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Wednesday 23 February 2011

Diet

Best Way To Get Six Pack Abs
Fat burning foods

It seems like everyone now a days is obsessed with the notion of losing weight without a difficult regimen of diet and exercise. In fact, a lot of people are turning towards these as a way to cut down on the calories. While these people will not be able to stop exercising and dieting completely, they will be able to take it down a notch, and as it turns out many of these are good for you also, so dieting almost takes care of its self (almost, not totally).
Incorporating fat burning foods in to your daily diet can be as easy or as difficult as you make it. There are a few pre prepared drinks that reportedly burn fat. These include energy drinks, teas, and even some sodas. These all work by two different methods. The drinks either contain complex ingredients that take more energy to digest than they contain calories, or they contain herbs and spices that are said to boost the metabolism. Tea has been used for many years as a possible contender in the list of fat burning foods. Green tea is often cited as having the most potential. Although it is somewhat unclear as to weather it is the ingredients in the green tea that give benefits, or the green tea as a source of caffeine. This is unfortunately the problem faced with other fat burning foods as well. It is hard to pin down exactly what mechanism is used for fat burning other then the increased heart rate attributed to caffeine, and caffeine like compounds.
Other substances contained in fat burning foods that are believed to increase the metabolism include antioxidants, hot peppers, garlic, and ginger. Interestingly enough three of these ingredients are prominent in most Asian cooking; and as we all know Asians (when eating traditional foods) rarely become obese. The knowledge of antioxidants as an active ingredient in fat burning foods is rather recent and still rather undocumented. Thankfully there are so many benefits to eating foods rich in antioxidants that even if they turn out not to be fat burning foods you will still have received other benefits. Not to mention that fat burning foods rich in antioxidants tend to be quite lean an low in fat, so you will at least be eating a low fat diet (never a bad idea when you want to loose weight). Berries are known to be some of the richest sources of antioxidants out there, and the darker the berry, the more antioxidants. Blueberries, blackberries, and acai berries are some of the most antioxidant rich foods around.
In addition to your metabolism enhancing foods, eating a diet of fat burning foods that burn more calories then they contain is an excellent contribution to a healthy routine of exercise and a balanced diet. Celery, and leafy greens are the two best examples of fat burning foods that contain fewer calories then they burn. This is mostly due to their high fiber content. The body uses more energy passing this fiber through the digestive system than the actual food contains, making high fiber low calorie vegetables excellent fat burning foods.
Rounding out your diet of fat burning foods with a multivitamin is a great idea. The simple fact is that most fat burning foods (while nutritious) do not contain every vitamin and nutrient that you need; and giving your body the nutrients it needs is possibly one of the most important steps for weight loss. Beyond a multivitamin, eating a balanced diet is also important. Definitely eat fat burning foods, but balance them with regular foods also; ensuring your body variety is important for maintaining health, and weigh loss.

Nutrition
In order to successfully manage your weight and body composition you must first realise that food is only fuel, we use it to propel and drive our body to complete the day to day tasks we set it. The amount of energy in which food provides is measured in calories. In order maintain gain or lose weight we need to regulate how many calories we consume on a daily basis. This is dependant on several variables such as age, gender, height, weight, body composition and activity level. The key to managing the intake of your fuel is knowing how much, when and what type you should consume. If you consume too many calories be it good or bad your body will store this as fat.
What’s in your food
In order to get the most out of your diet your first must realise what your food is made up off. Below are detailed explanations of the key nutrients we need in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The key is to keep it simple, I have broken down the main nutrients with basic easy to follow information. Protein, Carbohydrates, fats. The normal consumption of these for an average 2000calorie diet are as follows: 
If you are eating a normal diet it should consist of 50% carbohydrate, 25% protein and 25% fat. 
low carb: A low carbohydrate diet can be very effective for losing those hard to shift last few pounds in my past experience. This will consist of 10% carbohydrate, 50%protein and 40% fat .You can also go on a low carb and low fat diet which will be covered in more detail on my other blog:  bestwaytogetsixpackabs.blogspot.com.
low fat: A low fat diet can also be effective for weight loss but i find the low carb to work better for me personally. It should consist of 60% carbs, 25% protein and only 15% fat.
Summary
Low carb and low fat diets should only be temporary measures for weight loss. The best thing to do in the long run is to have a structured eating regime taking into account all the variables such as lifestyle, weight, age, gender and so on. Ideally you want to be eating 4 or 5 small meals a day but I now it can be hard to find the time for 5 meals when some people struggle to have 3 meals a day. the key is preparation, for example cooking the night before because I know most people don't have the time in the morning before work to start cooking. If you still find it difficult and only manege to have 3 meals a day make sure you are eating the right things and not snacking on junk in-between meals. If you find yourself snacking on junk try to replace this with healthy options like fruit and low calorie meal replacement bars available at shops like Holland & Barot and GNC. At the end of it all as long as you'r not consuming more calories than you need and you are eating healthily you will be able to maintain your health and your figure. 

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