Tips on Fighting the Fat

I know how it feels to want to lose weight, but find it hard to stick to a diet. There are so many different diets with conflicting advice that you just don't know what to, or not to, eat anymore

For someone who can't afford the pricey Mediterranean Diet, or cringe at the thought of a carbohydrate starvation diet, here are a few great tips that work as long as you adhere to them. Common sense tips on how to get your weight down even if you are a weak devil, like me and cant keep to any form of diet.

If you are drinking lots soda-then stop now! Change to water and it is usually enough get rid of 10 kilos a year! On average a can of soda contains 150 calories! If you stopped drinking just one a day, that's more than 50,000 calories annually. Seven kilos of calories, the sugar, plus the carbonated water gives fluid retention weight. Get rid of the carbonated soda drinks now!

Drinking lots of water, apart from reducing liquid calories ( for some people this makes up around a third or even half of their daily calorie intake), drinking five glasses of cold water in a day burns about 50 calories. It's not much, but it is about 3kilos a year. Switching from one or two cans a day to five glasses of water; you make over a ten kilo shift in one year! Easy eh?

Now, we mentioned this in earlier blogs but for Gods sake get off your backside and go for a walk! It’s is one of the best ways of burning calories and increases your metabolism. It’s easy on the joints, great for toning the muscles and believe it or not very natural. Just forty-five minutes a day not only burns loads of calories, but it simply makes you feel wonderful. Go before breakfast, early, before anyone is around!

Replace "bad fats" with "good fats." Bad fats are especially found in junk food, processed foods, and red meat. Good fats are found in nuts, fish, and olive oil. While you do not want to go to a high fat diet, the fats found in nuts, fish, and oil tend to fight the bad fat and bad cholesterol, and generally contain less calories than beef, for example. Lighter meats are generally better than dark. Get rid of the skin on chicken. Its only fat- doesn’t change the taste and halves the calories!

Use the stairs. Everyone likes elevators, but a few flights of stairs is muscle and aerobic exercise simultaneously. Since more muscle equals a higher metabolism, climbing the stairs has benefits well after you finish.

Fruit and Vegetables are the best because they contain vitamins, have very low amounts of calories, but are filling. A steak fills you up, so does a large dish of broccoli, cauliflower, or musk melon. Care to guess which one puts on less weight? Fat is non existent another plus.

Don't eat before bed time. This food is less likely to fully digest, meaning it goes straight into fat storage. Now this is the hard one because we all like to go out for dinners. It’s part of our social culture. Just be careful not to stuff yourself with too much junk. If possible, take a long leisurely walk before you go to bed

Drink green and other fruit teas. Other than water, there is no better drink. Tea is full of anti oxidants, it helps your organs run more efficiently, and your body requires calories to burn it. For those people getting off the soda, this can also ease caffeine headaches and other withdrawals.

Eat slowly. Many people grab seconds after wolfing down a first plate. If you are used to taking two or more plates and you eat slowly, you may be surprised after half an hour to realize that you aren't quite done, but you're already full!

Remember the apple pie versus an apple calculation? Apple pie gives 540 calories and takes 150 calories to burn! Meaning you store 350 calories as guess what –FAT.

An apple contains 50 calories and requires 150 calories to burn result- your fat reserves supply the needed 100 calories. Makes sense doesn’t it. It ain’t easy but persevere. For you and for your families sake.