Diet

What Foods Should You Eat When Trying to Lose Weight?

Posted in Diet, Weight Loss

Canal Walk food court
Creative Commons License photo credit: DanieVDM

Sometimes when you are trying to lose weight it is difficult to know what foods to eat. Snacks, breakfast, lunch dinner… it can become a bit overwhelming. In this post I am going to give you some great ideas for what you should be eating when it comes to weight loss time.

How to pick your foods: what should you eat?

When you go to pick out a pair of shoes in the store you know what you are looking for. If a pair of shoes isn’t possessing all the right features you simply won’t buy it. If it doesn’t have the right name, the best fabrics, the correct shape, etc. you won’t put it on your feet. The same should be true of food. You need to learn what to look out for and when the food on the shelf doesn’t meet those requirements you don’t put it in your stomach.

1. Food should be natural
When it comes to losing weight you need to get rid of all the highly processed foods and start choosing natural. Natural foods are good for you. The human body has adapted over many thousands of years to rely on these foods and thus works best when you eat them.

The best natural foods are plant based. This means fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and so on. The human body’s digestive tract is perfectly built for these foods and our cells operate extremely well when we eat them. Try to get as much of these foods as possible.

2. Foods should be low in sugar
When you are looking for those extra sauces and flavors to go on your natural foods you need to make sure that they are low in sugar. Sugar is, without a doubt, your number one enemy when it comes to losing weight. It will add pounds to your butt and waist before you even know it and it will add zero in terms of healthy benefits.

3. Foods should be colorful
When you are in the fruit and vegetable isle looking for the ingredients to this week’s meals you should keep your eye out for one thing – bright colors! There are many theories that suggest that the human eye sees in color in order to help us find the right foods. And the best one’s are bright!

Think bright green spinach, deep yellow bananas, blood red tomatoes and full orange pumpkin. These are the types of foods you should base your diet around.

4. Eggs and meat should be free range
While I do not believe that meat is 100% necessary for a healthy weight loss plan I know a lot of people like to eat it. If you are one of those people you might consider purchasing free range meats and eggs. There are two reasons why: it is ethical and it is healthier.

Non-free range animals are kept in terrible conditions. They are often force fed their food and kept in cages that don’t allow them to turn around or stand up. Many scientists also believe that this makes them a lot less healthy to eat – hormones and cancers produced by a terrible life are then eaten by us. Choose free range or miss it all together.

Conclusion

If you stick to these basic principles you will find that selecting your meals will become a lot healthier. Weight loss, actually, is more about getting healthy than it is about trying to lose weight. Try it and see how it goes for you.

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Does Drinking Water Help You Lose Weight?

Posted in Diet, Weight Loss

Water Bottle
Creative Commons License photo credit: gahdjun

One question I get asked a lot is whether or not drinking water will help you lose weight. The answer is simple – you bet it does. In this post I am going to show you the main reason why drinking lots of water will help you shed some of that pesky fat.

Why does water help you lose weight?

Here are a two simple reasons as to why drinking water will help with your weight problems. Remember, all of this is just science until you put it into practice. Start drinking more water today and see the results for yourself.

1. Water stops you from snacking
The main reason that water helps you lose that belly is because it makes you feel full. As we all know, water has 0 calories so consuming it will just hydrate you and make you feel full. This means you will be less likely to snack on things during the day.

2. Water keeps you hydrated
Many people do not know this but one of the symptoms of dehydration is actually hunger pains. If you are not drinking enough water there is a chance that you will be feeling hungry and that leads you consume more calories. Drinking will keep you hydrated and, as mentioned above, stop you from snacking during the day.

Conclusion

Water is essential to good bodily health. If you don’t drink water you will be dehydrated and this will lead you to snack. Try drinking at least five tall glasses of water each day and see how you feel. I am betting you will lose a few pounds over time as well.

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7 Ways to Burn More Calories at Work

Posted in Diet, Weight Loss

Runners on the River
Creative Commons License photo credit: liquene

Do you spend all day sitting in front of a computer watching your butt grow? Well not anymore! In this post I am going to show you some simple ways to burn more calories while you are at work.

1. Eat every two hours
The best thing you can do is learn to eat a regular small meal every two hours instead of just breakfast, lunch and dinner. You see, digestion takes up more energy than any other bodily process and as such you can burn calories by eating! How amazing is that. Eat a healthy meal every two hours and you will find yourself losing weight without doing anything.

2. Park the car further away
If you drive to work you can get a good workout everyday by parking the car a little bit further away that you usually do and walking the distance. This is a surefire way to burn some calories as there is no way you can get out of it!

3. Ride to work
You can go a step further than number two and ride to work. Riding is fantastic for your health and also is a very nice thing to do for the environment. Riding is carbon neutral and it will help to reduce your carbon footprint on this Earth.

4. Sit on a fitness ball
Fitness balls make excellent seats. They are now being used by big firms all around the world as they wake up to the amazing potential that these bouncy, colorful balls have. The main reason to sit on a fitness ball is because it keeps your back mobile. Moving your back during the day will help you to avoid a lot of common back complaints. The next main reason is because you can drop back whenever you want and do a few abdominal crunches. A great way to burn some calories.

5. Take the stairs
Stair climbing is one of the best ways to burn calories at work. In fact, running up stairs is one of the best exercises you can do – period. If you work in a big building just get off the elevator a few floors early and walk the stairs up to your office.

6. Get a set of dumbbells for your office
One very helpful thing that you can do is get a pair of light dumbbells for your office. If you are too busy to get out for lunch you can just do a few sets of shoulder raises, squats and other light workouts in your office. This burns all your lunch calories!

7. Go for a walk at lunch
When you have an hour lunch break it is a good idea to get out of the office and go for a walk around the city or the local park. Every step you take is a step towards a new and slimmer you!

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