Spices That Help Cut Calories
There are a number of herbs and spices that help cut calories by boosting the flavor and nutritional value of a food, without boosting the calorie count. For a long time there have been herb mixtures on the market to replace table salt, which also add to the flavor without adding to the calorie count. You don’t have to buy a premixed selection, you can do the same thing with a few extra steps. Not only do some herbs add flavor to what otherwise was a plain Jane diet meal, some actually increase the calories you burn.
Spice up the food with hot peppers and get a boost to your weight loss program.
Add a little cayenne pepper to your food and you’ll feel the heat. That’s what happens when you sprinkle some on your food. It creates heat in your body and raises the body’s temperature. By doing that it also increases your metabolism. In fact, it’s been noted that adding it to a meal may even help you burn up as much as an extra 100 calories. It’s easy to do and can be quite delicious. Consider adding it to your favorite veggie dip or salad dressing. Soups taste more filling with a little kick, too.
Turmeric helps you burn more calories.
Turmeric is often used in Indian dishes and has some remarkable health benefits that come with it. It’s an anti-inflammatory spice that can boost heart health and help ease the pain of arthritis, while aiding acne when used externally as a paste. It’s been suggested it might even help slow Alzheimer’s disease. One study from Tufts University in 2009 showed that mice fed curcumin, the main compound in turmeric, actually lost more weight than their counterparts that had the same diet, sans the turmeric. It also helps prevent hormonal bloating.
Add a little cinnamon for delicious flavor.
I love the flavor of this delicious spice and use it in many things, from spicing up plain yogurt to adding flavor to meats. Cinnamon helps you balance your blood sugar and reduces cravings. When it’s added to a dish, it also keeps you feeling fuller longer. Since it helps regulate glucose metabolism, it lowers high blood sugar levels that can lead to fat storage, helping you to lose weight and preventing the creation of fat.
- Cumin has many uses and is often found in Mexican, Indian and Middle Eastern food. It’s shown to help burn up to three times more body fat when just one teaspoon is added to one of your meals each day.
- Ginger not only is good in aiding digestion and relieving stomach aches, it also helps control blood sugar, acting much like cinnamon does.
- Not only can garlic keep vampires away—and some romantic partners at bay as well—it can also help you lose weight. One animal study showed mice with garlic added to their diet lost more weight in seven weeks than mice that didn’t have garlic added.
- You’ve got a diet aid in every restaurant and home in the form of black pepper. Not only does it add extra nutrients, it also can prevent fat cells from forming.
Get Swimsuit Ready
It’s the perfect time to get swimsuit ready for the summer and achieve the look that will make you happy to put on your favorite bikini or swimwear. While you may not reach your ultimate fitness goal, no matter what your present fitness level, you can look far better in just a few months, but it won’t be easy. In fact, it will take dedication and hard work, which will prove to be the best investment of time for both your appearance and good health.
Start with healthier eating habits.
Learn how to make smarter choices when it comes to food. Instead of making a sandwich with bread, cut out some of the extra carbs by creating a lettuce wrap. Skip that candy bar and indulge in some fresh fruit for your mid day snack. Get healthy protein and fat by eating lean meat, deep sixing the skin on fowl and enjoying salmon as an option. When you eat healthier, you also make smart choices in how the food is cooked and make sure you have plenty of veggies throughout the day.
Start a workout program.
Of course, I’m going to recommend you work with a trainer, but for some very important reasons. Trainers not only create a program designed specifically for your needs, they also help to motivate you to continue your workout. A trainer holds you accountable for your progress and is at the gym waiting, which adds incentive to going. Trainers also show you how to do each workout and watch to ensure you do it right. Most of all, a trainer has the knowledge to help you reach your goals quickly, so you’ll see the results faster and faster results always motivate. Trainers can also help you learn how to eat healthier, if you need help in that area, too.
Stick to the workout plan and expect it to get harder as you get fitter.
When you workout, you’re pushing your body to go to another level of fitness. Most people fail to adjust their workout based on that new level. That’s another reason working with a personal trainer can be so helpful. The trainer tracks your performance and identifies your improvement, then adjusts the workout t reflect that improvement. You’ll always work your hardest, but that’s when you see the changes faster. Some trainers offer group sessions where you get all the benefits of a trainer at a fraction of the price.
- Drink plenty of water. Not only will you perspire more, drinking more water has health benefits and can help prevent bloating. Bloating is NOT what you want when you’re working hard to achieve the perfect bathing suit body.
- Get adequate sleep. The right amount of sleep is important to a healthy body, but it also can boost weight loss and exercise results. If you’re tired, you’re more apt to crave high calorie, sugar filled treats and put less effort into your workout.
- Get more active. What you do in the gym is important, but so is the rest of the day. If you work at a desk job, get away from the computer for a while and walk up and down the stairs, across the room or do some stretches in your cubicle or office.
- Walk like a winner. One thing that exercising does is improve your posture, but you can help it along. Not only should you walk with your head held high, sit with your feet flat on the floor, back straight and shoulders back. Good posture helps you feel better, relieves back pain and makes you look thinner.
Apps To Help Stay Fit
While modern technology can’t make you slim and trim, there are apps to help stay fit. These apps vary from helping you track your exercise to counting all the calories you’ve consumed or identifying the healthiest choices when shopping for food. Some apps come with a “healthy” price tag, while others are free or at a nominal cost. You might find getting fit is not only easier with their help, it can also be a lot more fun.
Keep your HIIT workout going with this simple app.
Seconds is a handy timer for Tabata, HIIT and circuit training, but it’s also so much more than that. Not only does it come with templates for traditional interval programs, you can customize it to fit your needs. If you need to combine timers or loop them, that’s also possible. There’s no need to memorize your workout either. It not only displays the name of the next interval, it speaks it, too. You can even have it give you a heads up on the next exercise, to let you prepare for it.
Sworkit is just one of the many workout apps.
There are a number of different workout apps available that help you create a workout program those days on the go when going to the gym is impossible. While they have some great benefits, such as getting access to a workout program anywhere, custom built workouts and a lot of variety, they have some short comings too. You can’t adjust Sworkit based on your progress and there’s no way to tell if you have the proper form. I like apps like these as a supplement for my clients and help them create a workout program with the exercises they’ve conquered for days they can’t make it to the gym or days I don’t work with them. As their fitness level improves, we adjust the program, or programs, together.
Fooducate helps you learn how to eat healthier.
Just put it on your phone and get ready to shop. The Fooducate app does the work for you. Fooducate is free. While it won’t count calories, it does rate food from A+ to D- based on all type of things from sugar levels, trans fats and other things. It also provides better options to your choice. Just scan the barcode or look the food up by name to get a rating. You can also choose a food by food category, such as “Popular” or “Top Rated.” For instance, if you want a whole grain bread for healthy eating, they’re not all alike. One whole wheat bread may have a B- rating because of extra salt or additives, while a old-fashioned oatmeal bread or brown rice bread might get an A+ based on all the ingredients it contains and other health benefits.
- If you want to get the maximum benefit from your workout, consider Charity Miles. It tracks your distance and corporate sponsors donate to charity based on your activity. If you’re biking, each mile gets 10 cents for the charity you chose. For walking and running, it’s 25 cents.
- The Johnson & Johnson 7 minute workout can fill in the void on those super rushed days when you simply don’t have more time. Something is always better than nothing.
- Getting your mind right and alleviating stress is part of the battle to a healthier you. Try the app, Stress and Anxiety Companion, to help you do it.
- It’s easy to fail to see that you’re consuming far more calories than you need. MyFitnessPal Calorie Counter can help you do it. With a database of six million foods, all you have to do is fill in the food and serving size to see how many calories, fat grams, carbs and protein you ate. It lets you know how many calories you have left for the day.