What the Diet Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know: A List of Foods that Speed up Metabolism

If someone handed you, absolutely free, a list of foods that speed up metabolism, and all those foods were really good for you in other ways, would you eat them? You’d probably be surprised to find several foods you like, maybe even some favorites, on the list. And some of them might be foods that you avoid because the diet industry has convinced you that these foods are off-limits. Low-fat dieters shouldn’t eat nuts because they’re high in fat, low-carb dieters should avoid grains at all costs. Serious low-carbers have even been convinced to shy away from fruits and vegetables because of the natural sugars in them!

Despite all the low-fat, low-carb, high-carb, eat-all-the-celery-you-want-but-nothing-else diets that abound today and make the diet industry billions of dollars a year, people seem to keep getting fatter. Clearly, the diet gurus don’t know all the answers. Or if they know, they’re not telling, at least not for free. So instead of paying another $29.95, $100 or more on the latest ‘expert’s book, video or ‘plan,’ use common sense to lose weight. You must burn more calories than you eat, bottom line, no matter what kind of a diet you’re on. Keep your weekly calories in a healthy range, and get some exercise. But there are some extra things you can do to make the process easier, more healthy and nutritious, including foods that actually help you burn more calories, faster, just by eating them. Start with this list of foods that speed up metabolism.

Sardines, tuna and salmon are high on the list of foods that speed up metabolism. Not only are they great sources of heart-healthy fat and Omega-3 fatty acids, they help lower your levels of a hormone called leptin. It’s easier to lose weight when your leptin levels stay in the lower ranges. Eat more fish, and if you don’t like fish, take fish oil supplements. Another good source of Omega-3 and monounsaturated fat that boosts metabolism is olive oil.

Hot and spicy peppers like cayenne, habanero and jalapeno make the list of foods that speed up metabolism. The capsaicin in them that makes them hot can boost your metabolism for up to 3 hours after you eat. Opt for lower-fat and good carb spicy dishes to get even more benefit from the fat-burning qualities of these spices.

Whole grains are among some of the best foods that speed up metabolism, because they digest slowly and keep your blood sugar levels even. Cinnamon also has blood sugar-regulating properties, so use of this spice can help keep your metabolism chugging at high speed. Protein-rich foods like nuts, eggs, beans and lean meats give your body the needed protein to keep everything running smoothly.

Finally, drink plenty of water to keep your body operating at top efficiency. Though it’s a beverage, water is actually high on the list of foods that speed up metabolism, that you can enjoy every day.

Lose Weight Muscle Training and Weight Loss Demystified

Strength training can help you lose weight. Muscle training can help you lose weight fast. Not only do you lose weight when you are actually doing the strength training, you continue to lose weight for every pound of muscle you build. That’s right, each pound of muscle you put on will burn 50 calories a day without you doing any additional work!

Here are some strategies to lose weight – muscle style:

· Limit fatty and sugary foods. Processed, sweet, and fat dense foods all pack on fat pounds. Instead, consume whole grains, fruit and vegetables.

· Do things around the house. Much of our house work is assigned out to maids, gardeners, and other service people. But doing the physical activity of keeping the house running can actually help you to lose weight and put on muscle.

· Take at least 10,000 steps a day. While this might seem daunting as the average American only gets 3000 to 4000 steps in a day, there are strategies to help you get more. The foundation is to get a good 45 minute walk every day. Add to that steps taken by walking up stairs rather than riding the elevator and by parking far from the front door, and you will soon reach your 10,000 steps.

· Get aerobic exercise at least 3-4 times a week. This can be running on a treadmill, bicycling, or dancing.

· And at the core of lose weight – muscle style is developing a strength training regime.

Often, we think of strength training as using free weights or elliptical machines. But there are things you can do in your own home without any equipment to lose weight. Muscle strength training can be accomplished with the following exercises:

· Sit ups
· Crunches
· Leg Lifts
· Jack Knife Sit ups (raise knees to torso and allow face and knees to meet)
· V-ups (raise legs and torso simultaneously keeping legs straight)
· Side stretches (raise body off floror supporting yourself with your elbow)
· Lunge chop (using a medicine ball)
· Chair exercise (stand on a chair gripping the arm rests. . Press your back against the rear of the chair, tensing your abdominal muscles in order to raise your legs, lifting your knees towards your chest and keeping your back straight.
· Vertical Leg Crunch
· Long Arm Crunch
· Reverse Crunch
· Vertical Sit Up Crunch
· Bench crunch
· Leg Tuck
· Upright Sit Up
· Scissor cuts

If you want to lose weight, muscle strength training is where you should start. Not only will you expend calories exercising, you will also be building fat-burning muscle that will keep you losing weight all of the time, even when you are not exercising.

Losing weight is something you work on over the long haul. However, there are ways to jump start your weight loss. Using the weight loss – muscle strengthening plan I’ve outlined in this article, you should start to see results in as little as one month.

Best Weight Loss Pills

The best weight loss pills you can use are the ones you find that work with you and for you. I can’t sit here and tell you that one diet pill is better than the other because every person is different and each pill will work differently for each person. My advice is to try a few and see what works the best for you.

Do not forget to talk to your doctor first if you want to start something new for yourself. It is always better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to introducing a new medication into your system.

Medication? It says here right on the bottle that this is an herbal supplement. And where do you think some prescription medications come from? Plants, that’s where. A lot of things start out as herbs, so yes, your herbal supplement is a medication. Treat it as such.

Some things you want to keep in mind:

*Always take your best weight loss pills whole with a full 8 ounce glass of water. Do not ever chew, crush, or open the capsule to mix in a beverage. You will get too much medication all at once and make your self sick, or worse.

*Diet pills not only work to suppress your appetite and make you eat less, they also work as a diuretic. This means they help get rid of water weight. To do this they make you have to urinate more frequently during the day. Make sure you drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water each day. If you don’t, you could end up becoming dehydrated. Dehydration comes with it’s own set of unique problems and can be deadly. Do not even go there.

*Do not ever take more than the recommended dosage. This should be self explanatory but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Taking more will not help you lose more weight but it will increase your chances of experiencing some side effects like nausea and vomiting or diarrhea. Stick to the recommended dosage.

*While taking the diet pills, if you experience an irregular heart beat or your heart races and the beats per minute get to be over 100, talk to you doctor immediately and stop taking the pills.

*There are many, many, many diet pills out there to choose from. Do not get overwhelmed, just pick two or three to sample and pick which one works best for you. Do not worry about the rest, just do what you can to lose the weight.

*Take the pills you decide on and watch what you eat and get some exercise. You will be more successful if you follow a diet plan and exercise. If you need some motivation ask a friend to exercise with you. You will double your chances of success if you have a friend with you.

Once again, the best diet pills to take are the ones that work the best for you and do not make you go through any side effects.

29 Easy Ways to Cut 100 Calories a Meal

In an article I wrote recently I talked about eating slowly to help you lose 50 pounds over a year. Studies have shown that by taking your time, when you are eating, it will help you lose weight. To put it simply by eating slowly your stomach will have time to send the signal to your brain that your’re full. In most cases it takes about 20 minutes for the average person’s tummy to signal the brain. And then in turn you brain tells your body your full and you don’t need to eat any more. However, if you speed eat, you will just keep stuffing yourself with food, before your brain finally gets the signal. An example of that would be if you wolfed down your first serving in say 5 to 8 minutes, you will feel like your still hungry. In which case you will go back for 2nds or even thirds. Think monster calories being pumped into your body. Think Fat!

Thinking fat/calories is a start. But think what will happen when you slow down your eating and then cut an extra 100 calories out of each meal you eat. By cutting those extra calories you will really kick your weight loss off with a bang. The following is a list of 29 ways and healthy foods you can use to blast those 100 calories out the door.

* Substitute 1 tablespoon of all fruit jam on your toast in lieu of 1 ½ tablespoons of butter.
* Replace 1 cup of whole milk with ½ a cup of skim milk.
* Substitute 2 poached eggs for 2 fried eggs.
* Eat 2 cups of Cheerios instead of ½ cup of granola
* Use nonfat milk and egg whites to make French Toast instead of whole milk and eggs.
* Eat both an orange and a banana instead of a Snicker’s bar.
* Have 35 pretzel sticks instead of 1 ounce of dry roasted peanuts.
* Replace 1 cup of sweetened apple sauce with 1 cup of unsweetened apple sauce.
Use an artificial sweetener like Splenda if you notice a difference in taste.
* If you make Lamb and Vegetable kabobs, replace 2 of the chunks of meat with
vegetables.
* Use 1 tablespoon of low fat mayonnaise rather than 1 ½ tablespoons of regular
mayonnaise.
* Don’t drink that glass of white wine. Opt for cherry flavored sparkling water instead.
* Skip the cheese on your burger or sandwich.
* Have a half cup of dried fruit instead of 9 caramel candies.
* Instead of 3 slices of bacon, have 3 slices of Lite and Lean Canadian bacon.
* Order one size down at Starbucks.
* Choose a Lender’s egg bagel instead of a Sara Lee egg bagel.
* Use 2 slices of Roman Light 7-grain bread instead of Pepperidge Farm wheat bread for
your sandwiches.
* Serve 2 dinner rolls with your beef stew instead of 2 biscuits.
* Eat 1/2 cup of steamed fresh broccoli instead of 1/2 cup of frozen broccoli in cheese
sauce.
* Make your burrito with 1/2 cup of fat-free refried beans and 1 ounce of nonfat cheese
instead of the same amount of traditional refried beans and cheese.
* Make your sandwich open face.
* Chose a high-fiber English muffin instead of a full fat apple muffin.
* Cut your cake a little slimmer. Reducing a slice of cake by 1/3 will save you 100
calories.
* You can switch from 1 cup of whole milk hot chocolate to 1 cup of 1% milk without
losing any taste when you add a dash of almond extract.
* Throw away 8 McDonald’s French Fries.
* Ditch the single cup of caramel coated popcorn and have 2 ½ cups of air popped
popcorn instead.

Don’t wait around to lose 50 pounds of weight. Cut 100 calories a meal out of your diet, by using all or some of the above ways to get a head start.

7 Top Tips For Weight Loss

If you have been struggling to lose weight for longer than you’d care to admit, then you are not alone. At the same time, you have probably been misinformed, and that’s not your fault. It can be frustrating. You do everything you think you’re supposed to, but you just can’t get rid of those extra pounds. The following tips will help you with your weight loss efforts.

1. Exercise – As much as a lot of people would like to avoid it, exercise is one of the biggest boosts to losing weight. Not only will it burn calories when you’re doing it, it will also increase your metabolism and improve your overall health. Don’t worry, you don’t have to run a marathon to reap the beneficial effects of exercise. Just get moving and you will soon notice a difference.

2. Portion control – Give some thought to how much food you are putting on your plate. It’s all too common to mindlessly pile as much on our plates as the plate will hold. But we only need enough to fill our stomachs, which is usually much less.

3. Mind power – Keeping your mind sharp, refreshed and relaxed will help you cope with things that would otherwise derail whatever weight loss plan you’re on. Things such as meditation and yoga are a good way to do this.

4. Look at labels – When you are shopping for food, look at the nutrition labels. These will help you to select the foods that are lower in saturated fat, calories and refined sugar; and higher in protein, fiber and healthier fats. By doing this, you will have healthier food at home when you get hungry.

5. Grazing – The idea of eating three large meals a day is out of date when it comes to losing weight. The problem is that it gives you too much time between meals to get hungry, and the hungrier you are, the greater the chance that you will consume more calories when you finally eat. If you want to lose weight, then eat several smaller meals throughout the day. You will not only feel fuller longer, but you will also have a steady supply of fuel to get you through the day.

6. Eat, eat, eat – This is similar to the idea of grazing, but it is even more basic. It simply means that you should eat when you’re hungry. Of course you still have to give some thought to what you’re eating, but other than that, go ahead and eat when you’re hungry.

7. Drink water – Be careful here! It was a long-held belief that you had to drink at least eight glasses of water if you wanted to lose weight. However, there is now plenty of evidence that this is not true. But you should still drink plenty of water, just don’t think it will cause you to lose weight. Not only is water good for your heath, but it also has no calories, and that’s a good thing for weight loss.

How HPV Causes Warts and an Effective Genital Warts Treatment. 

Warts can appear almost anywhere on your body.

These little bumps can be small and flat, or they may be large and raised.

Warts are usually flesh colored, or they may be pink or gray.

They are very contagious and passed easily from person to person.

If you have warts, especially genital warts, you need to learn more about what causes them. You should also learn more about an effective genital warts treatment. All warts are caused by a virus called HPV or human papillomavirus.

This is one of the most common viruses in the world today.

There are over 100 strains of this virus. The strains you have will determine where you get warts. Unfortunately, there is no medication that can kill HPV. This is because HPV is a virus and a virus is not alive.

It is really a piece of DNA that has replicated itself using the DNA of host cells. HPV can live in the human body forever. It can lie dormant in the cells until something activates it again.

Best Way To Lose Weight – What It Isnt

Well, it’s not sexy, or easy, but if you really want to know what the best way to lose weight is, I’ll tell you. Maybe first I should tell you what it is not.

1. It’s not about taking a pill or two and calling it a day.

2. It’s not about buying that cool piece of exercise equipment that you saw on late night t.v.

3. It’s not about getting involved in a fad diet.

4. It’s not about doing a cleanse or fasting for a week.

The truth is, that on their own none of these things are bad. Many of them might actually help you in your weight loss efforts. The danger comes in when people think that one of these things is all they need to do.

For example, starting your weight loss efforts off by doing a cleanse is not a bad idea. It can flush a lot of excess water weight and toxins from your body. It can help you see an almost immediate weight loss which will, hopefully, spur you on and help you stay motivated.

But, it’s vitally important that you realize that this is just step one, not the do all end all of your diet plans.

You will ultimately need to find balance in your life if you want to see permanent weight loss. To do that you will need to incorporate not only a healthy, balanced eating plan but also a well thought out exercise plan.

That is where a lot of people lose their way. They get sold on the idea of a quick fix, a fast solution, and when it comes to weight loss there is no such thing. There are a few things that may jump start your weight loss, like the cleanse I talked about above, but real, permanent weight loss means you are ridding your body of excess fat, and not just water, and the cleanse I talked about above won’t do that.

So, you may be wondering, what is a healthy reasonable diet plan? Well, it’s about balance. It’s about having plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, small amounts of fats and carbs, and proper portion size.

It’s about eating enough, and often enough, so that your body stays fired up and burning hot all day long. It’s also about getting enough water so your body is hydrated and you keep it clear of toxin buildup.

It’s about finding the foods that will supply the nutrients your body needs as well as provide you with the taste and flavor you need. Otherwise you won’t want to stick with this eating plan for very long. Remember, this is all about achieving permanent weight loss through permanent lifestyle changes.

And, one more thing, it’s about keeping your body moving with physical activity. Find some sort of workout that you enjoy and do it. Make sure you lift weights as part of your workout because that one simple thing can do more than any other aspect of your exercise program to burn more fat and calories 24/7.

Hope this has helped, the best way to lose weight is to find a eating plan and a workout plan that are balanced and healthy and just stick with them. That’s it, not sexy I know, but effective.

A Healthy Low Carb Diet Will Blow The Fat Off

Millions of people are on diets but as they are not following a healthy low carb diet, they fail to lose weight. One of the reasons many people fail is down to the regime they follow rather than any personal weakness.

Faddy diets mislead people with their false expectations. For example, people who follow high protein plans are told that they will lose pounds in days. Well they do but as most of it is water loss, it cannot be sustained, the weight goes back on and the person feels they have failed. So they move onto the next program.

The laws of dieting are fairly simple. To lose one pound of fat, you need to achieve a deficit of 3600 calories. This doesn’t mean you starve yourself and don’t eat anything all day. Quite the contrary. What it means is the difference between the amount of calories you consume from food and the amount you exert by way of physical activity must leave a deficit of 3600. So in other words, you need to get more active and eat better foods.

Low carb dieters will lose weight slowly but that is the best way as you have more chance of keeping the pounds off. The two main diet killers are feeling deprived and finding the diet too difficult to follow either because you have to count calories or eat unusual foods not found easily at your local store. Neither of these problems are experienced when you follow a healthy low carb plan.

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for your body. They are found in vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes and dairy products. Your body converts them into glucose, which is spread via your blood stream to the organs of your body including your brain. You simply cannot function without carbs. But not all carbohydrates are created equal and unfortunately most of us are eating too many white flour based ones. These have very little in the form of nutrients. One of the ways to turn flour white is to take out all the good stuff!

The problem is that most of what we eat has become so processed our bodies digest it very quickly. This makes us feel hungry again very quickly hence the deprivation felt by some people when they are on a diet. They are genuinely starving but forbidden from eating. In order to follow a healthy low carb diet, you need to eat foods that release energy slowly leaving us feeling full for longer. These are not white pasta and rice but whole grains and food as close to its natural source as possible. Our aim is to keep our insulin levels low to inhibit the formation of fat and encourage the conversion of fat back into energy.

A healthy low carb diet will therefore include low calories foods, a lack of saturated fats and plenty of low GI foods.

Eat Out to Lose Weight with a Restaurant Calorie Counter

A restaurant calorie counter can be a dieter’s best friend. Losing weight isn’t easy, so you need to take steps to make it as easy as possible on yourself. One way to do this is to not limit yourself to just bland home meals and a life where you never eat out for fear of not being able to maintain your diet the way you want to. With a restaurant calorie counter, you won’t have to.

There’s no doubt that losing weight is difficult. The rate of obesity is soaring and it’s not because people are trying to gain weight, sumo wrestlers excepted. In general, more than 95 percent of people who do manage to lose weight won’t be able to keep it off. Many people manage to gain and lose hundreds of pounds over their lifetime. When something is this difficult, you need to take every step you can to make it as easy as possible.

This includes eating out, or grabbing things on the fly, which is where a restaurant calorie counter comes in handy. We’d all like to be able to be able to do up our food at home, eat perfectly all day and come back to prepare a nutritionally flawless means for dinner, all with a smile on your face.

But in reality, this doesn’t happen. People sleep late, work late, and sometimes the boss wants you to have lunch with him. It’s a rare person who can get by without buying their food already prepared at some point. Unless your eating out is going to consist of glasses of water, you’re going to need a restaurant calorie counter.

A restaurant calorie counter is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It’s a guide to the calories and nutrient contents of things you find in restaurants. Generally, these will be available for all chain type restaurants, fast food and otherwise, but a very good restaurant calorie counter will also have very famous restaurants, and it is possible to get copies that have local information, as well.

The local restaurants are actually a flaw in using a restaurant calorie counter; even those that have restaurants are forced to estimate. This isn’t necessarily a huge problem, but bear in mind that if you’re eating at Uncle Joe’s Wings and Things you’re going to have to estimate.

A good way to do this, if you’re eating in a place where you’re going to be eating a lot but the place isn’t listed in your restaurant calorie counter, is to get your favorites as take out. Once you have them, measure them and then find something in the counter that’s pretty close and work out how many calories are in each one.

Either way, a restaurant calorie counter can be key to your weight loss success, regardless of the type of diet you’re on. If you’re using a controlled calorie plan, then you can easily look up the calorie count and adjust. Or you can choose dishes with the right amount of fat or carbs for your plan. Every diet is easier with a restaurant calorie counter.

7 Tips to Drop a Dress Size

If you need to lose weight, there are many ways to help the process along. Use these top tips to help you lose a dress size quickly and easily – even if you’re a busy working woman. Take the time to make small changes each day. You’ll be amazed at how quickly they all add up.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Drink Your Water: 6-8 glasses of water a day helps flush fat, sodium, and other toxins from the body. If water’s not your style, try adding one of the new low calorie drink mixes for taste. Keep your body hydrated for optimum weight loss,

2. Eat Breakfast: People who eat healthy breakfasts eat less food throughout the day. Eat breakfast each day to jumpstart your weight loss. If you’re rushed, try a smoothie or shake for a healthy on the go meal.

3. Eat Your Veggies: For meals and snacks, add extra fruits and veggies. These nutritional powerhouses help you feel full, without adding extra fat and calories. Try replacing one meal a day with a salad to boost nutrition and lower your calorie intake – but avoid creamy dressings that pack on the calories.

4. Choose Healthy Snacks: Choose a healthy snack every few hours to help keep you from overeating at mealtimes. Try fruit and cheese, peanut butter crackers, or a handful of almonds. Try to choose snacks with protein – they’ll have more staying power.

5. Avoid Liquid Calories: You may be consuming more calories than you realize by loading up on soda, juice, or alcoholic beverages. Cut them from diet to lose that dress size quickly!

6. Aerobics Help: The best way to lose fat is by burning it through aerobic exercise. Add in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per day (walking counts!) to lose weight.

7. Pack in Protein: Add protein to your meals and snacks to help you feel full longer. Protein provides energy for the long haul, so add peanut butter, low fat cheese, or lean meat to your meals to keep you feeling satisfied.

Making small changes on a daily basis can lead to consistent weight loss. These tips will jumpstart the diet process, and get you started on your journey to a healthier body and life. Remember, weight loss is a process. Begin making changes in your habits today, and you’ll have lost that dress size in no time!

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. Better safe than sorry.

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