7 Tips To Get Rid Of Fat While Staying Healthy

If you're hoping to lose fat, there's a pretty good chance
you've tried a lot of methods. Unfortunately, the vast
majority of people who are unhappy with their bodies don't
succeed in their fat loss goals. That's because they're
often using gimmicky weight loss plans that can actually
damage their bodies! If you're in this boat, and you don't
know how to get rid of the fat while staying healthy, here
are a few tips that might get you on the right track.

1. Go easy on tea and coffee. Tea and coffee are harmless by
themselves. It's when you add the cream and sugar that they
become fattening. Did you know that having a cup of tea or
coffee that has cream and at least two cubes of sugar is as
bad as having a big piece of rich chocolate cake?

2. If you must have your tea and coffee, try to drink it
black. Black tea or coffee actually has health benefits to
it as long as you counteract the caffeine in your body with
a nice big glass of water. Caffeine is also not good for you
because it affects functions in your body, like your
metabolism. Another type of tea that you can drink freely is
green tea. Green tea has been used as a medicine in China
for over 4,000 years. It aids the digestive system and can
help ease an overly full stomach and it has been linked to a
reduction in cancer risk.

3. Calculate the calories when you eat, however do not
overdo it. It is a sound idea to know the calories that most
food items contain. Whenever it's a packed thing then the
label is certain to give the calories it has. Just don't
become obsessed about it.

4. Be sure to burn out those extra calories by the end of
the week. If you feel that you have consumed more calories
than you should have during the week, it happens you know,
then make sure that you work off those extra calories by
the end of the week.

5. Stand back from deep-fried things. These are a complete
no-no. The more deep-fried things that you ward off, the
lesser pounds you'll gain. Deep-fried things are called so
as they're fried in oil or fat. And even when the external
oil is drained off, there's still lots of hidden oil in it
therefore avoid it.

6. Do not skip meals. The worst thing you can do while
watching you diet is skip a meal. It has just the opposite
effect of what you want. You need to have at least four
regular meals every day.

7. Just like fruits, fresh vegetables are better than those
that are canned. It is even better if you can eat your
veggies raw. When you cook them, you cook away the
nutrients. If you must cook them, try to boil them to the
point that there is still some crispness to them. Also,
don't soak them in butter. If you can buy organic and
pesticide free veggies, that is even better.

Can Anybody Drink Energy Drinks?

Wait; just before you go get another can of Red Bull, you
need to think about the health consequences of drinking too
many energy drinks in one day, even a healthy energy drink.
While energy drinks are excellent energy boosters and can
give you instant energy, they are supposed to be taken only
as long as you need them. Energy drinks are very common
these days and it is only natural that once you feel a
little low in your energy level, you just go out to get
yourself a can of some kind of energy drink.

This attitude is not good. Energy drinks contain certain
ingredients which when used in accurate quantities can
give you the preferred burst of energy. But it will not last
long and in some cases goes away rapidly and leaves you with
less energy than before.

So when is it better to take energy drinks?

Reports and research have both shown that many people have
the tendency of having energy drinks first thing in the
morning -even before their breakfast. Sadly, because the
side effects are not always immediately noticeable, many
think they can get away with this or just simply believe
that there are no side effects.

It is far better to have an energy drink after you have had
breakfast and require some form of energy boost to get you
by. Therefore, drinking an energy drink first thing in the
morning is certain to get you in the hospital very quickly,
as you will more likely experience repeated bouts of dizziness,
increased pulse rate -also known as tachycardia- continual
headaches, insomnia and restlessness.


Why Are Energy Drinks Capable of Causing Such Side Effects?

The reason for the near instantaneous boost that you get
from taking energy drinks is as a result of the high
content of both sugar and caffeine. While these are sure
components for an amplified energy level, they are not
exactly the quickest way to increase your energy levels on
a consistent basis, nor the healthiest.

The same relates to those who are suffering from diabetes;
the sugar content existing in these drinks is a definite
no-no. So if you have any of these illnesses or related
ailments in spite of how minute or mild they might be, then
energy drinks are not meant for you. As an alternative, you
can build up your water intake and use some other health
remedies.

High Energy drinks are common for body builders and physical
fitness buffs that use them to upsurge their stamina and
develop their performance while they are training. However,
many teenagers take these drinks on a daily basis thus
making it responsible for their hyperactivity and
restlessness.

It is not advisable to have teenagers who are not into high
energy sports activities taking energy drinks, otherwise the
risks involved are that the kids become violent and suffer
what is known as "toxic jock" syndrome as research has
shown.

Energy Drinks Are Not Healthy

How can energy drinks be healthy? They are usually full of
artificial caffeine, HFCS (ref:
(http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html)
Double Danger of HFCS), Taurine and of course, to somehow
validate everything, synthetically produced vitamins. This
cocktail of chemicals will do more harm than good. It
already has.

More and more people that consume the traditional energy
drink regularly or even daily have already or are destined
to eventually suffer from stomach, kidney, liver or heart
problems. Not to mention the effects these chemical
cocktails can have on one's teeth (premature enamel
degradation) or skin (dehydration related blotching).

An entire new generation is coming into adulthood without
their parents' coffee routine, but with a morning, afternoon
or evening energy drink. Sometimes all three. Many spend
hours online gaming, instead of exercising, which
accentuates the problem with energy drinks, introducing type
2 diabetes and other sedentary diseases.

Why should we be concerned about this new variety of mental
stimulant? A cup or two of coffee every day has never caused
serious health effects. The big difference relates to where
the buzz comes from: natural coffee beans vs. laboratory
produced synthetic caffeine.

Just like with any other product found in nature, the
caffeine in the coffee beans comes with many by-products
which are not easily separated from the pure caffeine
elements. natural caffeine comes with fibers and other
organic substances which reduce the absorption of the
caffeine into the bloodstream.

In most energy drinks, the caffeine is synthetically
produced in a factory. This synthetic caffeine has one
advantage over natural caffeine: it is extremely potent.
All of the natural byproducts that come with natural caffeine
from coffee beans or Guarana are not present with laboratory
caffeine. It is also much cheaper to produce than natural
caffeine, another great thing, from the manufacturer's point
of view. Unfortunately, from a consumer's point of view, this
concentrated caffeine blast is absorbed into the bloodstream
almost as soon as it hits the stomach.

Natural products like the actual coffee from coffee beans,
Guarana seeds or tea leaves, are absorbed more gradually by
the body. They are also not as concentrated and therefore
less toxic than the chemical caffeine in most energy drinks.

Here are some advantages of natural caffeine (whether it be
in coffee, tea or Guarana). Firstly, the increased mental
alertness is longer. Instead of the instant high you get
from most energy drinks and then the subsequent downfall,
you get a sustained feeling of mental clarity for a few
hours and the effect eventually wears off more naturally and
gradually.

Secondly, continuous exposure to synthetic caffeine over
saturates our nervous system. If this excessive exposure
continues, our nerves go haywire. This is Mother Nature's
way of telling us to be careful. Our hands may quiver,
nervous habits develop; our body starts to show signs of
stress not different from those related to anxiety or
depression. Not recommended for anyone.

With guaranine or tea or natural coffee beans, our digestive
and circulatory system can easily eliminate the excess
quantities without unduly affecting the nervous system. But
even with natural stimulants, they must be used carefully
and not in excessive amounts. It is best to stick with one
cup per day; of coffee (not the grande which is really like
6 coffees) or one 12 oz can of a natural energy drink or
unsweetened cold tea.

Organic coffees don't contain any of the chemicals used in
large farming operations. (http://www.wholefoods.com) Whole
Foods Markets has a wide variety of these.

Some natural energy drinks that are recommended :
GURU Energy Drinks and Syzmo. They are both made with
natural caffeine from Guarana and/or coffee. What's good
about GURU is that it is entirely natural, has no
artificial sweeteners or vitamins. Sysmo is made from good
ingredients but is more costly, and is an acquired taste.

Both of these are available on the
respective companies' website and at
(http://www.wholefoods.com) Whole Foods Markets.

With regards to teas; cold, brewed teas will provide the
best combination of anti-oxidants and natural caffeine. A
good brand is ITOEN, from Japan. Itoen Teas seems to be
the purest, unsweetened product out there. The Zen taste
grows on you after a couple of bottles. Another cool brand is
the US based Honest Tea, but they recently sold out to Coke
and now it seems they're selling out to the sweeter American
taste buds.