Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Useful Tips to Help Fat Loss!

In the battle of the bulge, I believe that every little bit of help counts. If you've been eating clean and working out religiously all this while, then these tips are for you. If you still have no idea on what to do, go read here, here, here and here first please.

So let's get down to business, what CAN you do to help you lose fat faster?

1. BURN more calories! Do that extra rep or run that extra mile. You can add an extra set or increase your weights. You can enhance your cardio routine by doing fasted cardio, adding more frequency, increasing intensity at each session or increasing your duration. This is to prevent adaptation by the body to the level of exercise that you're doing now. Always strive to challenge and improve yourself!

2. Eat more vegetables! This makes absolute sense, doesn't it? Vegetables are extremely low in calories, very high in fiber which increases satiety and kills hunger, increases your metabolism as it has a high thermic effect and is very nutrient dense. Basically, eating more vegetables can help you eat less.

3. Increase protein consumption! Again, this makes sense too, right? Protein has the HIGHEST thermic effect of all foods and is the most versatile macro nutrient, which can simultaneously help you lose fat and build muscle. You can incorporate more protein in your diet by adding it to every meal. If you are working out hard or are an athlete, then you need more protein to recover, grow and get good results!

4. Drink green tea.

5. Eat grapefruit, and choose the red kind. While it is low in calories and loaded with fiber and antioxidants, the citrus flavonoid called naringin in grapefruit also helps to increase metabolism and aid fat loss. Naringin is actually responsible for the grapefruit's distinctive bitter taste. If you can't stand the tartness of grapefruit (I eat it just like that, love it!), then you can dice it up and add some sweetener to counter the tartness.

6. Drink coffee, but minus the sugar and cream. The caffeine in coffee helps to raise metabolism and aid fat loss. Plus, coffee is loaded with antioxidants and provides fiber as well. Sometimes, I just drink it plain black or add sweetener. I don't use cream, but prefer to add low-fat milk instead.

7. Drink coffee before you workout, be it cardio or weights. The additional caffeine boost provides extra energy for you to workout harder. Plus, the caffeine in coffee also helps the body to metabolize fat when you're working out. That's why I love my coffee jolt right before cardio or weights! (I drink pure black coffee before fasted cardio usually).

8. Add fish oil to your diet. It has been shown to increase metabolism and help fight fat! I take 4-6 grams a day.

9. Lower your carbs. Well, I'm not advocating that you jump on any extreme low carb diet, but just simply swapping some carbs with more protein, especially in the evening. You'd be surprised how something as simple as this can bring results faster.

So, I hope you paid attention...and didn't stare at the hot guy the entire time!

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