Sadly there is no miracle pill that will allow you to eat anything you want and still lose weight. If you want to burn calories you have to increase your metabolism and the trick to that, is eating the right things frequently.

Understanding What You Need To Do

The concept behind eating to lose weight is really quite simple. Your digestive system and your metabolism need to be kept working. To achieve this you have to eat regular small meals with only a short time between them.

When you miss meals or try to “starve” yourself to lose weight, what actually happens is your body goes into energy conservation mode. You will experience an initial weight loss, but your metabolism will slow down, and you will burn fewer calories. So, in effect, crash dieting and skipping meals hiders rather than helps you experience weight loss.

The general recommendation is that you have a small meal or snack roughly every four hours during waking hours. This helps to keep your body operating at its peak efficiency. Although this sounds great, sadly you just cannot eat anything and still lose weight. It is important that you select the correct meals and when combined with some sensible exercise the increase in your metabolism can be pretty impressive.

What Should You Eat?

Boosting your metabolism requires you to eat the right food. Most of the normal healthy choices will work well, but you must avoid the following:

1. Too Large a Portion. When preparing small meals for weight loss, have a look at the recommended portion size and reduce it. If for example you have a half bowl of breakfast cereal, it will help, but one and a half will not.

2. High Sugar Content. Sugary foods can actually send the body into conservation mode. It is important that you steer clear of sugary food. Watch out for hidden sugars, if it contains syrup, glucose, fructose or almost anything ending in”ose” it is sure to have added sugars. Avoid, white bread, cakes, muffins and pastries.

3. High Cholesterol Food. If it is fried, or heavy you will feel sluggish and unwilling to do any exercise.
   

If you follow these rules. It is possible to eat several times each day, boost your metabolism, achieve a healthy weight loss

While medical science has failed to substantiate the grapefruit or celery diets, it has known for a very long time that these foods are good inclusions in a healthy diet. They also tend to be rather low in calories. Celery is even quite high in fiber, which can help reinforce the body to burn more calories during it’s digestion.

So, what does this mean to you if you’re looking to boost your metabolism? It’s fairly simple. Celery and grapefruit alone won’t really help you kick start your calorie-burning machine, but it would be smart to include them in an overall program.

Before you rush out and buy every grapefruit at your local grocery store, stop, breathe and put an emphasis on that “overall program.” The best way to really tweak your metabolism is to consider your health all the time. To really make it work as you’d like, or closer to it, you need to:

Eat smarter.

While it’s impossible to change your metabolism, it is feasible to massage it a bit. This can be achieved by eating smarter. Consider more frequent, smaller portions throughout the day. Little meals every four to six hours can really help here. By all means include grapefruit, celery and other super foods, but don’t forget that “healthy” means healthy balance.

Move.

This four-letter word goes a long way when metabolic boosting is desired. To really kick-start your metabolism, you have to move. Get up, exercise, clean the house, garden, play with the kids – just do something! The more you move, the harder your metabolism has to work.

Build muscle.

The more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn on a daily basis. Building lean muscle mass is key to boosting metabolism. This doesn’t mean you need to make yourself look like a weight lifter, but toning and shaping up can very much help you along toward your goal.

Boosting metabolism with “super foods” is possible, but not in the way many diet plans tout. Eating nothing but a certain fruit, vegetable or meat will end up hurting you in the long run. Consider a smarter path by looking at the overall, big picture. There is something to super foods, but they alone will not give you the results you desire.

]]> http://fat-loss-tips.com/blog/a-closer-look-at-fat-burning-foods/feed/ 0 http://fat-loss-tips.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-diet-you-won%e2%80%99t-give-up-on/ http://fat-loss-tips.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-diet-you-won%e2%80%99t-give-up-on/#comments Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:33:00 +0000 Sandy http://fat-loss-tips.com/blog/?p=95 Are you fighting the diet battle again this year, worried that once again, your willpower will leave you unarmed and you’ll quit before you achieve your goals?

Whether you’re a first time dieter or one who has been going around and around the track for years, you’ll be happy to know that it is possible to pick a diet plan and stick to it until you get to the weight you want to be.

The first tip is to try to choose a diet plan that’s not too strict for you. You know the kind – some have special limits on carbs, protein, or anything that’s the color white. The ones who lose weight long-term have to learn to live in a world where nothing is off-limits, but moderation is key.

Other diets have plans where you’re supposed to start and stop again and again until the weight comes off. This can get tedious and send you on extreme highs and lows emotionally and physically as your body is forced to adjust to the new circumstances.

Instead, try to find a plan that shows you how to eat healthy for a lifetime. If you know it’s okay to sometimes have a special treat, or indulge in a glass of wine, then you won’t have to go from one end of the spectrum to the other – you’ll be on a balanced course that’s safe for your body and easy on your emotions.

Fasting and binging (even on healthy foods) is a sure way to develop poor eating habits and it can confuse your body because it’s being given mixed messages. One minute you’re devouring pound after pound of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein, and carbs – and the next you’re surviving on nothing but hot water with honey and red pepper mixed in.

Before you choose any diet, evaluate it for a lifetime plan. Could you exist without ever eating another morsel of sugar again in this lifetime? Could you turn away bread at every meal for the next thirty years?

Some diets make it seem like their rigid plan is one you could adhere to forever, but caving in could cause you to regain more weight if you get discouraged and give up for good. No diet plan is 100% comfortable when you’re used to being able to eat with freedom from careful consideration.

Still, there are many plans that offer sensible ways to eat where you never have to leave an entire food group off of your plate. Don’t follow a fad – instead, follow your heart and make up your mind to you feel comfortable implementing into your life.

]]> http://fat-loss-tips.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-diet-you-won%e2%80%99t-give-up-on/feed/ 0 http://fat-loss-tips.com/blog/easy-changes-you-can-make-to-help-lose-weight/ http://fat-loss-tips.com/blog/easy-changes-you-can-make-to-help-lose-weight/#comments Mon, 09 Jul 2007 21:30:00 +0000 Sandy http://fat-loss-tips.com/blog/?p=91 Easy Changes You Can Make to Help Lose Weight.

You don’t have to radically change your lifestyle or your eating habits to lose weight. Small changes in your daily routine can add up to major changes on the scale.

We all know that drinking water is good for you, but can it also help you take off the pounds? Yes if it’s ice water. If you drink an 8 ounce glass of ice cold water, your body burns up 25 calories to get its temperature back to normal. If you drink only 4 glasses of ice water a day, you’ll lose 12 pounds in a year.

Exercise in the morning, not at night. There is evidence that exercise raises your metabolism about 10% for 4 to 6 hours afterwards. If you exercise at night, a portion of the time your metabolism increases is when you’re sleeping. That’s when you burn the least amount of energy. Change your exercise to the morning and that 10% increase will burn off more energy.

Have a cup of soup before dinner. Soup takes longer to eat and fills you up before you get to the main course. Stick with the broth based soups and away from cream soups.

Where ever you drive, park your car at the far end of the parking lot. You will be amazed at the extra walking that squeezes into your day. Extra walking means more calories burned. Of course stay safe, if you’re in a dark neighborhood park close to your destination and under lights.

Take the stairs if you only need to go up a few flights.

Eat a salad 15 minutes before your dinner. It’s takes about 20 minutes for your tummy to signal your brain that it’s full and has had enough food. If you can kick start the timer by having a nice green salad first, you’ll feel fuller faster.

When you eat out, eat half of what’s on your plate: half of the appetizer, half of the salad, half of the entrée, half of desert. Odds are you’ll be just as satisfied and you’ll have cut the calories in half. If you eat out once a day like most people do, you can drop a couple of pounds a week with just this one change.

If you want something to snack on, drink a glass of water. Sometimes the urge to put something in our mouths isn’t hunger but boredom.

Exchange your potato chips, corn chips and other fried snacks for pretzels. The fat content in pretzels is far lower than the other snacks. And you still get the crunch.

Don’t drink fruit juice, eat the whole fruit instead.

Exchange one fatty item in your diet for a nonfat item. For example instead of whole milk use skim milk; instead of regular mayonnaise use nonfat, instead of full fat cream cheese use nonfat.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away but it also keeps the pounds off as well. Any type of apple will do, just eat it fresh and with the peel. The pectin in the peel makes you feel fuller. The average apple only has about 50 calories and is full of vitamin C and fibers. Drinking apple juice or cooked apples won’t give you the same effect as a raw apple.

You can slice an apple and add it to cooked oatmeal for breakfast. Sliced apples, turkey and a sprinkling of walnuts makes a great sandwich filling. Chopped apples can be added to a salad. Apples can be added to chicken salad or ham salad.

Green Tea has been shown to help burn fat. The magic ingredient is called EGCG. Black tea works but not as effectively. Green tea can be brewed fresh and seasoned with a slice of lemon and bit of honey. It can also be iced. A cup of green tea, several ice cubes and a cup of cubed watermelon whirled in the blender for a few seconds makes a refreshing summer cooler. You can freeze green tea in ice cube trays and then add to your favorite beverage.

Curry includes the spice tamarind. Tamarind contains a substance called hydroxycitric acid and can slow down fat production. The pods of the Tamarind tree have a unique flavor and are sweet and sour at the same time. The pulp from the pods are used in Indian, Thai and Malaysian cooking. If you can’t get fresh pods you can buy dehydrated tamarind pulp. Add it to stews, pork and chicken dishes. You can also re-hydrate the pulp and use it for the base of tamarind lemonade.

Cinnamon has been used in the treatment of diabetes because it stimulates fat cells and helps get rid of excess sugar in the blood stream. Cinnamon is not water soluble which means it can build up in the body’s fat cells. The long term effect of the ingestion of large amounts of cinnamon isn’t known. However it seems a half teaspoon a day is relatively safe. Cinnamon can be used in meatloaf, stews, brushed on chicken and pork before grilling, as well as more commonly on fruits. It can also be added to cottage cheese and cream cheese.

White kidney beans have tons of fiber and that fiber fills you up. There is some discussion that white kidney bean extract blocks starch absorption in the intestines which leads to weight loss. You can use white kidney beans as you would red kidney beans in chilies and soups or in a side dish. After cooking the beans you can use them in tuna and chicken salads or fresh green salad.

The added bonus to all these cancer and heart-disease fighting foods is that they also help you to lose weight. The Sonoma Diet Plan is based on scientific research that shows how to live a healthier, more energized life. You will feel better and look better once you’re on this diet. With all of the power foods, your body will get the nutrients needed for health, and will not make you gain weight. The recipes that you’ll find in this diet plan bring out the best flavors in every food and will help your body absorb the nutrients in the most effective way possible.

The Sonoma Diet Plan helps you to lose weight quickly during the early stages, your weight loss will gradually taper off until you reach your target weight. You can then continue on the Sonoma Diet Plan to maintain your ideal weight by using these good eating habits for the rest of your life.

The Sonoma Diet information is presented in a book called The Sonoma Diet and is also available online. Not only is the diet plan described in detail, but you get healthy and attractive recipe choices, tips and instructions. The goal of the diet plan is to provide you with delicious healthy food that you enjoy eating. Losing weight and keeping it off is just a byproduct of the plan.

The literature and support you receive through the online program provides answers to your questions and supports you when the going gets rough. Users of the Sonoma Diet often report a difference in the way they feel and look within the first few days of following the diet plan. Be prepared to learn a new way of thinking and feeling as well. You’ll look at food and at life in a whole new way. You’ll see what it is that you’ve been missing in all those failed diets that you have tried before. Once you try the Sonoma Diet Plan, you’ll never want to return to your old eating habits.

Lets face it, most diets are boring and the trouble with fat burning is you have to exercise to do it. So wouldn’t it be nice if you could reduce those “love handles”with a bit less effort.

Well there is some good news.

The Chinese have for centuries extolled the virtues of Green Tea for its medicinal qualities, but recent studies may be of more interest to all you dieters out there.

One recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 81, No. 1, 122-129, January 2005), indicated the ingestion of a tea rich in catechins (catechins are a major component of green tea extract) leads to a lowering of body fat.

There is further evidence to support the facts that:

• Green Tea can lower cholesterol and increase energy expenditure

• Green Tea also causes carbohydrates to be released slowly, preventing sharp increases in blood-insulin levels. This promotes the burning of fat.

• Drinking green tea can facilitate weight loss by affecting glucose

All of this is good new for those trying to lose weight.

There are, however, major benefits to drinking Green Tea other than fat burning.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking Green Tea.

There is research indicating that drinking Green Tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Researchers recently concluded that a compound in Green Tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

Green Tea’s secret is that it is rich in EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate ) which is a powerful antioxident. Antioxidants work by neutralizing highly reactive, destructive compounds called free radicals. From warding off heart disease to slowing degeneration of the brain and eyes, talk of the health benefits of antioxidants are quite common today.

Research suggests that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods reduces damage to cells and biochemicals from free radicals. This may slow down, prevent, or even reverse certain diseases that result from cellular damage, and perhaps even slow down the natural aging process.

Green tea has also been shown to be effective in inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots.This takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Should you take Green Tea as a means of losing weight and burning fat? Well the weight of evidence shows that it will definitely assist, just don’t expect the pounds to drop off without taking any other actions.

So should you take Green Tea to help as part of a healthy diet? Absolutely, the potential health benefits are enormous and if you are no fan of caffeine then Green Tea has roughly half the caffeine content of coffee.

Diet, weight loss, fat burning