The Brunette Diaries

Super foods that help you lose weight

They say eat less to weigh less, well, not always. There are some super foods that make you lose weight by their sheer nutritional value. Now let us understand what we mean by lose weight. Lose weight = lose fat, not muscle! Losing weight involves building muscle, in fact. The more you build muscle, the faster you will lose fat. Here are a few foods that help you lose weight, the fat weight that is…

(Also read – Kick-start your weight loss plan)

Apples

An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Well, it keeps the weight gain away as well! Apples are the ideal on-the-go low-calorie snack.

Steak

Organic beef is actually good for you! The protein in beef can actually help you gain muscle and increase your metabolism, which in turn, will help you burn more fat and lose weight.

Eggs

One more food item that stacks on protein is an egg. Eggs are usually most healthy when boiled and it helps you lose weight as it builds muscle.

(You may find this interesting – Diet tips for weight loss)

Oats

Oats are filled with fibre that is good for your digestive system. This will help you lose fat easier.

Lentils

This bona fide belly flattener helps prevent insulin spikes that cause your body to create excess fat, especially in the abdominal area.

(Try reading – Eat smart for easy weight loss)

Pomegranates

Besides being loaded with folate and disease-fighting antioxidants, they’re low in calories and high in fibre.

Yogurt

Most dieticians suggest plain yogurt as a great diet food. The reason being it can stave off hunger by keeping blood sugar levels steady.

Avocado

Well, when you hear about the fat content in an avocado, you may be discouraged. However, this fat is monounsaturated fat and it increases satiety. Thus, preventing you from gorging on unnecessary junk food.

Olive oil

Just like avocado, olive oil also contains monounsaturated fat that increases satiety. Research has also shown that it has anti-inflammatory properties that prevents bloating.

Post Workout Mistakes You May Be Making

No matter how much effort you put into your workout, if your post workout habits are inappropriate, you’ll be losing out on your desired results. Pretty soon, you may find yourself de-motivated to work out and give up on your health goals. Therefore, it is necessary to maximise your workouts by paying attention to healthy post workout habits. Here we take a look at a few unhealthy post workout habits that you have.

(Also read – How to burn fat without losing muscle)

Cooling down

Post workout aerobics can help you cool down

Letting your heart rate and blood pressure return to normal levels cuts your risk of injury, according to experts. We hardly ever pay attention to this and return to our regular chores after a rigorous workout. The best solution is to end your workout with a light aerobic exercise to bring back your body to the normal resting levels gradually.

(Try reading – Benefits of push-ups)

Stretching

You must stretch to prevent muscle soreness

Stretching can prevent muscle soreness on the following day. Less soreness will mean you can hit the gym the sooner than ever and get back to working those muscles to attain your dream body!

Nutrition

Nutrition helps your muscles repair after a break-down workout. A combination of carbs and protein, like yogurt or a handful of nuts, is a great post workout snack to revitalize your body!

(You can also read – You can dance to lose weight!)

Hygiene

Make sure you take a shower and change your clothes after a workout

This may or may not apply to you; however, there are some people out there who don’t change their clothes or wash their bodies after a workout. Gross as it sounds, it obviously has more to it than just plain dirtiness. It can lead to yeast infections!

Sleep

Most people do not find the time to rest their bodies adequately due to hectic schedules. But what is important to note is that a good 7-8 hours of sleep is imperative for a person who works out.

(Also read – Get fit in 15 minutes!)

So the next time you think that skipping any of these things is fine, think again. Workouts can be good for you, but don’t let it affect your health!

Benefits of push-ups

There are numerous exercises that you can do to help build muscle, but fitness experts and personal trainers agree that push-ups are among the best. This exercise can be performed comfortably in any living space, in the comfort of your own home, a gym or a park. The biggest plus of the push-up exercise is that you can perform it anywhere you like and you do not need gym equipment for it. While you may adopt push-ups as a last resort exercise in the absence of equipment, they are perhaps one of the most effective workouts for strengthening and building muscles in your upper body.

Listed below are a few more benefits of push-ups:

Stretch

The biceps and the back get a good stretch when you do push-ups. Hence, along with building muscles, you are also toning them. This helps keep you limber, and gives a good shape to the muscles you develop.

Cardiovascular health

Push-ups help to circulate blood throughout the body and are great for your heart and overall cardiovascular health. A healthier heart supports a healthier and long lasting life.

Human growth hormone

Push-ups help increase production of human growth hormone (HGH) which helps your muscles grow. If you are having a tough time bulking up, push-ups will certainly help you.

Posture

Push-ups protect you from injury by improving and correcting your posture. However, this is only true if you do them correctly. If you keep your back straight while doing push-ups, your body will keep that posture more often.

Compound exercise

Push-ups work out a number of different muscles in your body. They involve a large number of muscles, some of which we rarely use for other activities. This is one reason why people find it hard to do push-ups.

If you are looking to getting fit and maintaining good health, then push-ups can be a good start for you. Push-ups won’t make you bulk up like most gym exercises that include weights do, so it is a good option you can rely on for overall muscle toning.

How to burn fat without losing muscle

People usually want to lose the fat but are concerned about losing the pretty lean muscle tissue along with it while dieting. Here we give you tips on how to keep the lean muscle tissue and burn away fat.

Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day

To burn fat and keep muscle, you must not reduce your calories too much. Divide the number of daily calories your body needs into small meals spread throughout the day, rather than eating two or three large meals. This way your body receives a steady amount of the fuel it needs to maintain lean muscle mass.

Stack on protein

Your muscles need fuel to sustain itself. By having a protein rich diet, you are fuelling your muscles and telling your brain to stay away from muscle instead of stealing muscle for the energy deficit during a diet. If this happens, then your body is only going to use stored up fat to fuel your bodily functions and stay away from muscle. Good sources of protein include nuts, chicken, pulses and egg whites.

Maintain strength

Weight training must be adjusted appropriately

During a calorie deficit diet, you must not reduce the weight you carry. Your muscles need to be worked to sustain itself during this period of draught. By working your muscles, you are telling your body, once again, to use only fat to make up for the calorie deficit and stay away from muscle.

Reduce weight training volume

You need to maintain strength, but a caloric deficit is really an energy deficit, and while this is fantastic for losing any amount of body fat, it is not good for anything that is workout related like recovery and performance. Hence, even though you are maintaining strength, it is important to reduce volume/frequency of your workouts to facilitate proper recovery.

If you manage to do this, then you can reduce fat and maintain muscle. However, if you are lost on how to begin with this module straight away, check out how you can kickstart your weight loss plan.