Healthy Weight Loss-Part2

Here are some quick and easy ways to help you slim down. These little changes add up to losing weight and a healthier you!

Kick the Sugar Habit

According to Dr. Robert Atkins, sugar is the "quintessential anti-nutrient". It contains no vitamins or minerals. Rather, it is 100% carbohydrate, so it must be immediately metabolized. When sugar is metabolized it depletes our bodies of vital nutrients.

There are healthier solutions available. Stevia and glycerine extracts of Garcinia cambogia (Lose-It) are both very sweet weight-loss aids. Unlike sugar, these natural alternatives are not empty calories, and both also act as appetite suppressants to help curb your calorie cravings.

Accelerate Exercise

Enjoy a cup or capsule of green tea 30 minutes before you exercise. The natural caffeine it contains frees fatty acids, allowing you to burn fat more easily. Green tea also has antioxidant compounds that appear to work with caffeine to increase your calorie burn.

Take chromium before exercising. An essential trace mineral, your body needs chromium to metabolize carbohydrates, proteins and fat. Nearly 90% of North Americans are chromium deficient

Chromium enhances the calorie burning results of exercise to make weight loss easier. When you work out it increases your chromium excretion, which makes supplementation even more important.

Water

Dehydration can significantly slow down your metabolism. Be sure you drink enough healthy liquids (water, fruit juice, herbal teas) to keep your body happy. Avoid "bad" drinks such as soda, sugary drinks and coffee as they aid the dehydration process. In general, you should drink 1/2 ounce (14.5 ml) per pound of body weight daily, just to keep from being dehydrated. Thus, a person weighing 150 pounds would need at least 2.175L of water daily. This number increases dramatically if you are dieting or exercising.

Give your water an added boost by adding 1 or 2 teaspoons of liquid chlorophyll to each liter (quart) of water.

A common fallacy is to drink when you are thirsty. Unfortunately, when exercising you are already dehydrated by the time you become thirsty. A schedule to prevent dehydration begins 2 hours before exercising by drinking at least 500ml. Then 1 hour before, drink 250ml more, and at least 250ml every 15 minutes during exercise. Finally, drink another 500ml within ½ hour of finishing your exercise routine.

Measure, Measure, Measure

When cooking or baking, measure out all ingredients, especially fats (butter, margarine, oils) and sweeteners (molasses, sugar, honey, stevia). Many people estimate these ingredients and, more often than not, they estimate too high thereby adding unnecessary calories.

Spice Up Your Life

Try adding spices to food instead of fat. Both add flavour, but spices also aid digestion. Give "dull" foods a spicy zip and add variety without adding fat by varying the spices you use.

Sprinkle Your Cereal

Incorporate high fiber flax into your food. Not only is it packed with a healthy and flavorful oil, the high fiber content can help you feel full and eat less. Try adding flax to cereals, breads, muffins, and yoghurt.

Become a Dipper

Pass on the butter. Instead, try dipping your bread in flavored extra virgin olive oil (my favorite is rosemary, garlic & chili). Research has shown extra virgin olive oil to be exceptionally healthy, and "dippers" eat fewer calories than those who buttered their bread.

Skip Rope, Not Meals

Did you know? Restricting foods and skipping meals slows the metabolism and can lead to overeating. When you miss a meal or eat too little, your brain initiates a famine response which alerts the body to conserve calories. Your body assumes food is in short supply and goes into a calorie-saving mode, storing fat to keep you from starving to death. Instead of skipping, eat well-balanced healthy meals.

Take Time for You

Take some time every day to do something you enjoy, other than eating. Routinely doing something you enjoy not only makes you feel good about yourself, but provides the emotional support you may be seeking from food.

Playing is not just for kids. Run, jump, swim, have fun! You can get lots of physical activity "playing." Get out and have a game of tag with your kids or challenge someone to a full-court basketball game. Ride your bike, dance, or go hiking. If you can enjoy enough additional activity everyday to burn an extra 300 calories, you'll lose 2.5 pounds of fat per month -- and tone your muscles. You will love the new you, and so will your kids!

The combined effect of these simple little steps will help turn your body into an efficient calorie-burning machine. This new year, take the steps to a happy healthy new you.