Many have compared the South Beach Diet to the hugely popular Atkins Diet, the diet that allows dieters to eat fat and proteins while cutting back on such additives as refined sugar. But, the South Beach Diet claims to be different than the Atkins Diet in one major way: It’s better for your heart, at least according to the author of the South Beach Diet, cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston.

Kids today, especially in the United States, are heavier than ever, and the results are proving to be disastrous with more children developing what used to be considered adult problems, such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol levels.

In addition, overweight children tend to develop sooner than children who are at or near their ideal weight. In fact, a study conducted by the University of Michigan’s Mott’s Children’s Hospital, which was published by the American Academy of Pediatrics revealed overweight girls hit puberty when they were as young as nine-years-old.

Dieters need a boost of inspiration every now and then, and nothing gets us more inspired than to read about other successful dieting stories. I know when I find myself with a few extra pounds and in need of tightening my eating habits; I’ll start hunting success stories for inspiration. I’m sure you’re that way too.

So…

Everyone has his or her own reason for opting to go vegetarian. There are those who do so because they love animals while others become vegetarians due to religious beliefs. Still others opt for vegetarianism because they want a healthier lifestyle.

In fact, there are numerous benefits to those who opt for the vegetarian lifestyle. For example, medical experts note that vegetarians are less likely to be obese and often suffer less from diabetes, heart disease, gallstones, hypertension, and constipation than those who eat meat. A decade long study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine even found that vegetarians live, on average, almost ten years longer than meat-eaters.

Some people are just lucky: They can eat whatever they want whenever they want, and they never seem to gain a pound. But, even those people with a high metabolism often face weight gain as they grow older.

Unfortunately, as we age, we have to be even more careful of what we eat because our metabolism begins to slow down. The simple fact is we may still be eating like we did when we were young, but most people still aren’t – often because they physically can’t – exercising as much as they once did. Additionally, the older people get the less active they tend to be.