Drop a dress size diet rules

Eat your way lighter

Zest fitness expert Jane Wake advises, 'Get the right balance of foods in the right amounts to keep your energy levels high for exercise that will help burn off the inches.'

'Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, and think about what you eat too - good portions, more protein and healthy fats.'
See below for the drop a dress size eating plan.
Each item on the drop a dress size eating plan is equal to one portion.

 

BREAD, CEREALS AND POTATOES (5–8 portions a day)

1 bread roll, bagel or bun/ 1 slice of bread or toast/ 2 tbsp (30g) of flaked cereal (eg oats)/ 3tbsp (30g) commercial cereal (eg cornflakes)/ 3 crispbreads or crackers/ 1 naan or chapati/ 2 small boiled potato/ 2 heaped tbsp boiled rice (30g)/ 3 heaped tbsp boiled pasta (30g)

FRUIT (5 portions minimum a day)

A portion is either a piece of fruit, freshly squeezed glass of juice or 2-3 tablespoons of berries/grapes etc. Vary this as much as you can (aim for approx 80g).

VEGETABLES (6 portions minimum a day)

A portion is around 2-3 tablespoons. Choose a wide variety of fresh, raw or lightly cooked veg (approx 80g).

MILK AND DAIRY (2 portions a day)

200ml milk/ 150g yoghurt/ 1 small piece of hard cheese (15g/matchbox size)/ 80g soft cheese.

MEAT, FISH AND ALTERNATIVE (2-3 portions a day)

3 medium slices (50g) lean beef, lamb, pork, ham, liver, chicken/ 50g white or oily fish/ 2 eggs/ 4-5 tbsp (80g) cooked beans, pulses, lentils, dahl/ 2 tbsp nuts or nut butter (25g)

FATS AND OILS (1-4 portions a day)

1tsp (5g) butter, margarine or spreading fat/ 1tsp cooking oil or ghee/ 1 dsp (10g) sour cream/ 1dtp (10g) salad dressing or mayonnaise/ 5 walnut, pecan halves/ 8 almonds or hazelnuts/ half and avocado

SUGAR (0-2 portions a day)

1tsp jam or honey/ 2 small biscuits or cookies/ 1 small matchbox-size piece of cake/ 1 small chocolate bar

DRINKS

2-3 litres of water per day. This can include fruit juice but not caffeinated products or sugary drinks such as tea coffee and colas. Try to avoid alcohol.

Reference - Zest

Top 10 diet foods that can make you fat

Healthy? Maybe. But also secretly fattening...Juices and smoothies
When totting up our daily intake of calories, many of us forget to take into account those that come in liquid form. However, the drinks you consume throughout the day can vastly contribute to weight gain. While smoothies and juices count towards your daily intake of fruit (and swapping fry-ups for a morning smoothie would certainly do wonders for your waistline!) supplementing meals with these sugary fruit drinks could add hundreds of extra calories on to your daily intake. Smoothies and juices contain more sugar but less fibre than whole fruit, making fresh fruit a much better snacking option.

 

Cereal bars

Many of us believe that cereal bars are the perfect healthy snack and breakfast-on-the-go. However, most breakfast bars are packed with cane sugar and corn syrup, not to mention high levels of fat. In fact, despite their healthy image, cereal bars can contain as much fat, sugar and calories as an average chocolate bar, and can cause crashes in blood sugar levels which will leave you craving more food.

Dried fruit

As with smoothies and juices, dried fruit has many beneficial properties and counts towards your daily intake of fruit. However, due to the concentration of sugars that occurs when fruit is dehydrated, it is also very high in calories and sugar when compared to the same amount of fresh fruit, and is much lower in fibre and nutrients. On top of this, many brands add sugar to dried fruit to improve the flavour, which boosts the calorie content even further.

Diet drinks

Many of us turn to sugar-free versions of our favourite drinks to help stay trim, yet diet drinks may actually be causing you to pile on the pounds. Research by the Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found that those who consumed diet drinks daily experienced a 70 per cent greater increase in waist circumference than those who drank none, while a previous study showed that obesity risk increased by 41 per cent for each diet drink consumed. A suggested reason for this is that artificial sweeteners trigger appetite, and they may also inhibit the brain cells that make you feel full.

Salads

When eating out or buying food on the go, salads are generally presented as the “healthy option”. However, often this is not the case. While salads contain vegetables and other healthy ingredients, these are often buried under a layer of oily, sugary dressings which can be high in both fat and calories. Many salads do contain good fats that can help with weight loss (such as in the case of avocados and olive oil), yet this is not always so. Avoid those sneaky calories by drizzling your salads with a light dressing such as balsamic vinegar, or skipping the dressing entirely.

Soup

While soup can be the perfect weight loss food when prepared correctly, not all soups fall into the diet food category. In fact, many soups can rack up a significant amount of fat and calories, particularly those containing dairy products such as cream or cheese. On top of that, many soups are very high in salt, which can lead to bloating. To help stay trim and cut calories, try purchasing (or better yet, making your own) vegetable-based and cream-free soups.

Dips

Hummus is often perceived as the perfect diet-friendly dip. However, while the healthy snack is undoubtedly nutritious, it is also packed with calories and fat from its principle ingredients of oil and tahini. Another dip for dieters to watch out for is guacamole which, while traditionally packed with nutrients and good fats, often contains calorie-laden double cream. While most dips can be eaten in moderation, if you want to splurge guilt-free go for a homemade tomato salsa which is packed with nutritious ingredients and is almost fat-free.

Vegetable crisps

Many people view vegetable crisps as the “healthy” alternative to the potato variety. However, while some vegetable crisps contain slightly more fibre and vitamins than potato crisps, this is not always the case and the difference is generally very slight, with most of the vitamins derived from fresh veggies being lost in the process of making them into crisps. On top of this, vegetable crisps are often just as high in fat and calories as potato ones and contain just as much salt.

Popcorn

Air-popped popcorn is a great nutritious, high-fibre and diet-friendly snack. However, when butter is added into the equation, the tasty snack can quickly lose its healthy credentials. Store-bought and cinema popcorn can be extremely high in fat and calories due to its liberal coating of butter and/or sugar, and is often also served in large quantities. Furthermore, as the TV-friendly snack is often eaten in front of a screen, we can easily consume far more than we intend to due to mindless snacking.

Granola

It’s marketed as a health food, is sold in health food stores and even looks remarkably healthy, so it must be a diet food, right? In the case of granola, sadly the answer is no. While granola is undoubtedly nutritious and full of fibre, it also contains high quantities of sugar and oil, making it extremely high in fat and calories. To help save your waistline, try eating granola in small portions or, better yet, switch to a lower fat sugar-free muesli which will deliver the same health benefits without the calories.

Reference - Realbuzz.com

Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn

Eating too much sugar can eat away at your brainpower, according to US scientists who published a study Tuesday showing how a steady diet of high-fructose corn syrup sapped lab rats' memories.

Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) fed two groups of rats a solution containing high-fructose corn syrup -- a common ingredient in processed foods -- as drinking water for six weeks.
One group of rats was supplemented with brain-boosting omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), while the other group was not.
Before the sugar drinks began, the rats were enrolled in a five-day training session in a complicated maze. After six weeks on the sweet solution, the rats were then placed back in the maze to see how they fared.
"The DHA-deprived animals were slower, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity," said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
"Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats' ability to think clearly and recall the route they'd learned six weeks earlier."
A closer look at the rat brains revealed that those who were not fed DHA supplements had also developed signs of resistance to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates brain function.
"Because insulin can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, the hormone may signal neurons to trigger reactions that disrupt learning and cause memory loss," Gomez-Pinilla said.
In other words, eating too much fructose could interfere with insulin's ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar, which is necessary for processing thoughts and emotions.
"Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning," Gomez-Pinilla said.
"Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."
High-fructose corn syrup is commonly found in soda, condiments, applesauce, baby food and other processed snacks.
The average American consumes more than 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of high-fructose corn syrup per year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
While the study did not say what the equivalent might be for a human to consume as much high-fructose corn syrup as the rats did, researchers said it provides some evidence that metabolic syndrome can affect the mind as well as the body.
"Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think," said Gomez-Pinilla.
"Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain's ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage."

The study appeared in the Journal of Physiology.

Top 10 cellulite-busting foods

Ginger

One cause of cellulite is poor circulation, so eating foods such as ginger that boost blood flow can help to improve its appearance. As well as being good for circulation, ginger is also good for detoxification and strengthening the lymphatic system, which can help with the circulation of lymph fluid and toxins that can accumulate in fat pockets under the skin, contributing to the bumpy appearance of cellulite.

Asparagus

Asparagus is another food with circulation-boosting properties. On top of this, asparagus is a great stress reliever due to its abundance of folic acid, which can help to stabilise a stressful mood. As prolonged levels of stress can increase fat storage on the body, adding foods such as asparagus to your diet can help to reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Avocados

While anyone fat, thin, young or old can suffer from cellulite, ageing does tend to increase the visibility of cellulite due to the loss of elasticity and thinning of skin. Therefore, try eating foods rich in Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) which can help to strengthen skin and keep it supple and elastic. Avocados are a particularly rich source of EFAs, as well as being high in many essential nutrients.

Oily fish

Another top food for keeping the skin in good condition is oily fish, which is high in skin-strengthening omega-3 fatty acids. As an added bonus, the fatty acids present in oily fish are also good for reducing inflammation and boosting the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, making them a good choice for keeping cellulite at bay.

Dark, leafy greens

Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale are rich in an antioxidant called lutein, which research has shown is good for helping the skin to retain its moisture and elasticity and increase its lipid levels - all good news for those suffering from cellulite. On top of this, leafy greens are nutrient-rich and are good for the circulation and detoxification.

Cranberry juice

A sluggish lymphatic system is one of the primary causes of cellulite, so those wishing to reduce its appearance should try boosting their intake of cranberry juice, which is noted for its abilities to cleanse the lymph system. This powerful juice helps to emulsify stubborn fat deposits in the lymphatic system so that they are more easily flushed out the system.

Bananas

Bananas are a rich source of potassium, which is helpful for reducing cellulite in many ways. Firstly, potassium helps to reduce water retention which can be a leading cause of cellulite. Furthermore, potassium can help to support the lymphatic system and ensure it works efficiently at circulating fluid and cleansing the body of impurities.

Whole grains

Whole grains are packed with fibre, which is an essential for keeping your body running smoothly. Fibre helps speed up the process of detoxification and clear out waste products that can build up in your system, often leading to cellulite. Eating whole grains also helps to keep the heart healthy and boost circulation to cellulite-prone areas.

Papaya

Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is one of the best ways to detox the body and reduce the appearance of cellulite, and papaya is a particularly good choice of fruit. Papaya is not only rich in potassium - one of the most important nutrients when it comes to battling cellulite - but it is also high in antioxidant beta-carotene, which can help prevent damage to body tissue.

Berries

To help keep skin firm and taut and disguise the appearance of cellulite, try adding some vitamin C to your diet to help boost your skin's collagen levels. Berries are a particularly good source of vitamin C, as well as being extremely high in the antioxidants necessary for fighting toxic waste, which can slow down the lymphatic system and accumulate in cellulite-prone areas.

Reference - Realbuzz.com

Energy Diet - Feel Lively Healthy & Happier!

Do you often feel tired drained and lacking in energy? Well follow the energy diet tips below and you will be full of energy, healthy and approach the day with renewed vigor.
The energy diet tips are easy to use, so let's look at them.
A change of diet is the simplest way to boost energy levels and this means you need to:

1. Eliminate Energy Sapping Foods
Firstly, energy draining foods such as sugar, coffee, alcohol and cigarettes should be reduced or eliminated altogether.

2. Eat naturally from the earth
Get rid of energy sapping processed foods and go for fresh natural produce.
Make sure you eat good carbs such as brown rice, pasta and baked potatoes and get rid of the fries and pizza!

3.Make sure the meat you eat is lean.
Great choices are: Steak, turkey, chicken and fish.

4.Saturated fats and salt should be eliminated or cut down and good fats containing omega 3 from oily fish, should be consumed at least 3 - 5 times a week.
Great choices are salmon, mackerel and sardines
.
5. Eat 5 meals a day
You need to start eating 5 meals a day, so your energy levels don't flag and you will not suffer from hunger pangs.
Make sure you eat breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day.

6. Get extra Iron for energy
Eating to little iron can make you feel exhausted, so make sure you get iron rich food in your diet everyday.
Good choices include:
Lean red meats, eggs, fortified breakfast bran, sardines, dried apricots, crab and dark green leafy vegetables.

7. Up your protein for extra focus
Protein rich food like fish, meat and tofu are proven to improve focus so get daily portions.
Make sure your lunch is protein rich as it will help you avoid that flagging feeling in the afternoon.

8. Eat bright fruits for a quick pick me up
Brightly colored fruit is proven to send energy messages to the brain.

For a great snack combine apples, strawberries raspberries and apricots for an instant pick me up.
You can incorporate the above into your daily diet and you will feel more energetic and able to face the day with renewed enthusiasm.
Always remember your body is a whole and you also need to ensure that to feel energetic you also need the following:

9. Get proper sleep
Make sure you get at least 8 hours sleep per night.

Your body needs time to replenish itself and sleeping is essential to boost overall energy levels.

10. Move your body
You may not have time for the gym, but you don't have to go to the gym to be healthy.
When you walk, walk quickly, skip the elevator and use the stairs instead, or do the housework as a workout.
Your body will respond to this and you energy levels are guaranteed to increase.

11. Take time out
Finally, take 30 minutes a day to relax and just think.
Meditate and get away from all distractions and loose yourself in your thoughts.
If you have lack of time do it in the bath just relax for 30 minutes in silence and think of you
.
Energy for life!

We all need energy and all the above tips are easy enough to do so try them today.

Reference - Sacha Tarkovsky   

Top 5 best exercises to lose belly fat

Who doesn't want flat abs? People desperate to lose weight will willingly starve themselves, take expensive supplements or do the latest fad diet that promises to give them that flawless figure in 30 days. Thankfully, belly fat is metabolically active and easier to lose. However, if proper nutrition is not observed and the resort is made to low calorie diets, weight loss may not happen within the desired time frame. Hunger and calorie deprivation will eventually kick in and dieters confronted with that favorite food they have been avoiding will have the tendency to binge at the first opportunity. The likelihood of gaining more weight than they originally lost is not far-fetched.

According to Christine Rosenbloom, a nutrition professor at Georgia State University, eating a calorie-controlled diet and 60 minutes of daily moderate exercise activity will result to weight loss and can even help with the desired weight maintenance. In fact, according to Professor Michael Jensen of the Mayo Clinic, intense aerobic exercise will result to being leaner around the abdomen.

It is important to remember that keeping the body's metabolism up and running so that the body continuously burns calories prevents it from going into the fat-storing mode that causes unnecessary weight gain.

Why exercise is necessary

Most people involved in weight loss believe that it's all about the calories. If you burn calories more than you take in, you lose weight. If you take in more calories than you can burn, the body gains fat. While this piece of logic may make sense, it is only partly true. What burns calories nonstop is actually the lean muscle mass underneath body fat that allows more intake of calories without weight gain.

The body actually adapts to the changes it undergoes. Losing weight without exercising increases the risk of losing lean body mass, slowing the metabolism and putting the body into fat-storing mode. People who have lost body fat and muscle mass may notice that they don't have the muscle mass they once had. Worse yet, once they overeat even a little bit, they start filling up on body fat once again.

Building up muscle mass

An important thing to remember when undergoing a weight loss program is to understand what needs to be done. Realistic and achievable goals can help in building the confidence needed to make the necessary leap for the achievement of a desired weight.

Researchers at the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University took a look at some popular abdominal exercises and ranked them. Results of the study revealed that exercises that require constant abdominal stabilization and body rotation resulted in the most muscle activity in the abdomen.

Below are the top five belly exercises as ranked by the study:

1. The Bicycle Exercise - best for targeting the six pack muscles and the obliques. To do this exercise, get into a supine position with hands at the back of your head. Bring knees to the chest while lifting shoulders off the floor. Slowly bring your right elbow towards your left knee as you straighten your right leg. Switch sides and continue in a pedaling motion. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

2. The Captain's Chair Leg Raise - This exercise requires a captain's chair, a rack with padded arms allowing for the legs to hang free that is commonly found in gyms or health clubs. To do this exercise, stand on the chair and grip hand holds. Press back against the pad then raise knees to the chest to contract the abs then lower them back down. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

3. Exercise Ball Crunch - For this exercise, an exercise ball is necessary. In this routine, the abdomen does more exerting but will still need the entire body to stabilize it throughout the routine. To do this exercise, lie on the ball with your lower back fully supported. Place hands behind the head. To lift the torso off the ball, contract the abs to pull the bottom of the rib cage towards the hips. Keep ball stable as you curl up, then lower back down to stretch the abs. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

4. Vertical Leg Crunch - Performing this exercise is similar to doing a leg crunch except that the legs are straight up, forcing the abs to work and adding intensity to the routine. To do this, lie on the floor with the legs straight up, knees crossed, and place the hands beneath the head for support. Contract abs lifting the shoulders off the floor and keep legs in a fixed position to crunch. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

5. Long Arm Crunch - This is a variant of the traditional floor crunch where the arms are held straight behind you, adding a lever to the move and making for a challenging exercise. To do this, lie on the floor or a mat then extend arms straight behind, keeping them clasped and next to the ears. Slowly contract abs and lift shoulders off the floor carefully to keep the arms straight. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

The best strategy to weight loss is to observe a healthy diet coupled with exercise of at least an hour a day. Although there is no sure fire way to deal with belly fat, there are a number of activities from which to choose and enjoy. As long as you're having fun, you can lose weight without realizing it. It is important to look for an exercise you enjoy. If the suggested exercises above do not suit your taste, taking a hike, swimming or biking are just as effective in burning fat and toning muscles.



Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035071_belly_fat_exercises_fitness.html#ixzz1uPN7DLIm

Pole-dancing: The new bums and tums

Pole-dancing

Never one to turn down a challenge, when a friend told me there were free pole dancing sessions taking place at a nearby gym, I immediately said yes.

It sounded exciting - something a bit different, and something a bit more fun than pounding the treadmill.
Then questions started to rear their heads. Images of smoke machines and film star-shaped girls in hotpants and crop tops swam through my head.
What should I wear? I'm about as comfortable in hotpants and heels as I would be in chainmail -but were gym shorts and trainers acceptable?
And would it all be super-skinny, petite blondes wiggling around the pole? At 6ft 2ins and a size 12 at the time, I was a little shy and worried I would stand out like a sore thumb.
Luckily, the reality was nothing of the sort.
Everyone was very laid back, and comfortingly normal. This was pole fitness, not pole training.
Not only was sporty gear and trainers - sometimes barefoot - the standard uniform for the class, there were women aged from 18 to 45 all taking part.
As beginners, the instructors were kind to us. The 'grade one' moves included a few basic spins - the self-explanatory "firelady" among them - which had me clinging desperately to the pole, barely making it a single 360 degrees around in what must have been more of a graceless stumble than anything approaching an elegant spin.

                                       
Another move, the so-called "basic climb", involved hopping on to the pole and wrapping your legs around it, effectively sitting down while holding onto the pole with both thighs and arms. The next step - leaning back and extending one arm over the head - was something I couldn't quite bring myself to brave during that first hour.
The next day at work, I could barely move. My arms, my legs, and my bum were so stiff I felt like I had been pummelled.
And I was hooked.
Since then, I have been a weekly regular. And even though I only occasionally go to the gym or do zumba between lessons, the benefits have been tangible.
My upper-body strength had been negligible until I started, but within weeks I started to notice a difference.
My arms started to tone up, my bum became slightly firmer, and my flexibility improved dramatically. I also dropped a dress size.
And now, far from that timid, clingy beginner I described above, I'm now more often found upside-down.
There are, of course, some moves I have yet to conquer. The bane of my life is the spinning splits - which involves spinning around the pole face-on, legs straight out in front and 90 degrees apart. My excuse is that being so tall, it's harder for me to lift my legs that far.
Luckily, despite the fun grading, it's more about fitness and the instructors acknowledge this weakspot, only making me practice a couple of times a lesson before moving on to new or more fun moves.
The main advantage of the class above other aerobics and fitness groups is, in my humble opinion, the sociability of it.
In groups of two or three, you are stood chatting with others while you wait your turn, or helping one another stretch out.
Once you leave university, it can be difficult to make friends outside the workplace. Pole dancing has been a great way to meet new people and have some genuine fun, as well as getting fit.
And that has helped boost my confidence no end. Along with being able to support myself upside-down, of course, which has proven to be another successful confidence-booster.
In short, don't be put off by fear of looking silly, or being too weak or old or fat to "do it properly".
As long as you throw yourself into it, it's worth a shot.
And it's always a good conversation starter at a party.

Reference - Chalotte Cross