- Coconut Oil:
Metabolizes food instead of storing it as fat. Using coconut oil instead of regular oil in cooking helps. Also, applying oil directly to problem areas on skin (acne, eczema, skin infections) won’t clog your pores, but will leave your skin feeling fresh and clean.- Salmon:
Fish oils, such as salmon, can help to lower triglycerides in the blood and, therefore, reduce the amount of stored fat on your body. Omega-3 fatty acids, which can be found in pill form as well, help keep skin supple and soft.- Coffee:
Revs your metabolism and helps you burn calories for up to three hours after consumption. Just don’t drink with cream or sugar, because that negates the burning effect. Also helps prevent diabetes, some forms of cancer, and depression. Warm coffee grounds can be combined with a bit of olive oil to form a paste to keep cellulite at bay. Rub paste in circular motion over problem areas, keeping it on for 10 minutes afterwards, two times a week, helps prevent cellulite from forming.- Avocados:
This food is a natural diuretic that flushes out excess sodium and “water weight”. Say goodbye to bloating! It’s packed with vitamin B, which is a natural remedy for PMS. These babies also prevent wrinkling, by increasing the amount of collagen in your skin with glutathione. Use mashed avocado on your face, leave on for 5-10 minutes, then rinse off.- Grapefruit:
In one study, 100 volunteers who ate half a grapefruit before each meal for 12 weeks lost an average of 3.6 pounds without dieting. It blocks enzymes involved in fat and carbohydrate storage. It rejuvenates skin as well, by boosting cell renewal. Mix juice with sugar to make a paste and use on damp skin in the shower.- Blueberries:
Are good for anti-inflammation, including bloating. There have also been some studies done on rats that may indicate that blueberries and weight loss have a more direct link. These studies showed that blueberries could reduce belly fat, improve blood sugar, and lower cholesterol levels. The antioxidants in blueberries protect you from premature aging, as well.- Macadamia Nuts:
Keep your body young by protecting you from skin damage from aging and UV rays. It also increases metabolism by 10%, so eating this as a snack or using the oil for cooking helps you lose weight. The oil also doubles as a hair moisturizer of sorts. The consistency is much like the oils naturally produced in our hairs, so greasiness is not an issue. Massaging into scalp makes hair look soft and shiny.- Spinach:
Spinach offers twice as much fiber as other greens, so eating this food helps you feel fuller longer. Fiber slows down digestion, which can prevent you from feeling hunger for longer if you had gone for, say, iceburg lettuce, instead of baby spinach in your salad. Cooked spinach still contains great nutrients, but overcooking can take those away. Spinach is loaded with lutein, which keeps your eyes healthy and sparkling.I’m hearing mixed things about coconut oil and acne-prone skin. Things like this say it’s ok and it won’t clog your pores, but then I read that it is very comedogenic. So I’m wary about putting it on my face, but I will say my hair felt lovely after I put it on for a while before a shower, and it’s very nice on the body. There are a lot of things you can do with coconut oil beyond cooking, though it’s nice there too.
How to tone up and build some muscle.#1: Weight train 3x/week minimum. Consistency is key here. Results are yours for the taking with consistent effort, even if you have a poor workout or are too tired to give it your all on certain days, getting in the gym 3x/week to generate even a little bit of weight-training stimulus will pay off over time.
#2: Train with heavy weights. Ladies, get over your “responsive arms” and “thunder thighs”–lifting enough to coax the muscles into responsiveness and generate soreness is not only a good indication of the degree of muscle break-down a workout generates but also a necessity to build lean mass and achieve fat loss while at rest. Let your muscles do the fat burning for you.
#3: Train to failure. While you are grabbing that heavy weight, go ahead and make sure it is one that you can lift 10 times, but not 11. Getting to the point of breathlessness, burning in the muscles and inducing failure with heavy weight all guarantee the hormonal cascade necessary for muscle building and fat-burning: increased lactic acid, growth hormone, testosterone, cortisol, adrenaline–an optimal formula to get the body responsive (more on this here). Since this is a very intense technique, rotate periods in your training where you don’t train to failure, like adding a light “resting” period when you train with lighter weights for 1-2 weeks and then go back to training to failure in your workouts for 6-8 weeks. Check out Metabolic Effect’s Rest-based Training Concept for more info on how to use this technique safely and effectively.
#4: Eat protein pre-workout. Here’s where the fat-burning side of the equation comes in…eating 20-30 grams of whey protein 20-30 minutes before a workout, along with ~5g of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) encourages the body to pull from fat stores to power the workout and preserves muscle being used for energy. Limit the carbs pre-workout since insulin’s presence in the blood effectively shuts down lipolysis (burning stored fat).
#5: Eat protein (and a little carb) post-weight training workout. In order to capitalize on your tough weight workout, give your body the amino acids (protein) it needs to repair muscle. You will also need some carb in order to release insulin (the muscle-building pathway depends on it), however, too much carb will also store fat. Find your unique Carb Tipping Point to know how many grams you should be getting. I recommend starting with 20-30g protein and 20-30 grams carbohydrates (depending on your size) post-weights–good choices include bananas, honey, grape juice and white potatoes.
#6: Eat protein (and a little healthy fat) post-cardio workout. After a cardio-only workout, the muscles don’t require the same insulin stimulus as after a weight workout. In fact, post-cardio is one of the best opportunities to burn fat. Eating a bunch of carbs after a cardio-only workout may blunt the fat-burning effect of the workout so stick with veggies, lean proteins and even fats. Here is my favorite post-cardio shake:
In a blender or Vitamix, blend:
20-30 grams egg white protein powder
8 oz unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
5 grams L-glutamine
Liquid Stevia to desired sweetness (I use Chocolate flavor)
1 cup ice#7: Eat all your starchy carbs for the day in your post-workout meal, and the very next 2 small meals. For example, if you weight-train at 6am, you eat carbs with a post-workout meal at 7am, 10am and 1pm. If you train at 7pm, you eat starchy carbs at 8pm, 6am and 9am the next day, etc. Your metabolism is elevated for at least the first few hours after the workout is over (maybe longer) and so the best time to capitalize on muscle building and utilize an elevated metabolism to avoid fat storage is in the hours following your workout. Starchy carbs include foods like potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal, squash, zucchini, pumpkin, whole grains, quinoa, etc. Consume your designated bites of starch according to your ME Burner Type at each of the meals. At all other meals (2-3), eat just lean protein and fibrous veggies (greens, etc). More about Best Carb Choices.
#8: Sleep a minimum 8 hours each night. One of the hardest things for most of us to do, but without a doubt a key part of the muscle-building process. Adequate rest and sleep are imperative in the quest for results. Sleep is one of the key times in terms of growth hormone release, and is also one of the best times for fat burning. However, sleeping only a few hours and/or eating a very high carb meal right before bed means that most of your sleep is spent digesting food and not even getting into the fat burning process yet. Pair adequate rest with optimal nutrition for best results!
(via imgTumble)CHEST FLY – Lie on the floor, a bench or a step. Hold weights over the chest with the palms facing each other. Keeping the elbows slightly bent, lower the arms out to the sides and down until they’re level with the chest. Keep the elbows in a fixed position and avoid lowering the weights too low. Squeeze chest to bring the arms back up as though you’re hugging a tree.
I do these all the time, thanks Jillian.
