A few months I ago, while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, I thought it would be fun to eat dinner on the beach. Well, it turns out that just about every mosquito on the island had a similar idea, leaving me with 53 bites on my right foot and ankle and 44 on my left foot and ankle (I was able to count them once the swelling went down). Needless to say, I've made sure to wear bug spray every time I've been outdoors at night since then.

Another way to avoid those pesky blood-hunters is to outsmart them, and by that I mean knowing what makes them tick. Their M.O. (mosquito operandi), if you will. Here's a look at what I've learned since being victimized (source: Maximum Fitness magazine):

• Mosquitoes are most active from sunset to sunrise;
• They are no more attracted to bright-colored clothing than dark-colored clothing;
• They also have no preference for perfumes or colognes;
• It's usually the female mosquito that does the most blood sucking;
• DEET, a compound developed during WWII, is the most effective chemical repellent (it is found in various potencies in many common bug repellent sprays)
• Non-chemical remedies include garlic, vitamin B, thiamine, and some "ultrasonic" devices
• If bitten, treat the affected area with soap and water and calamine lotion and avoid scratching

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If you're busting your tail in the gym, but the pounds keep sticking around, you're probably wondering why. If you're eating as healthy as you can, but your bulging waistline serves as no indication of your effort, you're probably wondering why. And if you're doing both of these things and more, you're probably ready to punch a hole in the wall and scream at the top of your lungs: "Why am I not losing any freakin' weight?!!!"

Okay ... calm down. Everything is going to be just fine, I promise. Tell you what, why don't you take a second to let your blood at least reduce from a boil to a simmer and then we'll start to deconstruct your approach and, as best we can, come up with a solution. To help us in this endeavor, we'll refer to a recent article published in the current issue of Maximum Fitness magazine, which is aptly titled "6 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight."

For the next six days, I'll offer one of the tips in the order that they appear in the Maximum Fitness magazine article. So, you can either wait to read them day by day or, if you don't have that kind of patience, you can run out to the bookstore and pick up a copy of the magazine. Your call. Either way, we're going to get to the bottom of all this and find out what's keeping the numbers on your scale from getting any lower.

Possible Reason #3: You're Eating Too Many Foods in One Sitting. There's nothing wrong with a little variety, but try not to turn each meal into a smorgasbord. Doing so, according to the folks at Max Fit, puts stress on the digestive tract and to the poor utilization of food. What's more, it can also lead to a build up of false fat, and -- with respect to your total body health -- it may also result in inflammation. The solution? As you probably expected, keep your meals pretty straightforward most of the time. Stick to those that contain a high nutrient-to-calorie ratio, such as vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.

For more scoop on how to kick-start your weight loss, join us for AOL BOdy's America Takes It Off!

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