How to Burn Fat and Stay Healthy

How to Burn Fat and Stay Healthy -

Avoid fad diets. There’s no magic bullet when it comes to weight gain. In particular, avoid diets that eliminate any one food group; you should be consuming carbohydrates, protein, and fat at every meal to stay balanced.^[1]

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Remember that fat is not as important as calories for controlling weight. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume.^[2] It’s as simple as that. The reason we’re taught to be wary of fatty foods is that they tend to have high calories; however, this often causes us to eliminate healthy fatty foods, like avocados, oils, and salmon,^[3] from our diet unnecessarily. Just make sure you’re eating healthy monounsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats instead of saturated and trans fat.^[2]
- If you’re on a 2000-calorie-per-day diet, don’t eat more than 20 grams of saturated fat per day.^[4]

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Strength train . This means lifting weights at home or in the gym for at least 30 minutes at a time twice a week. Muscle helps speed your metabolism, as the bodies of muscular people burn more calories even while they’re at rest.^[5]

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Cut down on processed foods. Stick with all-natural foods, which have little added preservatives and chemicals. If you can’t find it in nature, think twice before you eat it.

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Do cardio exercise. For example, interval training, which means alternating between low- and high-intensity activity, is a quick and extremely effective way to improve heart health and endurance. Note that anyone over the age of 60 or who has heart disease, high blood pressure, or arthritis should consult a doctor before attempting interval training.^[6]

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Carefully consider eating more frequently. Instead of having 3 square meals a day, many go for 6 micro meals to sustain their energy and steady their blood-sugar levels^[7] while on a low-calorie diet. There is, however, a tendency for people to justify turning “micro meals” into junk food sessions; research has indicated that people often consume not just more calories, but emptier ones when taking the snacking approach.^[8] Know yourself well enough to make this choice.

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Aim for least 3 to 4 exercise sessions per week in the beginning. Once you get into the habit of exercising, work up to 4 to 5 sessions per week (or more).

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Control your portions by eating low energy-density foods. For example, vegetables and fruits are packed with not only healthful vitamins and minerals, but also a lot of water, giving them a low energy density (i.e. more substance, fewer calories). They also tend to have a high fiber content, which is not only good for you, but also take longer to digest and make you feel full for longer.^[9]

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Drink more water. Water is a major player in weight control. Besides being a major part of your body, water helps flush metabolic wastes keeping your metabolism charged.^[10] It can also help you feel fuller, so don't wait until you feel thirsty. Start by drinking at least a half-gallon (2 liters) of water every day. People who are active, live in hot climates, experience fluid loss through fever or diarrhea, etc. should increase their intake.

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Eat more fiber. A high-fiber diet can improve bowel health, lower blood cholesterol, control your blood-sugar level, and make you less likely to overeat. The recommended fiber intake is 30 grams a day for men and 21 for women; after the age of 50, this jumps up to 38 for men and 25 for women. Some good sources of fiber include fruits and vegetables (with the skin), whole grains, and legumes.^[11] One way to start is instead of drinking orange juice for breakfast, eat an orange; it will make you feel fuller.

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Get a full night’s sleep. Adults should sleep 7 to 9 hours every night; school-aged children should sleep 10 to 11.^[12] One study conducted by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated that men who had 4 hours of sleep consumed 500 more calories than they did after having 8 hours of sleep.^[13] Be careful not to oversleep, however, as this has also been associated with weight gain.^[14]

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Make lifestyle changes. In addition to making large gestures, change your approach to the everyday stuff to make your new habits stick. Park farther away from the store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or garden more frequently to sneak a little extra movement into your day.^[5] Instead of eating distractedly in front of the computer or TV, which promotes mindless overeating,^[15] set time aside to slowly enjoy each meal.