After a hectic work week, it’s easy to lose momentum on your diet and exercise goals once the weekend hits. You’re going out for dinner, going to parties, drinking alcohol, and your diet goes out the window. Don’t undo all your hard work during the week in those two relaxing days off. Here’s some advice just in time for the weekend!

The bigger you are the better you are - well not in this case. The world's 25 biggest food companies are failing to take the global crisis in diet seriously and often only change their practices when faced with adverse publicity that could damage their sales, a new study claims.

Being bullied as a child could explain some of today’s weight situations among adults. About one out of every five children is chronically bullied, according to Dr. Eric Storch, an assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Florida. Playground bullying spells serious trouble for children's health, say he and other researchers. Resulting negative attitudes toward exercise can last a lifetime, making it more difficult for overweight children to lose pounds. And all the teasing can make it harder to shed these pounds as an adult.

"This spring, the high wedge and the chunky platform are touted as two of the most important shoes of the season," reports The Wall Street Journal. "For many women tired of teetering on spindly stilettos, the shift to a chunkier style has been a welcome relief. But there's a hitch: Contrary to popular belief, the shoes can be less stable than spike heels - and can cause more injuries. Podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons say the thick, platform-style base of a high wedge doesn't allow the foot to move as naturally as in a shoe with a conventional heel. The result is that more weight is borne by the ball of the foot. Some high wedges also have curved soles, which can make it easy to lose your balance. . . ."

10 Food Rules You Can Ignore:

"Getting laid off or fired . . . can rank with divorce, death of a loved one and serious illness as one of life's biggest blows," says The Washington Post. "But the mere prospect of losing your job, finds a new study, may damage your mental and physical health still more." Researchers at the University of Michigan, using data from a 16-year U.S. nationwide survey, found that chronic job insecurity was more strongly linked to poor health and depression than was actual job loss or a brush with life-threatening illness.

Obese people have a blind spot when it comes to their own weight problem, according to a small University of North Carolina study that showed only 15 per cent of obese people view themselves that way. By contrast, 71 per cent of normal-weight people and 73 per cent of people classified as overweight were accurate in their self-assessments. The study, by nutrition researcher Kim Truesdale, looked at 104 adults, ages 45 to 64.

It seems food companies around the world are using whatever marketing tactics possible to draw the consumer to the product while they whisk down the aisles of the supermarket. What is it about consumer behaviour that has food companies modifying, expanding, and diversifying their brands at such a fast rate?

-Drivers rarely get sick. If you can't drive, sit in the front passenger seat because it will allow you to see the road ahead.

Starbucks Cafe Mocha is just one example of what experts put on the high-calorie drink list. On a daily basis it would add 300 calories (whole milk, no whip) or 400 calories (with whip) per 16-ounce beverage. A White Chocolate Mocha totals 410 calories (whole milk, no whip) or 510 calories (with whip).

For many, 510 calories is an entire meal! Ordering the mocha with nonfat milk or soymilk will bring it down to 220 calories (nonfat milk, no whip). For those of us who do this every day, we are tallying up a total of 1540 calories a week (with nonfat milk) or 6,160 calories per month. Keep in mind this 6,160 calories per month total is only considering that habitual morning coffee run. What about drinks we consume the rest of the day?

Is heart health a concern for you? If so, you may want to consider going back to school to get some extra classes under your belt, closer to your heart. A new study in The Journal of the American Medical Association claims the more years you spend in school, the better it may be for your heart.

Do you consistantly starve yourself until you get to the restaurant, and then order everything on the menu to fill the hunger gap? If you are serious about watching your weight there are things you can do to be a more ‘informed diner’ so you make the right decisions on what food to eat when you dine out.

A monkey research project out of the Oregon National Primate Research Center found active monkeys stayed lean, while couch-potato monkeys got fat - no matter how much they ate. This study is another testament to sway dieters to exercise as they try to lose weight.

Thinking about giving up your diet for a few days over the Easter weekend to gorge on holiday food? You know the kind! Many of us break the diet rules to stuff ourselves with dishes made of rich, fatty foods; and eat and drink late into the night. The Easter /Passover season can tempt us to abandon our healthy eating regime. So what can you do?

The one-year study examined the eating habits and injury rates of 87 female runners who logged an average of 30 miles a week. Fifty-five percent reported injuries such as stress fractures during the period. These injured runners ate approximately 200 fewer calories per day than the rest of the joggers.