If you want to stop cravings, the first step is to give your body the nutrition it needs. Your body is designed to make you seek out the foods it requires for good health. If you starve it of important nutrients it will send you rummaging through the fridge and the cupboards to find them. You will eat almost on autopilot, trying to satisfy a deficit you can’t even name. Even when you are full you will still want to eat more.
When you want to lose weight you must start first by adding in everything your body has been missing. Only then will your poor, nutritionally starving body breathe a sigh of relief and relax its desperate quest.
The first need – and the easiest to satisfy – is thirst. If you crave sweet foods then this is your confused primeval body telling you to eat some fruit so it can have the water stored inside the fruit. This is why a piece of chocolate or spoonful of icecream is so moreish. Your body did not actually want the chocolate, icecream or other sweet thing. It wanted the water it thought would come with it. So the moment your mouth is empty you want more. You can devour a whole chocolate bar or tub of icecream, bite by bite, when you’re not really hungry.
Or you can eat a piece of fruit. Or get your piece of chocolate or scoop of icecream, put it in a bowl and put the rest away, drink a couple of glasses of water and then have your treat. It will be much more satisfying. You can finish by brushing your teeth. You’ll be amazed how much easier it is to resist the rest of the chocolate or icecream.

If you’re out and about and you want a meal fast, sometimes the only option is fast food.

Other times, you just feel lazy and you don’t want to cook. Either way, fast food seems like a good option.

Thing is, eating out too much can really help you screw the pooch when it comes to your diet … there are healthy alternatives mixed in among all the fattening choices. Your best bet is to learn some common sense guidelines about what makes each item unhealthy and choose one of the healthy items.

It’ll also help if you study the menus of some of your favorite fast food restaurants. You’ll most likely be able to look up their nutrition facts online. Do that and you’ll know for sure how many calories are in your favorite fast food meals.

Now here’s your quick guide to eating healthy and keeping the pounds off while eating fast food …

Some Quick Guidelines:

1. Grilled Meats. Grilled meats are a much healthier way of cooking rather than deep fried, breaded meats. If the fast food place you’re visiting has the option of choosing crispy or fried chicken versus a grilled patty, choose the grilled one. If the place is like KFC, and the grilled meat isn’t really grilled, then just eat the deep fried, breaded meats and avoid the side carbs (biscuits, etc).
2. Skip the Fries. (Almost) Always. This one was SO HARD for me to get over because I love the way fries taste. I imagine kicking the heroin habit is easier than this. But I’ve probably had about a handful of fries in the last 1.5-2 years so I’m doing good! Nothing but starchy carbs and trans fats here.
3. Healthier Sides. Some fast food places will offer alternatives to a side of fries. You may be able to opt for some healthy fruit or salad instead. Or you could do the healthiest side option–don’t get any!
4. Don’t Super Size. Less calories = less fat. And they only supersize the fries and the soda! WTF? I want a super sized cheeseburger man!
5. Diet Soda. I used to laugh at the fat guy who orders the big greasy meal and then orders a diet soda, as if it’ll make a difference. Well it does make a difference, but, not if your packing fries into your mouth too! Big sandwich, skip the fries or chips, and a diet soda can go a long way towards filling you up and helping you not eat as much … Water or unsweetened tea is a good choice too …

Examples Of Healthy Meals At Popular Fast Food Joints

Here’s a list of some healthy choices you can make at some of the most popular fast food restaurants:

1. Taco Bell. Taco Bell has come out with a “Fresco Style” menu that allows you to choose popular menu items in a lower calorie style. A menu item ordered fresco style will come back with a special healthier salsa and it’ll also lack cheese. (I personally don’t take this option since the only time I eat Taco Bell is when I’m drunk anyways, but it’s worth noting)
2. McDonalds. They now offer an extended list of “premium salads”. However, it’s still easy to get fooled into thinking something is healthy when it really isn’t. Make sure you use a low fat dressing on your salad (half a pack if you can) and opt for the grilled chicken. If you grab the ranch and crispy chicken, you may as well be ordering a Big Mac! A burger or two with no sides and a diet coke/unsweet tea will fill you up with less calories too.
3. Subway. As healthy as they claim to be, there’s still a crap-load of empty bread carbs here. Try a salad, throw some protein in there with some chicken, avoid the chips, you should be good to go.
4. Wendy’s. My all-time favorite fast food joint. If you order a value meal you can definitely opt out of the fries. You can substitute for a baked potato, mandarin oranges, and more. If you’re fasting, the Triple Baconator is the ultimate one burger per day — 1300 calories of fat and protein goodness. That’ll be it sir!
5. Burger King. Like the rest of the popular fast food chains, Burger King has followed suit and made changes. You can opt for healthier alternatives like salads, chicken, etc. You can also do the one big burger thing with their whoppers if you’re fasting.
6. K.F.C. Has actually got a GREAT menu item — the Double-down sandwich. Low carbs. High protein and only 500 calories. Fills you up and keeps the calories down. I bet you could lose 20lbs on an all Double-Down Diet.
7. Chipotle. Not really fast food, but an AMAZING restaurant and probably the best choice for eating healthy. Some whiny punks complain about oversized portions but if you order the right stuff, it’s good portion sizes of good food. Skip the extra 1500 cals of empty carbs that comes with the tortillas, get a bowl instead, fill it with meats, salsa, fajita peppers, mounds of guacamole and lettuce and you’re kickin’ serious Bootay. Use the Chipotle Fan Nutrition Calculator to see the different macro-nutrient and calorie profiles of your food combos and enjoy!

For all other restaurants, you can make an educated decision about the healthy items from the menu. If you’re unsure, use some common sense guidelines:

• Avoid empty carbs (fries, tortillas, chips, biscuits, etc)
• Layoff the transfats (deep fried foods, fries, etc)
• Avoid the sugar (no sodas, no sweet tea, no ice creams, etc)
• Try not to cram so much of it in your mouth a.k.a. watch your portion sizes

Follow the tips in this short article and you’re sure to lose weight while eating fast food.

about the author

Diets Don’t Work…

You WON’T lose fat or look your best by just eating low carb, low fat diets, or low calorie diets. The truth is, fat loss comes down to eating in a way that’s right for you. You’re going to discover an easy way to trick your body into burning more by eating more with these delicious foods that satisfy your hunger cravings…

Cardio Doesn’t Work…

Long cardio or aerobic workouts several days a week are the WORST WAY to burn fat. You’re going to almost triple your fat loss and fitness results by exercising in the complete OPPOSITE manner for 45 minutes a WEEK with no cardio at all…

Crunches & Situps Don’t Burn Belly Fat…

1000′s of crunches, sit ups, or those crappy infomercial abs gizmos WILL NOT burn your belly fat or give you a flatter stomach and certainly not six pack abs. You’re going to burn belly fat 5 times faster by using certain full body exercises that don’t actually target your abs at all…

Late Night Eating Is A Myth…

Going to bed hungry is actually one of the WORST THINGS YOU CAN DO. You’re going to discover you can boost the super powerful fat loss hormones in your body by eating the right type of tasty little dish an hour or so before you go to sleep…

The ‘Fat Burning Zone’ Is A Mistake…

The “fat burning zone” you see on most cardio machines is actually the LAST THING you want to follow to burn the most body fat. You’re going to burn fat and calories for up to 3 days like we do with a VERY DIFFERENT kind of quick and simple workout…

‘Toning’ Your Muscles Doesn’t Work…

Trying to “tone” your body by using light weights or high repetitions is a BIG WASTE OF TIME. You will experience ZERO results this way. But now you’re going to be sculpting a leaner and sexier body that will burn your stored body fat for energy for years to come with this 1 overlooked technique…

When you feel the urge to visit the refrigerator and get friendly with its contents – instead, find something active to do. If it is not the middle of the night, take a walk around the block. Or, take your child(ren) outside
and throw or kick a ball around. Do some house work – vacuum, dust, pick up around the house, or do some
yard work. The idea is to distract yourself, especially when you feel the urge to snack when it is not time to
eat and you really are not hungry. By choosing something that gets you moving, you burn additional
calories.

Whenever you feel a need to pick up that piece of chocolate – instead, brush your teeth. When your mouth
feels clean and fresh, you will be less tempted to put something in it.

Drink water – and lots of it. Drinking plenty of water is not only a healthy habit, it can help you with your
weight loss efforts. Keeping yourself well hydrated helps cut down on water retention. When you drink
a glass of water before eating, it can actually help dull your appetite thus helping you eat less.

If you have decided to go on a “diet”, do it with a friend. You can help each other succeed. Be sure
to provide support for one another – and, if you want to get a little competitive in your weight loss efforts,
go for it. Challenge each other to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. It is important to note here that setting
attainable goals is the only way you will be successful in the long-run. Do not aim to lose 50 pounds. Instead,
set your goal at 5 pounds a month, until you reach your goal.

If you tend to “reward” yourself with food, establish a new system for rewarding yourself. Buy a new piece
of clothing, book, plant, flowers, or something for the house. The key is to stop finding an excuse to eat
when you are not hungry.

If you are someone who likes to snack in the evening, choose foods that are relatively low in calories. Good
choices would include air-popped popcorn, crunchy vegetables, rice cakes (they come flavored, now!),
a handful of pretzels, sugar-free Jell-O, or broth-based soup (not creamy!). By choosing foods that are not
high in calories, you will not do as much “damage” if you eat too much.

Do not weigh yourself every day. Your weight fluctuates constantly. You should only weigh yourself once a week or every other week. Be sure to do it at the same time of day. You typically weigh more in the evening than you do in the morning.

Never grocery shop when you are hungry. You will tend to buy more fattening foods when you are hungry.
Keep this in mind: If it is not in the house, you can’t eat it. Avoid buying foods you cannot resist.

Do not drink your calories! It is simply too easy to lose track of how much you are taking in. Weight loss is
about consuming less calories than you burn. Why not really enjoy your calories – chew them!

Finally, do not feel like you have to clean your plate. Stop eating when you feel full. Incidentally, slowly
eating your food will help you to eat less. If you eat too fast, your brain is unable to tell you are full in time
and you end up eating too much.

One of the most common questions asked to us is…

“I’ve successfully lost X of the Y pounds I want to lose, but now I am stuck at the same weight even though I’m sticking to my diet. How can I start losing again?”

Here’s the answer… You’ve reached a plateau (which is normal), and — it’s time to shake things up! —

Plateaus are a fact of weight-loss life, so don’t get down on yourself. In fact, now is exactly the time to pat yourself on the back: Look at how far you’ve come and be proud of it! Then you can determine if this is really a plateau — or if you have simply reached your ideal weight.

I know as well as you do how attempts at weight loss can drive us crazy. According to the numbers, we can seem to be doing everything right, and yet nothing seems to happen.

The first step is to stop focusing on the scale. Often a change in the scale just reflects the pounds of body fluid you lose and gain every day rather than how much fat you’ve lost or gained.

Also, you can lose inches of fat without losing weight when you gain muscles, because muscles weigh more than fat (but look a heck of a lot better). So if you can’t rely on the scale to tell you how you’re doing week to week, what can you count on? Use a measuring tape as your another tool to measure your success.

The science of weight loss is not a mystery — you must decrease the energy in (calories) and increase the energy out. One of the best ways to increase our energy out is to increase our activity level. That means…

Exercise

In any weight-loss program, exercises is a crucial part of the formula. If you’ve stopped losing weight, it’s time to start exercising more or increase your workout intensity. Here are several ways you can alter your training routine to push you past the plateau.

* Add variety
If you’ve been walking, try cycling or swimming. Increase the intensity of your cardiovascular or aerobic exercise by adding short bursts of higher-intensity movement, such as sprinting. These intervals should last 30 to 60 seconds and be followed by less intense exercise for two or three times the length of the burst. Start by adding one or two of these intervals to your routine, then increase the number as you improve your conditioning. Work out with a friend or a personal trainer. This may motivate you to pick up your pace.

* Intensify your workouts
Adding a few extra minutes to your routine, occasionally picking up the pace or tackling a hill or two can help you burn extra calories. Your 20 to 30 minutes of daily walking is good, but adding more time or trying new activities, such as bike riding or swimming, will help boost calorie burning.

* Add some muscle
Try some strength-building types of exercise, such as weight training or calisthenics. You’ll build more muscle, which burns more calories than fat, *even when you’re sleeping.*

Watch Your Food Intake

A strict exercise regimen is crucial in a weight-loss program, but the fat won’t come off if you’re hitting the potato chip aisle on a regular basis. Here are simple dietary changes you can make to help you lose the fat.

* Drink a lot of water
Drink a glass before you treat yourself to a second helping or an unnecessary snack. This helps you feel fuller. Eat foods that are high in fiber – they, too, help fill you up (the body doesn’t digest fiber).

* Add some weight-loss supplements
Natural weight-loss products contain herbs to boost your metabolism, burn fat and help you curb your cravings for carbohydrates. If you’re not using any weight-loss program, a plateau is a good time to start.

* Check your eating habits
Sometimes when the pounds start coming off, we’re not as diligent as we were at the beginning. Portions start to creep up in size, and more sweets find their way into our diets. A food log is a good way to keep track of what you’re putting in your mouth.

As you ease off that weight plateau, maintain your persistence. Your weight loss probably will be about a pound a week, and you may land on another plateau. Make adjustments as needed with your activity level.

In the end, you should view hitting a plateau as a good thing. Why? It means your body has less fat to lose, which explains why the weight isn’t coming off as readily. And remember: It’s best to lose weight slowly and sensibly so you can make changes that you’ll keep for life.

There are many reasons for plateaus and therefore many solutions. If you address the above issues, you’ll achive the weight-loss results you desire. And enjoy your improving fitness level and better health.

This article was provided by http://WeightLossGold.com. Visit their site for proven tips on burning fat and losing weight. We recommend their FREE newsletter. Send a blank e-mail to mailto:subscribe@weightlossgold.com to subscribe.

You hear it all the time – “metabolism”, but what is it? It’s the process of converting food to 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 body’s motor is running.

“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 you’re still in a reclined position or sleeping. Basal metabolism accounts for about 75% of the calories you expend on a daily basis!

The good news is that there are 11 ways you can “boost” your metabolism! The more of these you’re able to incorporate into your life, the more you’ll boost your metabolism. That means you’ll be expending (“burning”) more calories 24 hours a day!

1. Always eat breakfast! Skipping breakfast sends the message to your body that you’re starving because you haven’t had food in 18+ hours. As a protective mechanism, your metabolism slows down. Food, especially complex carbohydrates, fuels your metabolism.

2. Eat earlier in the day! Research has demonstrated that you can lose weight simply by eating a substantial breakfast and lunch, and a light dinner. Dinner should be eaten as early as possible, preferably at least four hours before bedtime.

3. Never eat less than 1200 calories per day! Less than 1200 is usually not enough to support your basal metabolism and thus will slow your metabolism.

4. Snack frequently! Complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and grains) fuel your metabolism. Also, snacking prevents you from becoming too hungry. The hungrier you are, the less control you have over what and how much you eat.

5. Eat more carbohydrates (food from plants), and less fat (food from many animals and other food with added fat)! Carbohydrates boost your metabolism and have fewer calories per weight than fat.

6. Do some type of aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, swimming, stationary cycling, aerobic dancing, etc.) on a daily basis (preferably in the morning)! Forget this twice-a-week stuff. Our bodies were designed to be active on a daily basis! When we are, our metabolism soars!

7. In addition to your regular aerobic exercise, take a brisk 10 to 15 minute walk at lunch or in the evening. This serves to boost your metabolism even more!

8. Tone your muscles with weight training three days per week. Toned muscles send your metabolism through the roof. Do it!

9. Look for situations to be active. Park as far from the store as you can rather than looking for the closest parking spot. Use the stairs rather than the elevator, a broom rather than a blower, etc. Look for the “hard” way to do things!

10. Avoid alcohol! Alcohol depresses your metabolism and stimulates your appetite.

11. Drink 60+ ounces of water a day. Your metabolism needs plenty water to function properly. Carry a bottle of water with you and drink frequently throughout the day.

Get started today! You’ll feel better and your metabolism will be in “great shape”!

If you would like to learn more about losing weight and speeding up your metabolism in a healthy way, I suggest you check out Ultimate Weight Loss Revealed by the internet’s well respected fitness expert Brad Callen. The book tends to be more for women in their mid 30′s than for men, but is still an excellent resource to have on hand.

Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry, M.S.,
publishes a FREE email newsletter, “Fitness, Health,
& Weight Loss”! To start your free subscription….
Fitness-on@mail-list.com or http://www.Landry.com

Copyright 1998 by Greg Landry, M.S.

They Not Only Add to Your Waistline, They Can “Trick” You Into Eating More, Research Shows

Once you get started eating ice cream, do you feel like you could eat the whole carton? Or maybe polish off that second deluxe cheeseburger?

Turns out there may be a medical explanation for binge eating.

On “The Early Show” Wednesday, CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton reported on new research suggesting the answer may lie in certain saturated fats that, in essence, trick the brain into eating more.

The study, done at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, found that certain fats interact with, and actually change, your brain chemistry, Ashton said.

The fats at fault — particularly palmitic acid, found in milk, butter, beef and cheese — tell the brain to ignore hormones involved in the regulation of food intake. So you wind up eating more.

And the research shows it can take anywhere from three to five days for the brain to wash out misleading signals spurred by the fats and start responding properly to the weight regulation hormones again.

check out the entire story here

Fat Burning Fairy Tale #1
In order to experience rapid fat loss, you should drastically lower your food intake and consume far fewer total calories?.
When most people make the decision to lose weight and get into shape, the first thing they do is make large reductions to the amount of food that they eat and place extreme restrictions on their caloric intake.

Their logic is simple: the less food I eat, the more weight I’ll lose

To put it bluntly, this is one of the most harmful and counterproductive things you could possibly do if your goal is to lose fat and keep it off permanently.

Why?

It’s because severe calorie reductions actually program your body to burn fat at a slower rate!

The human body is a highly complex and sophisticated system that is setup with the ultimate goal of keeping you alive and healthy at all times. When you try to lose weight by starving yourself, your bodys hard-wired defense mechanisms kick into gear as a natural survival response.

Your body has no idea that there is a fridge full of food 10 feet away, and when you deprive it of the calories it needs each day for optimal functioning, it makes the necessary adjustments to respond to this perceived “famine”.

2 major adjustments are made, and they are directly counterproductive to your goal of a lean, defined and healthy body.

* First of all, the fat burning metabolism comes to a screeching halt.

Body fat is simply a stored form of energy, and in an effort to conserve this energy for future use, the body will begin holding onto it rather than burning it.

During periods of severe calorie restriction, the metabolic rate can slow down by up to 40%.
* Secondly, your levels of lean muscle tissue will rapidly diminish.

Muscle is metabolically ?expensive? tissue and requires a lot of resource t o build and maintain. In an effort to further conserve energy and to obtain a source of much-needed protein, the body will begin breaking down and wasting away your muscle mass.

In fact, around HALF of the weight that you lose during a crash diet is muscle tissue.

To sum these 2 points up: When you deprive your body of the calories and nutrients it requires, you begin storing more body fat while simultaneously losing muscle mass.
It’s the ultimate “double whammy”, and is the exact opposite of what you should trying to achieve.

The solution?

You will have to come back for the next installment.