is tips to help you lose the winter fat and get that phat summer shape you want to reveal at the beach.
Eat frequently (every three hours). Eating small meals every two to three hours helps keep your body fed, minimizes blood sugar spikes, helps maintain lean muscle mass, and helps keep your energy level stabilized.
Drink lots of water. Water can help you lose weight and feel full. It also helps with food digestion, toxins elimination and helps hydrate the skin. Drinking cold water is best. Studies show that drinking cold water rather than tepid water can burn calories; drinking about 8 ounces of ice-cold water (1 degree Celsius) would cause the body to expend about 9 calories. Although this is not a huge deal, if you drank 100 ounces a day this way you could lose a pound a month, besides the calories you might not eat while drinking the water, which would also help you, feel fuller. (For more on this refer to Jeff Behar's article Understanding the Importance of proper Hydration, http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/behar12.htm).
Consume foods that enhance insulin sensitivity (make your insulin work better). This would include foods high in the mineral chromium: broccoli, whole grains, shellfish, mushrooms and brewer’s yeast, as well as spices such as: cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, turmeric.Do not cut out the meat! Although Chicken and fish are typically considered healthier than red meat because many cuts of red meat can have too much saturated fat, today this is not always the case anymore. Now, lean cuts of red meat are readily available to consumers. If you follow a heart-healthy diet, it doesn't make a difference whether you eat red meat or white meat, as long as you choose lean cuts.
Eat a heart healthy diet. A Heart Healthy Diet is one with lots of fiber, fruits, vegetables, nuts, good fats, lean cuts of meat, and minimal sugar and processed foods.
Eat Good Lean Protein with Every Meal. This helps regulate blood sugar. Carb only meals can spike these levels.
Add Chicken and Turkey breast to your diet. Both provide great protein, and are low in fat.
Add a little fish to your diet. Fish contains good healthy fats.
Do Not Overeat. Overeating causes weight gain and fat storage.
Minimize the bad fats. Fats are 9 calories a gram more than double that of protein and carbohydrates. Keeping fats below 30% and cholesterol intake below 200 mg will markedly cut your risk of heart disease.
Avoid trans fats. Trans fats contribute to weight gain, and over the long term contribute to insulin resistance (the underlying metabolic problem in Type 2 Diabetes) and also elevate your cardiovascular risk.
Avoid fried foods. For stovetop cooking, it's better either to stir-fry foods in nonstick pans lightly coated with a cooking-oil spray or to braise them in broth or wine. Baking, broiling, and roasting add no extra fat to your meals.
Avoid fast foods. Hot dogs, hamburgers, tacos, fried chicken, french fries, burritoes, and other fast-food meals and snacks tend to promote weight gain for two reasons. First, they are high in fat, calories, or both. Second, the "value meals" are often excessively large and tempt you to overeat.
Minimize beverages that contain calories. Drinks that contain corn syrup and other simple sugars can add up quickly and often leave you still feeling hungry.
Increase your fiber. Fiber increases satiety (the feeling of fullness) by adding bulk to foods without additional calories Fiber can also help stabilize blood sugar levels by delaying stomach emptying which slows the rate of carbohydrate absorption, improves the body’s regulation of blood sugar, reduces the risk of insulin resistance/sensitivity and lowers insulin needs. Fiber also has many health benefits. Increasing your consumption can also help decrease blood cholesterol levels, and therefore, reduces the risk of heart disease. It can also decrease the risk of colon cancer by increasing the speed of elimination; reducing the amount of time harmful toxins are in contact with the intestinal cells.
The recommended dietary fiber intake is 14g per 1,000 calories consumed. This can be achieved by eating more vegetables, whole grains, beans, certain fruits and cereals. A gradual increase is recommended to minimize the side effectsof fiber, such as cramping, diarrhea, and intestinal gas. It is also very important to increase your fluid intake as you increase your fiber intake.
Choose foods that are filling and low in calories. That means meals and snacks made with whole grains, such as brown rice, whole-wheat bread, and oatmeal, as well as legumes, such as lentils and other beans.
Increase your vegetable consumption. Eating five servings a day of vegetables helps keep you looking good, keeps blood sugar levels stable, and also helps keep you healthy by providing important vitamins and minerals that your body needs. There are numerous studies showing that those who increase their daily servings of fruit and vegetables lower their risk dramatically for insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, heart attacks, and cancer.
Choose the Colorful veggies. Colorful fruits and vegetables of the vine get their wide range of vivid colors from health-protecting substances such as lycopene, vitamin C and vitamin A. Use them generously in dishes to enhance nutrients with very few calories.
Use low-fat or nonfat dairy foods. Milk, yogurt, and cheese and other low-fat dairy products are packed with calcium and protein and may also help you lose weight. Research suggests that dairy food, when part of a reduced-calorie diet, can enhance weight loss while strengthening bones and keeping you feeling full and satisfied. Be careful though, but the whole-milk versions of these dairy products are very high in fat, so substitute them for the low fat or fat free varieties whenever possible.
Minimize the consumption of high Glycemic Foods. Consumption of high Glycemic carbohydrates (which to some people’s surprise include, white rice, white potatoes, sugar) results in surges of blood glucose and insulin that, derail diets, zap energy, hamper training gains and over time, can lead to the development of Type 2 Diabetes in carbohydrate sensitive / insulin resistant individuals.
Never eat carbohydrates without protein. By consuming some high-quality protein at every meal/snack your blood glucose and insulin levels are more stable and appetite is minimized compared to a carb only meal.
Do not overload on low Glycemic Carbohydrates. Too many carbohydrates, even good carbohydrates can raise blood sugar. For example drinking a gallon of OJ creates a higher Glycemic Load effect on your body than eating a cupcake. Just something to consider when eating and planning your meals.
Limit Fruit Intake to 2 To 3 Servings A Day At Most. Limit fruit to two servings a day. Avoid the “sweeter,” high Glycemic index tropical fruits: bananas, mangos, pineapple and papaya.
Minimize consumption of alcohol. Alcohol are just empty calories and in most cases, except for the occasional glass of healthy red wine, does the body no good!About Jeff Behar
