The Best Diet

If you’re searching for the “best” diet program, you’ll find a ton of results on Google, but you likely won’t see any results in the mirror.

The secret to losing weight and never seeing those pounds again is to create a lifestyle that helps you live lean and healthy. Research shows that successful dieters create their own strategy to cutting calories that they stick to, even when it’s the weekend, holiday, vacation, or when they don’t have any weight to lose. Bottom line: They never take “time off” from their healthy eating plan.

If a diet program is too restrictive or includes foods you don’t like or that are essentially “foreign” to you, you’re setting yourself up for failure. If you’re a carb-lover, a plan like Paleo or Atkins would be less likely to be successful compared to a vegan or low-fat approach. Likewise, if you like to cook, a commercial weight-loss program that requires you to eat boxed meals, bars, or shakes will be less satisfying for you.

According to results of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) and other studies, there are several tactics associated with weight-loss success. Apply these six lifestyle strategies and create your personalized program to peel off pounds once and for all.

RELATED: For more smart, starvation-free ways to lose weight, try one of these non-diet diets.

1. Write Your Pounds Off

Dieters who keep food journals lose more weight and are more likely to keep it off compared to those who don’t keep tabs on what they eat. Keeping an eating log—whether it’s with an online program like MyFitnessPal or recorded in a notebook—will help you become more mindful of what and how much you put in your mouth. Record the time, what you ate or drank, and rate your hunger before and after eating. (A hunger scale is a great tool to help you monitor your appetite.)

2. Think Quality Calories

Nearly 90 percent of the dieters in the NWCR restrict unhealthy junk foods and beverages to achieve a slimmer physique. A recent study from the University of Pittsburg, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, found that those who had the most diet success limited desserts, fried foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages. These foods are considered to have the most “addictive”-like qualities and are primed to be stored as body fat, while they stimulate hunger and cravings for more of the junk. On the other hand, foods such as fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains are nutrient-rich and keep you satisfied.

RELATED: Kick of your new, healthier way of eating with this seven-day clean-eating plan.

3. Put the Brakes on Booze

Alcohol is a two-for-one in a bad way, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: It acts directly on the brain to stimulate appetite and simultaneously makes high-calorie foods more appealing. If you can’t give up alcohol altogether, max out at one to two drinks a week.

4. Turn Off the Tube

Those who watch more than two hours of TV a day also eat more calories and exercise less than those who limit screen time. Eating while catching your favorite programs is also associated with overeating because the distracted nature shuts down your hunger-regulating hormones. In addition, other studies show that images of desirable foods shown on TV trigger ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry. The best bet is to limit the telly to no more than two hours a day and use commercial time to do bodyweight exercises.

5. Go with the Pro(tein)

Studies show that protein provides more metabolic advantages over either carbohydrates or fats when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off. Many experts suggest that the success of low-carb diets is due to the higher amounts of protein rather than the low amounts of carbohydrates. Shift some of your carb and fat calories to protein, striving for 20 to 30 grams in each of your main meals for the most benefit.

RELATED: Hey vegans! Whip up some of these high-protein vegan meals to be sure you meat your pro needs. (Non-vegans will love them too!)

6. Move It!

Just 1 percent of successful losers from the NWCR say they lost weight with diet alone and 9 percent slimmed down with only exercise, whereas 90 percent combined diet and exercise. A fitness program that provides aerobic conditioning, intervals, and strength training—which helps the body retain more lean tissue while losing body fat—are most effective to torch calories and keep your metabolism revving.

Original content: http://www.shape.com/blogs/weight-loss-coach/best-diet

This Is the Fastest Way to Lose Weight Safely

"The trouble with dieting," I hear many women say, "is that it takes too long. If I want to look good for my anniversary next month, I should've started losing weight way back in February. Now that I'm finally focused, it's too late." Well, yes and no. Taking the long-term approach to weight loss is wise because it means you'll lose pounds slowly and steadily -- making it more likely that you'll keep them off. But there are ways to rev up your metabolism so you burn calories and lose weight more quickly. Check out my favorite no-fail jump starts.

WATCH YOUR FLUIDS

1. Drink green tea. Get this: When a recent study compared the metabolic effect of green tea (in extract) with that of a placebo, researchers found that the green-tea drinkers burned about 70 additional calories in a 24-hour period. If you can believe it, those 70 calories a day add up to a total of 7.3 pounds of fat a year! It's not magic, it's science: Researchers believe the difference is caused by metabolism-enhancing antioxidants known as catechins, which are found in green tea.

2. Avoid calories in a glass. Scientists now know that the body does not register liquid calories in the same way it does solid calories. Drinking a grande caffe mocha, for instance, won't make you feel satiated the way eating a bowl of pasta will. Which means that although the caffe mocha actually has a greater number of calories than the pasta, you're still more likely to want a second cup from Starbucks than another plate of linguine. So monitor your intake of juice, soda, coffee drinks and wine. If you consume one of each of those beverages during the day, you'll have taken in at least 800 extra calories by nighttime — and you'll still be hungry. (Incidentally, alcohol may suppress the metabolism of fat, making it tougher for you to burn those calories.)

START LIFTING

3. Buy a set of five-pound weights. It's a onetime investment you'll never regret. Here's why: Strength training builds lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories — at work or at rest — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The more lean muscle you have, the faster you'll slim down. How do you start strength training? Try some push-ups or a few squats or lunges. Use your free weights to perform simple biceps curls or triceps pulls right in your home or office. Do these exercises three to four times per week, and you'll soon see a rapid improvement in your physique.

4. Lose the salt. Sodium contributes to water retention, making you look and feel bloated. Do you eat too much salt? Probably — the daily value suggests no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium each day (or about one teaspoon), but most of us are getting more than twice that amount. So keep an eye on your sodium intake, and that doesn't just mean ditching the saltshaker. Hidden sources include soups, canned foods and drinks (did you know a serving of regular V8 juice has 800 mg of sodium?), salty snacks such as chips and pretzels and many prepackaged foods.

HEAT THINGS UP

5. Spice it up. Angelo Tremblay, Ph.D., director of the division of kinesiology at Laval University, in Canada, found that eating hot peppers can boost a person's basal metabolism (the total calories the body burns at rest). The reason? Capsaicin, a compound found in jalapeno and cayenne peppers, may increase your body's release of stress hormones such as adrenaline, which can speed up your metabolism and your ability to burn calories. What's more, eating hot peppers may reduce your appetite, Tremblay says, helping to curb your cravings. So spice up your stir-fried veggies, eat low-calorie chili or salsa (try them on salads and baked potatoes), and watch the pounds come off faster.

6. Get some sleep. As funny as it sounds, sleep deprivation may make you fat — and not just because you're susceptible to cases of the late-night munchies (although there's that too). Women who get less than four hours of sleep per night have a slower metabolism than those who snooze for a full eight hours, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. So don't skimp on your zzz's, and you'll be rewarded with an extra edge when it comes to shedding pounds quickly.

MOVE AROUND

7. Go for an evening walk. Don't get me wrong — exercising at any time is good for you. But evening activity may be particularly beneficial because many people's metabolism slows down toward the end of the day. Thirty minutes of aerobic activity before dinner increases your metabolic rate and may keep it elevated for another two or three hours, even after you've stopped moving. What that means for you: Those dinner calories have less of a chance to take up permanent residence on your hips.

8. Eat every meal. Listen up: Skipping meals will not make you lose weight faster. That strategy backfires because your body thinks food is in short supply, so it slows your metabolism in order to conserve energy. Over time, the result is that when you do eat — even if you consume the same foods as always — your body will be slower to use the calories as fuel, thus creating a backlog of unwanted pounds. If a hectic day makes a sit-down meal impossible, stash an energy bar or a piece of fruit in your purse or briefcase -- anything that will keep you from going hungry.

9. Add 20 minutes of exercise per day. If you're on a diet, you're probably already working out a couple of times a week. (No? Well, you should start!) But whether you exercise or not, you can get a leg up on all those other weight-loss wannabes by doing a little something extra each day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator; walk to the bus, train, or all the way to the office; window-shop with your best friend rather than sit over coffee. Taking the dog out, gardening and even housecleaning all increase the number of calories you expend. You don't have to go for a jog (although that would help!) to speed up weight loss. Twenty minutes of moderate exercise a day means you'll burn approximately 700 calories.

DRINK UP!

10. H20, H20, H20. You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again. That's because drinking 64 ounces of water daily is one of the easiest ways to speed up weight loss. Your body needs water in order to efficiently metabolize stored fat. When you shortchange your supply, you're likely to slow down that process, meaning it's more difficult for you to burn calories. An easy eight glasses a day (at least!) will keep your system running smoothly.

11. Don't go for the gimmicks. At any given time, there are dozens of weight-loss hypes in the marketplace that claim to have the ability to take off 10 pounds in 10 days, or whatever. Desperation can tempt us to try anything, but you and I both know these schemes don't work. Save your money, but more importantly, save yourself from the emotional pain when these gimmicks fail. Be realistic. Jump-start your weight-loss program in ways that make sense, and not only will you be thinner, you'll be happier too.

From: Good Housekeeping

Original content:http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/nutrition/a53299/lose-weight-faster-karas-0302/

What Is The Best Way to Lose Fat?

Out of all the possible methods that are available for fat loss, one that seems to be comparatively more effective is exercise. If you concentrate on your diet without doing some form of exercise, you develop a greater risk of shutting down your metabolism and losing muscle. The more fat you have to lose, the more of a problem this aspect becomes. Dieting without any exercise will leave you more likely to lose track and increase your likelihood of giving up.

The Benefits of Exercise on Fat Loss

With exercise, you can burn off all excessive calories. In this regard, a decent exercise plan goes a long way towards ensuring you burn fat as it enables you to maintain the muscle mass in your body while helping you lose fat. This can be important for a variety of reasons. Muscle is simply tissue which burns calories. It enables you to carry out activities at an intensity that can allow you to shred more calories than you could do the same activity with less muscle.

Why Repeated Dieting Is Not a Good Idea

Dieting repeatedly while not making sure that you maintain the muscle in your body can actually lead you to be fatter and less healthy. This can even occur in case you weigh less as compared to when you began dieting. What actually happens is that you lose muscle and resultantly the percentage of your own weight that is taken from fat is significantly increased. Due to this, your ability to perform exercises adequately is decreased. If you keep repeating this process, your health is affected.

Dieting alone definitely makes it more difficult to lose fat as it requires one to eat less as compared to what their body perceives as required. When one starts eating too less than their maintenance level, their metabolism goes into starvation mode. In this situation, the body attempts to preserve as much fat as it can. Resultantly, you don’t burn fat simply because your body is unable to burn fat while storing it at the same time.

Fat Loss Products

Another aspect of fat loss that you can consider experimenting with includes fat loss products. Garcinia Cambogia is a decent product in this regard. You can also consider trying Shred-X Capsules for faster results in terms of fat loss.

The Answer

The simple (and complex) answer is that there is no “best way” to lose fat. Each person will respond differently to a training program. However, there are some principles fitness professionals can apply when designing their clients’ programs. Furthermore, knowing your body type is very helpful. Next you can experiment to see how your body responds to particular styles of workouts (trial and error) to find what I call your sweet spot (what works for you).

Related Links:

21 Day Fix - Simple Eating. Simple Fitness. Fast Results.

Make every step toward health count with a Fitbit tracker.

Don't live in gym, just look like you do! 

Transform your body in just 90 days with P90X!

INSANITY - Get a Year's Worth of Results In Just 60 Days!

Body Beast - Go from Regular Joe to JACKED...Ho-Hum to HOTTIE in 90 Days flat!

Beauty Sleep by BikiniBOD™ is a delicious, innovative tea supplement that takes the typical weight loss and detox elixirs found on the market today to a whole new level. Beauty Sleep Tea combines the very best of the leading detoxifying, appetite suppression and beauty ingredients into one mix.

Air Purifiers for Asthma.

Beats by Dr. Dre Mixr Review

Exercise and music go hand in hand. In fact, studies tell us that music greatly enhances the intensity of any workout. I guess there’s just something about the rhythm and the beat that suddenly gets us all going. And that’s exactly the primary motivation behind a decent workout.

Keeping that in mind, in this blog, we are going to review one of the most impressive headphones currently available in the market. You can equip these and enjoy all of your workouts with maximum intensity. I am, of course, talking about Beats by Dr. Dre Mixr headphones.

Industrial Strength Sound

First things first: it’s all about the sound. If a pair of headphones can’t seem to produce a fine level of sound then needless to say, they are pretty much useless. With that being said, Beats Mixr headphones have industrial strength sound. What does that mean? Well, for starters, these are designed to be heard over parties. That’s right; they deliver extremely deep levels of bass at extraordinarily high volume. You wouldn’t actually believe that these are designed for pros that warm up the party.

Useful for All

Don’t get confused, though. Just because they are designed for pros doesn’t mean you can’t have them. The functionality and efficiency of these headphones means that they are useful for one and all. They have rotating ear cups which can swivel back behind your ears and then rotate back for absolute isolation. What’s more, they also have daisy chain and dual input connectors, and as such, they make it easy for you to share whatever you are listening to.

Incredibly Durable

Don’t worry about overusing them. Beats by Dr. Dre Mixr headphones are manufactured to withstand the rigors of everyday life. You can use them while you are working out. You can have them on while you’re out on a run. They are incredibly durable. Simply put, they are tough enough even to take a beating. These headphones have an ultra flexible headband which is also crafted to be extremely light. So in other words, you get the best of both worlds.

All in all, Beats by Dr. Dre Mixr headphones are definitely a product you should have by your side if you’re an avid gym goer who wishes to blast his or her workouts to the max. Trust me, once you get these, you will realize what your workouts had been lacking all along. I can assure you that your workouts will hit the max as you have these headphones on whilst they blast some serious music to your ears.

If you have already made your decision that you need these by your side, then I suggest you head over to Amazon right now and buy yourself these amazing headphones. Have a blast while working out with these on!

Related Links:

Make every step toward health count with a Fitbit tracker.

Don't live in gym, just look like you do! 

Transform your body in just 90 days with P90X!

INSANITY - Get a Year's Worth of Results In Just 60 Days!

Body Beast - Go from Regular Joe to JACKED...Ho-Hum to HOTTIE in 90 Days flat!

Beauty Sleep by BikiniBOD™ is a delicious, innovative tea supplement that takes the typical weight loss and detox elixirs found on the market today to a whole new level. Beauty Sleep Tea combines the very best of the leading detoxifying, appetite suppression and beauty ingredients into one mix.

Air Purifiers for Asthma.

Should I Do Cardio First or Weight Training First?

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned fitness enthusiast, you will definitely find yourself asking this at some point: should I do cardio first or Weight Training first? In this post, we’ll be taking a deeper look at this matter.

Well, it all boils down to the science of the manner in which your body utilizes energy. When you are exercising, your body is first using anaerobic energy. This type of energy is a sudden burst of energy which doesn’t require added oxygen beyond whatever you’re taking in already. Afterwards, once you get moving, the body moves forward to aerobic energy, and this type of energy requires more oxygen as compared to whatever you are already inhaling.

If you can’t seem to wrap your head around the above, then simply remember is that the key is using the sudden burst of energy most effectively. This is why for most, strength training may seem like a suitable first option. As compared to cardio, strength training usually requires sudden bursts of energy. While cardio is usually steadier and longer, not requiring the quick bursts, strength training is the more explosive and fine-tuned movement. In this regard, if you perform strength training first, you will make better use of the original sudden burst of energy.

With that being said, the more important goal is doing both cardio and strength. So if you find yourself not motivated enough to do strength first, you shouldn’t limit yourself by following the above mentioned advice – what’s more important is that you do whatever you need to do.

What’s more, it rather depends on your individual goals. If the primary goal is to increase aerobic endurance or lose weight, then you should perform cardiovascular exercise first. If the primary goal is to increase

muscular strength, then you should perform strength training first. Basically, in order to get the most out of the workout, you should perform the most important type of exercise when you are not fatigued. Because many individuals want to lose weight and increase muscular strength, alternating the order of the workout during different cycles of training is one way to satisfy both goals.

Of course, each individual has a different idea for what they wish to get out of their fitness regime, so you should tailor yours to your own goals. 

For the recreational exerciser, it is recommended that they experiment the order of both the types of training within a workout, and then try to gauge which of them works best. If you are still unsure, however, as to what to do, then simply schedule the two workouts on separate days. By doing so, you wouldn’t have to worry about one of them affecting the other.

Related Links:

21 Day Fix - Simple Eating. Simple Fitness. Fast Results.

Make every step toward health count with a Fitbit tracker.

Don't live in gym, just look like you do! 

Transform your body in just 90 days with P90X!

INSANITY - Get a Year's Worth of Results In Just 60 Days!

Body Beast - Go from Regular Joe to JACKED...Ho-Hum to HOTTIE in 90 Days flat!

Beauty Sleep by BikiniBOD™ is a delicious, innovative tea supplement that takes the typical weight loss and detox elixirs found on the market today to a whole new level. Beauty Sleep Tea combines the very best of the leading detoxifying, appetite suppression and beauty ingredients into one mix.

Air Purifiers for Asthma.