Hydration, How much water should I drink per day?

The human body is made up of about 55-78% water depending on your body size. The proper funtioning of your body is dependent on you drinking water.
2 liters per day is the minimal requirement but this will increase a great deal depending on how much activity you perform. If you happen to sweat more than average you'll need to be drinking more as well. 4 liters (~ one gallon) of water is preferable for a full day of activity

The body prefers room temperature water for easy absoption. Ice cold water might not move through your system as quickly or easily as room temperature water. However it will help to burn calories as your body works to raise the temperature of the water.

Limiting your cravings when losing fat

Fats are a very important tool to limit your cravings while trying to lose fat.

yes, in order to lose fat you have to eat fat!

I am talking about good fats, not the fats that come in pizzas or hot dogs. The good fats are the ones that come from peanut butter, olive oil, almonds fish, etc). Fats are broken down slow, helping us in avoiding cravings for "bad" food.

Make sure as well that you are having frequent meals. Having frequent meals helps keep the blood sugar levels from drooping to low. When the blood sugar decreases or brain send signals to find food and it is at this moment when we are tempted to eat any sugary meals that can get the blood sugar back up.
For this reason keep having your small 6 meals during the day this will help you avoid cravings for "bad" food and will also help you on burning the fat you want to get rid of.

How much food to eat when trying to lose fat - Portion sizes

How much should we eat if we are working out?
A good way to measure the amount of food that we need to eat is to measure with our hands.
We know that all our meals should have a combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. We use our hands to measure the amount of protein and carbs that we need to it. The assumption here is that we are trying to lose fat, so, to keep it simple we need to eat the same "palm" size portions for proteins and carbs. Example, a palm size portion of protein (fish, meat, eggs) and a palm size portion of carbs (rice, or potatoes, etc). Since we know that fats are more calorie dense that the proteins and carbs, what we do is take a teaspoon of fat, (peanut butter, olive oil, etc).
This quick tip should help on keeping things easy when it comes to measure how much food to eat.

How to burn fat in 15 minutes

We all have heard that doing low intensity cardio (like walking) for more than 45 minutes is ideal to burn fat....but what options do we have if we do not have 45 minutes or more to do our cardio?

Well the answer to this is High intensity cardio. High intensity cardio means that you are going to work your heart at bout 75% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. On the other hand low intensity cardio works your heart at about 55% to 65%.

With high intensity cardio, you burn more calories quicker. To illustrate this, let's say that you walk (low intensity cardio) for 20 minutes and burned 100 calories, about 50 of this calories will be coming from fat stored in your body. (50 calories is about 5 grams of fat).

Now if you were doing high intensity training for 10 minutes, you could burn up to 160 to 180 calories. 40% of these calories will be coming from fat stored in your body. This means that you will burn 64 to 70 calories from fat in only ten minutes or better yet you will be burning 6 to 7 grams of fat.

As you can see you will be burning more fat in less time. Low-intensity exercise only burns calories while you are actually exercising. That means the moment you stop exercising, your caloric expenditure goes back down to nearly baseline levels. Within minutes, you're not burning many more calories than if you hadn't done anything at all.

High-intensity exercise, on the other hand, continues to boost your metabolism long after you're done (often up to 24 hours after, depending on the length and intensity of the training session). This means you're continuing to burn many more calories all day long!

Also it is worth mentioning that high intensity cardio stimulate more your muscle, helping in some cases to develop more.......and we know that the more muscle and better tone, the more calories that we burn while we are not exercising.

Here are some examples of high intensity training.

On a Bike,
ride your bike for 2 min at a easy pace, then increase the intensity, either by increasing the resistance or the speed and ride the bike this way for 1 min. then go back to the easy pace for 1 min, and then after 1 min go back to the higher intensity pace. Try this for ten minutes and you will see the difference, besides it is a fun activity since you will be challenging yourself.

If you have 20 min for your exercise, try different time intervals, for example start with 4 min easy pace, then 2 min at a higher intensity and 30 sec at at even higher intensity then go back to the easy pace. The combination are endless and the only limit is your imagination, the key is to get your heart to 75-85% of your maximum heart rate.

How to burn fat by cycling your carbs intake

The approach that is going to be described below is for people that are a little bit more serious about reducing the fat that is hidden in their bellies. I am saying this, because you will need to have a strong mind and sense of commitment to be able to prepare your meals for this approach.

There are three types of days while on this diet:

1- High Carb
2- Low Carb
3- No Carb Days

Generally, the three days are rotated, or cycled, equally. You can adjust this based on your own experience with diets.

This approach has its foundation on the protein consumption, you will be eating more protein on the low carb days and less protein on the high carb days.

These are some sources of protein that you should consider for helping you in your program of burning fat:

- Chicken (white meat)
- Turkey (white meat)
- Tuna Fish (can)
- Fish (flounder, tuna (fatty or not), salmon, shark, etc.)
- Shellfish (all types)
- Protein (preferably whey post workout, and casein before bed; MRPs must be low-carb)
- Lean beef(including lean cuts of steak)
- Cottage Cheese (0 or 1% fat)
- Egg whites (egg beaters)

As a general rule try to consume at leas 1 gram of protein for each lbs of body weight.

Fat consumption is also important, but try to no overdue it. I personally like to eat the following fats as a complement to my diet:

Natural Peanut Butter
Flax Oil
Olive Oil

The rest of the fat needed will be provided by your protein sources (example : Salmon or beef)

Now let's talk about the Carbs that you should consider using to help you burning fat:

Brown rice
Oats (Slow Cooked Preferred)
Sweet potatoes or Yams
Fiber One (All Bran) Cereal
Starchy Veggies (corn, peas, etc.)
Beans/Legumes
Whole-wheat pasta
Whole grain breads, pitas, etc.

As I said earlier there are three types of days while on this diet:

1- High Carb

2- Low Carb

3- No Carb Days

During the High Carb days you are allow to eat as many carbs you want from the ones I mentioned before. Please do not overeat! you should consume carb in a ration of 4:1. This means that if you eat 200 grms of protein you should eat 800 grms of carbs. Keep your fat consumption to the minimum, only the fat that comes with any of the other proteins. Eat your veggies as well

During the low carb days you should try to do the opposite, try to eat 1 grm of Carbs for each lbs of body weight and supplement the rest of your energy needs with Protein. in other words for a person that weights 200 lbs the consumption of carbs should be 200grms and the protein intake can be increase to 2 or 2.5 grms of protein per lbs of body weight. In other words this person will have to eat 400-500 grms of protein. Keep your fat consumption to the minimum, only the fat that comes with any of the other proteins. Also eat veggies, I like to eat broccoli and green beans.

No Carb Day. This one is for the toughest person, you will be craving for food, because your brain is going to be hungry for carbs!. During this day use the same ratio of protein as during low carb days, since you are not going to have any carbs your other source of energy will be fats. Have some peanut butter and try to eat fish during this day. Eat your veggies as well, broccoli, green beans, tomatoes or any other veggie you like.

Do not forget your water and remember to take note of the things that you like or dislike so that you can adjust this approach to your own needs. Remember to keep the principle, but you can play around this to find your own approach.

Getting your body ready for spring break

A great way to lose weight is to simply follow the laws of nature. In other words you have to burn off more calories than you consume in order to lose weight. In addition, losing weight and getting in better shape requires you to increase the calories burned off through an increase in your daily physical activity levels. Simply deducting calories is not enough because this method focuses on only one of the characteristics of dieting.

Spend more time planning your meals

You know that eating right makes you feel better and look better, but it does take a little time and effort. You have to spend more time planning and preparing your meals.

Eat more foods that rely on spices for flavor, as opposed to the typical American diet, which relies heavily on sugar, fat, salt, and condiments for flavor. You should be looking at losing an average of one to one-and-a-half pounds per week.
Do not look at the scale every day, better look how your clothes are fitting in!


Ways to help weight loss:

1) Eat at least four meals per day - preferably more frequent, smaller meals;

2) Have breakfast to start your metabolism, Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Remember that before breakfast you have not eaten anything in 8 hours. Besides if your breakfast is lousy you will be feeling hungry during the day making you more prompt to eat junk food throughout the day.

3) No late-night snacking - this usually occurs because you skipped breakfast;

4) Drink water a lot of it. Cold water is absorb faster and your body uses extra calories to bring it up to body temperature;

5) Eat fruits and vegetables to make sure you are getting your vitamins and minerals. If you do not like fruits or vegetables use a multivitamin;

6) Avoid cola drinks, and other soda. These things are full of sugar an chemicals.

7) Drink natural fruit juice and herbal teas, i.e. Ginseng, Camomile, or Peppermint; Green tea actually helps you burn fat....I love mint tea, it also helps with digestion and stomach problems.

8) Get at least seven hours of sleep - this will help the body to repair itself and give you energy for the next day; If you are working out, sleeping is the time when your body will build the most muscle and remember the more muscle you have the more fat you will burn.

9) Decrease your intake of table salt. All the food nowadays are full with sodium so you do not really need extra sodium in your Diet. At the beginning it would be difficult but after a couple of meals without salt you will see the difference in the way you feel and you will find a new taste to everything!

10) Avoid alcohol - a glass of wine before dinner for relaxation is okay from time to time.

11) Try to exercise at least 30 to 40 min per day. This will help you keep your muscle and keep your metabolism running fast and burning fat.

How to get rid of cellulite

Cellulite is a fancy name for the collection of fat against the connective tissue beneath your skin.

As such cellulite can not be eliminated with massages, creams or such. If you still think that that will work, do not waste your money. It does not.

Massages or creams can temporarily move the fat below your skin, but is not going to eliminate.

The only way to get rid of cellulite is by eliminating the fat underneath. But, how can this fat be eliminated?

The answer is pretty simple: Exercise and good eating habits. Please note that I am not saying dieting, and I am not doing this, because a lot of people associate dieting with "No eating" or "Eating to little".

If you have cellulite it means that you are consuming more calories than the one your are burning.

To get rid of the cellulite start exercising a little bit more, you do not need to do dramatic changes to your life, you can gradually make small changes that can help you achieve this goal.

These are some examples:

Your body burns more calories when you have an empty stomach, so if you are exercising in the afternoons, or in the evening, try exercising in the mornings right after you wake up. At this point your body is going to be in a fat burning mode since you have not eaten in at least 8 hours.

If getting up earlier is not your thing, then try to eliminate high calorie food towards the end of the day. For example eat your steak with some vegetables instead of eating them with rice or potatoes. If you can avoid any sugary meals or breads after 6 pm. The same applies to drinks.
The reason for doing this is that our bodies have been trained for million of years to slow down towards the end of the day, what that means is that at the end of the day you do not need as many calories as in the morning because you are preparing to sleep (an activity that does not require much energy). If you get a lot of calories towards the end of the day, that energy is not going to be used immediately, so your body will begin to store this energy......and the way to do this is by converting all that delicious meals in fat.

Another strategy to help you eliminate fat is "eating more often".
By eating more often, your body will not be releasing huge amounts of insulin each time you eat, your system will be burning more calories and you will be burning more fat.
Of course you need to be careful on not eating bad stuff, when you eat more often you normally reduce the size of the portions.

These tips also apply if you want to get rid of the body fat on your belly. By following these small tips you can reveal your powerful 6 pack abs as well.

Very Hot Tea is linked to Cancer

Drinking steaming hot tea has been linked with an increased risk of oesophageal (food tube) cancer, Iranian scientists have found. The British Medical Journal study found that drinking black tea at temperatures of 70C or higher increased the risk. Experts said the finding could explain the increased oesophageal cancer risk in some non-Western populations. Adding milk, as most tea drinkers in Western countries do, cools the drink enough to eliminate the risk. Oesophagus cancers kill more than 500,000 people worldwide each year and oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the commonest typeThe University of Tehran researchers studied tea drinking habits among 300 people diagnosed with OSCC and compared them with a group of 570 people from the same area. Nearly all participants drank black tea regularly, on average drinking over a litre a day. Compared with drinking warm or lukewarm tea (65C or less), drinking hot tea (65-69C) was associated with twice the risk of oesophageal cancer, and drinking very hot tea (70C or more) was associated with an eight-fold increased risk. The speed with which people drank their tea was also important. Drinking a cup of tea in under two minutes straight after it was poured was associated with a five-fold higher risk of cancer compared with drinking tea four or more minutes after being poured, There was no association between the amount of tea consumed and risk of cancer. Because the researchers had relied on study participants to say how hot their tea was, they then went on to measure the temperature of tea drunk by nearly 50,000 residents of the same area. This ranged from under 60C to more than 70C, and reported tea drinking temperature and actual temperature was found to be similar. Tea lovers Writing in the BMJ, the researchers led by Professor Reza Malekzadeh, said: "Our results showed a noticeable increase in risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma associated with drinking hot tea. "A large proportion of Golestan inhabitants drink hot tea, so this habit may account for a substantial proportion of the cases of oesophageal cancer in this population."