Easy Dieting Tips

Question: On what day of the week do most people begin their diet?

Answer: Tomorrow!

We all hate dieting. We hate the restrictions; the hunger; reading confusing food labels and the horrible thought that we’re not making any progress.

However, dieting doesn’t have to be daunting. By clueing up to a few simple scientific facts and becoming more aware of how your body works when it comes to food, you can start losing weight quickly, easily and, above all, safely.

Like it or not, exercise is an integral part of losing weight but it can be done with a minimum of strain or stress. Just fifteen minutes first thing in the morning will set you up for the entire day. Energy is stored in the blood stream as well as fat so by exercising first thing – when there is no energy in the blood stream – you get straight to the fat. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym either – walk to work or even just get off the bus a stop early – and you’ve covered half your daily exercise routine already.

By splitting your workout in two, your metabolic rate is raised for a few hours on two separate occasions, allowing you to burn calories faster after both sessions.

Make sure you include toning and resistance exercises in your training too. For every pound of muscle gained, your body burns an astounding extra fifty calories a day – even when you’re standing still!

The other fundamental aspect involved in losing weight is of course the food you eat.

Now here’s some really good news! Eating some foods actually causes you to burn calories! How? Well, when it comes to eating, your body uses energy even simply chewing food. By snacking on the likes of celery and cucumbers, for example, you use more energy munching than the food actually contains.

It’s also important to chew your way through loads of B vitamins – found in broccoli, tomatoes and strawberries, for example – as these vitamins are essential for the body’s fat-burning process.

In addition, chillies increase the enzymes which burn the fat contained in the liver. This means it loses more energy than it stores.

A final – but fundamental – thing to remember when trying to lose weight is not to cut our fat completely. If you do, your body thinks it’s being starved and hangs on to every little bit of energy it gets. This means you don’t lose the weight you want to. Make sure you eat some ‘good’ fat – raw nuts, oily fish – every day.

Lastly, water keeps all the body’s fat-burning systems in good working order so make sure you’re getting your eight glasses a day.

Good luck!