Weight Loss & Diet Tips

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you can't rely solely on our recommended diet pills and supplements alone. They are most effective when combined with some sort of diet and exercise program - the combination of which can maximize your weight loss results.

Having said that, we know it can be extremely difficult to live a perfectly healthy lifestyle with proper diet and exercise, especially when kids, work, and family obligations take over. And some people just don't respond as well to diet and exercise alone. Diet pills are formulated to give you the boost you need to avoid hitting weight loss plateaus or gaining it all back. It is vital to find what works for you and what fits into your busy life.

TIP 1: Reduce your Bad Carb Intake

You've heard it a million times, watch your carbs! The Atkins Diet was huge a few years back and capitalized on the philosophy that all carbs were enemy number one. It got to the point that vegetables were snubbed. The thing is, there are 'good' carbs and 'bad' carbs. You want to avoid the latter.

Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs

Good carbs are vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, and peppers and whole grain and whole wheat products with fiber. Bad carbs are highly refined grains and starches like white bread, white rice, pasta, potatoes, sugar, and crackers. Basically anything processed in a bag or box! When you eat bad carbs, they cause a huge spike in your blood sugar levels which causes your body to release a hormone called insulin to remove the glucose sugar and transport it to cells for fuel. If your cells don't need the fuel because you haven't exercised or if they were just fueled up a short time ago, the insulin will take it to the liver to store as fat in your body. This is what makes you fat.

Good carb foods either have less carbs overall or they come packaged with fiber. Fiber has a nice way of moderating your blood sugar and keeping it more consistent allowing you to use the fuel over a longer period of time. That's why if you can reduce or elminate your bad carbs and watch your good carbs, you'll lose weight. But of course it's easier said than done! We all know how difficult it is to not have a bag of potato chips or popcorn while watching a movie! For these cases, we recommend seeing if our recommended carb blocker diet pills are right for you.

TIP 2: Don't be Afraid of Good Fats

Let's get one thing straight. Fat doesn't make you fat. Yes, you read that correctly. The reason is because fat, like protein and fiber, has no effect on blood sugar levels. For years we've been seeing the bold text on the front of candy bags that they're 'Fat Free' as if it makes them healthy to eat. They're filled with sugar which as Tip 1 above makes clear, is the real enemy that will make you fat. But there are 'good' fats and 'bad' fats just like there are 'good' carbs and 'bad' carbs.

Good Fats vs Bad Fats

Good fats are oils like omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fat. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fishes like salmon, mackeral, and anchovies and in flax seeds and walnuts. Monounsaturated fats are in olive and canola oil and nuts and seeds. These fats have numerous benefits like contributing to healthy cardiovascular health, reducing choloesterol, improving memory function, reducing joint pain, and helping with healthy hair and skin. Bad fats like saturated and trans fat clog up your arteries with gunk and contribute to stroke and heart disease. Limit your saturated fat intake and avoid all trans fats (look for the word 'hydrogenated oil' in the ingredient list). Trans fat has been shown to cause numerous health problems.

TIP 3: Never Starve to Lose Weight

You see it all the time - someone wants to lose weight so they just don't eat. Makes sense right? Wrong. Yes, you'll lose some weight if you don't eat but it's all water loss. Plus, you'll feel fatigued because your brain and body won't be getting enough fuel to function. In fact, when you don't eat, your body thinks it's starving and starts to slow your metabolism to conserve the fuel it has. Burning fat takes a back seat to keeping your lungs, heart, and brain functioning.

Think of it this way, if you were on a deserted island and were starving, would you eat your entire last coconut all at once and feel great for a short time or would you eat a little bit here and there to keep you going for a longer time? Your body is faced with this decision when you go without eating for long periods. It will only burn enough fat to fuel the absolutely necessary bodily functions. This process goes back to our prehistoric days when we ate a lot after one hunt and then possibly nothing for quite a while. It's a way to conserve the energy we do have.

By eating sensibly and not causing this starvation mode in your body, your metabolism will stay high causing your to burn more fat.

TIP 4: Always Eat Breakfast

Just like your mother used to say, breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. When you wake up, your blood sugar is low because you haven't eaten anything for over 8 hours (and if you don't eat anything before bed, it could be 12 hours or more!). Your body is craving food at this point of your day, especially quality protein. By eating something like eggs, oatmeal, and whole wheat toast, you'll provide fuel for your morning allowing you to perform better and be more alert.

TIP 5: Eat 6 Small Meals instead of 3 Large Ones

Eating smaller meals and snacks eliminates the cycle of overeating and starvation through the day. Too many of us wake up in the morning, and avoid eating so our bodies go into starvation mode, slowing our metabolism and causing us to feel groggy. This has the added effect of hindering weight loss. Then, because we haven't eaten, we get serious hunger pangs and land up overeating at lunch, especially bad carbs and fats. This causes a huge insulin spike and a storage of this food into fat because we fed our bodies more than it could handle. It's like driving up to the gas station and putting more gas in the tank than it can handle. Where does the gas go but spill onto the ground.

Keep your Tank Topped up!

The best way to avoid this is to keep some food in you at all the times. You'll eat less at your meals and keep you out of starvation mode meaning constant fat burning and high metabolism! Like our gas station analogy, it's kind of like topping up the gas in your car each time you go past the gas station versus letting your tank go completely empty and trying to dump in more fuel than it can handle! Eat sensible meals and snacks throughout the day. Good snacks are cheese strings, reduced sugar yogurt and granola, nuts, beef jerkey, and fruit.

TIP 6: Be Active!

It is a good idea to exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. Exercise has numerous benefits like helping you feel energetic, increasing your metabolism even when you're sleeping, burning calories, boosting your immune system, preventing pre-mature aging, and much more. Go for a walk at lunchtime or join a yoga class. Your local recreation services probably offers courses to join to help get your started. The best advice we can give you is... MOVE! Park further from the doors, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and consider shoveling snow a valued workout instead of awful work!

Additional Resources

For helpful information on managing your weight loss, see the "Manage Weight Loss Review Eat to live. Don't Live to Eat!" website with a wealth of helpful information including weight loss secrets and a BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator!

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