Showing posts with label I'm too fat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I'm too fat. Show all posts

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

How to Lose Weight Fast: A Proven 3-Step Plan That Works


How To Lose Weight Fast

There are many ways to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time.

However, most of them require you to be hungry and unsatisfied.
If you don’t have iron willpower, then hunger will cause you to give up on these plans quickly.
The 3-step plan outlined here will:
  • Kill your appetite.
  • Make you lose weight fast, without being hungry.
  • Improve your health at the same time.

Step 1 – Eliminate Sugars and Starches

The most important part is to remove sugars and starches (carbs) from your diet.
These are the foods that stimulate secretion of insulin the most. If you didn’t know already, insulin is the main fat storage hormone in the body.
When insulin goes down, fat has an easier time getting out of the fat stores and the body starts burning fats instead of carbs.
Another benefit of lowering insulin is that your kidneys shed excess sodium and water out of your body, which reduces bloat and unnecessary water weight.
It is not uncommon to lose up to 10 pounds (sometimes more) in the first week of eating this way, both body fat and water weight.
This is a graph from a study comparing low-carb and low-fat diets in overweight/obese women.
Weight Loss Graph, Low Carb vs Low Fat
The low-carb group is eating until fullness, while the low-fat group is calorie restricted and hungry.
Cut the carbs, lower your insulin and you will start to eat less calories automatically and without hunger.
Put simply, lowering your insulin puts fat loss on “autopilot.”
Why Does Sugar And Starch Make Us Fat?  See Video Below!



Bottom Line: Removing sugars and starches (carbs) from your diet will lower your insulin levels, kill your appetite and make you lose weight without hunger.

Step 2 – Eat Protein, Fat and Vegetables

Each one of your meals should include a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables. Constructing your meals in this way will automatically bring your carb intake into the recommended range of 20-50 grams per day.
Girl Eating Kebab
Protein Sources:
  • Meat – Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, bacon, etc.
  • Fish and Seafood – Salmon, trout, shrimps, lobsters, etc.
  • Eggs – Omega-3 enriched or pastured eggs are best.
Protein is the macronutrient that contributes most to fullness and eating adequate protein can raise your metabolism.
Low-Carb Vegetables:
Vegetables
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Swiss Chard
  • Lettuce
  • Cucumber
  • Celery
  • Etc
Don’t be afraid to load your plate with these low-carb vegetables. You can eat massive amounts of them without going over 20-50 net carbs per day.
A diet based on meat and vegetables contains all the fiber, vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. There is no physiological need for grains in the diet.
Butter Curls
Fat Sources:

  • Coconut Oil
  • Butter
  • Olive Oil
  • Lard
  • Tallow
Eat 2-3 meals per day. If you find yourself hungry in the afternoon, add a 4th meal.
Don’t be afraid of eating fat, trying to do both low-carb AND low-fat at the same time is a recipe for failure. It will make you feel miserable and abandon the plan.
The best cooking fat to use is coconut oil. It is rich in fats called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). These fats are more fulfilling than others and can boost metabolism slightly.
There is no reason to fear these natural fats, new studies show that saturated fat doesn’t raise your heart disease risk at all.
To see how you can assemble your meals, check out this low carb meal plan and this list of low carb recipes.
Bottom Line: Assemble each meal out of a protein source, a fat source and a low-carb vegetable. This will put you into the 20-50 gram carb range and drastically lower your insulin levels.

Step 3 (Optional) – Exercise 3-4 Times Per Week

Dumbbells
You don’t need to exercise to lose weight on this plan, but it is recommended.
The best option is to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Do a warm up, lift weights, then stretch.
If you’re new to the gym, ask a trainer for some advice.
By lifting weights, you will burn a few calories and prevent your metabolism from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight.
Studies on low-carb diets show that you can even gain a bit of muscle while losing significant amounts of body fat .
If lifting weights is not an option for you, then doing some easier cardio workouts like running, jogging, swimming or walking will suffice.


Bottom Line: It is best to do some sort of resistance training like weight lifting. If that is not an option, cardio workouts work too.

Optional – Do a “Carb Re-feed” Once Per Week

Overweight Man Eating Cake
You can take one day “off” per week where you eat more carbs. Many people prefer Saturday.
It is important to try to stick to healthier carb sources like oats, rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits, etc.
But only this one higher carb day, if you start doing it more often than once per week then you’re not going to see much success on this plan.
If you must have a cheat meal and eat something unhealthy, then do it on this day.
Be aware that cheat meals or carb refeeds are NOT necessary, but they can up-regulate some fat burning hormones like leptin and thyroid hormones.
You will gain some weight during your re-feed day, but most of it will be water weight and you will lose it again in the next 1-2 days.
Bottom Line: Having one day of the week where you eat more carbs is perfectly acceptable, although not necessary.

What About Calories and Portion Control?

Apple And Calculator
It is NOT necessary to count calories as long as you keep the carbs very low and stick to protein, fat and low-carb vegetables.
However, if you really want to, then use this calculator.
Enter your details, then pick the number from either the “Fat Loss” or the “Extreme Fat Loss” section – depending on how fast you want to lose.
There are many calorie counters you can use to track the amount of calories you are eating. I like Cron-O-Meter – it is free and easy to use.
The main goal is to keep carbs under 20-50 grams per day and get the rest of your calories from protein and fat.
Bottom Line: It is not necessary to count calories to lose weight on this plan. It is most important to strictly keep your carbs in the 20-50 gram range.

Other Weight Loss Tips to Make Things Easier (and Faster)

Meat
Pretty much all you have to do is the 3 steps:
  1. Eliminate high-carb foods.
  2. Eat Protein, Fat and Veggies.
  3. Exercise 3-4 times per week (optional, but recommended).
However, there are a few other tips that you may find useful if you want to speed things up even further.
None of these are old wives’ tales, they all have scientific evidence to back them up.
Drink Water, Coffee or Tea: Satisfy your thirst with water. If you’re a coffee or a tea drinker, then by all means drink as much as you want as both can raise your metabolism slightly.
Use Smaller Plates: Studies show that people automatically eat less when they use smaller plates. Strange, but it works.
Sleep Like a Baby: Poor sleep is associated with weight gain and obesity, taking care of your sleep is important.
Reduce Stress: Being stressed can elevate the stress hormone cortisol, which can cause fat accumulation in the belly.
Good sleep and reduced stress levels can also help prevent cravings, the dieter’s worst enemy. There are many other tips to prevent cravings in this article.
Bottom Line: It is most important to stick to the three rules, but there are a few other things you can do to speed things up.

You Will Become a “Fat Burning Beast”

Doctor With Thumbs Up
You can expect to lose 5-10 pounds of weight (sometimes more) in the first week, then consistent weight loss after that.
I can personally lose 3-4 lbs per week for a few weeks when I do this strictly.
If you’re new to dieting, then things will probably happen quickly. The more weight you have to lose, the faster you will lose it.
For the first few days, you might feel a bit strange. Your body has been burning carbs for all these years, it can take time for it to get used to burning fat instead.
It is called the “low carb flu” and is usually over within a few days. For me it takes 3. Adding some sodium to your diet can help with this, such as dissolving a bouillon cube in a cup of hot water and drinking it.
After that, most people report feeling very good, positive and energetic. At this point you will officially have become a “fat burning beast.”
Despite the decades of anti-fat hysteria, the low-carb diet also improves your health in many other ways:
  • Blood Sugar tends to go way down on low-carb diets.
  • Triglycerides tend to go down.
  • Small, dense LDL (the bad) Cholesterol goes down.
  • HDL (the good) cholesterol goes up.
  • Blood pressure improves significantly.
  • To top it all of, low-carb diets appear to be easier to follow than low-fat diets.
Bottom Line: You can expect to lose a lot of weight, but it depends on the person how quickly it will happen. Low-carb diets also improve your health in many other ways.

You Don’t Need to Starve Yourself to Lose Weight

If you have a medical condition then talk to your doctor before making changes because this plan can reduce your need for medication.
By reducing carbs and lowering insulin levels, you change the hormonal environment and make your body and brain “want” to lose weight.
This leads to drastically reduced appetite and hunger, eliminating the main reason that most people fail with conventional weight loss methods.
This is proven to make you lose about 2-3 times as much weight as a typical low-fat, calorie restricted diet.
Another great benefit for the impatient folks is that the initial drop in water weight can lead to a big difference on the scale as early as the next morning.
Here are a few examples of low-carb meals that are simple, delicious and can be prepared in under 10 minutes: 7 Healthy Low-Carb Meals in 10 Minutes or Less.
On this plan, you can eat good food until fullness and still lose a ton of fat. Welcome to paradise.
How To Lose Weight Without Feeling Hungry




http://authoritynutrition.com/how-to-lose-weight-as-fast-as-possible/







Friday, 12 September 2014

How to Break Bad Eating Habits




How To Break Bad Eating Habits:-
Bad habits are made to be broken. Learn easy tricks to help you eat better every day.



How to Break Bad Eating Habits


If You’re a Serious Snacker

The fallout: You may end up overeating. A healthy snack or two between meals is fine. Snacks can keep blood sugar steady as well as allow you to rack up more servings of fruits and vegetables. “It’s when you snack in place of eating real meals that you’re more likely to lose track of how much you’re eating,” says Tara Gidus, R.D., an Orlando, Florida–based spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Of course, what you eat matters, too. Typical snack foods (chips, cookies, pretzels) aren’t that nutritious or satisfying, so it’s easy to overdo them.

The fix: To keep your energy up and hunger at bay, allow yourself two snacks a day of 100 to 300 calories each. “Rather than a cookie or a candy bar, opt for something that feels like real food―half of a small sandwich, whole-grain crackers with cheese, a handful of nuts, baby carrots with hummus, or yogurt sprinkled with cereal,” says Gidus. Click here for more low-calorie snacks.


If You’re a Mindless Muncher
The fallout: Television makes people particularly prone to spaced-out eating. In fact, “folks who eat while watching the tube take in 20 to 60 percent more than if they are focused on their food,” according to Brian Wansink, a professor of marketing at Cornell University and the author of Mindless Eating.
The fix: Figure out which situations trigger mindless eating for you, then consciously make an effort to eat only when you’re fully engaged. If you need a few snacks, set limits on what you’ll eat. Dole out a single serving before you sit down on the couch, or delay your snack until you can pay attention. Minimise damage by dipping into low-cal foods, such as cut vegetables, air-popped popcorn, rice crackers, and whole-grain cereal.


How to Break Bad Eating Habits

If You Eat Your Way Out of a Bad Mood

The fallout: It may be soothing in the moment, but feeding your fears and frustrations, instead of confronting them, can lead to a cycle of more bad moods as well as steady weight gain. Many people turn to carbohydrates, in particular, which produce tryptophan, a type of amino acid that is used by the brain to manufacture serotonin. “When the brain makes more serotonin, your mood improves, but only temporarily,” says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., a coauthor of The Serotonin Power Diet.

The fix: Stop to think about what’s bothering you before reflexively open the cupboard. Then try a nonfood mood booster, such as taking a walk, seeing a movie, or calling a friend. “If nothing but carbs will do, get the serotonin boost without triggering a binge,” says Gidus. “Opt for a whole-grain treat so at least you get more fiber and less sugar.”



If You Eat Carefully All Week, Then Blow It on the Weekend

The fallout: It is possible to undo five days of good with regular weekend free-for-alls. In 2004, data from the National Weight Control Registry revealed that people who were consistent in their weekly eating habits, even if they weren’t perfect, were 1.5 times more likely to stay within five pounds of their weight over one year than were those who were vigilant on weekdays only.

The fix: Since much socializing around food takes place on weekends, it pays to strategize. “Have a mini meal before you go out to help you have more self-control, and offer to be the designated driver to limit alcohol intake,” says Gidus. (Alcohol has more calories than you probably think.) And don’t restrict yourself so severely Monday through Friday that the weekend feels like your only time for indulgence.


How to Break Bad Eating Habits

If All Your Meals Come in Cans, Bags, or Boxes

The fallout: Packaged foods, like soups, frozen meals, and rice mixes, can be sneaky sources of unhealthy fats, sugar, salt, and excess calories. Even a can of (otherwise virtuous) low-fat soup can contain more than half a day’s worth of sodium. 

The fix: Don’t feel guilty about relying on packaged foods; just be smart about which ones you choose. Frozen entrées―especially lower-calorie, lower-sodium versions―can provide a quick, portion-controlled meal. Compare labels to find the healthiest ones―that is, those that are higher in fiber and lower in salt and that have whole grains and nutrient-rich vegetables at the top of their ingredient lists. Frozen vegetables, cooked chicken, and a whole-grain rice mix can kick off a healthy almost-home-cooked meal, particularly when you serve them with fresh vegetables or a leafy green salad. Finish with a piece of fruit or low-fat yogurt for dessert.


If You Eat on the Run

The fallout: Eating while on the go (driving, walking down the street, shopping) means you’re probably not paying much attention to what’s going into your mouth. Leslie Bonci, R.D., director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says this “grab, gulp, and go mentality” can leave you dissatisfied and unsure of what you ate, and sometimes even give you an upset stomach. 

The fix: Build time to eat into your day. “If you have to, schedule it on your BlackBerry, just like you do everything else,” says Krieger. When you have no option but to dine while dashing, be prepared. Stock your purse, glove compartment, or office drawer with a few healthy choices, such as low-fat granola bars, nuts and dried fruit, and single-serving packages of crackers. “Even fast-food restaurants are offering healthier, satisfying choices, like salads and wraps with crunchy vegetables and lean meats,” says Bonci.

How to Break Bad Eating Habits

If You’re a Speed-Eater

The fallout: Gulping food may set you up for stomach troubles. “You take in excess air, which can lead to bloating,” says Bonci. You also might not be chewing well. “Saliva begins to break food down, and too little time in the mouth leaves more work for the rest of the digestive tract. This may contribute to indigestion,” says Krieger. Finally, speed-eating doesn’t give the brain time to catch up to the stomach; it needs at least 20 minutes to get the message that your stomach is full. A recent study found that women who ate a meal in 30 minutes ate 10 percent fewer calories compared with those who wolfed one down in barely 10.

The fix: Try to slow down. Avoid finger foods, and instead choose items you have to put on a plate and eat with utensils, such as stir-fries and salads. Pause often, and drink water throughout meals.



If You Skip Breakfast
The fallout: You’ll probably have a lousy morning, as well as a higher chance of overeating later on. “Blood sugar usually drops overnight, so your brain is running on empty until you eat in the morning,” says Krieger. Studies have shown that cognitive skills and memory improve once you’ve fueled your foggy morning brain. Recent research shows that breakfast skippers tend to eat more calories during the day than do people who don’t skip. Eating breakfast may actually help you achieve and maintain weight loss.

The fix: Breakfast doesn’t have to be a drawn-out affair, but try to eat about an hour or two after you get up. “Aim for 250 to 400 calories, and include at least one serving of whole grains, a source of protein, and one serving of fruit,” says Gidus. If you’re habitually short on time, stock the kitchen with easy-to-make breakfast foods, keep packets of oatmeal at the office, or place a standing order at a café so you can make a pickup on your way to work.

How to Break Bad Eating Habits

If You’re a Sugar Fiend

The fallout: A package of candy may give you a burst of energy, but then you’ll be smacked down by a post-sugar slump. What’s more, “a sugary snack is usually empty calories, providing few of the nutrients you need,” says Ellie Krieger, R.D., host of the Food Network’s Healthy Appetite. This, she says, may explain why it’s possible to be both obese and undernourished.

 The fix: You don’t have to go off the sweet stuff completely―just find some good substitutions now and then. Unsweetened dried fruit (like tart cherries or mangoes), peanut M&M’s (a little protein mixed with sugar can help fend off the energy dip), and even a handful of lightly sweetened whole-grain cereal are all good swaps for candy or cookies. And since added sugar sneaks its way into many foods―including bread, cereal, and yogurt―read labels and seek out versions of your favorites with less sugar. Buy unsweetened drinks and add your own sugar. (Presweetened iced tea can contain as much as 10 to 12 teaspoons per bottle.) Or opt for sugar-free.



How to Break Bad Eating Habits Video!





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Friday, 5 September 2014


Beginner Body Weight Workout: Burn Fat, Build Muscle


So you want to get in shape, but you have no gym membership.
That’s fine, screw gyms!
They’re loaded with chumps, meatheads, pushy salesmen, and people who suck at working out.  (If you DO go to a gym, here’s how to make sure you DON’T suck at working out).  Luckily, you can burn fat, build muscle, and get a great workout using just your body weight.  Learn why cardio is one of the least efficient methods of burning calories, and how you can get a lot done in a little bit of time.  By doing body weight circuits, where you complete one exercise right after the other without stopping, you’re both building muscle and getting a cardiovascular workout.

Why Body Weight Circuits Kick Ass



What makes body weight circuits work so well? Every exercise involved utilizes multiple muscle groups, gets your heart rate pumping, and burns tons of calories.  Check out this interview from Jason Ferruggia and Alwyn Cosgrove, two fitness gurus whose opinions and research I highly respect.  Essentially, circuit weight training burns more calories than interval training, which burns WAY more calories than steady cardio.  Essentially, if you’re trying to lose weight, spending hours doing cardio on a treadmill is a really crappy use of your time.
I’m going to take you through a basic workout today that can be completed in your house, apartment, out at a park, in your parents’ basement, wherever.  As always, make sure you are cleared by your personal physician for physical activity before attempting these exercises.    Proceed at your own risk!

Beginner Body Weight Workout



This is a basic body weight circuit. In a circuit routine, you’ll do each exercise in succession without a break in between (if you’re able).  Once you’ve finished all exercises in the circuit, you do it again.  If you’re still able after the 2nd run through, go for a third.  Because all of these exercises come one after another, you’re bound to get tired.  It’s better to stop and take a break than to do an exercise incorrectly.  If you can’t do all three circuits without stopping, that gives you something to build towards.
Before you start, WARM UP - Never ever ever ever forget to warm up.  Make sure to get your heart rate pumping and get your muscles warm or you’re just asking for injury.  If you’re strapped for time, cut short your workout, not your warm up.  You can run in place, jump rope, do a few push ups, pedal on a stationary bike, jog up and down your stairs, etc.  Don’t wear yourself out completely, but get your heart rate elevated and little bit of sweat never hurt anybody.  After the warm up, here is exactly what you need to do:
And so you can write it down, here is the write up for the exercise routine.
  • 20 body weight squats
  • 10 push ups
  • 20 walking lunges
  • 10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug)
  • 15 second plank
  • 30 Jumping Jacks
After you’ve completed your workout, make sure you stretch. All of your muscles have been contracted from lifting and need to be stretched back out and rebuilt.
For either the body weight squats or lunges, if you can’t do them properly yet, it’s okay to put your hand on a support to keep your balance.
For the body weight squats, think of it like sitting back into a chair. If you can sit down onto a chair, and then stand immediately right back up withouthaving to lean forward, you are in balance.
For the lunges, keep your eyes ahead and your upper body completely vertical. I had a slight bend at times in the video due to trying to exercise and explain at the same time.
I used a milk jug for my dumbbell, but you can use whatever is heavy enough for you. Find something that is challenging to lift 10 times in a row.
Do this routine 2-3 times a week, but never on consecutive days.  You don’t build muscle when you’re exercising, you build muscle when you’re resting.  Generally I follow a pattern of strength training on one day, then 20 minutes of interval training on the next, then strength training, then interval training, and so on.  You never want to do a strength routine two days straight (of the same muscle groups), as your muscles haven’t had time to recover.
Along with this routine, you need to make sure you’re eating properly! A good workout and crappy diet will not get you anywhere.  Lots of real foods (fruits, vegetables, lean meat, nuts, etc.).  Eat natural, whole foods whenever possible, and leave the soda, candy, and junk food out of your system.  Your diet is at least 80% of your success or failure.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

Saturday, 16 August 2014

Slim for Life: Strategies to Lose Fat and Keep It Off

Use fat to burn fat.

Trying yet again to lose those last 10 pounds? We hear you. In fact, 50 percent of women say that within six months they gain back any weight they've managed to ditch. And more than a quarter have dieted so many times they've lost track of the number. Well, get ready to stop the endless yo-yoing: Science has finally come up with simple, groundbreaking solutions for lasting weight loss. We checked in with the top experts in the field and scoured the latest research to bring you the skinny on everything you need to reach your slim-down goals and stay there.
Make your fat burn fat.
Seriously: Your flab can help you shed pounds. How? Just as there's more than one kind of fat in food, there's more than one type in your body. White fat is the bad stuff you want to zap. But a second kind, brown fat, actually torches calories. "Up to 80 percent of adults have brown fat deposits in their bodies," says Aaron M. Cypess, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School. This good fat is powerful because it's packed with mitochondria, the parts of cells that generate heat. When activated, as little as two ounces of brown fat can gobble up as much as 20 percent of your body's calories.
Exercise is one of the best ways to get your brown fat in gear. In a study, scientists at Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute discovered that working out releases a hormone called irisin, which converts white fat to brown. Exercise for a half hour at least five days a week to turn up the burn.
 some vitamin D.
Taking this vitamin daily may help you drop pounds. A study at the University of Minnesota found that people who started a weight-loss program with higher levels of D lost more than those who weren't getting enough of the nutrient. Other research suggested that vitamin D appears to boost the effectiveness of leptin, a hormone that signalsthe brain that you're full. Because it's difficult to get D from food, Shalamar Sibley, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the university, says you may need to take a vitamin D3 supplement. Many experts now recommend 1,000 international units every day.

Chew on this.
Most of us eat quickly, chewing each bite just a few times, which means we consume more food than we realize.Slow down and you'll slim down: In a recent study, people who chewed each bite 40 times ate almost 12 percent less than those who chewed just 15 times. When we chew longer, our bodies produce less ghrelin, a hormone thatboosts appetite, and more of the peptide hormones that are believed to curb hunger. "Chewing seems to stimulate the gut to make appetite-suppressing peptide hormones," Dr. Cypess explains. Plus, the more you chew, the more thoroughly you break down food, which may release nutrients into your blood faster and give your brain time to register that you're full. From now on, focus on eating slowly at every meal. Put down your fork between bites and work your way up to 40 chews per mouthful of food.