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Build Your Metabolism Before You Boost It

 

Summer is finally here, but if you are like many of us, you may not be feeling ready to bare your skin. Luckily, you can be beach ready in as little as two weeks!  The key to losing weight is building up your metabolism so that you can boost it!

 

A huge mistake people make when attempting to lose weight is that they try to boost their metabolism before they build it. Many people begin using supplements as the first step in their weight-loss program; however, if their metabolism isn’t built strong enough, these supplements won’t work.

 

Here is the secret to creating a metabolic bonfire that will quickly melt fat from your mid-section: Researchers have discovered that people who diet and exercise shrink their abdominal fat cells twice as much as those who only diet.  This means that you need to combine both diet and exercise in order to build your metabolism. Not all exercises will work for melting fat; in fact some exercises will slow down your fat loss or even cause you to gain weight if they are not specifically designed to boost your metabolism. You want a program that melts fat!

 

Here are three steps to building a metabolic bonfire that melts fat fast!


Metabolic Building Step 1

Eat clean and eat oftenWhat counts as a clean food?  Clean foods are the best foods for building your metabolism. Lean proteins such as turkey and chicken breast, white fish, egg whites, high-quality whey protein shakes and leafy green veggies are all fantastic examples of clean foods.

 

To figure out how much protein you should eat per day, you should aim for eating one gram of protein per pound of lean body weight or per pound of your goal weight. If you want to weigh 120 pounds, aim to eat 120 grams of lean, clean protein every day spread over 5-6 mini meals. Be sure you’re weighing and measuring your foods so that you do not overeat.

 

Aim to eat 6-8 half-cup servings of veggies every day in order to burn fat while you sleep! More is better when it comes to veggies, but keep cheese and oils out of your veggies if you want it to burn fat!

 

Metabolic Building Step 2

Choose the correct supplements. Always choose high-quality supplements and remember that you get what you pay for. I suggest using “supplement multitasker.” Instead of taking multiple capsules for different supplements, such as white kidney bean extract, ketones or forskilin, take them together so they are perfectly balanced. Taking blended supplements helps you stay consistent with your supplements and that is what gets results! It is also much less expensive in the long run.  Supplement multi-taskers work well because they work in harmony and are always at work building your metabolism, lowering blood sugar, enhancing thyroid function, and curbing cravings.

 

Metabolic Building Step 3

Exercise intelligently. Build and boost your metabolism by exercising 3 times a week for 30 minutes with workouts that are geared to help you build your metabolism. Most of the commercial workouts that you find at your local gym or on TV are geared toward the 20-something’s that want to add muscle.  If you are over 30, then you need a very specific workout that is designed to not only tighten and tone your muscle, but also that create a fat-burning environment. For more information on metabolism-boosting exercise,click here

5 Ways to Supercharge Your Metabolism

 

Keeping your metabolism supercharged is the answer to keeping the extra pounds from making it to your stomach, hips and thighs. If your metabolism is in high gear, it will burn the extra calories instead of storing them as fat. 

 

I am NOT saying that you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight. In fact, the opposite is true: You need to eat and exercise a specific way to keep your metabolism supercharged.

 

There are a few tricks to getting your metabolism to speed up. Some will see and feel results overnight and some “slow burners” may take a week to see the correction. Don’t quit and stay strong!

 

Here are five things you can do to supercharge your metabolism:


Drink more water. Not drinking enough water can slow your metabolism down by 3%. How much should you drink? Divide your body weight in half and that is your number in ounces to aim for every day. For example, if you weigh 120 pounds, you need to drink 60 ounces of water as a starting point.

 

Replace one to two meals with a protein shake. This will boost your metabolism by 25%! It will offset some bad eating days while supplying your body with the nutrition that it needs to stay healthy and burn fat. Look for a high-quality whey protein shake with low carbs and no fat, keeping calories under 160 per serving and protein at 25 grams.

 

Eat green! Eating greens will keep you fuller longer. Eating green vegetables makes your body burn more just to digest them – and if you don’t slather them with butter, you can actually burn more calories to digest them than they contain, so you end up with a caloric deficit! We all want that! Try green peppers, celery and broccoli, as well as all of the lettuces. Dip in salsa for lean eating – not creamy dips!

 

Fill up on fiber. Not eating enough fiber can kill your diet. Fiber keeps us feeling fuller longer. Aim for 30 grams per day. Try adding a serving of psyllium husk to your protein shake to keep you feeling full, plus it makes the shake thicker!

 

Workout smart! Long cardio sessions that are not too intense will burn more fat than working too hard. If you work too hard, you may not be able to work out long enough; just when your body is ready to start burning fat, you stop and so does the fat burning. Studies are also proving that when people work out too hard, they actually get hungrier and they went to eat more and not less – and that is the worst thing for fat loss!

4 Ways to Stop Stress Fast

 

Is stress affecting your body? The answer to this question is a big “YES! The number-one complaint that I am hearing these days is: “I am under so much stress and it is causing me to overeat. I am storing fat around my midsection; what can I do to de-stress myself so that my body doesn’t suffer?”

 

First, we all need to get in touch with our bodies so that we can recognize what it feels like to be relaxed and how it feels when we are stressed.

 

The first thing I like to ask a person is are your shoulders (trapezoids) up by your ears? When we are stressed, our shoulders rise up to ear level; it causes your shoulders to slump over, and allows gravity to take over and continue to pull our bodies toward the ground. This ages our bodies more than you can imagine. Bad posture makes us look much older than we really are, and it can cause headaches among other things. 

 

If we can all learn to relax, we will solve our eating/stress problems at the core level where they need to be addressed. If work or life is making you so stressed that you can’t seem to relax, there are solutions out there for you that can help you feel better right away so that you can navigate your way through what needs to be done. 

 

4 Ways to Stop Stress Fast

 

Stress check. Not sure how stressed you are? Perform a posture check to see if your shoulders are visiting your ears or if your breathing has become shallow and quick. Try taking a deep breath and tell your shoulders to “wilt” or “relax”. They will relax just by the power of suggestion and your breathing should slow down. If you are very tense, this may take multiple breathes. If you are super tense, this may take time, so be patient and don’t give up. It is well worth the trouble, and you will not only feel better, you will look fitter too.

 

Just breathe. Find a quiet place and take a 5-minute de-stress break to practice your breathing. Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale out through your mouth slowly, as if there were a feather right in front of you and you don’t want it to move. Take five seconds to fully exhale. This is one of the simplest yet most effective things we can do to de-stress our bodies and stop the stress hormones from escalating, causing fat to be stored around your midsection.

 

Exercise! The right kind of exercise will help burn off some of that anxiety and will help you sleep better. If you workout too intensely, guess what? You actually cause your stress hormones to rise – not fall – and that makes our bodies store fat instead of releasing it! Exercise at a moderate intensity daily – not too hard or too easy, but middle to moderate is what works. If you can’t sing while you’re exercising, you’re working too hard! Slow down!

 

Use the right supplements. Drop any supplements that has energizers in them and keep your caffeine intake low. Taking oxytocin will help ease anxiety instantly without making you drowsy. Be sure to buy this from a reputable source and follow the directions on the label. Taking more is not better. Oxytocin is a great way to balance your energy levels; you will feel better all day long by minimizing the highs and lows that go along with stress.  

Fat-Loss Tricks That Actually Work

 

No matter what type of diet or fitness program you choose, the fact of the matter is you still have to eat less calories than you burn off if you want to lose weight. The truth is you don’t even have to step foot into a gym to lose weight if you follow this rule. Now, trust me – I am not suggesting that you don’t exercise because exercise will keep the weight off. But, I am saying that even when life gets busy and you don’t get into the gym, you will still lose weight if your calories are on track. 

 

You need to know these three numbers if you are serious about burning fat:

 

  • Calories - Multiply your goal weight by 10 = Total calories per day (Example: Your goal weight is 120 pounds; 120 x 10 = 1200 calories per day) 
  • Carbohydrates need to be kept at 100 grams or less per day to lose weight and reduce body fat.
  • Fat - Eat less than 20 grams per day to lose weight and body fat!

 

How do I do this you ask? Here are five easy ways to push your body into the fat-burning zone before you enter the gym!

  1. Replace your favorite breakfast with a clean whey protein shake; this will increase your metabolism 25% and keep it burning strong all day. Be sure your shake is under 160 calories, low carb and no fat! Look for 24 grams of protein max.
  2. Have a large tossed salad with 3 ounces of chicken breast or tuna fish for lunch. Your best bet is to have a shake and a salad (no animal protein) if you really want to lose fast!
  3. Instead of your favorite snack foods, have a piece of fruit instead to cleanse and detox your body.
  4. Swap the starch out at dinner for an additional vegetable. This is easier to do than you think! Go for grilled fish with a salad and vegetable – or better yet, have three vegetables!
  5. Try to eat between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. – not before or after. This is a very easy yet extremely effective way to get your body to burn stored fat for fuel.

Each one of these simple swaps can cause you to lose 1-2 pounds in the first week, the safe and healthy way. Try to follow this cleansing program for 1-2 weeks, depending on how much weight you need to lose. Many professional models and actresses follow this system Monday through Thursday to keep their weight in check and their bodies running clean and healthy! Don’t forget to do 60 minutes of cardio a day to get your fat-burning engines running in high gear!

Lose Pounds by Valentine's Day

 

If losing weight is one of your resolutions for 2012, then get ready for a new year and a new you with my Slimmer by Dinner Meal Plan. Following a plan actually makes our lives easier by removing temptations and hard decisions so you’re not thinking about food all day. Anyone can do this anywhere and anytime, and the best part is that it’s guaranteed to work even if you’re severely metabolic resistant or have thyroid problems. 

 

In fact, this plan was created for people with hypothyroidism and have the hardest time losing weight.  That means if you’re not hypothyroid, you will lose weight even more quickly. Expect to flatten out your stomach, tighten up jiggly areas, and lose inches – not just weight.

 

Are you ready to get started? Here are three things you will need to do to lose weight fast:

 

1. Prep your body to burn fat first thing in the morning and all day long by drinking a protein shake for breakfast, along with: 

  • 1 cup of black coffee 
  • At least 700mg of L-Carnitine if you need extra metabolic support

Repeat this for lunch as well for best results. 

 

2. Have two snacks per day! A high-protein bar (must be low-fat and low-carb) and a green apple are snacks that cause weight loss, so don’t skip them! If you’re a frequent snacker, try splitting the protein bar into thirds or at least in half and use it as your “need-to-chew” food that will keep you on track!

 

3. Eat “green and beige” for dinner. While fish is always best, my favorite recipe when I’m trying to lose weight and I need comfort food is the Turkey Meatball and Salad Soup (which you can find on my website). Remember, any cold salad can be tossed into a pan and heated for a warm, yummy, filling dinner. All I do is add some garlic powder and 2 minutes later, my dinner is done and I feel full and satisfied!

5 Ways to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

“I'll start my weight-loss program after the holidays.” So many people say it, but that attitude can kill you. Literally. Every time you indulge in high-fat foods you damage your veins and metabolism, often permanently. For many overweight people the havoc wreaked by a poor diet can take years to correct.

To avoid such lasting problems, employ these 5 tricks to rev up your metabolism and force it to burn fat even when you’re not eating perfectly (say, when you’re surrounded by cookies, cakes and eggnog).

1. Don’t starve. You’ll be hungrier and end up overeating anyway. Instead, before a big gathering, drink a LynFit Complete Protein Shake, which can boost your metabolism by up to 25% and keep you feeling full. It is a fat-free, low-sugar drink that boasts fewer than 160 calories, 15 grams of carbs, and 25 grams of protein.

2. Know before you go. Admit to yourself what you’re likely to overindulge in before you enter a party. The three things we most often binge on are carbohydrates, fat and alcohol. Lower your intake of such items in the days leading up to the party so you have a little wiggle room.

3. Eat green and beige. This is a trick that fashion models and actresses use to stay slim and still live in the real world. Eat lots of leafy green salads (no cheese, croutons or oil, either a fat-free dressing or vinegar only) and beige proteins like whey protein, egg whites and white fish. Turkey and chicken are okay to add in once or twice a week. This simple eating plan can have great results.

4. Pop metabolism-boosting supplements. There are lots of supplements out there, but not all of them are good for weight loss. Take LynFit Cutting Edge with L-Carnitine, LynFit Carb Edge with Phase 2 White Kidney Bean Extract or LynFit Accelerator with Raspberry Ketones 30 minutes before your big meal. They’ll keep you feeling full, and block fat and carbs from being absorbed and turned into extra pounds.

5. Up your metabolism with the right kind of exercise. Not all exercise is good for fat loss. If you exercise too intensely, fat may be stored around your stomach and trunk. Studies show that people end up gaining weight because they are so hungry after intense exercise. Walk that fine line between too easy and too hard and your body will thank you.

Celeb Tips: Holiday Slimdown Secrets

 

The average person gains 7-10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

 

It is easy to put on weight, but it’s not so easy to take it off come January. The holidays are not a license to throw your healthy lifestyle out the window. Rather, they should be a time to be even more aware of how you treat your body. Here are the top six ways that stars stay so fit through the holidays.

 

Plan your eating. Mark all of your holiday parties on a calendar and create a personal eating guideline for each event. Plan to eat lean the days before and after the party. Don’t waste calories on bad food! I always say: Make a plan or plan to fail.

 

Set a calorie curfew. Write down your calorie total for the day and be sure to stay within these numbers. Then set a curfew and don’t eat after it. A great curfew time is 8 p.m.

 

Go veggie crazy. If you like to nibble, then veggies are your best friend. It will take you all night to overeat if you’re eating fresh vegetables (without creamy dips); meanwhile, you can easily consume 100-200 calories with an ounce of cheese or a handful of nuts. Be honest with yourself ahead of time and set yourself up for success by bringing the veggie plate!

 

Stand firm. Don’t be intimidated, persuaded or cajoled into overindulging at a holiday gathering. When the hostess offers you something that isn’t right for you, smile and politely decline. You can say, “No thanks,” “I’m stuffed,” or “I’m allergic.” If all else fails, take a cue from your kids and simply say, “I’m sorry, but I just don’t like that.”  

 

Begin with the end in mind. Winners always do this. Don’t start your day with a latte and bagel. Instead, start your day off with a metabolism-boosting protein shake or egg whites. By preparing, you set the eating tone for your day. The same goes for parties: Go in prepared. Don’t starve yourself and enter a party ravenous. Instead, eat clean and go to the party sated. That way, you can control the food instead of letting it control you.

 

Don’t forget to exercise. Studies have shown that when people exercise, they tend to eat better. Exercise more when there are lots of parties happening. Add an extra walk or cardio session to what you are already doing. It will not only burn extra calories, but it will keep you out of trouble. Instead of baking, do more cardio. And remember not to set unrealistic goals: Aim for progress, not perfection.

Exercise Less and Lose More

 

What’s more frustrating than working out hard and gaining weight? Many people end up larger and heavier because they exercise so intensely that they are ravenous after the workout and wind up binging.

 

The good news is that there are three proven techniques you can use to boost your results and lose weight faster. These tricks will decrease the amount of time you spend in the gym and push your body to lose weight immediately after your workout.


1. Finish your entire workout in less than 40 minutes.

That’s right. Remove the rest periods and work out with a sense of urgency. A study from the College of New Jersey found that people who exercise harder during the first half of their workouts and ease up a bit in the second half burn up to 23% more fat than people who start out slowly. After you warm up, bump up your workout intensity and give it your all. People who train this way lose three times as much fat as those who do steady, moderate cardio.

 

2. Lift heavier weights for fewer reps.

Boost your metabolism long after your workout by training with heavy weights. As researchers at the Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education have learned, the heavier you lift, the greater the boost to your metabolic rate and the longer that boost will last. The outcome? Increased fat loss. Pick up heavier weights and you’ll see fast results (this goes for women, too). Once you become physically fit, keep it up. The more active you are, the better your body is at burning fat.


3. Eat clean protein before you exercise.

If you need to eat before your workout, stay away from carb-heavy cereal and bread; these foods only cause your body to burn off your previous meal instead of stored fat. Instead, grab a clean protein shake (low-carb, low-fat and lactose free) or egg whites. If you follow this diet, your workouts will be legitimate fat-burning sessions.