20 simple things you can do to boost your calorie burning

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While its great to do a heart-thumping, lung-busting hard workout several times per week, did you know that the energy you expend during exercise accounts for only about 20-30% of your total energy use for the day?

The other 70-80% comes from the energy required to digest and absorb your food, and from what is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR) i.e. how much energy you use while simply resting.

So increasing energy use from these "other" places (BMR and food absorbtion) will slowly by surely help you get leaner.

Here are 20 things you can do...

1. Drink cold water as it takes energy to heat up. Do so in between meals to avoid diluting your digestive enzymes
2. Eat a big breakfast of protein and fat, e.g. bacon and eggs. Yes this is the opposite of what most people do. But most people aren't burning fat as fast as they would like to. For the same daily nutrient and calorie intake, those who eat more at breakfast tend to burn more fat.
3. Increase water intake so that you have at least 5 clear urinations per day. This will make you go to the bathroom more, and also helps with hydration. Well hydrated bodies are more efficient.
4. Go to the bathroom on a different floor than yours via the stairs
5. Eat protein as often as you can, but choose healthy sources i.e. NOT processed nuggets. Protein takes up to 30% of its own calories for digestion.
6. Choose some healthy saturated fats like coconut oil or butter. Apart from health benefits of these oils, saturated fats take a bit more energy to break down than other fats.
7. Choose unrefined carbohydrates. Those like fruit or natural starches take more energy to break down than a sugar drink.
8. Walk up to your flat on the way home
9. Stand at a counter to eat during lunch
10. Wash your car by yourself. Besides, with high car prices, a car is precious, and who could possibly care more about your car than you?!
11. Set an alarm to remind you to get up and stretch once per hour at work (oops mine just went off)
12. Sit on a stability ball while at your desk or home. It is less stable and will require more muscles to fire to keep you upright.
13. Think on your feet. Especially if you need to form creative solutions or ideas, walk around to think. Not only does this increase energy expenditure, your brain functions better when there is more blood flow as there is during exercise. For more on this, read the excellent book "Brain Rules" by John Medina.
14. Make your hobbies active ones. Even if its not a sport like tennis, even billiards is better than 700-episode Korean dramas.
15. If you are going to watch 700 episodes of anything, do it while standing, pacing or marching in place
16. On your way home, stop one bus stop early and take a short walk
17. Get a free pedometer app like this one and try to hit a target number of steps each day. 10,000 is a common goal but you can start from where you are now and work upwards.
18. NOTE: tips 18-30 relate to stress because increased stress, decreases energy expenditure and increases fat storage. Reduce stress by writing each night 3-5 things you are thankful for during the day. Life is not perfect and will never be, but we can always choose a thankful attitude.
19. Reduce stress by sleeping earlier. Your facebook timeline will still be there in the morning
20. Reduce stress by focusing on forming positive relationships with people around you. It has been said that the best way to get friends, is to be one. People with strong (not necessarily many) relationships tend to have lower stress hormone output.

Ok, 20 is a long list. Don't try them all at once. It can take 2-3 months to build up a habit that sticks with you for life. So how about trying 2-3 of these things this week and start the process.

Coach Jonathan Wong has a Doctorate of Science in Holistic Medicine, is a Certified Sports Nutritionist and is the author of "The Happy Body - Getting to the root of YOUR fitness, health and productivity". He is also the founder and CEO of Genesis Gym Singapore (tm), which aims to provide the best personal training and fitness services in Singapore. The views expressed are his own.

Ref:  http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/fit-to-post-health/20-simple-things-boost-calorie-burning-073028996.html

10 Reasons You're Not Getting Slim at the Gym

Weight loss mistakesYou've committed to working out and eating healthy, but the scale isn't budging. What gives? Your routine may actually be backfiring. Here are 10 common mistakes that prevent you from winning the battle of the bulge. 

1. You hit the gym on an empty stomach
Nothing will sabotage an efficient, productive workout like exercising when you're hungry, says celebrity trainer David Kirsch. "Exercising first thing in the morning before eating is an optimal way to burn fat stores, [but] the problem is that too often my clients training after 8 a.m. come to the gym hungry, cranky, and low-energy." Premium cars need fuel to run efficiently and so do we. Power up before you hit the gym with an easily digestible meal. Kirsch recommends eating 20 almonds, or an apple or banana with a tablespoon of almond butter. 

Related: Can Yoga Really Help You Lose Weight? 

2. You eat too many carbs before exercising 
And, yes, you need to eat, but don't consume too many carbs (good or bad) before your workout if you want to see results, says Adam Schersten, trainer at Equinox in New York City. "The added blood glucose will encourage the use of those and other sugars for your fuel source rather than the pesky fat stores." 

3. You repeat the same cardio routine 
"The body is a master of minimizing caloric expenditure," says Schersten, "and a long, evenly paced run is easy for it to adapt to." When you first begin a cardio regime, your body burns more calories and you see progress more quickly. But if you don't continually challenge yourself with new moves, your workout turns into weight maintenance instead of weight loss. "Mix it up with some intervals or tempo runs on hills to see continued results," he recommends. 

4. You don't challenge your muscles 
To get the most of your workouts, make sure the strength-training exercises you do target and overload muscles to the point of fatigue. "Go toward that burning, uncomfortable feeling in your muscles. That's how you'll get the results you want to achieve," says Tanya Becker, co-founder of Physique 57 and co-author of The Physique 57 Solution. Interval overload training produces maximum results in minimal time. 

Related: Low-Impact Exercises That Anyone Can Do

5. You use the wrong weights 
Despite all the back-and-forth discussions on heavy versus light weights, keep the weights on the lighter side if you want to trim down, says Kirsch. "Women often use weights that are too heavy. I like to stay in the 3 to 15-pound range. If you're more fitness-experienced, use weights in the 8 to 10-pound range. If you're a beginner, start in the 3-pound range." 

6. You sacrifice good form 
Bad form not only puts you at risk for injury, but it also prevents you from maximizing your workouts, says Becker. "Having good form will allow you to get deeper in the positions and help your body transform fast." If you're not sure how to do a move, ask a trainer. 

7. You perform exercises that don't work for your body type 
Just because the woman next to you is doing traditional squats, that doesn't make them right for you. "The most common mistake when women go into the gym is to watch someone else do an exercise and start doing the same one," says Kirsch. "When training intelligently, 'one size doesn't fit all.' There are exercises and weights appropriate for some body types, ages, and overall objectives and not for others," he says. Consult a trainer to develop a routine that's right for you. Some gyms even offer complimentary sessions when you join. 

8. You "waist" too much time working your core 
You don't need to do an endless amount of crunches to whittle your middle. Your best bet is to expend that energy on exercises that burn more calories. "If you're doing free weights, your core is getting worked too, because you are holding your body upright through the exercises," says Schersten. "You can burn a lot more calories targeting large muscle groups rather than smaller ones, so stick to squats and skip all those sit-ups." 

9. You fail to push yourself hard enough 
If you're leisurely reading a magazine while you're on the elliptical, chances are you're wasting your time, says Kirsch. Your workout should be uncomfortable - but not painful. A good way to gauge effort? Holding a conversation should be a challenge. If it's not, push yourself harder. 

Related: Find More Time to Exercise 

10. You don't fuel properly when you leave the gym 
It's just as important to replenish your body with proper nutrients after your workout, says Becker. "Eating processed foods will prevent you from losing weight and shedding fat. Drink plenty of water and fill up on fresh fruit and veggies." Kirsch recommends a shake that contains carbs, protein, and amino acids. Remember, your results are highly contingent on what you do when you leave the gym. Smart eating habits and healthy lifestyle choices will help you achieve the results you want. 

-By Kim Peiffer 

Ref:  http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/blogs/healthy-living/10-reasons-youre-not-getting-slim-gym-152100658.html

3 tips for rapid weight loss

The most important thing for healthy weight loss is to be mindful of your eating habits and lifestyle. (Getty …

Most of us would like to have a better figure and look more attractive. Extra weight can hurt us in many ways beyond what it does to our health and appearance. It affects our lives and how people judge us. A study has shown that a large number of people think that overweight people lack self-control.

If you are on the road to shedding some pounds, you probably want to lose weight fast. Yet we know that losing weight does not happen magically overnight. Instead, it requires effort and determination.

Despite wanting to lose weight quickly, you should make sure that your method of losing weight is a healthy one. If not, you may be losing important muscle, rather than just fat. The most important thing for healthy weight loss is to be mindful of your eating habits and lifestyle.

Below are three tips that you can incorporate into your life to help you lose weight rapidly in a healthy way.

1. Eat breakfast

Breakfast is the most essential meal of the day. It fills your stomach after a long night of sleep. Eating breakfast will make you more alert and energetic at the start of the day.
Skipping breakfast will result in unexpected and, at times, uncontrollable hunger later in the day. This hunger may then lead you to unwanted snacking. Furthermore, skipping breakfast might make you eat more than usual during lunch to satisfy the hunger. This could increase your overall calorie intake.

Research has shown that if you eat breakfast every morning, you are more likely to maintain a normal weight. It is important to start off your day with a healthy breakfast to fill your stomach and prevent unexpected snacking later in the day.

A healthy breakfast should include all three main nutrients — carbohydrates, protein, and fat. The carbohydrates will give you instant energy and the fiber (which is a type of carbohydrate) will help keep you full longer. Protein and fat also prolong your satiety to minimize your hunger as the day goes on.

2. Exercise regularly

Research has shown that even 30 minutes of daily exercise can provide numerous health benefits in addition to aiding in weight loss and maintaining a healthy, desired weight.

Unfortunately, we often feel like we do not have the time for exercising. We are either too tired after work or cannot squeeze any free time from the endless piles of school assignments.

Even with a packed schedule, we can make little changes in our activities to incorporate a bit of exercise into our daily lives. For example, instead of taking the lift or the escalator, go for the stairs. If your office or your school is a stone's throw away from the MRT station or the bus stop, skip the public transport and walk to your destination.

At regular intervals, take a rest from your work. You can do some stretching exercises at your desk or take a walk outside your office or classroom. These little changes in your life will contribute significantly to your weight loss over time.

If you have a bit more time on your hands, you can sign up for an activity at the nearest community center, which have all kinds of classes available such as aerobics, swimming, and kickboxing. Having to pay for these classes will actually motivate you to attend them. This will then give you a good reason to allocate some time for regular exercise.

Of course, do keep in mind that regular exercise should be accompanied by a healthy diet.

3. Avoid deprivation diets

When we want to lose weight fast, we might think that not eating is the key. For example, a person who wants to lose five kilograms rapidly might eat as little as a carrot stick per day until the goal is achieved.

However, a deprivation diet only has a short term effect on weight loss. Your metabolism rate actually slows down when you consume so few calories per day. Additionally, losing weight so quickly and depriving yourself of a healthy diet can easily backfire, causing you to gain back the weight very quickly.

In addition to causing you to be hungry all day and night, deprivation diets usually do not provide the nutrients that the body needs to carry out its daily functions. Your body needs nutrients to keep up your metabolism, give you energy for physical activity, and to carry out general functions.

Without these essential nutrients, your body will start to shut down, and weight loss may become very difficult. Therefore, it is important for you to eat regular meals and keep to a balanced diet.
As you go forward with your weight loss, remember that it is crucial to choose a healthy weight loss method, which is more likely to ensure that pounds are lost not only rapidly, but also permanently.

Eating breakfast, exercising regularly and avoiding deprivation diets can all help you lose weight rapidly. With these tips in mind and an optimistic mindset, you are a step closer to achieving your goal.

What weight loss method would you recommend or not recommend to other people?

Edited by registered dietitian Arielle Kamps, M.S., R.D, L.D. Via HealthMatters.sg, a Singapore Health and Fitness blog that aims to help you lose weight, keep fit, and live healthy. Click here to get our free guide "Eat Your Way to Health — Secrets of a Healthy Diet".

Ref: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/fit-to-post-health/3-tips-rapid-weight-loss-022739017.html