughts obsessed with food, depressed mood; but a rare few will get serious and life-threatening complications,” says Mary, who advises medical supervision if a dieter sees no other option. “My warning is to be medically supervised if they insist on following an extreme crash diet. Tell your doctor and have him monitor the appropriate blood work…Medical monitoring is very important and necessary.”

Keep a journal

Documenting what you eat and your daily exercise regime is hugely important for reaching weight loss goals because it allows you to see exactly where you may be going wrong. Online diet journals such as www.fitday.com are the perfect place to record and study your daily caloric intake versus your physical output to ensure you stick to your numbers. And being “brutally honest” is a must, says Mary. “Get out the measuring cups and spoons for the first week so that you can estimate accurately,” she says. “In studies, overweight people tend to underestimate their actual intake by about 25% or 400 calories–that is why measuring everything is so important.”

Make it a lifestyle change

You’ve lost the weight so why stop now? Healthy living, including maintaining a healthy body weight, is a lifestyle choice and one that takes motivation, determination, and a lot of hard work. Remember the way you felt on your big day, or any other day when you’ve been at your healthiest, and think of that feeling often. Use it to help remind you, every day, how wonderful a heathy life can be.

Brisk walk: If I had to choose one energy-generating activity to recommend above all, it is walking. Walk at a pace brisk enough to increase your heart and breath rates; maybe tackle a few flights of stairs while you are at it. As you walk, actively engage your core, monitor your posture, be aware of the range of motion in your hips and thighs, and breathe consciously, working your ribcage like a bellows. You might look a little strange to the casual observer, but you’ll feel so much better when you are finished. With a little practice (and creative visualization), you may even give the impression to others that you are expert enough to be counted in the ranks of professional walkers – after all, racewalking is an Olympic sport.

Breath Work: Inhale quietly and slowly, allowing your abdomen to rise, to the count of 4, pause holding the air lightly to the count of 4, exhale slowly, allowing your abdomen to contract, to the count of 6. Repeat four times. The simple act of slow, deep breathing can be incredibly energizing – and relaxing (see Breath Breaks in the 21-Day Plan).

Seated Warrior (Virasana): This is a very simple stretch and a phenomenal way to expand your breathing capacity (if you have trouble with your knees or back, do this sitting in a chair, not on the floor). Kneel on the floor, shoulders back and down, neck and spine in a straight line perpendicular to the floor. Lower your buttocks to your feet. Raise your arms in front of you to shoulder level, tightly interlock your fingers, palms facing you. Now rotate your wrists and forearms so that palms face out, fingers away. Maintain your posture. With fingers clasped and palms facing away, raise your arms until palms face the ceiling. Keep your shoulders pinched back, sternum lifted, chest expanded, relax throat and neck. Look straight ahead, body and neck in a straight line perpendicular to the ground – no tilting. Breathe evenly and hold the posture for one minute or as long as it’s comfortable. With time you can extend this to five minutes. Bring your arms gently down to your sides. Place palms on the floor, kneel, stand up first with one leg, placing hands on knee for leverage.

Downward-Facing Dog (Adhomukha Svanasana): This simple yoga posture definitely gets your circulation going, but it’s not recommended for individuals with high blood pressure, frequent headaches, or who are pregnant. Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, core engaged, head in a straight line with your spine. Take an abdominal breath. Bend from the waist until your palms touch the floor (it’s OK to bend your knees). Place your right foot back about four feet from your hands. Now place your left foot alongside your right so that your butt is in the air, heels on the ground, and you are in an inverted “V” position (again, it’s OK to bend at the knees if it’s uncomfortable to straighten your legs all the way). Straighten your spine (no hunching over). I like Rodney Yee’s description in his book, Moving Toward Balance, “Practice with bent legs, emphasizing the lift of your sitting bones . . . Feel the integration between the length of the sides of your waist, the opening of your chest and the extension of your arms.” B.K.S. Iyengar further recommends tightening muscles at the top of the thighs and pulling in the kneecaps. Just hang out there for a moment, breathing quietly, arms and back straight, heels on the floor. Now bring your right foot back close to your hands, then your left foot, and slowly stand.

Qi Gong Energy Ball: With this exercise, visualize yourself holding a large ball of energy, move slowly and focus on breathing – your arms should move with very little effort, almost as if they are moved by an invisible energetic force. Feet are parallel, knees slightly bent, butt tucked under, arms at your sides. Take a deep, abdominal breath in and out and continue to breathe consciously throughout the exercise. Begin by allowing your arms to float slowly up, shoulder-width apart, palms facing each other as though you’re holding a giant beach ball of energy, waist high in front of you. Bend your arms at the elbows, bringing the imaginary ball closer to you. Now slowly rotate wrists to face palms away from your body and push the ball away until your arms are straight, stepping forward onto your left foot (knee remains slightly bent). Allow arms to float wide apart so that you make a T, bring arms gently down to sides with palms facing each other as you step left foot back to its original place. Float arms upward again, in front of you, holding the ball of energy. “Lift” the ball over your head and let go, now allow your arms to slowly float back down to your sides, breathing quietly, core engaged, butt tucked under, shoulders down and back. Repeat, this time stepping right foot forward.

Hopping: Jumping rope is the best, full-fitness, aerobic energy-generating exercise, but it’s not always convenient to whip out a jump rope. You can hop up and down just about anywhere – next to your desk, standing in line at the bank, waiting for a train. Hop thirty times; finish by standing for a moment with good posture and taking four slow abdominal breaths.

Rock out with your iPod: No explanation necessary. Freeform dancing is not only fun, but allows you to log an aerobic workout without the psychic pain.

Excerpted from Power Up by Woodson Merrell, M.D. Copyright © 2008 by Woodson Merrell, M.D.. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

The couch is a hard habit to kick. But being a couch potato can take years off your life, here’s how to quit the couch in 10 easy steps.

Along with cigarettes and caffeine, the couch can be a tough habit to give up but it’ll take years off your life. The CBC reports that a sedentary lifestyle can put you at risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity along with a myriad of other health complications (listed below). Finding the motivation to peel yourself off the couch when the temperature starts to drop is especially difficult but here are 10 ways to beat the couch potato right out of you:

1. Know the facts

Truth be told, there is nothing that is more motivating than learning the cold hard facts about how harmful an unhealthy lifestyle can be for you. “There are a number of problems that arise from living a sedentary lifestyle,” says Emily Sparrow, a professional personal trainer and owner of the Toronto-based fitness company Sky High Fitness. The problems with living a sedentary life:

- decrease in bone density leading to an increased risk of osteoporosis
- bad posture
- back pain
- increased risk of diabetes
- increased risk of heart disease
- increased risk of arthritis
- little to no energy
- lethargy
- bad sleeping habits
- little to no strength – particularly in the upper body for women
- low metabolism, which usually results in a very high body fat percentage

2. Give yourself a daily TV limit

Probably one of the best ways to combat your couch potato ways is to limit the amount of time you allow yourself to sit in front of the TV each night. Aim to limit yourself to one hour per evening by choosing your “must-see” show each day and turning on the TV only when the show begins and turning it off right after. Can’t live without your Thursday night lineup? Invest in a PVR system and record your shows to watch as a reward after exercising.

3. Get a membership…with all its perks

These days, most gyms are well-equipped to deal with the health-conscious-Grey’s Anatomy-addicted world we live in. Almost all gyms offer up TV systems strategically placed in front of their cardio machines that allow you to simple plug in your headphones and walk, run, or cycle your way through Meredith’s latest trauma drama. Plan your workouts to coincide with your favorite shows and you’ll be caught up on tomorrow’s office gossip without the guilt of a night of couch surfing (and munching!)

4. Make commercial breaks into fitness breaks

So maybe you just don’t have the time, or the financial means, to be hitting the gym whenever you please but don’t use that as an excuse. All it takes is a little motivation…and a lot of boring commercial breaks…to put a healthy spin on your TV obsession. Try doing push-ups (two or three sets of 10 repetitions), chair squats (without sitting all the way down!), bicycle crunches (three sets of 20 crunches) or jumping jacks (as many as you can!) during the entire length of the commercial breaks. Two hours of programming will have roughly 30-40 minutes of commercial airtime, which adds up to a decent workout.

5. Pump it up

Up the ante on your commercial time “fitness breaks” by using dumbbells to do upper-body exercises, 2-3 times per week while your shows are on air. “It is particularly important for woman to include both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training in their exercise regime,” says Sparrow. “It is the resistance training that will increase your bone density and increase the amount of lean muscle you have which will in turn reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life.” Try alternating bicep curls (two sets of 12 reps on each arm) and overhead tricep extensions (four sets of 12 reps) one night and then alternating overhead shoulder presses and side arm raises and front arm raises on another TV night (four sets of 12 reps each). Remember that resistance is key here so lift the weights slowly for two seconds, hold for two seconds, and then take four seconds to lower your weights back to their starting position.

6. Have a ball

Invest in a stability ball to sit on while doing your exercises or just watching TV. Designed to encourage your body to respond to the instability of the ball, these inflatable workout tools engage and strengthen your muscles, particularly your core abdominal and back muscles, and improve your overall centre of balance.

7. Get interactive

Interactive gaming, like the WiiFit, is changing the way we do and enjoy exercising. Challenging and undeniably fun, interactive fitness video games are a convenient, and simplistic way to introduce physical activity to someone who is just working up the motivation to move away from the TV and start into a more active lifestyle. It is important, however, to remember that the virtual fitness world pales in comparison to the real thing. “Lifting weights via a video game versus going to the gym and doing it, you’re going to get better results when hitting the gym,” says Sparrow. “That said, if the video game is seen as a tool to help motivate you and get you off the couch…it’s certainly better than nothing.”

8. Get out of the house

Plain and simple: there is nothing that will get your mind away from what’s on TV like getting out of the house all together. “There are plenty of different ways to exercise and all of them can be turned into a fun and entertaining outing,” says Sparrow, who suggests rollerblading, bike riding, swimming, or team sports as excellent ways to get out of the house. “Exercise can be as simple as going for a brisk walk daily and as your stamina increases add some hand weights to hold along the way.”

9. Get into a group

“There are a number of outdoor group fitness classes your can join and not only benefit from the guidance of a professional trainer but the group camaraderie can play a large part in motivation,” says Sparrow. Check out online city-based forums to find walking or running groups in your area or hit your local gym and try out a group exercise class. “The important thing is to constantly challenge yourself and try to go that extra bit further everyday,” says Sparrow.

10. Stay motivated with S.M.A.R.T goals

“The best way to stay motivated is to set S.M.A.R.T goals” says Sparrow, who explains that the acronym stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

Specific: Sparrow says to ?take measurements before starting any fitness program and from there decipher what you’re goals are for a four week and eight week period. Having your goals written down is the first step to committing to achieving them.”

Measurable: having measurable goals is a way of tracking your progress using physical measures (i.e.. your chest, waist, and hip measurements) so you know exactly how successful or unsuccessful you have been.

Achievable and Realistic: making achievable and realistic goals is all about sticking to loosing only one to two pounds per week, explains Sparrow. “If you set your goal way beyond that you will be disappointed with the end result which can often lead to frustration and lack of motivation to continue working towards your goal.”

Time-bound: making time-bound goals means setting a time frame for which to achieve your goal weight, whether that be one month, six months, or one year from the time you start. “Figure out a goal that is both motivating and exciting for you to achieve, and remember to reward yourself once it’s achieved!” says Sparrow.

Don’t let the heat discourage you from this type of yoga. Whether its Bikram or Moksha, hot yoga is a fitness trend that’s here to stay and it’s worth a try (or two).

I’m not going to sugar coat it, during and after my first Bikram yoga class I felt awful. I barely made it through the first few poses before having to sit down for most of the class. I left feeling embarrassed and slightly defeated. How could yoga do this to me?

So a few years later I decided to give hot yoga another try. I now realize that my horrible experience was directly connected to how out of shape and dehydrated I was because my next try felt much better and now I’m hooked.

Here’s what you need to know before hitting your first (or second) hot yoga class:

What you should bring:

- yoga mat
- 2 large towels (one for the class and one for a shower afterwards)
- large bottle of water
- bathing suit, shorts and tank top or anything made of a light material that doesn’t limit your range of motion

Before your first hot yoga class:

- drink water
- arrive early to acclimatize yourself to the yoga room
- don’t eat 3 hours beforehand

After your first class:

- drink lots of water

Health benefits of hot yoga

- better circulation
- helps combat depression
- sweating releases toxins
- increases your level of cardio fitness

Hot yoga isn’t for everyone

- this might be obvious but it’s hot, so if you don’t enjoy sweating or being really hot this might not be the style of yoga for you
- Bikram yoga teacher, Marina Jankovic recommends not trying Bikram yoga for the first time while pregnant especially during your first trimester
- consult your physician beforehand if you have any health issues