5 Interesting Things that Make You Leaner
5 Interesting Things That Make You Leaner
Want to be leaner? Especially with the holidays upon us, there’s no better time to start than now!
So… here’s 5 tips that will help you along…
1. Ditch The Starch
Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered “health foods.”
While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach body fat like crazy if you overdo them.
But listen to this… the Every Other Day Diet System (EODD) by Jon Benson actually encourages you to eat starches and even sweets several days a week to get rid of excess bodyweight. This is one program I’ve been following and highly recommend.
Well (you’re probably thinking) … how does THAT work?
Simple: Timing is everything.
And it takes a “weekly” approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. If your body cannot figure out what you’re up to, fatburning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches… at least a specific times on specific days.
But if you don’t want to do EODD, then you’ll have to wing it. And the best way to wing it is to simply cut starches out entirely for 4-8 weeks. Then slowly add them back a few days per week. This is no where near as effective (or as fun) as the EODD method, but it will get you pointed in the right direction.
2. Can The Sodas
Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased body fat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas.
What??
Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that’s the truth.
So, what do you need to be drinking? A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.
Try mixing water with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It’s wonderful!
3. Stay Hungry
It takes a special person to be hungry… and an even greater one to stay that way.
Stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally… stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not “starving”… just a bit hungry.
For your workouts, I have a great solution. When you pick up EODD you’ll get a limited shot at “7 Minute Body”… Jon Benson’s combination of “7 Minute Muscle” and “The 7 Minute In-Home Workout” in one book… and for more than half off… but that’s a very limited deal and you’ll need them both…
You see, progression — “forced” progression — is the best way to stay hungry. 7 Minute Body forces you to progress without thinking about it. Progression is built into the System.
As far as staying hungry at night? Check with your doctor and if he/she okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the
hunger pangs. Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps you full for an hour at least.
4. Cardio Clarity
Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do “light” cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That’s okay… and personally I don’t find it that boring. It does not interfere with my main fat loss exercise (weight training… YES!) and it burns off about 400 calories an hour.
What does work is early morning fasting cardio… but you only need 9-15 minutes which Jon Benson explains in the 7 Minute Body book.
5. Get Raw At Night
Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fatburning along. Try starting with red peppers because they’re sweet. Seriously, you’ll begin eating veggies raw at night without thinking about it. Give this a shot. The fat loss is well worth it. What a great snack!
For more information on the EODD system, The 7 Minute Body, and the Radical Fatloss Blueprint, just visit here.
Eating healthy during the holiday is definitely a very hard thing to do. What really get me are the sweets. I have a sweet tooth, especially for chocolate.
You know, when ever I eat out I drink diet soda, but I didn’t know that it was just as bad or worse than regular soda. I have heard something else about diet soda though and I don’t know if it’s true. I’ve heard that it effects your memory. Have you heard about this theory by any chance?
With point #4 on Cardio Clarity, yeah during the holidays I tend to use it more to burn off the extra calories from all the junk I eat but even then I still have to be careful of the food I decide to eat because sometimes cardio is not enough.
Luis @ developmental baby toys´s last blog ..Stages of Educational Toys
Hi Luis… I have to say… I never heard that theory before, about diet soda affecting your memory. Hmmm, will have to check it out and see if anything comes up. Have a great day…Thanks for stopping by!
Its very worthy to read this post. Its contain with very useful info. I will keep these tips in my mind. Thank for this info.
I’ve been avoiding starches and, as silly as it sounds, I’ve been enjoying the feeling hungry. Whenever I feel a little hungry I feel good that I haven’t given in if that makes sense. I’m also drinking a ton of water. I haven’t tried the raw veggies yet. I’ll give it a try. Great tips as usual Brenda.
Brian D. Hawkins@Milk Thistle Complex´s last blog ..My Personal Herbal Supplement Treatment Begins
Makes great sense… I also like feeling a little hungry, I know my efforts are working. That’s usually when I grab some raw veggies and a big glass of water!
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Thanks Charlotte!!
Great information that is much appreciated. Thank you for providing such interesting content.
I found the information on taking potassium and magnesium/calcium to curb bedtime hunger very interesting. I think I will switch my potassium from the morning to the evening. I already take the magnesium and calcium in the evening.
Interesting stories in this site. Great tips for me to think about
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Thats a good compilation. You seemed to have succinctly captured all the points. I feel that weight training plays a very important role in getting leaner as there is only so much that cardio can achieve. Anyway, hope to come back soon for more.
Paramjit´s last blog ..Drinking Alcohol and Exercise
Great list. I’ve been trying to get my wife to dump the “diet” sodas for months. Partly because I don’t think aspartame is as healthy as she believes, but mainly because she drinks so many of them, it can’t be good for her diet. I drink alot of water and tea. It’s a better option, in my opinion.
You don’t happen to have a link to the diet soda study, do you?
Hi…I drink a ton of water and tea too! You are right…diet sodas are not good for one’s diet or health. I don’t have that link handy but will see if I can find it and post it back here. Thanks!
Brenda, nice post.
Raw veggies at night cannot be underestimated. No matter what you ate during the day, nothing is more harmful then ingesting a bunch of processed food while sitting on the couch before bed time;)
Mike
Thanks Mike!
I also agree that diet sodas contain more harm that the sugar sodas. Most of the diet sodas contain aspartame as an artificial sweetener and can even intoxicate your body and even your brain. I have read this in an article by Dr. Janet Starr Hull. I have also a link that can explain you further the ill effects of aspartame.
Health Concern: Be Aware of Artificial Sweeteners
Benjamin Robert Johnson @ lifetime health´s last blog ..Power Foods for Youthful Glow and Weight Loss | Lifetime Health
It is really very important for us to know about all these things so that you will get leaner and loose some fat from your body.