| 1. Do some resistive weight training 3 to 4 | | | | snapper, sea bass, salmon and tuna help |
| times a week using short rest periods between | | | | improve health and fat loss. Essential fatty |
| sets of 30 to 60 seconds. Work out no longer | | | | acids (EFA) are required for optimum health |
| than 1 hour to keep your anabolic | | | | and fatty acid metabolism. Avoiding "good |
| (muscle-building) hormones high and catabolic | | | | fats" is a sure way to sabotage a fat-loss |
| (muscle-wasting) hormones low. Over-training | | | | diet and degrade your health. |
| is a quick way to lose muscle along with fat. | | | | |
| Maintaining muscle is the goal, and it will | | | | |
| help keep your metabolic rate high so that | | | | |
| fat loss continues at a steady pace. Attempt | | | | 6. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water |
| to lose no more than 1 to 1.5 pounds of fat | | | | a day to prevent dehydration and help |
| per week. | | | | liberate fat stores to be burned as energy. |
| | | | Water intake is often cited as the most |
| | | | underrated and overlooked part of fat loss. |
| | | | |
| 2. Avoid traditional long duration cardio, | | | | |
| instead perform HIIT (High Intensity Interval | | | | |
| Training) 2-3 times per week on alternating | | | | 7. Eat fibrous vegetables to increase |
| days or after weight training to burn fat and | | | | transit time of food, improve digestion and |
| increase metabolic rate. HIIT cardio is best | | | | improve weight loss. Increasing fiber intake |
| done on alternating days from weight training | | | | from vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower |
| if possible. | | | | and other raw vegetables adds fiber, minerals |
| | | | and vitamins with very few calories. They add |
| | | | bulk to the diet while reducing appetite. |
| | | | |
| 3. Watch what you eat. Beware of low-fat or | | | | |
| fat-free products. Typically, these products | | | | |
| are loaded with carbohydrates and while you | | | | 8. Spread food intake over 5 to 6 meals per |
| are not getting the fat, you may be getting | | | | day. Distributing your food throughout the |
| way too many calories from simple | | | | day will improve nutrient absorption, prevent |
| carbohydrates. Avoid simple sugars and eat | | | | blood sugar fluctuations and decrease |
| complex carbohydrates in moderation to reduce | | | | fat-storing hormones and fat-storing enzymes. |
| insulin output and prevent blood sugar | | | | Simply spreading the same number of calories |
| fluctuations. Insulin is the main hormone | | | | over 5 to 6 small meals per day rather than |
| responsible for storing body fat, and high | | | | the standard 3 meals per day will improve fat |
| insulin levels prevent the burning of stored | | | | loss due to the above effects on blood sugar, |
| body fat for energy. High-carbohydrate diets | | | | hormones and fat-storing enzymes. |
| are not the optimal way to lose fat while | | | | |
| preserving lean muscle. Rely on complex, | | | | |
| high-fiber carbohydrates such as oatmeal, | | | | |
| lentils and brown rice. Avoid breads, pasta, | | | | 9. Avoid alcohol (or keep it to a minimum) |
| white rice and other highly processed, | | | | while you're dieting. Alcohol contains nearly |
| low-fiber carbohydrate sources, as well as | | | | 7 calories per gram, and is easily |
| sweets. As a guide, reduce carbohydrate | | | | metabolized and stored as fat. When you |
| intake to 0.8 to 1.2 grams per pound of body | | | | consume alcohol with a meal, your body will |
| weight. For example, a 150-pound person would | | | | metabolize the alcohol first. The rest of the |
| eat between 120 and 180 grams per day of | | | | calories and the excess alcohol calories |
| carbohydrates (150 x 0.8 = 120 / 150 x 1.2 = | | | | inevitably will be stored as fat. Alcohol is |
| 180). | | | | generally regarded as empty carbohydrate |
| | | | calories because you get no other nutritional |
| | | | benefit as you would from the vitamins, |
| | | | minerals and fiber that you get from the |
| 4. Increase the amount of lean protein you | | | | carbohydrates in fruits and vegetables. |
| consume daily to increase your metabolic | | | | |
| rate, increase anabolic hormones and prevent | | | | |
| muscle loss during dieting. Lean muscle mass | | | | |
| is the active tissue that burns calories and | | | | 10. Be snack smart. When you must have a |
| maintains metabolic rate. The goal is to | | | | snack, make a smart choice. Avoid sugary or |
| preserve the active tissue we want while | | | | fatty snacks like chips and soda, crackers, |
| encouraging the body to reduce the tissue | | | | nuts, frozen yogurt and so on. Instead, try |
| (fat) we don't want. Eat high-quality, | | | | some air-popped popcorn (no butter or salt) |
| low-fat protein sources like skinless | | | | or a slice of lean meat like turkey. When you |
| chicken, lean red meat and seafood during | | | | space your meals to 5 or 6 a day, snacking |
| your weight loss program. High-quality | | | | becomes less important to you. Check the |
| protein supplements may be used when the diet | | | | nutritional panels on your snacks for sugars |
| does not yield enough daily protein. | | | | and fats, remembering that fat-free does not |
| | | | mean calorie-free, and remember, excess |
| | | | carbohydrates in your diet will be stored as |
| | | | fat.Robert DiMaggio is first and foremost the |
| 5. Reduce saturated fats whenever possible | | | | founder and editor of LLC, an online |
| and replace with polyunsaturated fats such as | | | | bodybuilding and fitness magazine that has |
| flax oil and monounsaturated fats such as | | | | been dedicated to helping people achieve |
| olive oil and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats | | | | their bodybuilding and fitness goals. has |
| are considered "good fats" and should be a | | | | been online since 2001 publishing new |
| part of your diet. Research shows that | | | | articles, content and a newsletter every |
| omega-3 oils from many sources of fish like | | | | month, along with a growing online community |
| cod, flounder, haddock, monkfish, perch, red | | | | IronMagazine Forums. |