December 14, 2007

A List Of Low Carb Foods

If this energy is unused however, the body can translate the extra heat as a means to gain more fat and weight; without exercise, carbohydrates may be as good as fat.

If you need a mind booster, take proteins; if you need energy, take a few fats then work out. Here is a list of low carb foods that you might want to consider, so that you do not deprive your body of its required carbohydrate requirements.

Here is a list of low carb foods that you might want to consult as you decrease your carbohydrate intake without scrimping on the food. High on the list are fresh fruits and vegetables. Some vegetables, however, such as potatoes and yams, are high in native starches, and can actually add to your weight.

Stick to green salads by adding lettuce, endives, radishes, cucumbers, peppers, and celery to your plate. You can also have one cup each a day of artichokes, pumpkin, cabbage, okra, cauliflower, bean sprouts, leaks, and tomato.

Meats and shellfish are no strangers to low carbohydrate dieters. Go for lean meat, such as those found in the chest and thighs of cow and pork. Ask your butcher to trim the cuts free of fat before you buy any chops and slices. You can also try out lean cuts of lamb and venison.

If you are unsure about the fat in red meat, then you can increase your fish intake by consuming salmon, trout, sole, tuna, and flounder. These fish are extremely high in iron, which can also help ease the possibility of you getting anemia.

If you are not allergic to shellfish, then you can take shrimps and crabs. Mussels and oysters, however, are high in carbohydrates as well, so you can take only about four ounces a day of these.

For more protein and less carbohydrate, you can go for poultry, such as chicken and game hens. Stick to the white meat, however, when you reach for that duck, goose, or turkey.

December 12, 2007

10 Tips To Lose Weight

The Holiday Season is upon us. This time of year we have the habit of indulging ourselves. Food is an important aspect of our celebrations. It is therefore obvious that we make wise food choices. Of course, this is easier said than done. Especially when we see some of the food that is available that is made by our family and friends. In the majority of cases people will not be concerned with those of us watching our weight. Because of this they are less inclined to prepare healthier versions of their recipes. At this point it becomes our responsibility to both stick with our diets and to watch what we eat.

It is obvious that the variety of dishes that we are presented with will be very tempting. What follows are 10 eating suggestions that will help you with your weight loss program.

1. The first one is to stop eating when you are full. At this time of year this is something that many people do not do. This is especially true of those people that believe in cleaning their plates. I do not believe in wasting food, so take only what you can eat comfortably. At the point that you feel satisfied you should just stop.

2. Get into the habit of walking, especially after eating. Walking may be the best form of exercise. It can be a very good cardiovascular exercise, particularly in the colder weather.

3. It is important not to count calories incessantly. I never cared for this form of dieting. Also, it drives the people around you nuts. There already are enough stress factors this time of year. The smartest thing to do is to watch what you eat as opposed to keeping track of the calories.

4. Watch your sweets. Avoid eating too much fat. I am not fond of artificial sweeteners. I believe that they cause more harm than good. If you are at a holiday celebration, just try to indulge in a small amount of sugar.

5. Eat 3 good square meals as opposed to several smaller meals or continuous snacking. I realize that this is contrary to what many articles and experts say. Eating regular meals, sitting down to eat, eating quality food and chewing well are what is important.

6. Realize what your eating limits are and do not cross them. This is very important if you have changed your diet and are trying to lose weight. You know better than anyone else what you can and cannot eat. It is true that most of us enjoy splurging at this time of year. It is really a matter of making up your mind and sticking to your guns.

7. Opt for the best food choices. At every family function there ought to be some healthy food choices. Choose the plain fruit and vegetables as opposed to the cake, cookies and pies. Stay away from the dips.

8. It is best to eat in moderation. Choose the healthiest foods, sit down when you eat and chew your food extremely well.

9. If you choose to drink, do so in moderation. Remember that many holiday drinks are loaded with sugar. Your best choices might be water, unsweetened tea or coffee.

10. Eat whole grains. Very few people realize that whole grains are biologically the stable of our diet. Stay away from white bread, cake or anything with processed flour. These food will put the pounds on very quickly. Instead, it is best to eat whole grain or multi grain foods. There are always more things that you can do to help your weight loss. It is important to remember that converting to a healthy lifestyle is something that you should practice the entire year.

Taken from :Kathryn Soloff is the co-publisher of http://www.natural-remedy-dot-com.com/losing_weight/ where he provides additional advice, tips and hard to find information on Natural Herbal Weight Loss.

December 09, 2007

Is Losing Weight Without Supplements A Fantasy?

You have to almost be a genius to work out how all the weight loss advice available, even for free, fits in together. Its just so contradictory and confusing. There seems to be different groups all with their own agendas trying to push their point of view because there is something in it for them. If you go the diet programs, almost all of them will tell you that you should not take any supplements – that supplements are evil. If you go to some exercise programs or supplement companies, they’ll push the supplements at you claiming that you’ve got no chance of losing any weight unless you get the supplement they sell or recommend.

So what is the truth? How can you see past their bias and make the right decision for you? To make a logical decision, you’ve got to take a step back and remember how you, or anyone loses weight. There is only one rule: You have to spend more calories per day than you eat. That’s it. You do that, and no matter what anyone tries to say to you, or to sell you, you will lose weight. Therefore, whenever someone gives you advice, always keep that rule in mind, because if their advice doesn’t stack up with that formula, say thanks but no thanks to them, and move on. So you should also keep this in mind when you approach the subject of supplements. So, do you really need them? Of course you don’t. If you can cook your meals on a diet that also has enough nutrition to keep all of your organs healthy, you don’t have to worry about it.

By ensuring your body is operating at full capacity you give yourself the best chance of healthy weight loss, which is really what you want to aim for. The problem is that if you are like most people, you are really busy. It is very hard for you to prepare whole food meals for every meal you take. Often you are on the road, or at work, and you need to eat something while you are not at home. This is where supplements, used smartly can really help you out. Now before I go further, you should understand the difference between supplements and drugs. Drugs are products that change the bio-chemistry in your body in a way that can’t be done by eating natural foods. So taking drugs leaves you with a much greater chance of developing a a raft of potential side effects that you do not want to suffer.

Therefore, I don’t recommend you take any drugs (unless prescribed by your doctor for medication). Supplements, on the other hand, are products that are designed to replace natural foods. So for example, if you are in a position where you know you are going to be out for the whole day, and you want to avoid fast food, you might take a meal replacement powder to give you the calories in the correct nutritional quantities so that you stick to your plan. In summary, supplements are simply there to ensure you get the nutrition that is left out by what you eat. It is not their to create an artificial reaction inside your body. You would take supplements to ensure your body did not miss out on any of the vital enzymes or nutrients it needs for you to be at your best. So is it useful to consider supplements? I believe so, because realistically it is very hard, with the lives we lead to follow a strict diet and remain sane. Now please note that just because I think you should consider supplementing, I’m not saying you should be taking them all the time.

In fact, I’m almost saying the opposite. Try and get as much of your nutrition from whole foods that you prepare yourself. What ever you can’t get this way, you should consider supplementing to ensure your body does not miss out. You should also realize that not all supplements are created equal. For example, a lot of people lack good fats in their diet, so their doctor might advise them to take some fish oil tablets on a regular basis. Compare this to the meal replacement powder I talked about above, and you should be able to see that you shouldn’t be having a meal replacement powder every day. You should only reserve them for when you truly cannot prepare the meal you need to follow your eating plan. So should you use supplements or not? You should now be able to answer this question yourself. Only use supplements if you find it impossible to get the nutrients you lack from your normal diet. You should also always consult your doctor before starting any supplementation to ensure it is right for you.

December 06, 2007

Losing Weight – 6 Ways Drinking More Water Can Help Make It Happen

If you are trying to lose weight, but are failing to pay attention to your water intake, you are making things much more difficult than they have to be. Here are some of the major reasons why anyone hoping to burn off fat and get slim needs to get a healthy dose of water every single day.

1. Water Helps you Feel Full There are lots things you can consume to feel full, but only one has zero calories. Pounding down water constantly will reduce hunger pangs give you the willpower to stick to your diet.

2. Water Will Help You Think Straight Ever go reach a point in the day, usually the early afternoon, when all of sudden it feels your energy just drains from you and you can’t seem to concentrate on your work. It’s not a sign of a declining mind, your brain probably is just lacking the water it needs to function at its peak. And since living healthily usually requires a lifestyle adjustment and a change from your usual routine, you need to keep your brain as healthy as possible. If your brain gets the water it needs, you are more likely to consider the damage to your diet a soda might cause. You are more likely to remember an appointment with your personal trainer.

3. Water Will Help You Digest Your Foods More Efficiently While you are trying to lose weight, you want the food you eat to get converted into muscle and energy as much as possible. To make this happen, you have to have a strong, efficient digestive system and metabolism. And that just isn’t possible if you are dehydrated. If your body lacks sufficient hydration, your body will struggle to digest the foods you eat, and therefore more will be turned into fat.

4. Water Will Help Keep You From Getting Sick If you don’t get enough to drink, you might suffer from something called “Chronic Cellular Dehydration,” where your cells are weaker due to being constantly dehydrated. This will weaken your immune system, which will make you more likely to become ill. And nothing can put a damper on a fitness plan like a cold or flu. When you’re sick, you are more likely to skip workouts and eat “comfort foods” to feel better. Drinking enough water gives your cells all they need to effectively fight infection.

5. Water Will Increase Your Liver’s Fat Burning Potential If you are trying to lose weight, you should take extra good care of your liver, because that is the organ that helps you burn fat and convert it into energy. When you don’t drink enough water, it weakens the liver, which means that your body’s fat burning powers slow down.

6. Water Will Improve Your Blood Circulation The more oxygen you have in your bloodstream, the more fat you are able to burn. How do you increase the level of oxygen in your bloodstream? You guessed it, by drinking plenty of water. That extra burst of oxygen will help you on two fronts: it will help you burn fat faster and give you more energy for more intense workouts.

December 05, 2007

The Shocking Secret About The Low Fat Diet

The low fat craze has gotten so bad, we now even have low fat ice cream. I'm sure that the thought of it actually being mis-advertised has crossed your mind at least once. Is it really possible? You're going to find out in this article that although technically it is low fat, in reality it probably isn't. If you are worried about how much bad fats you are eating, then you need to understand how this works. It all boils down to how foods are actually integrated into your body. Before I tell you about that, let's talk about the actual low fat diet. This diet tells you to eat low fat foods to avoid getting fat. The food companies have jumped onto this line of thinking and so when you go to the supermarket, there's practically a low fat choice of any food you want to buy. But many of them replace the fat with a huge amount of sugars and other refined carbohydrates to keep the taste. Therefore, if you are following a low fat diet, you are probably eating a lot of refined carbohydrates. So, what does that mean? Refined carbohydrates get processed immediately in your body, and turns into glucose. The glucose gets dumped into your blood stream, so that your blood can take it to all parts of your body, to ensure it will always have the energy to keep functioning. Now, if you don't need this energy right now, your body stores it as glycogen in your muscles. If all of your glycogen stores are already full, then it is stored as fat! I hope you understood that. Let me rephrase it to be sure. If you eat a lot of refined carbohydrates, it will eventually turn to fat if you eat more than you need. Unless you are very active, and make use of your glycogen stores, you don't need refined carbohydrates. Even if you are active, you would have refined carbs very selectively, like for example after you've just finished an intense workout. So although you may be eating what's called a 'low fat' food, it is really anything but low fat. Now the main exception to this is low fat milk, low fat cheese or low fat natural yogurt. These usually don't have refined sugar. Most of the other types of 'low fat' foods though are full of it. The worst thing about these refined carbohydrates are that they are very addictive. If you study the role of insulin in your body, you'll realize that your body starts craving for these high sugar foods, often when you aren't even hungry. It's a vicious cycle you want to stay away from. It's a cycle that most obese and overweight people are right in the middle of. There are also other effects of eating too many refined carbs. These include unstable energy levels, mood swings, headaches and onset of life threatening diseases such as heart disease. If you have understood this article, you'll immediately realize that trying to eat low fat to lose weight is a self defeating exercise. It won't improve your body or your health. What you eat is as, if not more important as how much you eat. So next time you go shopping and you see the "Low Fat" sign on the food, make sure you check the ingredients label to see how much sugar and carbs are in it. Now you know that excess refined carbs are pretty much the same thing as fat, you'll be able to see right through the sneaky companies that try and trick you with this.

Taken from :If you enjoyed this, you can learn more effective diet strategies. You can also read about why crash diets don't work here.

November 14, 2007

Still Not Lost That Belly Fat?

Try my top 7 tips for speeding up fat loss in those stubborn belly fat areas. You won't be disappointed! But why the sad face? Oh....you can't seem to shift that last few pounds that you REALLY want to unveil your sexy tummy? What's next then? Surely you don't give up now? You've done so well to get as far as you have.

You have a few options actually, which are pretty obvious, even to the untrained eye, here are just a few of them: 1. Train Harder 2. Train Longer 3. Do more workouts 4. Cut back on calories 5. Give up your social life. Now, you could do all or any of these, but will it really be worth it? Do you really have time? If so, then great, crack on but I wouldn't fancy being tied to a treadmill and moving my mattress into the gym. I'm also assuming you don't want to spend the very little time you'll have away from the gym sitting at home on your own,without the opportunity to eat out or have friends over for a few glasses of red wine (for the anti-oxidants of course)?

So how about I give you some options and tips that'll make shifting that stubborn belly fat a hell of a lot easier but I must warn you- They're SLY and they're SNEAKY, not only that but they're downright SIMPLE TO DO! A few of these bad boys may come as a shock to you but believe me, as simple as they are, they really do work as you'll find out later. So without further ado here they are:

1) Get to bed before 10:30pm- this is number one for a reason IT WORKS! Poor quality sleep and lack of sleep can be one of the main contributers to fat storage. When you go to bed too late (after 10:30pm) your hormones don't react in a positive manner.You can become insulin resistance and your body will really struggle to shrug off that excess fat So get to bed by 10:30 (at the latest) to make sure you get the biggest 'hit' of the hormones that'll help you get rid of body fat. I was recently at a seminar in Dublin and the worlds highest paid fitness trainer (since 1994 may I add) told us sleep was the NUMBER 1 factor in any fat loss program even ahead of diet and exercise.

2) Start each day with a handful of nuts Nuts are not only a great source of protein and good fats- they help to balance out blood sugar early in the morning, meaning you're more likely to use fat as energy and can help curb cortisone, the hormone that eats into your fat burning muscle tissue!

3) Have an "eggscellent" breakfast It's a study done by Dr. David Ludwig at Harvard University; he studied groups of overweight individuals. The study found that the group who ate a veggie omelet for breakfast ate 81% less the rest of the day than a group who ate porridge for breakfast.

4) Take more fish oil Fish oil has many, many benefits to fat loss and overall health but its ability to switch on the fat burning genes and switch off the fat storing genes is second to none. Fish oil is also great for balancing blood sugar levels and reducing carbohydrate cravings.

5)Use milled flax seeds Flax seed is a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids. You may have already tried the oil (yuck) but try and get your hands on the milled seeds.These are great sprinkled on salads and thrown into a good protein shake. Flax seed can help lower the amount of estrogen-16 in women's bodies. Estrogen-16 causes fat storage in the hips and thighs among other things. Green tea is also awesome for reducing Estrogen-16 levels.

6) Find a better multivitamin A good multivitamin to help boost the immune system is vital in losing body fat. The stronger the immune system- the quicker you burn fat.A good multivitamin will also help meet nutritional deficiencies. In order to find a good multi look at the kind of magnesium in the vitamin. If it is magnesium oxide the vitamin is worthless. Also, the manganese content should be as low as possible, with less than 5-7 grams per day. A good multivitamin to help boost the immune system is vital in losing body fat. The stronger the immune system- the quicker you burn fat.

7) Fire up your Butt Cheeks 90% of clients that visit me looking to look better naked have ‘dysfunctional' gluts. Meaning their buttocks don't work properly. This can cause all sorts of problems including: low back pain, knee pain, lack of pelvic control and this condition can actually make your stomach look bigger by causing the pelvis to ‘tip' forwards, hence making your tummy stick out! Try this: clench your butt cheeks together in a standing position for 10 seconds, repeat 5 times- do this before your workout and as many times as possible during the workout.

8) Oh I know I told you 7 BUT I thought I'd give you a ‘bonus' Add salt to your water Drinking more water to aid fat loss is obvious right? fat loss releases toxins that are stored in your fat, so, the more water you drink, the quicker the body can dump these toxins! Why the salt? Notice you pee quite a lot when you up your water intake? Well adding a good quality SEA SALT can actually help your body ‘hold on' and use more of the water than you drink. Meaning, faster fat loss So there you have it, the 7 most SLY, SNEAKY and SIMPLE tips that you probably didn't know about! Implement these into your current fat loss program and I guarantee they'll make a big difference to your physical appearance and body composition. Don't believe me? Give them a whirl! I implemented JUST the sleep to one of my client's schedules and her fat loss sped so much that last weekend she was cursing me as she bought a pair of jeans a size smaller!! 14 days after making just that ONE change! What are you waiting for go get sneaky!!
Copyright (c) 2007 Paul Mort

Author :Paul Mort is a fat loss expert based in south shields, UK. He is one of the U.K's most impressive result getters and can guarantee his MELT system will help you drop a jean size in 28 days. to check out Paul's articles, please visit http://www.precisionfitness.co.uk

November 12, 2007

Seven Weight Loss Tips

Here are seven weight loss tips to get you started on getting the body of your dreams!

#1.During your workouts do exercise that incorporate compound movements rather than simple ones. This will not only help in burning more calories, but will also tone more muscle at once! A few good compound movement exercises include: squats, dead lifts, bent over rows, and lunges.

#2. Set fitness goals for yourself. Be sure to write your goals down and post them where you will see them everyday. Your goal may be to lose 5 pounds, to lose 5 inches off your waist. Make sure that you are very specific with your goals, vague goals will get you nowhere. A qualified personal trainer can help you set your goals and guide you to them.

#3. Pump some iron! Did you know that 1 lb of muscle burns 30-50 calories per day, while 1 lb of fat only burns about 9 calories per day? The more muscle your body contains the more calories you burn each day. Resistance training has been called the fountain of youth – and it really is!

#4. A great way to burn off excess fat is to walk or jog for as little as 15-20 minutes first thing in the morning. Performing a calorie burning activity right when you wake up is more effective since your body is depleted of calories, and is forced to pull energy from fat stores. A personal trainer can help you identify your ideal target heart rate for maximum fat burn.

#5. Make a habit of weighing and measuring yourself monthly and tracking your gains and losses. I know this sounds tedious but it is a great way to help you prevent gradual weight gain from creeping up when you least expect it.

#6. When lifting weights, try slowing down the speed at which you lower the weight. Lowering weight in a controlled manner will add strength and tone to your muscles and decrease the chance of an injury.

#7. Losing patience with exercise? The key to weight loss and fitness gains is to consistently give your body new challenges. Mix up your workouts every few weeks, and don't be afraid to try something new! Make your body constantly adapt to new challenges and stimulus. Hire a personal trainer who can help you add new excitement to your fitness program. Stay strong, stay motivated and keep on moving.

Taken from :Machelle Lee owns and operates The Invisible Gym in Santa Cruz, CA. Her mission is to inspire people to become physically active and enjoy the benefits of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. For more information and questions you can visit her website. http://www.the-invisible-gym.com/

November 06, 2007

The Hallmarks Of An Effective Weight Loss Program

An effective weight loss program has many components, all of which must contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of the dieter, as well as provide a solid foundation of help and support. So what are the hallmarks of an effective weight loss program? First and foremost, an effective weight loss program will center on calories consumed as calories expended. The program will help you determine these amounts. If a diet does not take this into consideration, it might help you lose weight initially, but we cannot consider it to be an effective because it's not sustainable over time.

Good programs will have some tracking mechanism for how much food you take in. Whatever the method, it's important to keep track of EVERYTHING you eat during the day. You should keep your food diary strictly, including that mouthful of chili you sampled while cooking. Then, you can find out how much energy you burn during a day. This calculation may involve some tricky math, but an effective weight loss program will have a way to figure it out. The standard rule applies: have a 500 calorie deficit each day to lose a pound a week. The second hallmark of an effective weight loss program is a good exercise routine.

This should include both cardiovascular and some sort of free weight (anaerobic) training. A combination of the two will accomplish your weight loss goals the quickest, because in addition to burning fat it will add muscle, which will add to your calorie deficit. The third hallmark is help from the staff or author. This is not always possible if a diet has been around a long time. However, if you can have nutrition experts or weight loss specialists on your side, it will take the guesswork out of losing weight. The fourth hallmark is maintenance, an extremely important part of your diet and exercise program. Does it leave you in the dark after you reach your goal weight? An effective weight loss program will at least have an extensive explanation of how to continue your success, but better yet, it may even have on-going support. The fifth hallmark of an effective weight loss program is proof.

A good diet and exercise regime will have people who are willing to give testimonials. You can often spot fake testimonials if you notice that they all use similar language. You may see the phrase "Results not typical", which is OK as long as you can find out what "typical" is. An effective weight loss program will be able to show you proof it works, at least for those who stick with the program. The sixth hallmark is cost efficiency. If a diet and exercise program is more than you can afford, it will cause you undue stress. This is counterproductive when dieting, as stress releases hormones that tell the body to store fat - working against your efforts. That expensive bottle of pills or that high-class gym membership may not be the best place to start if your finances can't support such items. But remember - a program doesn't have to be expensive to be effective. There are hundreds of programs available to choose. All you need to do is a little "due diligence" and you'll soon find which is the most effective weight loss program for you.

October 26, 2007

Why Is The Mediterranean Diet So Popular?

As I have been living in Italy for the last thirty years, I can vouch for the great qualities of the Mediterranean diet. It is well known that the incidence of heart disease is less in Mediterranean countries than in the USA. The same is true for cancer rates. There is a possibility that this diet may play a part in slowing Alzheimer's disease. It has been studied and researched all over the world.

The Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Greece and southern Italy have always had a long dietary tradition of good food based on natural healthy ingredients. This now forms the basis of the Mediterranean Diet which has become famous all over the world. Why is it so famous? Partly because many scientific bodies, such as Harvard University, have carried out extensive research which shows that this diet is effective in reducing the risk of heart attacks and lowering cancer rates as well.

Many people seek to lose weight by means of surgical operations. If that is the road you would like to take, then the Mediterranean Diet is not really suitable for you. The diet is easy to follow and encourages you to make simple delicious meals.

This diet is versatile. You do not have to follow complicated meal plans and recipes. Once you have learnt how to prepare a small number of dishes, you vary and adapt these to make lots of tasty meals. Once you have the great ingredients, it really is quite simple.

The basis of the Mediterranean Diet is that it has lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, legumes, bread and other cereals. Olive oil is an important ingredient too as indeed is red wine which is allowed in moderate quantities. Essentially, animal products consumption such as re meat is limited while fish is preferred to chicken and other white meats. Most dishes are served warm and there is very little raw food as such. This diet has lots of antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids and fibre and there is a reduced intake of saturated fats.

More on red wine as lots of people ask about this. Red wine is recommended at meal times because it contains lots of plant elements such as phytonutrients which are essential for good health. In addition, red wine has flavanoids which are a powerful antioxidant which is a great help in reversing the process of ageing. A less enjoyable alternative (perhaps) is to drink grape juice - it has almost all the same elements as red wine.

What about cholesterol - will a Mediterranean diet really lower it ? There is quite a lot of research which has been done on this and demonstrates that bad cholestrol can be reduced if you follow this diet. That is also why you should always reduce your intake of saturated fats because they are very bad for cholesterol. This is the reason you will never see full-fat dairy and large quantities of red meat in this diet ! Virgin olive oil is also a staple in this diet as it has been shown to lower blood pressure and also reduce blood sugar.

There are many food outlets now which supply all the ingredients you will need to follow the Mediterranean Diet. Delis and restaurants specializing in this type of food are now in many locations. In the link below, you will find that there are tons of tasty recipes which can be easily prepared.

October 20, 2007

7 Ways How To Lose Weight Fast And Easy

It's pretty safe to assume that most people in the western world have been on a diet of some sort at some stage of their lives. Majority of people want to lose some weight from somewhere on their bodies, though the most common complaints are from women around their buttocks, hips, and thighs. Based on this, the question of how to lose weight fast and easy is widespread. The problem with most diets though, is that they take so long.

Who wants to be deprived of their favourite junk food, alcohol, and takeaway for months at a time? Who wants to be locked into regular exercise? The answer is easy: nobody. So, for the couch potatoes of you who want to know how to lose weight fast and easy, here are seven tips to help make things faster and easier:

1. Drink lots of water. Water fills you up and cleans you out. In fact, the Chinese and Japanese swear by it. They even have a "water diet" which begins the day with drinking half a litre of water before you've even cleaned your teeth! If you get sick of water, you can always eat ice, which can take the edge off hunger for a while, and numbs your mouth so you don't want to eat any real food anyway!

2. Halve your portions. It stands to reason that if you don't consume as many calories, you won't need as much effort to burn them off. Most fad diets or short-term diets are based on a low consumption of calories, around 1300 a day, but who wants to count calories? Pile on your plate the way you normally would, but only eat half. You'll be surprised at how easy it is. You may even discover that you didn't 'need' such a big plate to fill you up in the first place.

3. Eat slowly. It has been proven that chewing your food more times and eating slowly results in you eating less, therefore consuming fewer calories. Most people, particularly if they’re hungry, eat relatively quickly not giving their stomach a chance to feel full when it really is and ending up "over-eating" without intending to. By slowing down your eating habits, you can lose weight without even changing what you eat.

4. No fizzy drinks. Soft drinks are renowned for their high sugar content, which definitely means more calories to get rid of later. In addition, they don't actually quench your thirst, so you need to keep drinking them when you're thirsty. Replace each time you would normally have a fizzy drink, with water and see the difference!

5. Sleep early. When you are sleeping, you are not eating. When you sleep early, it means you eat earlier, which gives your body a good chance to digest the food properly.

6. Move more. It's not necessary to spend hours at the gym working out, however you do have to do is more exercise than you do now. It doesn't have to be set exercises though. It could just be walking from the parking lot to the supermarket, but parking further away or it could be walking up the stairs instead of taking the escalator. Small things which, done on a regular basis, make a big change.

7. Eat more often. This is probably the best tip of the "7 ways how to lose weight fast and easy". By eating little and often during the day, you will naturally speed up your metabolism, meaning you will burn calories more effectively.

Of course, it doesn't mean eat a 3-course meal, 6 times a day…snacks such as raisins, an apple, celery or carrot sticks are good options and because you are eating continuously, you are less likely to stray towards foods you should be limiting. So there you have it. These tips can show you how to lose weight fast and easy. All you have to do now is put them into action!