Natural Fat Burning Foods

Weight loss is the bane of modern existence. Almost everyone feels the need to slim down, and most people become obsessed with the latest diet touted in the media regardless of whether it’s healthy or not. While fad diets come and go, truly sustainable weight loss only happens when a person has chosen to become healthier. Instead of focusing on a scale number outcome, successful, long lasting weight loss is accomplished when viewed as part of a healthier lifestyle process. To test this principle, consider how to lose weight in a week by a holistic, healthy approach.

Focus on Nutrition, Not Calories
The first step to losing weight in a week is to throw out the calorie counter and become a disciple of the food pyramid. Basically, the food pyramid restricts saturated fats to just a smidgen a day, and emphasizes vegetables, fruits, and whole grains above all else. Protein should be consumed in only 2-3 ounce servings, and meat can be easily substituted with chick peas, beans, or tofu. Indulge in as many varieties of vegetables as possible especially those considered fat burning foods, and add natural fruits as snacks. Instead of feeling deprived, most people feel less hungry and energized. Ironically, overall calorie counts per day do indeed matter but by focusing on nutrition, your daily calories will naturally be reduced simply by eating healthier foods.

Water Is Your Friend
For your test week, skip the sodas and juices in favor of good old water. Not only will water help you feel satiated, but your body will become naturally hydrated. Since hydration helps the brain receive the message that you are not hungry, it will reduce your cravings. Water also helps keep your digestive system working at maximum efficiency which is important for weight loss.  As always, about 64 ounces of water a day is a healthy recommendation.

Eat Frequently
It may sound funny to someone trying to lose weight in a week but numerous studies have shown that eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day is much more effective at burning fat than eating three larger meals. By eating smaller meals more frequently you are essentially providing your body a steady stream of fuel that it can readily use at the time of digestion and thus significantly reduces the need to store it as fat. By eating more often, your metabolism will also be kept high throughout the day; an important factor for caloric burn.

Use Natural Supplements
Anyone following the food pyramid will receive recommended daily vitamins and minerals, but it doesn’t hurt to use natural supplements in moderation. For example, find a multivitamin that has no coloring, gluten, or fructose added and take one a day. Green tea used three times a day also has known nutritional benefits and helps the body burn fuel more efficiently through the EGCG contained within it. If your tea needs a bit of sweetening, add a drop or two of honey.

Reduce Stress Levels
Though reducing stress is easier said than done, stress is a known contributor to weight gain. Not only does it drive a lot of people to over indulge, but it forces the body to release hormones that are detrimental for a lot of reasons, weight loss being one of them. Do a little research into meditation or relaxation techniques and make sure to incorporate daily sessions. Meditation is effective because it can be used any where – even at work. You’ll just look as if you’re really focusing in on your tasks! Don’t ignore stress reduction recommendations since stress has seriously negative impacts on health. Regular exercise is also a great stress buster, not to mention it burns calories.

Walk, Don’t Run
Okay, you can run if you choose to, but find an easy and enjoyable type of activity that will help your body burn up unwanted calories. For those who are more than moderately overweight, swimming or walking activities are recommended. Recent research shows that even two sets of 20 minute periods of walking a day will do wonders for your health and waistline. Whenever possible, choose to walk or bicycle to a destination, instead of going by car. It might take you a little longer to get there but you’d be pretty amazed at how fast you can lose weight just by walking more often.

Knowing how to lose weight fast in a week and then following through with it has never been easy, but it’s a lot more possible when viewed as a start to healthier life. The exciting thing is that by changing the way you live and eat will not only help you to lose weight in one week but for the rest of your life as well. So do yourself a favor and decide to take action now.

If you are looking for answers on how to burn fat, there are various methods you can use to accomplish this.  However, the best way to burn fat is to incorporate all of these methods into one fat burning plan.  The following methods are all considered effective ways to burn fat.

Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is crucial for your body. Drink plenty of water (8-12 glasses) throughout the day. Avoid fruit juices and soda pop however as these are not good ways to hydrate your body; when trying to burn fat the last thing you need in your system are high concentrations of sugar! Keeping your body hydrated allows your body to function more efficiently and helps keep your metabolism high. Without enough water your digestive system in particular will not function properly and will hold on to fat as a result.

Eat Fat Burning Foods
Another good way to burn fat is to consume fat burning foods. Fat burning foods are foods which have a high thermic effect, that is they take a large amount of energy to digest compared to their calorie content. Eat foods that are high in protein and fiber. Foods that are high in protein take longer to digest and can significantly boost your metabolism resulting in higher caloric burn. Foods high in fiber help you feel full sooner and for longer. Fiber also helps to move fat through our digestive system faster so that less of it is absorbed into the body. Some of the best fat burning foods are fish, lean meats, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products such as skim milk.

Exercise Regularly
Exercising at least a few times a week can really help raise your metabolism and burn fat faster than diet alone. Interval training works best for this where you alternate between short intense bursts of exercise and moderate ones. Regular fat burning exercises can not only help you lose fat faster, but have significant overall health benefits as well.

Build Muscle Mass
Building muscle through strength training can also help increase fat burn. By building up your lean muscle mass you are also effectively increasing your overall body caloric burn rate which in turn burns more fat. Aim to perform strength training exercises 3-4 times per week in order to see noticeable results.

Get 8 Hours Of Sleep
Lastly but not least, you need to ensure that you get a full night sleep. Your body needs to rest and depriving it of sufficient rest can adversely effect your health and metabolism. Many studies have shown that those who get at least 7-8 hours of sleep have lower BMI’s and overall less fat than those who don’t. So rest up, you are doing your body good.