general, berries and melon are quite low in sugar when compared to other fruits. Papayas, lemons, limes, peaches and nectarines have a low to medium sugar content. Apples also have moderate sugar, but their fiber content makes them a healthy choice.
Avoid figs, dates, mangos and tangerines. They tend to be very high in sugar.
Tip 19: How “Diet” Foods Make You Fat
If you’re on a diet, it makes sense to eat diet foods and drink diet sodas, right? The diet food industry certainly hopes you think so. In reality, diet foods and drinks can be just as bad for you as their regular counterparts.
Diet foods come in two main varieties: sugar-free and fat-free. Sugar-free foods are sweetened with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine or sucralose. These chemicals taste so sweet that they trigger your body to produce insulin, a chemical that regulates blood glucose levels.
But since the foods don’t contain sugar, the insulin doesn’t have anything to do once it’s in your system. This causes hunger and lethargy and might make you eat much more than you normally would. Over time, your body could become resistant to the excess insulin, paving the way for diabetes.
Fat-free foods are typically enhanced with extra sugar and MSG. These make the foods taste better, but they can raise the blood sugar to unhealthy levels. Foods with no fat content tend to get processed very quickly by the body, leaving you hungry again in short order.
Tip 20: Dieting During the Holidays
Nobody relishes the idea of dieting during the holidays. With so many seasonal treats about (and several days of leftovers), it’s not easy to stick to your plan. But consider the alternative: Eating whatever you want for days on end and then starting the New Year with extra pounds to lose. Ugh!
You can celebrate with family and friends without breaking your diet. First, designate which meals will be splurges. Indulge without guilt during those cheat meals and eat sensibly the rest of the time.
You can keep yourself on track by filling up on low-calorie snacks before you sit down to a tempting feast. Keep your portions small, and drink plenty of water or tea between bites.
Try to stay as active as possible during the holidays. It might not be realistic to hit the gym on a holiday, but do get outside for a nice stroll and maybe a snowball fight or two.
Tip 21: How to Control Yourself at a Buffet
“All you can eat!” Those four words are enough to send many dieters into a panic. Unlimited food – and the ability to serve yourself massive portions – is not conducive to losing weight. Still, you can safely navigate a buffet on occasion by following these tips:
First, don’t show up too hungry. If you’re half-starved when you arrive at the buffet, you’ll be very likely to overeat. Instead, snack on fruit and veggies before you even leave the house to take the edge off of your hunger.
At the buffet, skip the bread basket and fill your plate first with salad and vegetables drizzled in a low-calorie dressing. Get some lean protein as well. Look for grilled or roasted meats instead of fried or breaded.
Drink water or unsweetened tea, and sip a broth-based soup to help you fill up faster. If you still have room for dessert, have something small like a half-cup of frozen yogurt with chocolate syrup.
Tip 22: Low Carb vs Low Fat: Which is Best?
Dieters have many theories about the healthiest approach to weight loss. Some prefer low-fat diets because they tend to be healthier for the heart and low in calories. Others prefer low-carb diets because they are low in sugar and help ward off blood glucose instability.
So which plan is best? Neither! Diets that are too low in fat may actually cause you to eat more in an attempt to satisfy your hunger. Fat is satiating, and unsaturated fat is actually good for your heart and cholesterol levels.
Diets that are too low in carbs can leave you feeling depressed, lethargic and just plain ill. It’s also hard not to eat too much saturated fat while following a low-carb plan. Over time, diets high in unhealthy fats can lead to obesity, heart disease and cancer.
The very best diet plan of all is one you can stick with for life. Therefore, it’s best to take a moderate approach to dieting. Eat fat and carbs, but eat the right ones: complex carbohydrates from whole-grain sources, fruits and vegetables; unsaturated fats from avocados, olive oil and fish.
Tip 23: Why Mini-Meals Rev Your Metabolism
Think of your metabolism as a sorting machine. Whenever you eat something, your metabolism takes the food and files it in either “energy” or “stored fat.”
Now imagine what happens when that machine gets bogged down. Eating three large meals a day can throw a wrench into the works. Instead, you can keep your metabolism running smoothly by eating several mini-meals each day.
Instead of overloading your metabolism and then giving it long breaks in between meals, mini-meals keep it working all day long. For maximum calorie-burning, never go longer than 2–3 hours between mini-meals.
Add some cardio exercise and plenty of water to keep your liver working well, and you’ve got a recipe for weight loss.
Tip 24: The Fat-Burning Powers of Protein
Lean muscle mass depends on protein for nourishment. Protein contains the building blocks of life, and those building blocks are vital for sculpting more lean muscle mass. Therefore, to build more lean muscle, you’ll need to eat more protein.
How does protein help you burn more calories? It’s simple: Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, even when at rest. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll burn around the clock.
Women can develop a great deal of lean muscle tissue without looking bulky. So, ladies, eat your protein to build muscle and burn more calories than ever!
Tip 25: The Best Diet Plan in the World
When you’re choosing a diet plan, the sheer number of options can be a little overwhelming. Will you cut out fat? Carbs? Will you depend on a liquid diet to get you to your weight goal? What about prepackaged meals?
Every diet plan has its pros and cons, but there are some factors you really need to consider. In order to work, a diet needs to be a lifestyle change. To stick with a diet for life, you’ll need a plan that keeps you satisfied, incorporates foods from all food groups, is affordable and convenient, and doesn’t leave you feeling deprived.
With a little research, you’ll soon discover that the very best diet plan of all is one that you can live with. Persistence is the key to lasting weight loss.
Tip 26: Drinking Ice Water to Burn Calories
Can you really burn extra calories by drinking ice-cold water? Some dieters believe you can. Their reasoning is that it takes extra energy for the body to heat up the frigid water and digest it, resulting in more calories burned.
Dr. Roger Clemens from the USC School of Pharmacy did the math, and as it turns out, you do burn extra calories by drinking ice water – just not very many. In fact, for every 8-ounce glass of freezing water you consume, your body burns about 8 calories to heat the water before digestion.
To see a serious benefit from this approach you’d need to drink a dangerous amount of water so it’s not recommended. You’d be better off limiting your calorie intake and getting a little more physical activity.
However, drinking 64 ounces of water a day, cold or otherwise, will help you lose weight and get rid of bloating, so drink up!
Tip 27: Exercises that Burn the Most Calories per Hour
Some people really enjoy sweating off the pounds. For the rest of us, exercise can get boring. We’d like to spend less time burning more calories!
Well, we’re in luck. According to the Mayo Clinic, these are some of the most powerful exercises you can do to burn the most calories per hour:
Running at 8 miles per hour (986 calories per hour)
Rollerblading (913 calories per hour)
Tae Kwon Do, or Jumping Rope (713 calories per hour)
Stair Treadmill (657 calories per hour)
Basketball, Jogging or Singles Tennis (584 calories
per hour)
Note that these calculations are for a 160-pound person. The more you weigh, the more calories you will burn during an hour of these activities.
Tip 28: How to Walk/Run Your Way to Weight Loss
Walking and running can both have seriously positive effects on your health, but you can burn even more calories by combining the two. Running at 8 mph burns nearly a thousand calories for an individual weighing 160 pounds, but you probably won’t be able to run that fast for that long when you’re just starting out. That’s one way interval training can help.
Interval training involves walking and running at various speeds during each session. For example, you could warm up by walking at a relaxed pace, and then walk briskly for 10 minutes. Jog for 5, walk for 5, sprint for 3, jog for 5 more, and so forth.
This keeps your body from becoming complacent. Keep it guessing, and you’ll keep your metabolism in overdrive. Also, because there are periods of relative rest in between your jogs and sprints, you can sustain a walk/run workout longer than a simple run. You can apply this technique to biking and swimming too.
Tip 29: Start Your Day with Yoga
Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling stiff and sore? Regularly stretching can help you loosen up. If you do yoga, you’ll also be kick-starting your metabolism for the day and burning extra calories.
To start, stretch your neck, shoulders, arms and legs. You can do this before you even get out of bed. If you’re not exactly a morning person, stretching can even help you wake up