How To Lose Weight This Summer?

Do you want to shed those extra pounds you amassed during the cold winters? The summer weight loss tips given in this post will help you lose weight fast.

When summer is approaching, women get nervous. Why? Because everyone wants to flaunt their body. Little difficult if you have gained some weight during the winters, isn’t it? No. Check out the weight loss tips below to shed ugly fat.

 

Summer Weight Loss Tips For Women

5 Steps To A Flat Tummy

Step one:

If you want to build muscle and burn fat at the same time, you have to perform circuit training, three days per week. How can you achieve this? Indulge in full body exercises like lunges, push-ups, and pull-ups, for one set of 15 repetitions. Don't forget to follow every exercise with one minute of jumping rope. You should be able to burn around 500 to 600 calories per workout.  

Why Do You Get Belly Fat?

There are a number of reasons for belly fat in teens and adults:

• Your genes may be responsible for your belly fat. Yes, it’s true. Genetics is a determinant of how the fat is distributed all over your body. You may be either apple-shaped or pear-shaped. For those who are pear-shaped, the fat tends to accumulate in the lower portion of the body like the buttocks. But for those who are apple-shaped, your body tends to store fat around the middle section, thus resulting in accumulation of fat around the belly.

Preventing Weight Gain After You’ve Stopped Smoking

Weight gain is a common concern when quitting smoking. Some people even use it as a reason not to quit. While it's true that many smokers put on weight within six months of stopping smoking, the gain is usually small about 5 pounds on average and that initial gain decreases over time. It’s also important to remember that carrying a few extra pounds for a few months won’t hurt your heart as much as smoking will. Of course, gaining weight is NOT inevitable when you quit smoking.

Smoking acts as an appetite suppressant. It also dampens your sense of smell and taste. So after you quit, your appetite will likely increase and food will seem more appealing. Weight gain can also happen if you replace the oral gratification of smoking with eating, especially if you turn to unhealthy comfort foods. So it's important to find other, healthy ways to deal with stress and other unpleasant feelings rather than mindless, emotional eating.

§  Nurture yourself. Instead of turning to cigarettes or food when you feel stressed, anxious, or depressed, learn new ways to soothe yourself.

§  Eat healthy, varied meals. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and limit your fat intake. Seek out low-fat options that look appetizing to you and you will actually eat. Avoid alcohol, sugary sodas, and other high-calorie drinks.

§  Drink lots of water. Drinking lots of water—at least six to eight 8 oz. glasses—will help you feel full and keep you from eating when you're not hungry. Water will also help flush toxins from your body.

§  Take a walk. Walking is a great form of exercise. Not only will it help you burn calories and keep the weight off, but it will also help alleviate feelings of stress and frustration that accompany smoking withdrawal.

§  Snack on low-calorie or calorie-free foods. Good choices include sugar-free gum, carrot and celery sticks, sliced bell peppers or jicama, or sugar-free hard candies.

The Truth About Dietary Fat And Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fatty, wax-like substance that your body needs to function properly. In and of itself, 

cholesterol isn't bad. But when you get too much of it, it can have a negative impact on your health.

Cholesterol comes from two sources: your body and food. Your body (specifically, the liver) produces some of the cholesterol you need naturally. But you also get cholesterol directly from any animal products you eat, such as eggs, meat, and dairy. Together, these two sources contribute to your blood cholesterol level.

Good vs. bad cholesterol

As with dietary fat, there are good and bad types of cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is the "good" kind of cholesterol found in your blood. LDL cholesterol is the "bad” kind. The key is to keep LDL levels low while, conversely, low HDL can be a marker for increased cardiovascular risk. High levels of HDL cholesterol may help protect against heart disease and stroke, while high levels of LDL cholesterol can clog arteries, increasing your risk.

Research shows that there is only a weak link between the amount of cholesterol you eat and your blood cholesterol levels. The biggest influence on your total and LDL cholesterol is the type of fats you eat—not your dietary cholesterol. So instead of counting cholesterol, simply focus on replacing bad fats with good fats.

§ Monounsaturated fats lower total and bad (LDL) cholesterol levels, while increasing good cholesterol (HDL).

§  Polyunsaturated fats lower triglycerides and fight inflammation.

§  Saturated fats may raise your blood cholesterol.

§  Trans fats are the worst types of fat since they not only raise your bad LDL cholesterol, but also lower the good HDL cholesterol.

Omega-3 fatty acids: Superfats for the brain and heart

Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fat. While all types of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good for you, omega-3 fats are proving to be especially beneficial.

We’re still learning about the many benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, but research has shown that they can:

• Prevent and reduce the symptoms of depression
• Protect against memory loss and dementia
• Reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer
• Ease arthritis, joint pain, and inflammatory skin conditions
• Support a healthy pregnancy

Omega-3 fatty acids and mental health

Omega-3 fatty acids are highly concentrated in the brain. Research indicates that they play a vital role in cognitive function (memory, problem-solving abilities, etc.) as well as emotional health.

Getting more omega-3 fatty acids in your diet can help you battle fatigue, sharpen your memory, and balance your mood. Studies have shown that omega-3s can be helpful in the treatment of depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and bipolar disorder.

There are several different types of omega-3 fatty acids:

EPA and DHA – Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have the most research to back up their health benefits. Both are found in abundance in cold-water fatty fish.

ALA – Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) comes from plants. Studies suggest that it’s a less potent form of omega-3 than EPA and DHA. The best sources include flaxseed, walnuts, and canola oil.

Fish: The best food source of omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fats are a type of essential fatty acid, meaning they are essential to health, but your body can’t make them. You can only get omega-3 fats from food.

The best sources are fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, or sardines, or high-quality cold-water fish oil supplements. Canned albacore tuna and lake trout can also be good sources, depending on how the fish were raised and processed.

If you’re a vegetarian or you don’t like fish, you can still get your omega-3 fix by eating algae (which is high in DHA) or taking a fish oil or algae supplement.

Choosing The Best Omega-3 Supplement

With so many omega-3 and fish oil supplements and fortified foods, making the right choice can be tricky. These guidelines can help.

• Avoid products that don’t list the source of their omega-3s. Does the package list the source of omega-3 fatty acids? If not, chances are it’s ALA (sometimes from plain old canola or soybean oil), which most Westerners already get plenty of.
• Don’t fall for fortified foods. Many fortified foods (such as margarine, eggs, and milk) claim to be high in omega-3 fatty acids, but often, the real amount of omega-3 is miniscule. 
• Look for the total amount of EPA and DHA on the label. The bottle may say 1,000 milligrams of fish oil, but it’s the amount of omega-3 that matters. Read the small print. It may show only 300 mg of EPA and DHA (sometimes listed as “omega-3 fatty acids”), which means you’d have to take three capsules to get close to 1,000 milligrams of omega-3.
• Choose supplements that are mercury-free, pharmaceutical grade and molecularly distilled.Make sure the supplement contains both DHA and EPA. They may be hard to find, but supplements with higher concentrations of EPA are better.

Fish oil supplements can cause stomach upset and belching, especially when you first start taking them. To reduce these side effects, take them with food. You may also want to start with a low dose and gradually increase it, or divide the dose among your three meals.