Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Diet Tips

We all need a little help with our diet and exercise goals. Here are a few diet tips to help keep you on track and make sure you get that flat stomach. Diet tips are only as good as how they are used, so these diet tips should help you cut a few more calories from your diet. Every little bit counts.

Diet Tip No. 1: Drink plenty of water.
An ce cold glass of water will help curb hunger and actually burn more calories than room temperature water. .

Diet Tip No. 2: Ask yourself if you're really hungry.
Think about the last time you ate, and ask yourself if you are hungry or just having a craving.

Diet Tip No. 3: No nighttime snacks.
Do not eat anything 4 hours before bedtime. If you must have something, limit it to some vegetables or a snack under 100 calories.

Diet Tip No. 4: Enjoy your favorite foods.
Dieting is rough, and you should still eat your favorite foods, in moderation, and also as an occasional reward for all your hard work. Don’t gorge yourself on pizza and cheesecake, but have a moderate treat.

Diet Tip No. 5: Eat several mini-meals during the day.
This will help keep your metabolism going, keep you from feeling hungry, and help you burn more calories than three larger meals a day.

Diet Tip No. 6: Eat protein at every meal.
Protein is more satisfying than carbohydrates like pasta or rice, is generally leaner, and will help you feel fuller.

Diet Tip No. 7: Stock your kitchen with healthy convenience foods.
Purge your kitchen of junk food and have healthy snacks prepared and readily available.

Diet Tip No. 8: Order children’s portions at restaurants.
They are just as much fun as adult portions, only smaller in size. If a children's portion is not available, order the regular size and immediately split it in half and box it up.

Diet Tip No. 9: Swap a cup of pasta for a cup of vegetables.
You can save 300 calories or more by swapping out pasta or rice with a cup of vegetables.

Diet Tip No. 10: Be physically active.
Burning calories is the only way to lose weight, and the more active you are the better. Go for a walk, run, pick up a hobby. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, Park as far away from the door as possible and walk when shopping, exercise in-between commercials on tv. Do whatever it takes.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Quick Weight Loss Diet Tips

Quick Weight Loss Tips - Food Factors

When it comes to finding quick weight loss diet tips that work, selecting the foods for your diet can be a real balancing act. You have to lose some of what you’ve grown accustomed to and add some items that may be new to you. Here’s some quick weight loss tips that experts recommend to promote weight loss.

Quick Weight Loss Tips #1 - Reduce fat.

With regard to fat, the research is clear: Diets too high in fat promote overweight and obesity. You should strive to consume no more than 25 percent of your calories from fat - and that fat should the “non-saturated” type. What does that mean? No fried food. Cut down on butter and fatty foods like bacon, salad dressings, etc.

Quick Weight Loss Tips # 2 - Don’t be so sweet.

Numerous studies have linked sugar and excess sweets to increased calorie consumption. While sugar doesn’t do as much dietary damage as fat, you’ll find that when you eat sweets, you simply want to eat more of everything. Not only that, but sugar also makes your body excrete chromium, and chromium is a mineral that helps your body build calorie-burning lean tissue - so you want to keep your chromium levels up. What does that mean? Try to cut out the empty calories in soda, coffee, tea, and candy.

Quick Weight Loss Tips #3 - Drink up.

“If people want to keep their nutrients in balance, they need to drink plenty of plain, unflavored water every day,” says Judy Dodd, R.D., past president of the American Dietetic Association. Water not only acts as a solvent for many vitamins and minerals but also is responsible for carrying nutrients into and wastes out of cells, so the body functions properly. As a rule of thumb, you should drink a half-ounce of water for every pound of body weight daily, unless you’re very active, in which case you should increase your water intake to two-thirds of an ounce per pound of body weight daily. So if you weigh 100 pounds, you should drink 50 ounces of water a day as a minimum

Quick Weight Loss Tips #4 - Fill up on fiber.

You can curb your hunger by increasing your intake of dietary fiber, which is filling, so you feel full but eat less. For these diet tips, experts recommend eating more fruits, vegetables and wholegrain cereals.

How To Lose Weight Fast

There are hundreds of diets floating around out there that propose quick weight loss. They all have some good and bad points. No one diet will work for everyone, but here are some of the key tips and tricks to fast weight loss. Fast weight loss can happen, but it takes work, perseverance, and exercise along with a sound diet.


  • Drink plenty of water evenly through the day, eight or more glasses total. This will hale with fast weight loss by flushing out the toxins.


  • Drink cold water, you burn more calories heating it up. More calories burned = fast weight loss.


  • Eat six small meals a day. This kicks up your metabolism and burns more calories. Burn calories = fast weight loss.


  • Don’t eat within 4 hours of going to bed.


  • Don’t depend on fat burning diet supplements. Some do work, but you should compliment them with a good diet program and exercise regime. Fast weigh loss can become faster with supplements, but do not depend on them or use the for prolonged periods.


  • No empty carbs like soft drinks. They contain 150 empty calories. Empty calories is not good for fast weight loss.


  • Eat your food slowly with each mouthful taking 30 seconds.


  • Go for a one hour walk five days a week.
The ultimate tip to eventual success: regular exercise and a balanced diet. Add one cheat day to your diet every week to rid yourself of cravings. A little reward for the fast weight loss you have worked so hard for.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Fast Weight Loss Ideas

Here are some helpful ideas that should help you burn more calories and achieve your weight loss goals. Weight loss isn't easy, but with some help, we can all do it. Please add your favorite ideas to the list so we can all benefit.

  • Make water your favorite drink. Drink it as cold as you can, you burn more calories drinking cold water.
  • Don't stuff yourself with food in a single sitting; instead have 5 to 6 small meals or snacks in a day.
  • Make a habit of walking.
  • Keep small plates for serving food.
  • Use skimmed milk as it is high in calcium and low in calories.
  • Get up and walk around the office or your home for five minutes every hour.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Three Best Exercises For Fast Weight Loss

There are many ways to lose weight and just as many exercise to do so. Here are my top three favorite. Let me know what your favorites are, and please share. The more tips and tricks we all have, the better, more challenging, and more successful we will all be with our weight loss goals.

1. Interval running:
Running has the potential to burn more calories per amount of time worked than any other exercise there is. I don’t mean jogging, I mean sprint!. Interval running is just running with short breaks in between. For example: run for 30 seconds, then walk for 30 seconds then repeat. Do this for 20 minutes.

2. Rowing:
Rowing is a complete body workout and can be done outside on a lake, in the comfort of your own home, or at a gym. It burns a lot of calories and builds lean muscle.

3. Squat Presses:
This exercise is well known to trainers and athletes alike, but not to the mainstream. It is simply taking a dumbbell or a barbell, then doing a squat. As you come to the top of your squat, you press the dumbbells (or barbell) above your head and then bring it back down and repeat. This exercise works every large muscle in the body and if done with short rest periods can be a good cardio workout.

If you really want to kick it up a notch, do a circuit of 2 or all three. Run\walk for 5 minutes then do some Squat Presses. Do it for 30 minutes, 3 times a week, and watch the pounds and inches melt away. Weight loss is not a secret. You just need to eat right, get a little exercise, and stick with it.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Green Workout Tips

Here are some ways to be green while working out and keeping fit. Please add your own ideas to the list so we can all share.

  • Skip the gym and head outdoors for a walk, run, bike ride, or other outdoor activity. Instead of increasing your energy consumption by using exercise machines at home or at the gym you could increase your body’s energy by re-discovering nature and fresh air.
  • Use energy to create energy through your exercise equipment at home. A lot of families are looking for ways to cut back on bills and energy consumption. Consider building or buying a bicycle generator and generate electricity for your home while exercising. Detailed plans for bike generators can be found here: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bike-generator-generate-electricity-while-you-exercise.html
  • Use exercise as your mode of transportation by biking, walking, or rollerblading to work and other places. It’ll save you fuel and help you build and maintain a healthy body as well as lower stress.
  • If you do head to the gym be sure to bring your own towel and cut down on the amount of laundry the gym has to do.
  • Forget about bottled water and sports drinks for your workout and invest in a re-usable stainless steel drink container. Stainless steel is a better option than plastic bottles because you reduce your risk of ingesting dissolved plastic and harmful chemicals and your drink will taste better and stay cooler for longer.
  • Car pool to the gym with a few workout buddies and you’ll be saving fuel and adding incentive. People are more likely to stick to an exercise schedule if they have friends to encourage them and go through it with them.
  • Ditch the cleaning lady, the landscaper and snow removal. Everyday household tasks, and maintenance, add up to a lot of physical activity that you’re paying someone else to do for you instead of reaping the rewards yourself. Even something as small as vacuuming can add up to a significant amount of physical activity if you do it a few times a week instead of hiring someone to do it for you.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Burn 100 Calories in 10 Minutes

Think you are too busy to exercise? Think again. A little workout is better then no workout. Short mini-workouts, 2 or 3 ten minute workouts throughout the day, can be just as effective as longer workouts, and are a great way to boost your metabolism. The key is to focus on intensity and use your time wisely.

These workouts don't require you to go to the gym, leave your home, or office, and can be done anywhere. The sample workouts offer a variety of cardio and strength ideas to get the most out of your exercise time. The key here is to maximize your time and focus on working harder then usual during the time you have. Substitute exercises to fit your fitness level and don't forget to cool down and stretch after each workout. Please share any tips or other ideas you have.

* 1 minute - Brisk walk or march in place
* 1 minute - Light jog outside, around the house or in place
* 1 minute - Jumping jacks
* 1 minute - Long jumps - jump forward, landing with both feet
* 1 minute - Light jog
* 1 minute - Jumping jacks
* 1 minute - Squat and kick, alternating legs
* 1 minute - Light jog
* 1 minute - Long jumps
* 1 minute - Brisk walk to cool down

Friday, September 18, 2009

Secret Ways to Lose Weight

There are many ways to lose weight and incorporate exercise into your daily life and activities. You do not have to go to the gym to workout or to burn calories. Weight loss and fat burning activities are all around you. The biggest secret to weight loss and how to lose weight is to keep moving and move every chance you get. When it comes to exercise, you just need to be creative and come up with your own list of activities that you can do, or be doing while you are doing something else to lose weight and burn calories. Even doing just a little more activity each day can make a difference in your weight loss goals.A little more activity, in the long run, can add up to many many more calories burned and weight lost.

Here are a few helpful tips I have used to lose weight and keep it off.

  • Stand up every chance you get.
  • Pace when you're on the phone.
  • Walk everywhere.
  • Visit your co-workers instead of emailing them or use a pedometer and see how many steps you can get in each day.
  • Don't take the elevator.
  • When at the mall, make three laps around the mall before you can buy anything.
  • When you park the car, make a complete circuit around the parking lot before entering the building.
  • Park your car as far away from the door as possible.
  • When carrying groceries, bring the bags in one bag at a time.
  • If you're stuck sitting for long periods of time, change position, shift in your seat or even do some isometric exercises - squeeze your hands together, contract your abs or squeeze your glutes.
  • Hide the remote control and get up to change the channel.
  • Sit on an exercise ball and roll around while you watch TV or work at the computer.

These are just a few basic ideas that have worked for me. All you need is your imagination and you can add to the list. Hopefully this helps with your weight loss goals as much as it has helped me.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Weight Loss Tips

Weight Loss Tip #1:
Add fruits or vegetables with every meal you eat. This will fill your stomach and help you cut down on the calories you would take in from the other foods.

Weight Loss Tip #2:
Eat breakfast daily. You would have gone hours without eating since the previous night, hence eating breakfast would not decrease your tendency to overeat later during the day and also boost your metabolism.

Weight Loss Tip #3:
Have some healthy snacks every 4 hours. You could have any snack: Oranges, Apples, Chips, String Cheese, Pretzels etc. Eat anything you want (in small quantities), just make sure you have something in your stomach at all times, you shouldn't feel hungry.

Weight Loss Tip #4:
Eat at regular intervals. Eating at odd irregular times would upset your whole diet. It is always advisable to maintain a specific schedule and always stick to it.

Weight Loss Tip #5:
Always know your portions: Half a cup of rice is about the size of your fist, one ounce of cheese is as much as a large marble; a three ounce serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. Divide your plate into parts: Three fourths of it should be filled with vegetables, grains, beans and fruits while the other quarter should be extra-lean meat or low-fat dairy products.

Weight Loss Tip #6:
NEVER skip your meals. NEVER!Skipping a meal might seem like cutting on calories but that's not the case. You are basically starving yourself which is very wrong. The next meal that you eat will be converted to pure fat. This will eventually cause you to gain weight rather than losing any.

Weight Loss Tip #7:
Drink A LOT of water. This is one of the most essential components of your diet plan. One glass of water every hour would do wonders to your body. It helps you eat lesser without making you feel hungry. The large amount of water intake also flushes out all the unwanted waste in your body and helps in digestion too. Drink at least two to three litres of water daily.

Weight Loss Tip #8:
Eat slowly. Munch and chew every bite. Grind it to pieces before swallowing it. Generally when we're in a hurry, we just tend to swallow down whole chunks of food. We do not realise when we're full and when we're overeating. Eating slowly will not only give you satisfaction from every bite but you will also realise when to stop.

Weight Loss Tip #9:
Cut 100 calories a day from your diet. Replace your daily bar of chocolate with a banana or an orange. These 100 calories a day sum up to 1 pound a month. Just by giving up that one bar of chocolate, you can lose 1 pound of weight in one month!

Weight Loss Tip #10:
Buy pre-cut fruits and vegetables. You're more likely to munch on them as a snack or make a salad from them if they're already cut. You might feel lazy on one particular day and decide to wipe those veggies and fruits out for that one single day. However, if they're already cut, you'll feel like eating them.

Weight Loss Tip #11:
Go in for the less processed food. Its less fattening. For example: Potatoes versus chips, Whole Wheat Bread versus Doughnuts etc.

Weight Loss Tip #12:
Don't eat on auto-pilot. For example: Tasting the food you are cooking, Noshing from the serving bowl etc.

Weight Loss Tip #13:
Limit your alcohol intake. Limit it to only occasions. Alcohol is not only extremely fattening but also deteriorates your will power. Alcohol is also very harmful for your body in the long run. Try your best to limit your consumption, if not call it to quits.

Weight Loss Tip #14:
Don't do it alone. Get a friend or relative to go on a diet with you. In this way, both of you will inspire and push each other and keep going.

Weight Loss Tip #15:
Eat beans every now and then. Add a handful to your salads to curb your hunger pangs longer.Sweeten your food with spice. use spices like cinnamon and vanilla to desserts instead of sugar. They're less fattening.

Weight Loss Tip #16:
Keep moving, Don't be a couch potato. Daily physical activity, like walking, along with healthy eating is key to long-term weight-loss success and maintenance. Once again, more is better.

Weight Loss Tip #17:
Make a strong start, Contrary to common wisdom that "slow and steady wins the race", weight loss is best, recent articles have found that dieters who lost weight quickly, lost more total weight and kept off more weight long-term. Researchers concluded that how well dieters do in the first 2-4 weeks predicts their success up to five years later.

Weight Loss Tip #18:
Fight your temptation. Don't break your whole diet plan just because of one outing with friends of family. Order just steamed veggies or maybe a grilled sandwich or even a soup and salad combo.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Secret Ways to Lose Weight

There are many ways incorporate exercise into your daily life and activities. You do not have to go to the gym to workout or to burn calories. This is the biggest secret to weight loss and how to lose weight. You just need to be creative and come up with your own list of activities that you can do, or be doing while you are doing something else to lose weight and burn calories. Even doing just a little more activity each day can make a difference in your weight loss goals.

When it comes to weight loss, we're always looking for ways to burn the most calories. Cardio, strength training and diet are often the best ways to burn calories and lose weight, but what you may not know is that your body has secret ways of burning calories as well just by doing ordinary things. Here are a few helpful tips I have used to lose weight and keep it off.

  • Stand up every chance you get.
  • Pace when you're on the phone.
  • Walk everywhere.
  • Visit your co-workers instead of emailing them or use a pedometer and see how many steps you can get in each day.
  • Don't take the elevator.
  • When at the mall, make three laps around the mall before you can buy anything.
  • When you park the car, make a complete circuit around the parking lot before entering the building.
  • Park your car as far away from the door as possible.
  • When carrying groceries, bring the bags in one bag at a time.
  • If you're stuck sitting for long periods of time, change position, shift in your seat or even do some isometric exercises - squeeze your hands together, contract your abs or squeeze your glutes.
  • Hide the remote control and get up to change the channel.
  • Sit on an exercise ball and roll around while you watch TV or work at the computer.
These are just a few basic ideas that have worked for. All you need is your imagination and you can add to the list. Hopefully this helps with your weight loss goals as much as it has helped me.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Nine Tips For Flat Abs

1 Improve Your Posture.
  • Slouch and your stomach pooches. So straighten up, and you've done your abs a favor without breaking a sweat! For better posture while standing, align your ears over your shoulders, shoulders over hips, hips over knees, and knees over ankles. Keep the fronts of the shoulders open like a shirt on a hanger, instead of a shirt on a peg. Draw your navel to your spine and keep your weight even on the balls of your feet and your heels.
2 Think Whole-Body Exercise.
  • Don't get so into your abs that you overlook your other muscles. Your core muscles also include your glutes and back muscles, for instance. Pilates is one way to work all of the core muscles, plus the arms and legs, for a whole body workout that does strengthens the abs and much more.
3 Try the Canoe Twist.
  • Stand upright, feet apart. Interlace your fingers to create a solid grip. Exhale, and sweep the interlocked hands, arms, shoulders, and chest to the left, as if "rowing a canoe." Simultaneously lift the left knee up and to the right. Inhale and return to the starting position. Exhale and perform the movement to the right. Alternate for 20 repetitions.
4 Do the Cat Kick.
  • Stand with feet together, arms extended like airplane wings. Exhale, and lift the right leg forward and up. At the same time, sweep the arms forward at shoulder level and round your spine, like a cat. The navel should feel as though it's pressing toward the spine. Inhale, and open back up and return to the starting position. Repeat with the left leg, alternating for 20 repetitions.
5 Practice the Pilates Zip Up.
  • Stand upright with heels together, toes slightly turned out. Bring your arms up, hands joined underneath the chin. Exhale, press your arms down, keeping hands and arms very close to the body. Simultaneously, lift your heels off the ground onto your tiptoes. Hold for two seconds at the "top," inhale and return to the starting position. The abs go "in and up" and the arms go down. Perform 20 repetitions.
6 Examine Your Diet.
  • You can do ab exercises until the cows come home, but if you've got extra belly fat, your strong abs won't show. To budge the belly fat, you have to look at what you eat and how active you are. In other words, eat less and move more, and spend your calorie budget wisely.
7 Props Are Optional.
  • Stability balls, straps and bands, and gym memberships can be wonderful, but they aren't necessary for stronger abs. Even in your everyday life, while taking a walk, standing in line at the grocery store, or socializing at a cocktail party you can engage your abs by standing straight and exhaling to draw the navel to the spine.
8 Set Realistic Goals.
  • Your genes may play a role in your body's shape, but don't make that an excuse to give up and head for the cookie jar. Your goals should be realistic and focused on your body, not on some idealized image. Beyonce's abs may motivate you, but you shouldn't expect to mimic them.
9 Take Things Slow.
  • There are no fast fixes. Even the promised quick fixes end up being temporary. Plan on slow and steady progression, and prepare for setbacks and even frustration. Rewards come with time and consistency.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Weight Loss Information and Tips for Getting Started

Do you simply need help learning how to eat better? Working on a weight loss plan? Probably. But if you eat poorly as a result of emotional, mental, or spiritual problems, these issues may have to be addressed before you can make any real progress with weight loss. Even people who don't feel they have an eating disorder often turn to food for comfort and that makes weight loss hard. To learn to eat well and exercise regularly for ture weight loss, you may also have to learn to handle the problems life throws at you without turning away from healthy eating and exercise. Be particularly careful about all-or-nothing thinking in terms of weight loss. A common tendency when failing to stay on a diet is to abandon it altogether. Instead, try to learn from your mistakes and do better in the future. This will help your weight loss goals.

Diets entice us with promises of quick weight loss. But focusing on quick weight loss can lead to unhealthy eating and only short term success. While most diets produce quick weight loss at the outset, they often cause your metabolism to slow. The result is that you have to eat less and less to keep losing weight and weight loss becomes harder. You quickly become discouraged, give up, and start eating like you used to. But now, with a slower metabolism, you regain all the weight you lost, and more. Focus instead on improving your health, and you will become slim and healthy.

Take Control of What You Eat .There are few things that we have complete control over, but what we put in our mouths is one of them. We don't have to lose control in a restaurant or a friend's home, and we don't have to eat everything that's put in front of us. Consider this: We love fat because it carries flavor, and restaurants aren't as interested in whether we'll be around in 30 years as whether we'll be back next week. And what about our friends?

Eat Frequently, and Eat Slowly for weight loss.
It is important to understand what happens when you skip a meal or go on a crash diet in terms of weight loss. When you skip a meal your metabolism slows to conserve your energy. And when you lose weight too quickly for a few days, your body thinks it is threatened with starvation and goes into survival mode, making weight loss hard. It fights to conserve your fat stores, and any weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle. Never skip a meal, especially breakfast, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs and the binges that follow, provides consistent energy, and may be the single most effective way to maintain metabolism efficiency and weight loss. Eating slowly gives our bodies time to tell us they are full before we've eaten more than we need.

Eat More Fruits, Vegetables and Whole Grains for weight loss.
People who eat healthy, mostly unprocessed foods, including fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and limited amounts of lean animal protein, often find that they can eat as much as they want without gaining weight. If they are switching from a diet containing lots of processed foods, they find that they can eat more yet consume fewer calories -- and they lose weight. Historically, the Chinese ate mostly rice and vegetables with a little lean meat for protein and flavor, nothing like the American Chinese restaurant dishes of deep fried sweet and sour pork. A step back to more natural foods would improve our health and waistlines for good weight loss.

Eat More Fiber for weight loss.
Fiber makes us feel full sooner and stays in our stomach longer than other substances we eat, slowing down our rate of digestion and keeping us feeling full longer. This helps with weight loss. Due to its greater fiber content, a single serving of whole grain bread can be more filling than two servings of white bread. Fiber also moves fat through our digestive system faster so that less of it is absorbed. Refined grains like white rice and those used to make white bread and sugary breakfast cereals have had most of their fiber and nutrients stripped away, which is bad for weight loss. They turn into blood sugar (glucose) so fast that, like sugar itself, they can cause a spike in our insulin level. This tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it, the opposite of weight loss. Eating foods with plenty of fiber will help keep our blood sugar at a more consistent level.

Cut Down on Sugar for weight loss.
Be careful about sugar in coffee and soda pop. It can add up quickly, and these drinks aren't filling. Watch for "hidden" sugar in processed foods like bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, and soups. And be careful with "fat-free" products. Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. Fat-free does not mean calorie-free, and the goal is your weight loss goal. The greater concern with the insulin spike (above) is not that it tells our body to start storing fat. Whatever we eat and don't burn up eventually gets turned into fat anyway. The greater concern is that the insulin spike is followed by a drop in insulin level that leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more. The unfortunate result of this scenario is that it makes us want to eat something else with a high sugar content. When we do, we start the cycle all over again and weight loss is impossible. Regulating your blood sugar level is the most effective way to maintain your fat-burning capacity and continue your weight loss plans.

Too Much of a Bad Thing.
Foods like cheese stand out as among the most fat-laden, with a great number of calories coming from fat. But as important as it is to select the healthiest foods in terms of weight loss, it is also important to consider how they are prepared. Fried foods, especially deep-fried, contain a great amount of fat. While chicken and fish are usually leaner than beef or pork, they can contain more fat when they are fried and eating fat and weight loss do not match. Look at how the number of grams of fat in a chicken breast changes depending on how it is cooked:

Cooking Method Fat
Meat Only, Roasted 3.1
Meat Only, Fried 4.1
Meat and Skin, Batter Fried 18.5

"Fried food? Not for weight loss. All I eat is salad and I still can't lose weight!" Be careful with salad dressings, mayonnaise, and other condiments that are high in fat content. They greatly increase the calorie count and can negate the healthy aspects of a meal and your weight loss. Replace mayonnaise-based condiments with fat-free alternatives like fat-free yogurt, mustard, ketchup and barbecue sauce. And remember, a gram of fat contains more than twice as many calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrate.

Too Little of a Good Thing for weight loss.
But don't try to eliminate fat altogether, as dietary fat is necessary to maintain a healthy body. It is a vital component for building body tissue and cells, and it aids in the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Many people eat too much of the bad fats, but also eat too little of the good fats required for optimal health.

Exercise Regularly for weight loss.
People who exercise regularly not only lose weight faster, they are more successful at keeping it off. Exercise makes it possible to create a calorie deficit and lose weight without starving your body and slowing your metabolism. At home, at the gym, or playing sports, participate in both aerobic and strength building activities on a regular basis for weight loss. Not only does the exercise itself burn calories, but your body will continue to burn calories at a higher rate even after you're done exercising. This is key to weight loss. If walking is all you can do, then walk because it's great for you. But muscle burns more calories than fat, so put on a little muscle if you can and you will burn more calories just sitting there... looking good. But don't sit too long for weight loss. The human body is good at adapting. If you dig ditches without gloves, you will develop calluses to protect your hands. If you sit too long, you will develop extra padding to keep you comfortable!

Take It Easy for weight loss.
Unless you are excited to be following a very specific diet and exercise plan, do not try and change too much too fast in your weight loss plan. If you have been eating poorly and not exercising, both your body and your mind will have a lot of adjusting to do. All the sugar and fat were actually quite enjoyable, and sitting on the couch didn't feel too bad, either. Now you and your weight loss goals have something else in mind. If you try and change everything too quickly the odds are greater that you will feel bad, get discouraged, and give up your weight loss plans. So be patient. A time will come when a healthy snack will taste as good as the junk food you felt bad about eating, and you will look forward to your regular exercise.

Begin your weight loss plan Now.
You can achieve your weight loss goals, but it won't likely happen as a result of the next fad diet. Or the one after that. Learning to eat well and exercise for weight loss is the only solution to long term weight loss.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Basic Workout Tips To Lose Weight

Some things you need to know to get lean and gain muscle quickly.

Don't be surprised if you feel more like Mr. Magoo than Mr. Universe the first time you pick up a dumbbell. Learning proper technique can be somewhat involved, considering that each exercise movement has its own set of quirks. Having said that, don't mistake "somewhat involved" for rocket science. Just as you can trade stocks profitably without a broker if you're willing to educate yourself beforehand (a lengthy education, mind you), you can learn how to correctly perform exercises from any number of sources, including a knowledgeable training partner, a group seminar or a reputable media source-like, ahem, Whole Fitness. (Hell, even most machines in the gym come with written instructions that Magoo himself couldn't bungle.) Well-designed training programs that arrange those exercises into a coherent, comprehensive system are equally accessible. But whether you decide to do it yourself or to enlist the services of a certified personal trainer, the following tips apply to virtually everyone, neophytes and grizzled veterans alike.

The Tips

1. Don't be a workoutaholic. Many beginners train feverishly under the assumption that more is better, especially when results first appear. However, you're much better off easing into the process. "At first, your muscles aren't ready to do a lot more than they were doing before--they're ready to do a little more," says Richard Cotton, M.A., chief exercise physiologist with First Fitness Inc. in Salt Lake City and a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. "You increase your chances of success by moderating your activity a little bit. The morning after a workout, you want to feel like you trained, but you don't want to have to crawl to the bathroom."

2. The best rep range for gaining size is eight to 20. "The optimum results for muscle growth come from lifting a weight that's between 60 percent and 80 percent of what you could lift for one, and only one, rep," says Tudor Bompa, Ph.D., professor of theories of training at York University in Toronto. "At 80 percent, the average person can do eight to 10 reps; at 60 percent, he can do 15 to 20. Most people say anywhere from six to 12 reps is best for muscle growth, but six would be more than 80 percent."

3. The two most important times to eat are when you wake up and after you train. You need fuel in your tank to train hard, and if you don't fill 'er up at breakfast, you'll be running on fumes later. "Make sure the majority of your breakfast consists of carbs, with some protein, maybe in the form of egg whites, thrown in for good measure," says Jacqueline R. Berning, Ph.D., R.D., an assistant professor at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. "Low-fat yogurt, or milk and cereal, would also fit the bill." It's equally critical to refuel immediately after you train, when your body's cells are most receptive to replenishing the energy they just spent. A premade drink containing both carbs and protein will satisfy immediate postworkout needs in the short run. A more substantial meal, however, consisting of complex carbs and complete protein (chicken breast contains a better amino-acid profile than egg whites, for example) should be consumed within 90 minutes of a workout.

4. Difficult exercises are good for you, so resist the temptation to avoid them. Most exercises can be classified as either single-joint or multijoint movements. The former includes the barbell curl, in which only your elbow joints move. Along with the deadlift and the bench press, the latter includes the squat, during which your ankles, knees and hips are all being extended and flexed, while your upper body works hard to keep the load stable. Multijoint movements are the more difficult of the two types to master, but it's well worth the effort to learn their proper execution, since they result in maximum muscle growth of more complex muscle groups like the chest or the legs. "People often get too specific in their exercise selection," says Thomas M. McLaughlin, Ph.D., ceo of Biomechanics Inc. in Marietta, Ga. "At some point, you really need to do big multijoint exercises that involve large amounts of muscle mass."

5. Unless it is the primary focus of your training, do cardio after, not before, you lift weights. Or do it during another part of the day, or better still, on a separate day. "If you perform aerobic-type exercise first, you'll be fatigued for your weight training," says Cotton. "As a general rule, strength training has less of an impact on cardio than cardio has on strength training."

6. Stretch before you train, and warm up before you stretch. Don't jump right into your weight-training session. First, do about 10 minutes of low-intensity exercise on a stationary bike or a treadmill. "To decrease the chance of injury, you need to elevate your body temperature before you do anything more intense," says Michael J. Alter, M.S., author of Sports Stretch. Once your tissues are warm, stretch them for another five to 10 minutes, focusing your effort on those body parts you plan to train. Alter also recommends stretching the body part, or parts, being worked for 15 to 20 seconds after every set. And don't jump right out of your training mode. Follow with a brief cool-down in which you basically just keep moving for five minutes or so, with another five to 10 minutes of stretching.

7. Recovery is just as important as training. When you lift weights, you're actually tearing down muscle fibers. It's only after you've completed your workout that your muscle tissues begin the rebuilding process. To allow that process to unfold properly, give your body adequate downtime in between workouts. As a beginner, don't lift more than three or four times a week, never work the same muscle group on consecutive days, and never train a muscle group that's still sore from a prior workout. For optimal results, you also need to maintain a proper nutrition program, which calls for five or six nutrient-packed small meals a day (four, at minimum). Finally, you need to get enough shut-eye--at least eight hours of it. Adequate sleep keeps you mentally and physically sharp for your workouts, and the act of slumber itself accommodates the release of growth-inducing hormones.

8. Don't do the same workout over and over. Your body only changes when you force it to, and it's remarkably quick to adapt to new stimuli. If you repeat the same workout every training session even for a month, your body can probably handle it without producing an adaptive response. If you feel like your progress has reached a plateau, that's probably what's happening. The best way to avoid plateaus is by periodizing your training, which simply means arranging it according to discrete phases designed to achieve different, albeit related, goals, including muscle growth, strength and definition. That's also the best way to avoid overtraining.

9. Most guys need to consume an additional 2,500 to 3,500 calories a week to gain one pound of muscle each week. You can pump iron until you're blue in the face, but if you don't augment your training efforts with enough food and fluid, the laws of human biology and simple mathematics dictate that you won't get any bigger. "When it comes to gaining muscle, the most important thing is eating enough calories to fuel both your exercise and the metabolic processes needed to build muscle," says Susan M. Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., author of Power Eating. "Most guys who have trouble gaining weight and strength simply aren't eating enough."

Monday, June 8, 2009

How to Lose Weight Fast

Want to slim down fast for that beach vacation or high school reunion? While there are many things you can do to shed pounds, losing weight too quickly, like any sudden change to your body, can be dangerous. While fad diets, diet pills, and fasting may indeed induce rapid weight loss, these methods can cause you to lose muscle and may also injure your heart and other organs fairly quickly. The best solution? Don't go for an overnight miracle. Instead, follow these steps to lose fat rapidly, healthily, and sustainably.

Determine your daily calorie intake . Losing weight is simply a matter of expending more calories than you take in, through exercise and your daily activities. To win the battle, it helps to know how many calories you are consuming in a day. Write down all the things you eat on a typical day. Carry a small notebook with you and write down every snack, every drink, and the contents of every meal. There are also great websites that you can use to keep track of calories, get recipes, and help achieve your goal. Don't forget to include the pats of butter or the spoonful of sugar in your coffee. It's best to do this for at least a couple weekdays and a weekend; it's even better if you can go a full week. There are also calorie tracking websites that can help you to do this, for example the US government website, My Pyramid Tracker. Do an itemized calorie count. When possible, write down the number of calories in each thing you eat as you eat it. Keep in mind that the recommended serving size is often considerably smaller than the serving you actually eat. Look up the calorie count on the internet for foods that don't have calories listed on the container or for fast food meals. You don't have to be 100% accurate, but you do want a good estimate of the number of calories you're taking in. There is an idea that multiplying your own weight by ten will produce a rough estimate of the number of calories you need to eat per day to maintain your weight. This is NOT true, you may wind up grossly under (or perhaps over) estimating the number of calories you should be eating. Use a scientific or health website to determine the number of calories you should eat a day or consult your doctor. Everyone has different metabolisms and there is no blanket rule that covers everyone's recommended calorie intake. Reducing 500 calories per day from the calories you eat to maintain your weight can help you lose a pound of fat per week.

Go over the list and decide which foods to cut out or reduce. Cutting calories is usually a lot easier than you might think. For example, that daily tall latte in the morning may pack 500 calories. Since a pound of flab (lost or gained) is roughly equivalent to 3,500 calories, replacing that rich beverage with black coffee can help you lose a pound a week. Other easy cuts include salad dressing (salad dressing is the number one source of fat in the average American woman's diet) soda pop, candy, and butter. Look at the nutritional information for the foods you eat, pay special attention to your intake of saturated fats and empty calories (high-sugar foods). You don't need to cut these things out entirely, but if you reduce your intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods you'll lose weight faster.

Seek out alternatives to the unhealthy foods you've identified. You can simply reduce the amount of soda you drink or mayonnaise you put on your sandwiches, or you can substitute healthier choices. Drink water instead of soda, for example, or use mustard instead of mayo. Low-fat and low-calorie options are also available for most foods, and many of these are natural, (although some are made with strange chemicals), and tasty. Start trying to eat healthy in most meals: Choose lean meats. Chicken and fish are both very low in fat (and certain fish like salmon, sardines, and fresh tuna are an excellent source of antioxidants, which are also beneficial to your health), so aim to replace some or all of the beef or pork in your diet with these foods. Replace high-calorie side dishes with healthier alternatives. Many people get a ton of calories from side dishes such as macaroni and cheese, French fries, or potato salad. You can eat healthier and lose weight by replacing these with fresh vegetables and salads. Pre-made salads are practically effortless, and when accompanied by a reduced-calorie dressing or no dressing at all, they're weight-loss gold. Start your days off right. A fattening breakfast of bacon and eggs or a pastry can be replaced with yogurt, oatmeal, high-fiber, low-sugar cereals; or fresh fruit for fruit smoothies. However, for those on a low carb diet bacon and eggs are a great combo for breakfast, since neither have carbs. But don't fall into the trap of skipping breakfast. Eating a healthy breakfast increases your rest metabolic rate earlier in the day, and reduces snacking before lunch.

Plan your meals. Look for healthy, delicious meals online or in your cookbooks, and create a menu for the week. Make sure that your meal plan reduces your total calorie intake: you're not going to lose weight if you consume the same amount of calories by eating different foods. Make a list of what you'll need for these meals, and -- except for a few snacks, of course -- don't stray from your list when you get to the market. Planning your meals helps ensure you get a balanced diet and reduces the temptation to stop off for fast food or order a pizza. Remember, it's easier to stick to your shopping list if you shop when you aren't hungry.

Watch your portion sizes. Opening a bag of rice cakes and eating all of them in one sitting isn't going to help you lose weight. When eating chips, nuts, or dried fruit put a portion in a small bowl and then put the bag away. That way you won't mindlessly eat a larger portion than you had intended. Even if you only make minimal changes to your diet choices, reducing portion size will inevitably reduce caloric intake. A great way to watch portion sizes while snacking is to buy one serving 100 calorie packages - and they come in many favorite snack food items!

Graze on healthy snacks. Just because you're getting healthy doesn't mean you can't snack. In fact, eating small meals and snacks throughout the day, or grazing, has been shown to aid weight loss, (compared to eating three large meals a day), by keeping metabolism steadier. Pick snacks that are low in calories and fat and high in fiber (dried apricots, nuts, rice cakes, fruits, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and so on). Vegetables are generally very low in calories, very high in fiber, and full of flavor and nutrition. Avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes, and try to eat vegetables plain, without fatty dressings or dips. Fruit also makes a good snack. Fruit contains more soluble fiber than vegetables, which slows your body's absorption of carbohydrates, thus releasing energy more slowly, (preventing sugar highs), and keeping you feeling full longer. Fruit juices are not a replacement for the real thing. You need that fiber, and juices often have more calories than the equivalent serving of fruit -- as many calories as soda! Be careful with dried fruits, because without the water, you tend to eat more, and fruits, when dried, are calorie-rich per ounce. With any dry or dried food, be sure to drink plenty of water.

Get more fiber. There are many myths about fiber, but there is science to back up its helpful role in the diet. Fiber keeps the right amount of water in your intestines, making your digestive system work more efficiently and helping to keep you regular. Thus, just eating enough fiber may help you feel slimmer in just a day or so. There is also evidence that fiber in the diet can help prevent stroke and heart disease, ease the effects of diabetes, and may even directly help in weight loss.

Drink plenty of water. Adequate water is essential for health, and a great many people simply don't get enough. What's more, if you're chronically dehydrated, your body will retain water in unflattering places, so if you make sure to get plenty of fluids you can start visibly trimming down in as little as a day. Remember, the more you exercise, the more water you'll need. See the related wikiHow for more details on how much water you should be getting.

Exercise. Remember, you can lose weight either by decreasing your calorie intake or increasing the number of calories you burn. Any health strategy should include both, but if you want to lose weight fast, exercise is essential.

Perform high-level aerobic activities. Moderate aerobic workouts incorporating jogging, brisk walking, cycling, aerobic machines, or classes not only burn calories -- they also keep your heart healthy. Swimming is also great, especially if you are quite overweight or have joint problems, because you can get the same benefits of running -- typically burning even more calories -- with much less stress on your joints. Try to get at least 30-40 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three or four days per week.

Pump some iron. Resistance training, (weight training), can help both sexes stay lean by building muscle and raising metabolism. The fact is, hours and hours of aerobic exercise won't help most people lose weight fast because your metabolism drops back to normal fairly quickly after stopping the exercise. If you gain muscle, however, your body's resting metabolism, (the amount of calories you burn when you're just sitting still), increases, because muscle requires a lot of calories to maintain. Studies have shown consistent weight training to raise the body's metabolism by 15%. This means an average woman might burn 200-300 more calories at rest every day! Resistance training is the gift that keeps on giving! Although, keep in mind that muscle mass weighs more than fat (don't be surprised if you gain weight but look slimmer).

Rest properly. This means not only taking at least 24-48 hours between strength training the same muscles, (and taking 1-2 days off from exercising each week); it also means getting enough sleep at night, since sleep deficiency impairs your ability to lose fat.

Be realistic. Don't expect a miracle. Healthy weight loss can be achieved fairly quickly, but you'll need to be patient. In addition, be sure to set realistic goals. Make sure that the weight you're trying to reach is a healthy weight for you, and keeping in mind that gaining pounds of muscle will help you lose fat, be trimmer, and look better even though you don't actually lose any weight. Your goal should be a healthy body, not a number of pounds! Everyone looks good at a different weight. A short person may look really good at about 112 pounds, but a person of a taller height would just look unhealthy. Keep yourself at a weight that makes you look good, not at a number that sounds good.

Make adjustments. A successful weight loss strategy based on reducing calorie intake and increasing activity can be adjusted to maintain your desired weight once you reach it. Unlike typical diets, this method is sustainable -- it is a lifestyle change, not a binge-and-purge exercise. Slowly adjust your diet and exercise to include more weight training and calories, as much as is comfortable for you. If you do gain any weight back, you want that weight to be lean, toned muscle, not fat. In addition, weight training, no matter what your age, prevents muscle atrophy and can help stave off osteoporosis. Instead of thinking of it as losing a certain amount of pounds, think of it as being a certain weight. So if you are 145 pounds, and you would like to lose 10 pounds, think of it as being 135 pounds. This helps you think about it as a long-term goal and not just losing the weight to gain it back again.

Be confident. You need to believe in yourself! If you want to diet, and you know that it will make you feel better, then you need confidence. Otherwise, the temptation to cheat on your diet will make it harder, and you will not feel better when you do lose weight. Avoid temptations like chocolate, ice cream, and cookies. They may taste good, but there are other foods that taste delicious, too, without being unhealthy. You need to always encourage yourself to achieve the goals that you have set. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fail to achieve your target for the week, find out why is it so. Is it because you have missed a jogging session? Or you have been eating junk food for one of the days? After evaluating, look ahead to next week and try your best to stick to your plan.

Be consistent and disciplined, and have self motivation. To lose weight effectively, you need to stick to your weight loss plan religiously so as to see results. When you have the thought of giving up, visualize how good you will look when you manage to slim down successfully.

TIPS
Determine your objectives to lose weight. To succeed in doing something, you need to have a very compelling objective or reason so that you will not lose track of your goal. Losing weight just for vanity's sake is usually less helpful than losing weight to improve health. Other than just exercising, you need to have a healthy diet so that you will have a better body and more energy to be positive throughout the day.

It's very good to do a blood test before you begin your new diet and exercise regimen. Some people may not need to lose a lot of weight, but they may need to lower the blood sugar level slightly. You can also check for mineral deficiencies.

The goal is to lose fat, not just weight in general. If you are doing strength training during your weight loss (which you should be), you might actually see an initial gain in weight -- don't worry! You have probably lost fat and gained muscle, which is denser than fat and is much healthier.

A better measurement than what a scale reads is body fat percent. If you don't have access to calipers or a body fat scale, a better gauge is how your clothes fit and how you look rather than your absolute weight. If you can, though, it is good to measure your body fat about once per month. Men should be between 15%-25%, but no lower than 4%; and women 20%-30%, but no lower than 15%. Females have higher fat percentage due to pregnancy and menstrual requirements.

Generally, you want to - with a combination of calorie reduction and increased activity - reduce and burn a certain number of calories a day, causing a net loss of calories so your body is forced to use its own stores of fat. How much aerobic exercise you need to perform depends on what you eat, how fast you'd like to lose weight, and how much muscle you gain. A pound of fat contains 3500 calories. Men can safely lose around two pounds a week, and women can safely lose around one pound a week. Any more than this and you might be losing more muscle mass than fat. Thus, with a combination of calorie restriction and aerobic exercise, a man should aim to run a 3500-7000 calorie deficit each week, and women should aim for a 1750-3500 calorie deficit.

With regard to weights, men and women differ on their goals with weight training. Women, don't worry, no amount of weight training will make you as bulky as a man; women just don't have enough testosterone to build large muscles. The female body-builders you see are either taking steroids or training 2-3 hours every day. Male and female beginners should start with 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions, and should use the heaviest weight you can while still maintaining good form, even to the last repetition of the last set. Get a weight training book or find a reputable website that will show you different exercises and the correct form. When lifting properly, you will stretch the muscle during the exercise, but you should still stretch properly to prevent injury!

No matter what the magazine article says, spot improving is a myth! When your body burns fat, it takes it from all over your body, even if all you do are crunches. No amount of crunches will get rid of that gut if they are not backed up by proper aerobic exercise and diet! Washboard abs do not come from millions of sit ups; they come from having low levels of body fat. So if that is your goal, make sure you do plenty of aerobic exercise in addition to your ab routine.

Sugar comes in many disguises. Check your food labels: fructose, glucose, molasses, and corn syrup are all sugars. Limit all sugars, but especially stay away from high-fructose corn syrup. It is just a corn syrup full of sugar. Choosing foods without it will help you reach your weight loss goals faster.

Remember your body needs 'fuel' just like a car needs 'fuel'. Your body needs the 'right' kinds of food to lose weight effectively.

Don't taunt yourself by not letting yourself eat the occasional snack that you're craving. Just make sure you burn it off later with exercise

Despite popular belief it is not terrible to eat after 6 p.m. A reasonable dinner (with extra protein if you've had a good weight training session) is going to help deliver nutrients to the body to prepare it for the next day. Additionally if you find yourself very hungry before bed, a small bowl of high fiber cereal and low fat milk will actually help maintain your metabolism while you sleep. The key is to not overeat in the evenings.

Take a multivitamin. While it is better to always get your nutrients from your food, most people miss something in their diet, especially when they're trying to cut calories. Vitamins and minerals play an important role in keeping your body chemistry balanced and your energy levels healthy.

If you find yourself missing some of your favorite foods, don't worry. There is no harm in having your treat once a week. Pick a day each week where you treat yourself to your guilty pleasure--remember, everything in moderation. If it's pizza, try going to a gourmet pizza place that will use better ingredients and fresher vegetables. If it's a Big Mac, try making your own. A homemade burger is generally much healthier than the food they serve in fast food restaurants. Electric grills that are slanted to allow most of the fat to slide off make nice, lean burgers.

Save some calories for potassium and protein for after you work out, this will help reduce soreness. (A banana and an egg does the trick.)

Do not forget to stretch. Stretching can help increase your strength and flexibility.

Cut down on your sodium. Many prepared foods have as much as 30% of your daily value. You get your daily requirement of sodium from a healthy diet; too much can cause you to retain water weight.

Try not to skip any meals as this only makes your body to retain fats for energy. A good weight loss plan is to eat healthily and exercise regularly.

To continue to lose weight fast[5] - eat a variety of foods. Just like in weight training, the body will get used to the same routine and plateau. Mix up the foods you eat to keep your metabolism high and prevent a metabolism plateau.

Also consider taking supplements like the Acai Berry. These are natural berry juices proven to speed up the weight-loss process with up to 78%.

WARNINGS

Do not try to starve yourself. In the short run, reducing your calorie intake to unhealthily low levels will slow metabolism and actually cause you to lose weight more slowly. Then your body cannot process potassium so when you DO eat again, (the alternative to dying,) you will gain much more weight than you would if you weren't starving yourself and overall, you may end up gaining more than you lost. In the long run, starving yourself (anorexia or bulimia) can kill you.

When creating a weight lifting routine, do not focus on a single muscle or group, doing so will overbuild that muscle while under building others - in other words, if you work your biceps, and not your triceps, your arms will begin to curl inward and you will look silly. If you work your chest and not your back, you will have a hard time maintaining good posture as your pectoral muscles overpower your back muscles and pull your shoulders forward.

If you have a serious medical condition (such as asthma or diabetes, or allergy to protein such as dairy products or you have lactose intolerance) or you are severely obese, consult with your doctor as well as a dietitian.

Do not take any harmful drugs. They are unhealthy and may ultimately make you gain weight instead.

Carefully consider whether you need dietary supplements. Most people may get the basic minerals and nutrients they need to sustain life through eating food. For example, excessive multivitamin supplements can make you overdose in some vitamins you need, and you can't store most water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C as any excess will be urinated. Although you could be below the recommended daily intake, that doesn't necessarily mean you are deficient in it if it's a kind that is stored. So you may wish to consult with your doctor or dietitian to inquire whether you need supplements and how much you should take.

Losing weight too quickly is dangerous and can have adverse effects on your health. Despite the title of this article, getting into shape is best done slowly. If you find yourself losing more than a pound or 2 (or more than 500g) each week, you are probably doing something wrong.

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Saturday, May 16, 2009

Diet Tips, Diet Help, and Diet Advice Everyone Should Read

The first diet tip is to numb your mind or sort of zone out doing something you enjoy. An activity which involves long periods of concentration and creativity may be just the thing to keep your mind off of food.

Listening to music you enjoy and/or watching TV while you exercise is also a great diet tip and a diet tip which somewhat relates to zoning out because you will be able to work out longer and harder if your mind is distracted. Even video games, especially ones which require you to be physically active like "Dance Dance Revolution" or many of the games on the Wii are very helpful if you are interested in these sorts of diet tips.

The next diet tip I'll give you is somewhat counter intuitive to some people, and that diet tip is: don't necessarily tell anyone your plans. I give you this diet tip for two reasons. The first is they may want to spare your feelings by telling you that you are not too badly overweight or they like you just the way you are. The other reason I present this as a diet tip is that they may not want you to succeed if they have attempted to lose weight and failed.

Get a scale. Ok, this is not an unusual, diet tip but one that a lot of people don't seem to heed. Your eye is not the best judge of how much you weigh or what changes have been made. Taking a more scientific approach to weight measurement is one of the best diet tips I can give you.

A great diet tip is to maintain a routine. A large amount of exercise and small amount of food one week and the reverse the next week is not going to help you very much. These diet tips should be something you continuously do not something you start and stop.

The last diet tip in my list of diet tips is to not eat so fast. This is an area where Hoodia will be a great help but you should still make a conscious effort to slow down a bit. The reason I would say this is among the best diet tips that you can get is that your brain will not realize you are full until about fifteen or twenty minutes after it actually is. Again, Hoodia will help a lot in this area leaving you feeling full nearly all the time but when you do eat take it easy. That is the last of my diet tips, and I hope you can find at least one of these diet tips that helps you.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

How to Lose Weight and Diet for a Flat Stomach

Despite what you may think, losing weight isn't a mysterious process. In fact, weight loss doesn't even have to involve strange diets, special exercises or even the magic of pills or fitness gadgets. Want the secret to weight loss? Make small changes each and every day and you'll slowly (but surely) lose those extra pounds. There are some simple rules of weight loss. To lose one pound, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities. Here's how it works.

Calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). Your BMR is what your body needs to maintain normal functions like breathing, digestion, etc. Calculate your activity level. Use a calorie calculator to figure out how many calories you burn while sitting, standing, exercising, lifting weights, etc. throughout the day. Keep track of how many calories you eat. Use a food journal to add up what you eat and drink during the day. If you're eating less calories than you're burning, you'll lose weight.

You can start losing weight right now by making a few simple changes. If you can burn an extra 500 calories each day, you'll lose a pound a week and you won't even have to change your clothes.

Try these ideas:
  • Instead of having an afternoon Coke, drink a glass of water. (calories saved: 97)

  • Instead of eating an Egg McMuffin eat a small whole wheat bagel +1 tbls of peanut butter (calories saved: 185)

  • Instead of using your break to catch up on work or eat a snack walk up and down a flight of stairs for 10 minutes (calories burned: 100)

  • Instead of hitting the snooze button get up 10 minutes early and go for a brisk walk (calories burned: 100)

  • Instead of watching television after work do 10 minutes of yoga (calories burned: 50)

Total Calories Saved: 532 (based on a 140-lb person)

Focusing on daily changes is the best way to reach your goals. No, you won't lose weight overnight but isn't it better to permanently change your life for the better? Remember to eat less, eat smart and exercise. Every calorie you save brings you closer to your weight loss goal.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Getting a Flat Stomach With Diet and Exercise

A flat stomach is attainable with diet, exercise, and weight lifting, even if you've never had a flat stomach. If you were wondering if it was possible to get a flat stomach if you never had one I am here to say you can. No matter how much exercise you do, however, you will not lose weight, get a flat stomach, or lose excess fat if you eat more than you burn. Get started on a different diet as soon as you can. Here are some helpful tips to get you started on your road to a flat stomach.
Start aerobic exercise 3-5 times per week for 25-30 minutes. Aerobic exercise burns lots of calories.

Start weight lifting 2-3 times per week. It will build muscle. Muscle is important because it is the engine that burns calories (and fat), and it also helps maintain metabolic rate. The more muscle you have, the better. Muscle will also tone the physique under the fat, and even if you don't lose fat, it's possible that your appearance will change and your clothes might even fit looser.

Start abdominal exercises. Although you can't spot reduce, you can tighten and tone the muscle under excess fat. Here are some of the most popular, and beneficial exercises for getting that flat stomach. You should do these in addition to eating right, and of course doing your cardio exercises.

Bicycle Maneuver:
Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands beside your head. Bring your knees up to about 45-degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Keep even, relaxed breathing throughout.

Captain's Chair:
Stabilize your upper body by gripping the handles and lightly pressing your lower back against the back pad. The starting position begins with you holding your body up with legs dangling below. Now slowly lift your knees in toward your chest. The motion should be controlled and deliberate as you bring the knees up and return them back to the starting position.

Exercise Ball:
Sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Let the ball roll back slowly. Now lie back on the ball until your thighs and torso are parallel with the floor. Cross your arms over your chest and slightly tuck your chin in toward your chest. Contract your abdominals, raising your torso to no more than 45 degrees. For better balance, spread your feet wider apart. To challenge the obliques, make the exercise less stable by moving your feet closer together. Exhale as you contract; inhale as you return to the starting position.

Vertical Leg Crunch:
Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands behind your head for support. Extend your legs straight up in the air, crossed at the ankles with a slight bend in the knee. Contract your abdominal muscles by lifting your torso toward your knees. Make sure to keep your chin off your chest with each contraction. Exhale as you contract upward; inhale as you return to the starting position.

Reverse Crunch:
Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands beside your head or extend them out flat to your sides-whatever feels most comfortable. Crossing your feet at the ankles, lift your feet off the ground to the point where your knees create a 90-degree angle. Once in this position, press your lower back on the floor as you contract your abdominal muscles. Your hips will slightly rotate and your legs will reach toward the ceiling with each contraction. Exhale as you contract; inhale as you return to the starting position.

No matter how much exercise you do, I can't stress the importance of eating right and doing your cardio. It all boils down to the need to eat less then your body needs, so it burns fat. When you do this, you start to see results and you can get that flat stomach. Exercise is the way to burn extra calories that calorie trimming and diet alone can't do. Cardio will kick start your metabolism and help you burn more and more calories then if you just diet. Stick with it, and remember, nothing happens overnight, but with time and work, you can achieve that flat stomach you are seeking.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Best Diet Tips for a Flat Stomach

Everyone knows the keys to losing weight: Eat less and exercise more. Sounds simple enough, but in the context of real life and its demands, it can be anything but simple. There is no secret in how to flatten your stomach. Getting six pack abs is attainable, if that is what you desire. You can lose weight and not resort to diet pills and fad diets. All you need is some help, and a different way of looking at things. Diet and exercise are key, and here are some helpful tips to keep you on the path.

Drink plenty of water or other calorie-free beverages. People sometimes confuse thirst with hunger. So you can end up eating extra calories when an ice-cold glass of water is really what you need. If you don't like plain water, try adding citrus or a splash of juice, or brew infused teas like mango or peach, which have lots of flavor but no calories.

Think about what you can add to your diet, not what you should take away. Start by focusing on getting the recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. It sounds like a lot, but it is well worth it, because at the same time you are meeting your fiber goals and feeling more satisfied from the volume of food. You're also less likely to overeat because fruits and vegetables displace fat in the diet. And that's not to mention the health benefits of fruits and vegetables.

Be choosy about nighttime snacks. Mindless eating occurs most frequently after dinner, when you finally sit down and relax. Sitting down with a bag of chips or cookies in front of the television is an example of eating amnesia, where you mindlessly eat without being hungry, but out of habit.Either close down the kitchen after a certain hour, or allow yourself a low-calorie snack, like a 100-calorie pack of cookies or a half-cup scoop of low-fat ice cream. Once you find that you're usually satisfied with the low-cal snack, try a cup of zero-calorie tea.

Enjoy your favorite foods. Putting your favorite foods off limits leads to weight gain because it triggers rebound overeating. Instead of cutting out your favorite foods altogether, be a slim shopper. Buy one fresh bakery cookie instead of a box, or a small portion of candy from the bulk bins instead of a whole bag. You can enjoy your favorite foods, but you must do so in moderation.

Eat several mini-meals during the day. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. But when you're hungry all the time, eating fewer calories can be challenging. Divide your daily calories into smaller meals or snacks and enjoying as many of them as you can early in the day -- dinner should be the last time you eat.

Eat protein at every meal. Protein is more satisfying than carbohydrates or fats, and thus may be the new secret weapon in weight control. Diets higher in protein and moderate in carbs, along with a lifestyle of regular exercise, have an excellent potential to help weight loss. Getting enough protein helps preserve muscle mass and encourages fat burning while keeping you feeling full. So be sure to include healthy protein sources, like yogurt, cheese, nuts, or beans, at meals and snacks.

Spice it up. Add spices or chilies to your food for a flavor boost that can help you feel satisfied. Food that is loaded with flavor will stimulate your taste buds and be more satisfying so you won't eat as much. When you need something sweet, suck on a red-hot fireball candy for a long-lasting burst of sweetness with just a few calories.

Stock your kitchen with healthy convenience foods. Having ready-to-eat snacks and meals-in-minutes staples on hand sets you up for success. You'll be less likely to hit the drive-through or call in a pizza order if you can make a healthy meal in 5 or 10 minutes.

94% fat-free microwave popcorn (20-25 calories per cup, and you can make it in two minutes or less) Frozen vegetables Bags of pre-washed greens Canned diced tomatoes Canned beans Whole-grain wraps or pitas Pre-cooked grilled chicken breasts A few containers of pre-cooked brown rice

Order children's portions at restaurants. When you are eating out, order a child's pizza or a small sandwich as an easy way to trim calories and get your portions under control. Another trick is to use smaller plates. This helps the portions look like more, and if your mind is satisfied, your stomach likely will be, too.

Eat foods in season. If you don't love certain fruits or vegetables, it could be because you ate them out of season when they have little taste or flavor. When you eat seasonally, fruits and vegetables are more flavorful, at their best, and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Swap a cup of pasta for a cup of vegetables. Simply by eating less pasta or bread and more veggies, you could lose a dress or pants size in a year. You can save from 100-200 calories if you reduce the portion of starch on your plate and increase the amount of vegetables.

Use non-food alternatives to cope with stress. Sooner or later, you're going to be faced with a stressful situation. Instead of turning to food for comfort, be prepared with some non-food tactics that work for you. Try reading a few chapters in a novel, listening to music, writing in a journal, practicing meditative deep breathing, or looking at a photo album of loved ones, go for a run, go for a walk, swing a bat, anything to get your mind of the stress.

Be physically active.Although it may seem counter intuitive, don't use exercise either to punish yourself for eating or to "earn" the right to eat more. When you do, it sets up a negative thought pattern, which is why so many people say they hate to exercise. Instead, focus on how great you feel, how much better you sleep and how much more energy you have when you exercise. Physical activity is good for you whether you are trying to lose weight or not, so keep it positive and build a lifelong habit.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

What Are Some Easy Tricks to Help Me Cut Calories

There are many ways to cut calories and eat better. Your diet and exercise plan will help you flatten your stomach and get six pack abs, if that is your goal. Maybe you just want to lose a little weight and eat a little lighter. Stomach exercises will help flatten your stomach, but no amount of exercise alone will help anyone see your abs without losing a little weight and cutting back on the calories. Here are some helpful tips you can use to achieve your goals.

When eating out, Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage and dessert. Skip the dessert, or get one and share.

Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. You will put less on the plate and give your body a chance to fill up, preventing you from making that second trip. It will also help fool your eyes into thinking you have a full plate.

Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, then graduate to the higher calorie ones. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups, and eat meats and starches last. By the time you get to them, you'll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.

Instead of whole milk, switch to 1 percent. If you drink one 8-oz glass a day, you'll lose 5 lbs in a year.

Skip or limit your juice intake. Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day. Get the calories from foods you chew, not beverages. Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice.

Cut back on or cut out caloric drinks such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. Empty calories are your diet's worse enemy. People have lost weight by making just this one change. If you have a 20-oz bottle of Coca-Cola every day, switch to Diet Coke. You should lose 25 lbs in a year.

Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.

Use mustard and low calorie condiments instead of mayo.

Eat more soup. The non creamy ones are filling but low-cal.

Take your lunch to work. You will be amazed at how much money you save, and how healthier it can be.

Have mostly vegetables for lunch.

Eat out less. Eat at home.

Limit alcohol use to weekends.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

All About The Best Stomach Exercises and How You Use Them

It is only natural, most people want to look their best, and exercising their stomach muscles is usually a huge part of most fitness programs. If so much time and energy is going to be focused on this muscle group, it is a good idea to know what the best stomach exercises are. There are many resources available for finding the best stomach exercises, and plenty of people to say what they consider the best, so how can a person decide for themselves which truly are the best exercises for working their stomach muscles?

First of all it is important to note that the best stomach exercises are those that a person is willing to do. No matter how effective the exercise is, if a person isn't going to do them consistently the exercise will not benefit that particular individual. It is also important to note that the best stomach exercises do not necessarily require equipment to perform them, although some machines and equipment may work quite well for some people.

When a person decides on a fitness program that includes stomach exercises, it is best to include stomach exercises that work the different parts of the stomach. If a person simply concentrates on one area of their stomach, there workout will not be as effective. The best stomach exercises, combine working the oblique, which are the side muscles, the lower abdominal, the mid section and also the upper section.

Some of the most popular stomach exercises are crunches. These are a very effective exercise and very convenient since they can be performed anywhere without any equipment. The next stomach exercise that is also very popular and goes along with the basic crunch is the side crunch, which works out the oblique.

Some people consider the best stomach exercises to be included in a Pilate's workout. The reason for this is because in Pilates, the whole focus is on the core of the body which is the abdominal, or stomach muscles. Every movement in a Pilate's workout will work the stomach muscles either directly or indirectly. These exercises can be found on the Internet, either the exercise itself or video's that can be purchased.

Another good exercise that some fitness experts considers to be one of the best stomach exercises involves laying flat on your stomach, leg straight and then raising your body up using your arms as your hands are clasped together and keeping your body straight as if doing a push up. Hold this position as long as you can stand. This is an excellent movement to strengthen the whole stomach.

Remember again though that just because one person may consider a specific exercise to be the best stomach exercise that does not necessarily mean it is the best for everyone. Each person's body is different and will respond differently to certain movements. Any one serious about working on the abdominal muscles will find it most helpful to try several different stomach exercises and then determine which one they can both feel and see results with. If one exercise is simply too hard to do correctly, or does not feel like it has done anything for the muscle group worked, that exercise is clearly not the best and the person should find what works best for them.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Secret tips to lose weight and flatten your stomach.

You must stabilize your blood sugar to lose weight and keep it off. This also is the best and one of the most important boosts to your metabolism, and is by far the most important factor when it comes to burning away that excess body fat and keeping it off. To effectively stabilize your blood sugar you must feed your body frequently, breaking your meals down into 5 -6 small meals a day. Give your body the fuel it needs like vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, whole grains, and lean proteins (chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, etc.). As I have said before, avoid the simple and empty carbs like soda, candy, etc.

The trouble sometimes is, most people don't know enough about the human body, nutrition, or effective exercise to meet their health and fitness goals. If you think it would help, consider getting the help of a qualified personal fitness professional. You don't have to see them forever, but one or two visits should give you enough help and motivation to continue on the journey yourself. If you are serious about your health and fitness goals, and you are ready for that flat stomach, I recommend you start implementing these strategies.

If you want to get ripped quick, then first of all you need to sort out your diet. Ideally you want to strike a good balance between your intake of fat, carbohydrates and also protein.A higher protein content is ideal. The most important foods that you should cut out are refined sugars and starches. You may also want to to include a weight training program because for every pound of muscle you gain, you will burn 30-50 extra calories a day naturally. Part of your weight training program should include abdominal exercises to tighten up your abs to give you the flat belly look. Stick to 1,600 calories a day. Eat four - five small meals a day. Don't eat any fried foods. Reduce fattening food consumption or remove it completely.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

How to Exercise for a Flat Stomach

Everyone nowadays is either overweight or fitness obsessed. One of the things a lot of people have trouble with is toning and flattening their midsection. Here is how to exercise for a flat stomach.

Lie on a Pilates ball and do 50 crunches. Then do an additional 50 crunches side to side. Stretch out across the ball to relax your tense stomach muscles. Stretching after exercising prevents bulky muscles and instead creates long, lean lines.

Sit on the floor and bring your legs into your chest without touching them or the floor. Essentially you are balancing on your bottom. Straighten your legs out while keeping them in the air and extend your arms upward. Balance in this position for 8 counts.

Bring your legs back into your chest. Extend them out again as low to the ground as possible without touching it. Lower your torso at the same time without touching so that your body is flat like a board but above the ground. Pull back in to to the knees to the chest position. Repeat the extension and pull in again. Repeat this movement 20 times.

Lie on the ground on your back, hands behind your head, elbows out. Start into a typical side crunch then rotate your body around so it becomes a crunch circle. Do 10 to the left, then 10 to the right.

End your workout with the Pilates Hundred exercise. This will kill you core muscles as it strengthens from the inside out. Repeat these exercises three to four times a week for best results.

Don't forget to eat well and drink lots of water, and increase your reps as you become better at the exercises. Also don't ever tug on your neck while doing sit-ups or crunches, it's cheating and could strain your neck and back.

Monday, March 23, 2009

When To Do Your Stomach Exercises

There is no question, people want flatter stomachs. While most people have good intentions when it comes to building their "six pack" abs not as many people can find the time or dedication to really follow through to see real results, and usually give up. To remedy the problem there are several ideas that can help a person wanting to get a flatter stomach but cannot find the time or energy to do intense stomach exercises.

For as many people that want to do stomach exercises, there are just as many people, probably more, that like to watch television. This is a perfect time to do stomach exercises. During commercials, or every ten minutes if there are no commercials, try lying on the floor and doing as many stomach exercises as possible during the break. If you have not done stomach exercises in awhile, it is best to start slowly, but eventually make it a game, and try to get more repetitions in each time. By following this simple plan, it will help your body in several different ways. First of all, there is no extra scheduling involved, for most people, watching television at some point in the day is natural so no extra time is taken out of the day to do stomach exercise. The second thing this strategy helps with is that the human body should not remain motionless for more then thirty minutes anyway, by getting up and doing stomach exercises every few minutes it really boosts up the bodies metabolism.

Another good time to do stomach exercises is first thing in the morning. Try rolling out of bed, maybe literally, and lie down on the floor and do as many repetitions as possible in a set amount of time, even just five minutes. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that exercising first thing in the morning may be more beneficial to a person then trying to exercise other times of the day. While there are many reasons for this, one valid reason is that it gets the metabolism going for the day after a nights sleep. Since most people are extra concerned about the appearance of their stomach, it seems logical to start the day with a good set of stomach exercise.

Of course, for those that are able to dedicate time each day to exercising, their routine should include stomach exercises. There are some reports that say that muscles need time to rest, so only exercise a particular group of muscles every other day, while other reports say that stomach muscles are ok to exercise everyday. One way to answer the question on when to do stomach exercises, every day or every other day is first listen to your body. If the stomach muscles are sore, rest them, if not then maybe one day work on them more intensely then the next day, but try to include at least one set of stomach exercises daily.

There is good reason for wanting to develop strong stomach muscles, besides for appearance sake. This is the core of your body. If it is not strong, the rest of your body will suffer. The good news is that most stomach exercises can be done anywhere with absolutely no machines or gadgets. With a little diligence and some creativity, there are plenty of times throughout the day to sneak in stomach exercises

Friday, March 6, 2009

Weight loss and exercise

No, there are no easy weight loss exercises. Exercising is work. If you're not in shape it's hard work. But there's a way to minimize the pain and still get in shape and lose weight. On a relative scale of 1-10, with 10 the hardest, jogging rates around 7-8. That's tough work. There is an easier way to get in shape and lose weight...but it's still work. Its called resistance training. Resistance training is adding weight (resistance) to a muscle as it flexes and relaxes during a workout. Take walking for an example. As you step forward, plant your foot, and pull your body forward to match the location of your leg, a certain amount of resistance had to be overcome in order to accomplish taking the step. In order to move, walk, pick things up, or throw something, the muscles involved must overcome resistance to accomplish the action. So it goes, that resistance training is to add more resistance forcing the muscle to work a little harder. The best method for adding more resistance is to add it during muscle relaxation. Resistance can be added to any exercise.

Here is a very simple and short list of weight loss exercises to try that you won't hate:

Walking
That's easy! And just walk for 40 minutes 4 times a week and you can improve your health and help yourself to lose weight.

Swimming
This is easy too (if you can swim)! 20 to 25 minutes 3 days a week is all it takes to become healthy and a few pounds lighter.

Water Aerobics
You guessed it...easy! And you don't have to know how to swim, just don't drift off into the deep end.

Running
The best and basic way to lose the weight. No gym memberships required, and burns more calories then anything else.

Elliptical Machines
Not as good as running, but easier on the joints.

Walking stairs
Great exercise, great cardio, and firms the legs, calves, and butt.

Just about anything you do can be considered exercise from walking the dog, to washing the car to mowing the lawn. The key is to do some physical activity 3 - 4 times a week, watch what your eating, and you will be happy with the results.

Monday, February 23, 2009

You have to Eat to Lose Weight

You can't just stop eating to lose weight. Many people think the key to an effective weight loss plan is to skip meals and starve yourself. This is one of the worst diet mistakes people make. Eating smaller portions and cutting your caloric intake is usually a good idea when on a diet. It's not a good idea to starve yourself and only eat one or two small meals per day. In fact, your body will go into a survival mode, slow down its metabolism, thus lowering your metabolic rate. This means your body will not burn as many calories as it used to, so more food can be turned into fat and less fat is burned off. It's a vicious little circle.

What you need to do is eat, and eat right to lose weight. Eating within one hour of getting up kick starts your metabolism and helps you burn more calories through the day. If you work out first thing in the morning, it's even better, and will have a longer lasting effect on your metabolism.

Do your cardio.

If you wait until noon to have your first meal, your metabolism is already going to be sluggish. Also, your will power will be reduced and you will be more likely to eat more then you normally would. On top of that, since your metabolism is lowered, your body will not burn the food off as efficiently as it could and wham…more fat gained.

The are other things you can do to your diet. Try not eating past 6:00. Lay off the sweets and sugar. Use milk instead of cream in your coffee. Try some supplements. There are a lot of diet supplements and weight loss pills out there. Some work, some don't. I'll be writing about my experience with them, and give you the low down and what is worth trying, and what you should avoid.

The way to go is eat more frequent, smaller meals. Eating smaller, frequent meals is the boosts your metabolism and keep it going all day. Digestion also burns calories so if your body is doing this 5-6 times per day, it only helps. As I said before, every little thing counts. Also, eating more frequently will tend to keep you from over eating and feeling too hungry. You have to experiment and find the right balance of diet and exercise that works for you. Remember to lay off the empty carbs and simple sugars. Get enough exercise, get enough sleep, and drink plenty of water. You will be pleased with the results.