Here are 5 solutions to slimming:

1. Set Mini-Goals: Try setting short-term or "mini" goals to help you achieve your goal of shedding the excess weight. Keep in mind that your mini goals should be specific and realistic, and they should have a measurable outcome. Setting your target in specific, measurable terms will increase your chances of accomplishing your long term goal of losing those unwanted pounds. In addition, remember to be realistic. If you've been consuming over 2000 calories, dont try cutting back to 1400 overnight. And if you haven't exercised all year, dont aim to run three miles each day.

2. Budget your foods: If you can budget your money, you can budget your foods. Aim to have a specific amount of fruits, vegetables, starches, proteins and fats throughout the day, or for each meal. By limiting the amounts of each type of food, you will be able to stay within a calorie level that will enable you to loose weight.

3. Keep a food journal: Keeping a food journal helps you to avoid what is called "unconscious eating" - eating that leads to consumption of excess calories, beyond what you may have ever intended to consume. In fact, research actually shows that keeping a food journal will help you to loose weight!

If emotional eating is a big sticking point for you, then journaling your moods, such as stress, boredom or anger can help you pinpoint problem areas, which in some cases may serve as triggers to overeating. Once you understand the problem, you can find a solution that does not involve opening the boxes of cookies or the jar of jellybeans.

Survey: Teenagers Are Sleep Deprived
Parents who have to drag their kids out of bed for school may consider this advice from Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, the top health officer in Kansas. He says teenagers don't get enough sleep -- they should be sleeping nine or 10 hours per night. But studies indicate that very few do. He suggests the state should push back the starting time for classes.

Evolving Culture: Where Do We Go From Here?
Humans are still evolving, but cultural evolution is far outpacing genetic evolution. Our environment and technology are changing so rapidly that genetic adaptations can't keep up. So we're adapting by learning new things and passing that knowledge onto the next generation.

Dangerous Drivers' Worst Habits Might Be Yours
Visions of a faster rush hour might be dancing in drivers' heads, but their current behavior is what's really taking their minds off the road. Talking on cell phones while driving and making unnecessary lane changes are two of the bad habits that Don Redelmeier has studied. Host Liane Hansen talks to Redelmeier about what dangers lurk behind the wheel.

Can Cognitive Exercise Speed Up Dementia?
New research suggests that seniors who did mentally stimulating activities such as crossword puzzles postponed the loss of thinking skills, but had an accelerated rate of decline once dementia set in later in life. Neuropsychologist Robert S. Wilson explains the finding.

Stocky Dinosaur With Menacing Toes Unearthed
Reporting in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,</em> researchers describe a new predatory dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period in Europe. <em>Balaur bondoc</em> (Romanian for "stocky dragon") is huskier than its relative the Velociraptor.

4. Get moving: If you dont have time to get to the gym or to your aerobics class, be sure to engage in some physical activity at some point during the day. Believe it or not, even light physical activity can help you shed excess pounds and get into shape.

Burning an extra 500 calories each day will help you to loose one pound per week. So, be sure to take advantage of the longer days with outside walks and outdoor activities. In addition to burning excess calories, getting out of the house to get your body moving will keep you away from the refrigerator.

5. Drink lots of water: Water will help to curb your appetite; it will also keep you hydrated during the hot months ahead, And here is an added bonus: Cold water helps you to burn calories! That's right - the process of bringing cold water to your body's own temperature involves expending energy, or calories. So carry a water bottle with you at all times, and aim for at least eight ounce glasses each day (or ten if you exercise).

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