What to Avoid While Trying to Lose Belly Fat

Many people in the world desire to get a body just like their favorite celebrity. But what they overlook is the fact that the first step to take to lose belly fat is changing eating habits.

No doubt, exercises are mandatory to lose the excess stomach weight, but a poor diet can really make your belly soft and fluffy.

Healthy eating habits are the crux of attaining the kind of stomach you want. Here are some things which you need to avoid to lose belly fat.

1. Processed Foods: Though it's quite difficult to avoid all the processed foods, you will have to restrict them in your diet. Just go through the labels next time you consider eating or drinking a can of soup or a ready-made meal.

Notice the content of things such as sugar and fat; also keep a look out for high levels of sodium which can lead to water retention in your body



2. Fast Foods: You should completely avoid these foods, especially if you are buying it through a drive-through window. The majority of fast foods are rich in fats which, straight away, target your belly.

3. Beer: This is one of the most important things you need to avoid while reducing your tummy. Involving yourself in binge drinking, especially of beer which is loaded with carbs, can definitely make your belly look bulky. Cut back or consider drinking light beer in order to lose belly fat.

4. Soda: These are fully loaded with empty calories. Hence, you need to avoid them as strictly as possible. Instead of drinking soda, drink loads of water or tea throughout the day.

Well, these were the foodstuffs which you need to avoid while losing belly fat. However, it is advisable that you don't cut-off all the foodstuffs at once or in one go.

Reduce their intake gradually. It is not wrong to relish your favorite food every now and then. Eat more grilled foodstuffs rather than eating foods that are rich in fats.

Also, don't stretch yourself too much by practicing exercises which may isolate your abdominal muscles. These exercises don't fetch you any desired results, but in fact make you susceptible towards back problems.

These are things which you need to avoid while losing belly fat. Always keep in mind that you will have to be really determined and focused if you truly want to flatten your stomach.



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5 Foods to Avoid if You Want to Flatten Your Tummy

The best way to tone and flatten your belly is with a mixture of effective belly trimming exercises and a healthy and balanced diet. But your time spent exercising is going to be a complete waste of time if you're not mindful of what you're eating.

This is because a number of foods activate bloating or add fat to your stomach, making it hard to lose those extra pounds.

Here are 5 foods that you need to avoid, or at least only eat occasionally, if you want to flatten your belly and get the body shape that you want.

1. Processed Foods.

Watch out for foods that come in a box, can, bag or carton. Processed foods are usually packed with chemicals, sugar and salt to improve their flavour and prolong their shelf life.

The chemicals and salt in processed foods increase your appetite and also cause bloating while the sugar adds extra calories that increases your body fat levels. The best foods to eat are 'real' foods that are whole and unprocessed.



2. Fast Food.

One of the best ways to flatten your belly is to avoid fast foods. Apart from being low in nutritional value and high in dangerous trans fats, a single fast-food meal usually contains 1,000 calories or more.

Not only does this large amount of calories cause excess fat to be stored around your stomach but it also results in you being sluggish whilst you are exercising.

3. Dried Fruit.

Many people believe that since dried fruits are healthy and natural that they are foods that flatten your belly. However, unlike fresh fruits which are mainly water and low in calories, dried fruits contain large amounts of sugar and are very rich in calories.

They have a similar effect on your body to candy and eating too many can really set back your flat stomach efforts.

4. Sweets And Candy.

Most of us know that sweets and candy contain a high quantity of calories and deliver very little nutritional value. The excessive calories in these treats cause fat to build up around your tummy.

The high sugar content also causes your blood glucose levels to abruptly crash and surge. This lowers your energy levels and raises your appetite which makes you more likely to overindulge.

5. Refined Grains.

Refined grains include foods like white flour, white bread and white rice. When they are processed they are stripped of their vitamins, minerals and, most importantly, most of their fibre.

This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life. You more likely to stay hungry after eating refined grains as they contain very little fibre. Also, refined grains slow down your metabolism.



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Worst Foods For Weight Loss

So you decided that you want to lose weight, you already know that you need to cut down on your calories by doing exercise or lowering the amount of food you eat, but what you should know is that it's your diet that's going to decide if you're going to lose weight.

There are certain types of foods that are filled with sugar and fat that have zero nutritional value and are just empty calories. Here are the foods you should always avoid if your goal is weight loss.

White bread - most people can't imagine eating their breakfast without their toast, their hamburgers without their buns or simply wrapping their chicken in a white bread pita.

What they don't know is unlike whole grain breads; white breads have been stripped of their nutritional value. Not only that, but because of heavy processing, white bread is equivalent to table sugar: it has a very high glycemic index close to glucose.

Table sugar - not only the table sugar you use to sweeten your morning coffee, but all candy, chocolate, soda and other sweets included.



Table sugar, which is actually a 50/50 mix of fructose and glucose, has zero nutritional value and just a bunch of empty calories which will increase your blood glucose levels and force the body to release large amounts of insulin. Not to mention all the damage it can cause to the body.

Fried foods - all fried are bad for weight loss. First of all, they're mostly fat because of all the oil, which is mostly saturated and trans fat and they're high in calories.

Second, because of the extreme heat when frying, it destroys EFA's (essential fatty acids) which are fatty acids that the body can't produce on its own and actually help with weight loss.

Doughnuts and other pastries - Imagine a bagel made up of white flour, deep fried and added with sugary toppings; that's how bad doughnuts are.

Doughnuts are very calorie dense, high in saturated/trans fats and have a lot of sugar in them which is the complete opposite of what you want in a food when your goal is weight loss.

Ice cream - much like doughnuts, these are also very bad for you, but they can actually be worse because of the fact that they're extremely calorie dense. One cup of regular vanilla ice, which is a small serving for most people, has over 360 calories and half of those calories come from fat that are mostly saturated.

The more tasty ice cream flavors contain a lot more calories, so you won't realize it but the time you finish your "little" snack, you'd have consumed close to 1000 calories.

Bacon, sausage - even though people have made this a standard feature for their usual breakfast, they fail to realize is that almost all the calories in these types of foods come from fat.

You can still eat these foods from time to time as long as it is not a big part of your diet and that you watch your serving size. But for everyone who wants optimal results, it is always best not to include these types of foods.



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Foods to Avoid to Reduce Stomach Fat - 3 Foods That Are Sure to Make Your Stomach Fat

"I can't seem to shift those last few pounds, what are the foods to avoid to reduce stomach fat?"

This is a common question I get asked from folks who are looking to reduce stomach fat but are not sure how they should approach their diet, and what foods to avoid.

If this rings true with you, then you'll realise that you're not alone. It's not surprising really, since there is so much junk info out there about the latest celebrity fad diets, and diet pills, that very little mention is made about simple things you can do and foods to avoid to reduce stomach fat. Diets like the Atkins Diet, low-carb, etc etc, are also to blame as they've served to confuse people further about what they should and should not be eating, and the foods to avoid to reduce stomach fat.

While there are a number of foods to avoid to reduce stomach fat, here I'll show you the top 3 that you should look to control in terms of your intake, as these will be the biggest stumbling blocks when trying to reduce stomach fat.

Foods to avoid no 1 - Chocolate

Who doesn't like chocolate right? Well, if you're serious about losing fat, then chocolate is definitely one of the foods to avoid to reduce stomach fat.

The thing about chocolate is that it is often consumed as a treat or snack, so giving it up, is not as hard as it may seem. Make sure you are eating healthy meals consistently throughout the day and you should avoid the need to snack.

Chocolate gives a sugar rush which is pleasant at the start, but often drops you lower than before you ate it. So avoiding it will not only help you reduce stomach fat, but will help to keep your mood level throughout the day.

I suggest you avoid chocolate to reduce stomach fat, in particular the milk, white, and creamy varieties. Dark chocolate contains far less sugar and fat than most big brand chocolates.

Foods to avoid no 2 - Butter

If you're like me then you like nothing better than the taste of pure fresh butter on piping hot crusty bread...mmmmmm....

BUT!

Butter is a major food to avoid to reduce stomach fat. It's not hard to see really, butter is around 95% pure saturated fat, which is difficult for your body to process, and very easily and quickly stored as excess fat, typically around your stomach area.

One tablespoon of butter (14 grams) contains 100 calories, 11 grams of fat (of which 7 grams are saturated fats). Butter is also terrible for your cholesterol levels.

There are many low-fat alternatives out there - low-fat spreads and the like, that you shouldn't need to use butter most of the time anyway.

Avoid using mayonnaise in your sandwiches as a substitute for butter, as this also has an extremely high fat content.

Also, avoid using vegetable margarine as they contain high amounts of trans-fats which also wreak havoc on your cholesterol...more so than butter.

Foods to avoid no 3 - Alcohol

While not often seen as a "food", I've included it here as its impact is often little understood for folks who are trying to reduce stomach fat. I've seen people make changes to their lifestyle, diet and exercise patterns but fail to see how their continued alcohol intake undoes all their hard work.

Why is alcohol so bad for weight loss?

Well, there are 3 main reasons why alcohol is so bad. Firstly, alcohol is the second most calorie-dense "food", second only to fat. However, these calories are empty calories. This means that the calories hold virtually no energy benefit to you and your body, unlike fat itself, and thus are simply stored away by your body as fat.

Secondly, alcohol is regarded by the body as a toxin, and therefore becomes priority number one and is sent off to the liver to be processed. While this is happening, your liver is not able to do its normal job of processing and metabolising your body fat, which means you find it more difficult to reduce stomach fat.

Thirdly, alcohol can also makes us incredibly hungry, and so we begin to crave particularly fatty, and unhealthy foods. It's no coincidence that after a night out, folks will often happily tuck into a hamburger, kebab, or fried eggs and bacon, even though they might normally avoid such foods. Remember that at this point your body is still trying to get rid of the alcohol from your system, and now you're piling on extra saturated fats and high-calorie foods, so it's a real double whammy if you're trying to reduce stomach fat.

Now, I'm not saying you should avoid alcohol all together to reduce stomach fat, but you should certainly reduce your intake if you're serious about trying to reduce stomach fat. Wine has more health benefits than beer, and contains less calories so that can be a way to enjoy a drink every now and then but still be able to reduce stomach fat.


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4 Weight Loss Foods To Avoid That Make You Put On Weight!

There are several million people around the world currently following a weight loss diet, so the rapid rate at which the 'health' food industry is growing, should come as no surprise. Everyone is trying to convince you that they are fresh, wholesome and healthy, and rich in vitamins, minerals and all sorts of other nutrients. However, if you get taken in by this proliferation of so-called weight loss foods, you will be making a big mistake. Here are some food items that you would not hesitate to include in your healthy diet package, but which have the potential of disrupting your weight loss goals! Unless you know which weight loss foods to avoid from your diet, your losing weight fast dreams may remain a distance dream.

1. Smoothies

I'm sure you never guessed this one. So, what's wrong with a fruit-rich smoothie? Most of them consist of fruit juice, which comes with a lot of calories but none of the fiber you get from fruits themselves. Besides, the frozen yogurt or sherbet component loads the drink with sugar and calories. At the end of it, you have a drink that satisfies you like a light snack, but may be loaded with 400-600 calories. If you must have a smoothie as part of your weight loss diet, add in low-fat yogurt and blend it with whole fruit rather than juice.

2. Granola

It's tasty and you may feel like it's loaded with nutrients, but what it's loaded with is calories. Most granola cereals have more sugar than fiber, and get you feeling hungry quickly. So, while your body will certainly ask for more food for breakfast, the problem is that you already packed in nearly 500 calories with your bowl of cereal. If you have to pick a breakfast cereal to fit in with your weight loss goals, choose one that has more fiber than sugar. You can then add your own nuts and berries to enhance the flavor.

3. Salad

When we think of weight loss foods, 'salad' is probably the first word that comes to mind. And rightly so, for there is unhealthy about the greens and veggies, a portion of lean meats, egg white or beans. However, what you get in commercial outlets and restaurants have a lot of other ingredients that can wreck your weight loss goals, such as cheese, bacon and high-cream dressings. In fact, sometimes there is so much of these, that just a bowl of salad can pile on a 1000 calories, which is probably what you will get from a large burger meal!

4. Energy Bars

This is one cheat that a lot of people have figured out and thankfully omitted from their weight loss diet. However, a surprising number still believe in the merits of energy bars. In reality, most energy bars out here are much the same as granola - packed in with sugar and sweeteners and low in fiber. They are also at times rich in saturated fats. So, once again you have a 'light' snack, that packs in a surplus of 300-400 calories. If you are shopping for an energy bar, choose something that has 200 calories or fewer, and that has whole grain ingredients such as whole oat, whole wheat or brown rice. Also, try to get one that has at least 5 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and less than 2 grams of saturated fat.

I hope this list of cheats in the weight loss foods bracket has come as an eye-opener. With the amount of knowledge now available, it is about time we stopped falling for commercial gimmicks and know precisely which weight loss foods to avoid from our kitchen shelf.

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Want to Get a Flat Tummy? 5 More Foods to Avoid

Getting that perfect and sexy flat tummy is a combination of eating the right foods - high in protein, low in fat- and regular exercise. Knowing the food that you that you don't put into your body is just as if not more important. Some foods have little or no nutritional value and will in actual fact hinder lean muscle growth and instead promote the storage of stubborn fat, the result of which makes it especially hard to lose that extra fat around your tummy and waist and develop gorgeous, toned abs.

Here is a list of 5 foods to avoid if you want to get a flat tummy

Trans fats

Trans fatty acids are formed when oils are hydrogenated to make margarine, shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Trans fats can be found in a wide range of processed foods from fried foods, margarine, baked goods, vegetable shortening to some less obvious ones like bread, cookies, snack crackers, salad dressings, granola bars, cereals, frozen dinners and many more. In fact, trans fats can be found in 40% of all processed foods in supermarkets today so always read the label. Trans fats have been linked with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes among other illnesses and will also do nothing for to get your tummy flat and toned.

Pasta

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that pasta and other carbohydrates like such as potatoes white rice are suitable diet foods just because they are low in fat. These foods are only good in small quantities and you must do regular exercise too of you want to get a flat tummy. These foods are a good source of energy, but only if you are going to use up that energy by exercising, otherwise your body will just convert it into fats, and store it, most likely in your tummy and waist area.

Artificial sweeteners

Research suggests that artificial sweeteners may lead to weight gain rather than weight loss. This is because scientists believe that a sweet taste followed by no calories makes the body crave more food, which can lead to you eating more. Some other experts have suggested that consuming products sweetened with a sugar substitute gives us a false sense of security. We are led to believe that we can eat more later to compensate since we have "been good" and not had any sugars. You are better off with real sugar if you must, in small quantities to stay on track for those sexy flat abs.

Full fat dairy

Dairy products such as cheese, butter and milk are important sources of bone-strengthening calcium. However, they are also rich in fat and packed full of calories. Eat too much of these and your quest of getting a flat tummy will be in serious danger of failing. For instance a 100g slab of your average cheddar cheese contains around 37g of fat. The secret is in limiting the amount of cheese you take while at the same time switching to semi skimmed or skimmed milk altogether. This will ensure that you get the benefits of dairy but at the same time you stay on track to getting your flat tummy as you will be cutting out the fat.

Canned Soups

These can be sometimes taken for a healthy food but this can be misleading as many contain high levels of trans fats, sodium and artificial preservatives. Just one serving, which is roughly one cup can have almost 1,000 milligrams of salt! Soups that are cream-based can be high in calories and fat and are an enemy to your quest for getting a flat tummy.

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How To Avoid Food That Makes You Fat

When it comes to weight gain, it's all about what you put in your mouth. Now Harvard researchers have come up with a list of food that makes you fat, and five foods that will keep your weight under control if they're a regular part of your diet.

Beyond eating less and being more active, cutting down on some foods you eat, as well as getting 6 - 8 hours of good quality sleep each night and switching off the TV more often are all ways you can keep a handle on your weight as the years pass.

The team wanted to uncover what leads to weight gain in the long term, and just why average adults put on almost a pound annually as they age. It's quite possible that a regular energy imbalance of from up to 100 calories per day might be enough to bring on the gradual, age related weight gain in most adults.

To do this, the researchers kept track of 120,000 subjects in three large, well-defined studies. At four-year increments the team looked for links between a change in lifestyle and a subjects' weight.

The participants gained, on average, just under 3.5 pounds over each of the four-year periods - which added up to 17 pounds in 20 years. When the researchers examined just what people ate, they discovered five foods that were associated with the biggest gains over the years. These five are:

1. Potato chips
2. Other potato based foods
3. Sugar sweetened drinks
4. Red meats
5. Processed meats

And, on the other side, there are five foods that were associated with reduced weight gain, or perhaps even weight loss. These are:

1. Vegetables
2. Whole grains
3. Fruits
4. Nuts
5. Yogurt

Yogurt was a surprise. Maybe it has something to do with good bacteria, or perhaps yogurt-eaters have another behavior that helps to keep the weight off.

The foods and drinks we choose are incredibly important and show plainly how different choices of lifestyle might encourage weight gain over the long term.

Choosing quality foods and not worrying so much about total calories or grams of fat of the food you eat appears to be most important in terms of keeping the weight off over the years.

Another key to weight control was getting the right amount of quality sleep on a regular basis - no more than 8 hours, no less than 6. Naturally how much TV watching, and an individuals activity level also were seen to have an impact on weight, just not as substantial as the other factors measured.

The take home message? If you don't pay attention and minimize food that makes you fat, the pounds can sneak up on you. If you are working to be healthier as you age, some small changes can really make a big difference. You don't have to avoid the foods linked to weight gain altogether, but best to eat them rarely, and be sure other healthy habits are maintained as you do so.


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6 Everyday Foods That Make You Fat

The world has a problem, obesity levels are through the roof.

In some parts of the UK around 57% of people are either overweight or obese and in the US its 67%.

By 2020 its reported to be around 70% and 80% respectively - now they are crazy statistics if you ask me.

There is a human time bomb waiting to go off, I believe there are lots of people walking around with life threatening illnesses like cancer AND THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW IT!

They are just weeks and months away from the big tap on the shoulder from the grim reaper which will change their lives forever.

Please take action today and start to become healthier, if not for yourself do it for your wife, husband or children, they want to see you alive for many years to come.

OK sorry for the heavy stuff, back to the article.

We live in a world where nothing seems impossible, scientific breakthroughs are being made every day, we are building fantastic gadgets and machinery, we can control a satellite in outer space, yet we aren't able to control our own health.

Food is big business and people are profiting from our health(or lack of it).

I just viewed a short discussion on a TV show where they discussed if junk food adverts should be banned before 9pm.

I think this is a pretty good idea, it could help a little bit with tackling childhood obesity, I know the power of being pestered by my son for treats like sweets and chocolates, it really is hard to say no to the little darlings all of the time.

I am pretty strict on this stuff in our house as we try to eat organic, we try not to have sweets in our house (because I WILL eat them as I have a real sweet tooth), BUT even so, Louis (my son), still has a bit of "junk" sometimes given to him by well meaning family members, and I have accepted a certain amount of this due to pressure - they say - "one wont hurt him", "all kids have them" I either have to make a fuss or let him have the odd treat, so I let him have the odd treat.

I also get reminded by my wife, Ellie, of a friend of hers when she was growing up who was never allowed any sweets, chocolate or treats as her parents were a bit like I am now. Ellie says that every time she was out of her parents sight as a teenager she scoffed as much crap as she could, so it obviously didnt work!

Obesity really needs to be tackled at all levels. A child whose parents don't eat well and are obese has no chance of being healthy really. Children don't do what we say they do what we do - heard the saying "monkey see monkey do" (and my son is definitely a monkey!)

Back to it...

The production of processed packaged food is relatively cheap which means it can be sold cheap, this is obvious a great appeal in today's world where money can be hard to come by.

The better quality untouched fruit, vegetables and meat cost more to get onto the supermarket shelves without being tampered with so then cost more to buy. Some people struggle to afford to eat well, some people just don't help themselves and some people just don't know what they should and shouldn't be eating.

So to help the last group which I mentioned I have put together a list of 6 foods that a lot of people will eat everyday in their life that make you fat!

1. Crisps

You have probably heard me discuss good carbs and bad carbs, well crisps fall into the bad carbs side of things. In addition to the carbohydrate content they are cooked in bad fats like transfats and hydrogenated fats which destroy your ability to lose fat. They don't really fill you up which means you can eat packets upon packets, the flavours added to them make them addictive. The only thing that crisps really do is add a few pounds to your waistline. Nowadays there are many low fat, low calorie versions to 'bad foods' these can be just as bad as the originals, as they are adding more and more things to make them 'good', lots of sugar can be found in 'diet' options. In my opinion you are never going to have a healthy fizzy drink or a healthy packet of crisps! Always choose REAL food! Try making your own sweet potato crisps in the oven at home. (recipe on you tube)

2. Processed Meat

This is a big one! I would say nearly every single person who does a proper shop will go through the supermarket with some form of meat, packets of ham for the kids at lunch, cooked chicken for you on your lunch break, beef joint for food on Sunday, some chicken breasts or a full chicken for a dinner.

You will find processed meats to contain the 'waste' bits of meat that wouldn't make the final cut. These meats will have gone through a process involving adding chemicals to prolong the shelf life, this process really reduces the nutritional value of the food. These meats will therefore be higher in salt and calories, causing a negative effect on your fat levels.

Not sure if you heard about the 'pink slime' or saw the picture. Type it into google if you haven't seen it! This slime is the substance created from the grindings of all the waste meat together with certain additives, this is then used as the meat for some foods like chicken nuggets, burgers and tinned hot dogs.

3. Frozen meals/Microwave Meals

A full meal which can be ready in 5 minutes with just a touch of a button is every busy/lazy persons dream! We wanted fast convenience foods and now we have it in abundance. What we didn't want though was for many of these various different frozen meals to be packed with low quality ingredients, additives, toxins, salt and fat. The diet/low calorie versions of these products are often not too much better. Make double batches of your favorite healthy chilli or casserole and freeze them for a quick easy meal.

4. Margarine

Margarine is very cleverly marketed as a healthy alternative to eating butter. Its officially classified as a NON-FOOD. Yes thats right its NOT FOOD. But it sits next to food on the shelf in the supermarket which is very sneaky if you ask me. Realistically though margarine is terrible product, it contains many ingredients similar to plastic and paint and would not even be eaten by insects if left outside for the night. It is full of artificial fats and is one of the most chemically altered products out there, we really don't need this in our body. Eating a lot of margarine can elevate our levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and damage our blood vessel walls and stiffen our cell membranes, making them lose function.

5. Beer

You may not think that a drink would affect your weight too much, but it can. Beer is packed with sugar and chemicals and drinking a pint or two 4/5 times a week really can add up (beer belly). Every time you consume alcohol the liver burns alcohol instead of fat, so you can see on a big drinking day how this could be a problem. Alcohol in general puts the pause button on losing weight by messing with your liver function. YOU CANT OUT TRAIN or OUT EAT A BAD DRINKING HABIT. Beer contains a very highly concentrated amount of carbohydrates, another negative with drinking beer is it makes you hungry! It is very common to work up an appetite for snack foods such as peanuts and crisps after a couple of pints and then pizza or a kebab on the way home after a few more. And this is not taking into account the other health concerns associated with drinking alcohol regularly.

6. Diet & Low Fat Foods

To a lot of people a label such as low calories, low fat, and reduced salt will make the person buying it forget about all of the other ingredients in the product. They will automatically think that they have made a healthy choice, chances are whatever they are buying will taste pretty nice so they will keep buying them again and again thinking they are being healthy.

Food marketers are clever and they counted on this, they now have an option for everyone, normal people and for the people who are trying to eat healthy and don't know any better.

For nearly every product you will find a 'healthier' alternative, for every frozen meal there is a lighter version, for every yogurt there is a low fat one, you have diet fizzy drinks, baked crisps, reduced calorie chocolate bars, even light beer!

In truth these lighter versions are no better than the original, for whatever seemingly 'bad' ingredient they take out like salt and fat they will add something potentially more harmful in to maintain the taste and colour.

So there we have my list of 6 everyday foods that make you fat, in truth I could have probably added another 10 foods to the list but I know you shouldn't make too many changes at once.

These foods on their own will make you fat eventually, the foods mentioned are ones which you are likely to eat day in day out which makes it possible for them to creep up on you and cause other health problems you are not aware of. Anyone want diabetes?!

If you do eat several of these foods on a day to day basis then maybe just have a think about reducing each one at a time and see how you feel.

There are always healthy foods out there, it may require a bit more preparation (10 whole minutes!), but isn't it worth it?

Vanity is pretty big in the western world; we spend so much money on things like clothes, our hair, beauty products and spray tans!

But the fact is if you care about the way you look buying these things doesn't solve the problem - losing weight is the best way to improve your looks, its knocks years off your age straight away at the very least.

Why not spend a bit more money on the body underneath that you are actually placing these expensive must have products on?

I would love to hear your thoughts and questions, leave them below.

Thanks for reading, take care

Richard


Now you know some vital information which will hopefully help your exercise program and increase your chances of achieving your goals. I am an elite personal trainer, fitness business coach, published sports scientist and fitness professional from Swansea in South Wales. For more information from me on personal training, diet and nutrition, psychology, motivation, mindset and much more visit: http://richard-clarke.co.uk/

There are many easy to read helpful articles and information which can inspire you to reach your fitness and exercise goals FASTER!

Thanks for reading.

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Avoid These 3 Foods And Lose Weight Naturally

There is a fundamental blueprint for how to lose weight. You have to eat the proper foods, not eat too much, and let your physical actions burn up the food it's been fed. But it's not always that simple when you're trying to lose weight.

It does not matter how hard you exercise if you are replacing burned calories with unhealthy foods, chemicals and extra fats. If you do eat this way it's not very likely that you will reach the weight loss goals that you want.

If you're trying to lose weight by not eating, it is not the way to lose weight successfully. If you try starving yourself, you'll only harm yourself in the long run. You have to eat and make the right food choices. Here are 3 foods types to avoid if you're trying to lose weight.

1. Foods From A Box, Can or Carton.

When you're trying to lose weight, stay away from processed foods that come in a box, can, bag or carton. They are often modified to extend shelf life leading to little or nutritional value and often the level of fats, sodium and sugars in these foods are extremely high. Just take a look at the back of the box. How many of the ingredients can you actually read? Aim to eat foods that are as natural as possible, as they allow your body to get more nutrients.

2. High Calorie Drinks.

Drinking excessive amounts of carbonated drinks is one of the biggest reasons for gaining weight today. The popular colas all contain large amounts of both sugar and calories. Watch out too for high-calorie sports drinks or fruit juices, which are often packed with sugar. Beware of drinks from the coffee shop. Drinks like lattes, americanos, cappuccinos and frappuchinos are extremely high calorie drinks. The best drink you can have when you're trying to lose weight is water. It has no preservatives, no sodium, and no calories and helps to fill you up so you won't feel too much of an urge to eat tempting foods.

3. Processed Meats.

Processed meats are another food not to eat every day. Processed meats are often made up of various body parts that couldn't be sold separately and all mixed with large amounts of fat, preservatives, chemicals and sodium. Examples include pastrami, salami, hot dogs and some sausages. Hamburgers and minced meats only count as processed meat if they have been preserved with salt or chemical additives. If you stick to lean, whole meats, you'll consume fewer calories and you'll be eating healthier overall as well.


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The Foods That Should Be Avoided in a Weight Loss Meal Plan

A weight loss meal plan should not just tell you what to eat, but should also advise what foods should be avoided. This way you understand what keeps you from losing weight. Many of our everyday foods hurt our efforts in losing those extra pounds. Let's explore these foods to see what they are.

Processed Foods

The prepackaged-processed foods, which are so convenient for us, can have ingredients that make it hard to lose weight eating. They can be too high in sugar, sodium or unhealthy fats. We must read the labels more before buying food. It has gotten too easy for us to feed ourselves with these unhealthy foods. It is best only to shop for food in the fresh food area of the store and avoid any processed foods period.

Simple or Refined Carbohydrates

You find the simple or refined carbohydrates in white rice, white potatoes, white bread, pasta not made with whole wheat, and other processed foods. These can raise blood sugar levels easier than complex carbohydrates. This leads to weight gain instead of weight loss. So avoid these foods as part of your weight loss meal plan.

High-Fat Foods.

High-fat foods are not good for you at all let alone when you are losing weight. These will just help to clog your arteries and cause you all sorts of health problems. Also they tend to help put on the pounds. There are lean cuts of meat, reduced-fat cheese and other dairy products that are much better for you. Just switch over to them.

Sugary or Artificially-Sweetened Drinks

These types of drinks should be eliminated as much as possible. For one thing both of them make you too used to having something sweet. They also can keep your body from burning the glycogen stored in the muscles for energy. The body signals for more fat to be converted to energy, when this glycogen is burned up. This helps you lose weight. Replace these drinks with water as much as possible.

Tea and Coffee

Caffeinated tea and coffee should be drunk in moderation when you are on a weight loss meal plan. Caffeine is an appetite stimulant and could make your hunger harder to control. Decaffeinated tea and coffee are fine to drink throughout the day, but remember that any tea can be a diuretic, so pay attention to your water intake too.

Desserts

Sugar-laden desserts are a no-no on a weight loss meal plan. Desserts can also be full of fat too. Use fruit for an after-meal treat instead. You will be able to drop more weight faster.

Follow the above suggestions for foods to avoid when working with a weight loss meal plan, and you will be very successful at losing those excess pounds. Giving up these foods is usually the hardest part of losing weight, but very necessary. It takes some time, patience and the right plan to accomplish serious weight loss successfully.


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