Reduce Your Calories By Making The Right Drink Choices

One of the hardest things for some people when they first start their weight loss journey is reducing their calories down to a point where the body will stop storing fat and start using it for energy. One of the easiest ways to reduce your daily calories is by choosing the right drinks. You’ll be amazed at how many calories are in a couple of large sodas or sweet teas, and how much of your daily calories actually come from these drinks.

Start getting used to drinking water. Water contains no calories. Always choose water when you go out to eat. If you need some flavor (and we all do) choose diet sodas. Diet sodas also have no calories and are a good choice for those looking to drop some fat. But keep in mind that diet sodas also contain caffeine and chemical flavorings, so drink them occasionally.

Improve Your Diet With This Acronym: Eat Less “CRAP”, Eat More “FOOD”

Here’s a fun tip in the form of an acronym that can help you to remember which foods to eat more of, and which foods to ignore. The acronym goes like this:

Eat less CRAP, eat more FOOD.

Eat less CRAP:

• C – Carbonated Drinks
• R – Refined Sugar
• A – Artificial Sweeteners and Artificial Colors
• P – Processed Foods

Eat more FOOD:

• F - Fruits and Vegetables
• O - Organic Lean Proteins
• O - Omega 3 Fatty Acids
• D - Drink Water

Focus On Fitness And Diet As A Lifestyle, Not A Program

We’ve all seen article headlines like this:

• 10 Weeks To Better Abs!
• 8 Week Fat Blasting Diet!
• Drop 15 Pounds In 2 Weeks!

Instead of seeking programs that provide temporary fixes, approach exercise and diet as a lifestyle. If you are only after short-term changes, and follow a short-term program, there’s a good chance that once the program is over you will resort back to your old habits. In fact, men and women who use short-term, fad approaches usually fall off the wagon and end up worse off than they started.

Seek out diet and fitness plans and programs that will fit well as a lifestyle. Set both short-term and long-term goals. Understand that once your short-term goals have been reached, the real work begins: maintaining your results.

Have you run a “quick fix” program only to have stumbled after you were done? Tell us your story in the comments section below.

3 Simple Ways To Prevent Weight Gain

Some of the best ways to prevent weight gain are the most obvious. Here are 3 common (and obvious) factors that might be hindering your ability to lose weight.

1. Liquid Calories – According to a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the average American drinks 37% of their daily calories. Imagine if you reduced this number by 70%; that would cut your daily calorie intake down by 400-700. Start by reducing the number of flavored coffees, fruit drinks, and sodas you drink each day.
2. Calorie Density – Think about this…800 calories of gummy worms would take you a half hour to eat. You would have to eat 6 to 7 potatoes to consume that many calories. The same goes for fruit juice: it’s easy to drink 500 calories worth of orange juice, but much harder to eat 8-9 oranges. Calorie density matters!
3. Underestimating Intake – The average individual thinks they are consuming 50% fewer calories then they actually are. This means if you think you are only eating 2000 calories, per day, there is a good chance you are eating 3000 per day. Take a week and count the calories for everything you eat. You might be surprised!

Have these tips helped you? Let us know in the comments section below.

When Arm Building, Work From Big To Small

When working your biceps and triceps, use the following rule: work from big to small. You want to work the biggest muscle group first, which is the triceps. After this you would work your biceps, and then finish with forearms. You also want to work the big compound-style movements before working the smaller isolation exercises.

Here is a sample workout that uses the big to small rule:

• Close Grip Bench Press – 3 sets x 6-8 reps. This is a big triceps exercise.
• Lying Triceps Extension – 3 sets x 10-12 reps. This is a triceps exercise using a “smaller” isolation-style movement.
• Chin Ups – 3 sets x max reps. This is a compound biceps movement.
• EZ Bar Preacher Curls - 3 sets x 10-12 reps. This is a biceps exercise using a “smaller” isolation-style movement.