Personal Trainers Forum

[Personaltrainer]

What Should You Eat To Lose Weight?

What is the short cut to losing weight? You could eat fast
food, not the kind you are thinking of, but the good kind, I am
talking about edible amphetamines. Eat these foods and you're
guaranteed to burn more calories...just by sitting there and
listening to the radio. But you have to remember that this is
only a temporary fix, it is going to wear off. "The only way to
alter your resting metabolism permanently is to gain or lose
weight, or to build extra muscle," says Janet Walberg-Rankin,
Ph.D., a professor of exercise physiology at Virginia Tech.

Look at it like this, if you eat enough of these foods that
boost energy and metabolism, for enough days, you are going to
lose weight. And that is if you did nothing. How about adding a
little exercise to the routine and the possibilities are
endless. So let's get a mouthful of these delicious metabolism
busting foods and drop some pounds.

What are some of the main problems that people face today when
trying to lose weight and raise their metabolic rate?

Not sure of what foods that increase metabolism
If I eat all day I am going to get fat I just have a slow
metabolism
How can I increase my metabolism now that I am older?
Is there a safe and easy program I can follow to lose weight?

Let's go over a couple of definitions first. You hear it all
the time "metabolism", but what it is? Its the process of
converting food into energy (movement and heat). Metabolism
happens in your muscles and organs and the result of it is what
we commonly refer to as "burning calories". Metabolism is
essentially the speed at which your bodies motor is running.

Then there is this term of "basal metabolism". "Basal
metabolism" is the metabolic rate or caloric expenditure needed
to maintain basal body functions such as your heart beating,
breathing, muscle tone, etc. It's how fast your "motor" is
running when your still in a reclines position or sleeping.
Basal metabolism accounts for about 75% of the calories you
expend on a daily basis! There is a simple formula for this and
I will go over that in another article.

Now that we have some of the terms outlined, let's get back to
the main question of "what foods boost metabolism and answer the
above questions"

Let's do some of the easy ones first and then I will give you a
list of super foods that increase metabolic rate.

If I eat all day I will get fat...A little known fact is, if
you starve yourself, you are going to slow down your metabolism.
Contrary to popular belief is you need to eat 300-400 calories
meals through the day. Eat these smaller metabolism booster
meals four to six times per day.

I just have a slow metabolism...this could be true. If you
start eating these using these foods in your recipes, cooking
and snacking and you are not losing weight, then you should
probably go and have your thyroid checked out. There might be
something wrong.

I am going to cover the other three points with a list of foods
to eat and snack on. By eating these nutritious food, along with
diet and exercise, you will start to trim unwanted pound safely
and effectively. No matter what age you are. Here is a list of
10 healthy snack foods that are full of nutrition and metabolism
boosting power. And the best part is they all taste really good.

Drink plenty of water
Green Tea
Apples and pears
Oatmeal
Broccoli
Low-Fat Yogurt
Grapefruit
Hot Peppers
Lean Beef, Pork, Chicken, and Turkey
Salmon, Tuna, and Sardines
Soup

Small snacks can also help keep your body from running out of
fuel, preventing those 3 p.m. office blahs. "When you restrict
the number of calories your body has for fuel, your metabolic
rate can drop temporarily," says Susan Roberts, Ph.D., chief of
the energy-metabolism laboratory at Tufts University in Boston.
That makes it easier to pack on the pounds and harder to burn
them off again.

Here is how and why these super foods increase metabolic rate.

Each of these healthy foods and weight loss boosters will keep
you full longer on less calories

Water rich fresh fruits, vegetables and soup will dilute the
calories in your foods, so you can eat more and not overdue the
calories

High fiber whole grains, fruits and nutritious veggies keep the
digestive system on track as well as steady the insulin levels,
which is going to prevent fat storage