Planning a visit with friends or family this summer? The etiquette of a house guest can make or break a beautiful relationship, send family members into warring camps or heal childhood bonds. Not to worry. What follows are 10 sure fire ways to ingratiate yourself with your hosts and be guaranteed an invitation to “come back again real soon, ya hear?”

1. Gifts: Arrive with a small gift of food or drink to contribute to the household. It is always a welcomed gesture unless you open the gift of scotch and finish it off by yourself within the first hour.

2. Self-containment: Keep your room tidy with bed made each morning, bathroom clean and toilet seat in the downward position. Be independent and arrange your own means of transportation and sight seeing itinerary especially if your host’s are working.

3. Respect: Be considerate of your host’s daily routine and allow them space to take care of their daily chores. Try not to come home late, loaded to the gills, singing Oh Sole Mio at the top of your lungs, when they have to get up early to work.

4. Replenish: If you are staying for more than 3 days replenish the food in the fridge, gas in your host’s car or take them out for lunch or dinner. You can always order a Personal Chef To Go meal plan delivery so there’s no need for your hosts to cook.

5. Chores: Help around the house by doing a few loads of laundry other than your own, some weeding, sweeping, folding towels and linen or mowing the lawn. Treat their home as if it were your own. Come to think of it, treat theirs better.

6. Meals: Do not expect to be waited on for meals. If your host is amenable to having you in the kitchen put on an apron and throw some veggies on the grill. If you cannot cook order take-out from your host’s favorite restaurant. Most importantly, if your host cooks then you should do the dishes.

7. Communication: Let your host know if you have any food allergies or a medical condition they should be aware of. Go over your schedule each day with your host so they know where you are and can reach you if needed. Have their number in case you tussle with the local authorities and need to be bailed out.

8. Rules: Many households have unspoken rules and it is for you to figure them out and abide by them. Best to just ask your hosts, but if you are the shy type then notice people’s waking and sleeping times, when the computer is open for use, whose favorite chair you’re sitting in, consumption or not of alcohol and no smoking zones around the house.

9. Departure: Before leaving strip and remake the bed putting the used dry towels and linens in the hamper. If your host’s are really busy wash and dry towels and linens and leave linens clean and folded on the freshly made bed.

10. Post Visit: Take a moment to send a thank you note and extend an invitation for your host to visit you at some future date. If you are still on speaking terms they should be thrilled to see you again and spend time at your home.

Delia Quigley is the Director of StillPoint Schoolhouse, where she teaches a holistic lifestyle based on her 28 years of study, experience and practice. She is the creator of the Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, Cooking the Basics, and Broken Bodies Yoga. Delia's credentials include author, holistic health counselor, natural foods chef, yoga instructor, energy therapist and public speaker. Follow Delia's blogs: brcleanse.blogspot.com and brokenbodiesyoga.wordpress.com. To view her website go to www.deliaquigley.com

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Want to lose weight and keep it off? (I know, stupid question), then there is only one way to make that happen. Consume only as many calories as you need to sustain your activity level. Otherwise you need to burn, baby, burn. Each calorie you burn is a measurement of energy. Your body converts food into energy by combining calories from proteins, carbohydrates, and fats with oxygen.

If you burn more calories than you eat you will lose weight, if you eat more calories than you burn, well, yeah, your going to build up your love handles instead of your biceps. On average, people need to consume 2000 calories a day: 60 percent of those calories provides  energy for your body’s daily operations, which include breathing, chewing, digesting food, and circulating blood.

Another 30 percent of your daily calorie intake is expended through activities such as household chores, sports, and just being active. Now, it is interesting to note that the more muscle tissue you have the more calories you burn even when you are resting. In fact for each additional pound of muscle approximately 50 extra calories are burned daily. Not bad, eh?  But first you have to develop some muscles, which you can do in a number of ways such as, lifting free weights at the gym, or your ample derriere in yoga class.

According to Dr. Robert Gerszten of Massachusetts General Hospital, “Ten minutes of exercise has at least an hour of effects on your body.”  So, if even short amounts of exercise can be good for you, then what are you waiting for? Fit these calorie burners into your day and watch your body change.

1. First thing in the morning, take a quick walk with your dog, your spouse or a friend. When watching Cesar Milan whisper sage advice he consistently mentions that most of the dogs he trains have behavioral issues because they do not get enough exercise. I tend to think it is the same problem with humans and walking can be a simple solution. If it is difficult to walk in your neighborhood, then lace up your walking shoes and walk as fast as you can around your local Mall. Just remember to keep moving and leave your credit card at home.

2. Confronted with an escalator or stairs take the stairs every time. If your office is up more flights than you think you can do, build up your stamina by adding a flight every few days; you can always take the elevator the rest of the way. Stair climbing is great exercise for your legs and sagging buttocks, not to mention strengthening the heart and increasing oxygen to the lungs.

3. Park your car as far away as you can walk in your chic summer sandals and hike it across the parking lot. If it is a hot day you will just move faster to get into the air conditioning.

4. Remember how much fun it was to ride your bicycle around the neighborhood as a kid, well it is still a lot of fun and great exercise. No need to buy a fancy racing model when a used upright with a basket for groceries will do just fine.

5. Break up watching television or working on the computer with work in the garden and household chores. Shake off the sluggish feelings from sitting and watching and get up and do something, even if it is loading the dishwasher or folding your laundry or yelling at your kids to get away from the television and go outside to play. Come to think of it, go outside and play with them.

Delia Quigley is the Director of StillPoint Schoolhouse, where she teaches a holistic lifestyle based on her 28 years of study, experience and practice. She is the creator of the Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, Cooking the Basics, and Broken Bodies Yoga. Delia's credentials include author, holistic health counselor, natural foods chef, yoga instructor, energy therapist and public speaker. Follow Delia's blogs: brcleanse.blogspot.com and brokenbodiesyoga.wordpress.com. To view her website go to www.deliaquigley.com

It is that time of year again when the gorilla pull of cravings for sweet holiday foods can prove overwhelming. When individuals who have made solid commitments to eat a nutritious whole foods diet come face to face with a barrage of cookies, cakes, chocolates and candies in the office, at home, and in the classroom; the stress can give some people no choice but to cave into the temptation.

Now, that can also be a great excuse for the classic, Oh, what the hell, moment and dive head first into the candy dish. I do realize that confronting holiday temptations may be more than mere mortals can endure; and yet we create the environment that puts us right into that place we have no business being. Your heart says no, no, while your brain says Oh why not have just a little and then I will never eat chocolate, cookies, cake, candy, again. It’s those little white lies we tell ourselves that start the whole snowball rolling down hill. Perhaps if you step out of the box and change your perspective you may be able to modify your behavior enough to get you through the holidays without to much damage to your waistline.

1. Emotional Eating: “I am really struggling with food, I’m back to my old eating habits and as a result my weight is up and my energy and self-esteem are down. I know I need to just do it, but I’m really resisting.”

Take a moment, seriously now, stop, sit down in a quiet place and ask yourself why you are resisting? Are you angry with someone? Bored with your life? Frazzled beyond the normal? Is food just placating something deeper that needs to be addressed? Answer the questions of why first and then begin to consider some alternatives to over eating. Such as dealing with the unpleasant situation, becoming more active in your life, reducing the stress and making time for yourself. Most importantly get back into the kitchen and create some healthy body balancing meals.

2. Sugar Blues: “I just got word that I am pre-diabetic and I know it is from eating sugar and refined carbohydrates. How do I get my blood sugar back to normal?”

America, 2010, tied up with a candy cane bow and weighing in with 125 pounds of refined sugar under each belt. Sugar makes food taste good, and makes you feel good by raising your brain chemicals, serotonin and beta-endorphins to a dramatic high. Problem is what goes up, must come crashing down producing unstable blood sugar levels with a nasty mood in the bargain. Best to raise your blood sugar gradually by using healthier forms of sweeteners in moderation. It’s not necessary to go cold turkey and cut out sugar altogether, unless a medical condition demands you do so; instead incorporate sweeteners such as organic maple syrup, unrefined honey, rice syrup, agave syrup, stevia and xylitol into your holiday desserts. Then bring these with you to work and/or social occasions to share with others. “Be the change you want to see in the world” may have been Gandhi speaking about peaceful resolution to conflict, but I have always understood it to mean everything that I do in my life, including the food I share with others during the holidays.

3. Work Stress: “I need to really get back on track with my eating habits. Work continues to be insane and three weeks ago we had another lay off and 14 people lost their jobs.The two absolute devils for me are decaf coffee and sweets.”

Here’s another instance when taking a moment to sit and observe your fear and anxiety can reveal some profound insights and solutions. You might begin by asking yourself what is the worst that can happen? If the worse thing is that you lose your job, can you see it as an opportunity disguised as loss? Visualize the kind of life you could create for yourself if you were not working insane hours under a constant threat of being laid off. Once you see that you can survive the worst your imagination has to offer your nervous system can find some respite and you can stop pushing down your fears with food.

4. Pleasure-Pain: “I was sick, in pain, going through chemotherapy, and the doctor told me not to worry about what I ate, so I just let go of all my discipline and now, 30 pounds later, I feel worse than ever.”

Let’s face it, food is instant pleasure. Our brain chemistry responds to this pleasure chemically, emotionally and physically within seconds of placing that morsel into your mouth. In fact, the research on chocolate alone has it increasing endorphins in the brain that mimic feelings of being in love, or put another way, mimics the way we feel following sexual orgasm. How’s that for pleasure?

The good news is that we need pleasure in our over stressed lives, the bad news is we suffer when the pleasure is removed. The cycle of desire and loss is a classic teaching in some religions. The Buddhist defines “suffering” not just as a physical pain of the body, but also the discontent our minds are afflicted with most of our waking day. The immediate pleasure of food becomes a habitual exercise in confronting our discontent. Rather than give in let the thought of eating pass you by. A thought lasts a mere 1/25 of a second and it is only when we grab on to that fleeting thought and follow it all the way to our chocolate stash do we allow our cravings to control us.

Meditation is a powerful tool we can use to attain freedom from the habits of our minds. However, the liberation does not happen overnight. It is a matter of practice, effort, awareness and staying present to our actions that will bring about results. The greatest battles we face in life are always with ourselves and our relationship to food is a constant reminder of how we can live with integrity in the world. When I am confronted with foods I find difficult to resist I tell myself that I am free to eat that piece of chocolate, or second helping or whatever it is that calls me so strongly, but I choose not to do so right now. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, or even an hour later, but by then the thought has passed and my mind is engaged elsewhere.