Sunday, October 26, 2008

Water: The Fastest Way To Lose Fat

Forget all of those lose weight fast gimmicks out there. Your body is already set up for quick weight loss; you just have to know how to kick it into gear. Here's how:

Water

This may sound unbelievable, but water can be one of your best allies to rapid weight loss. The more water your drink, the more pounds you lose. In fact, many health and weight loss gurus tout water as the best way to lose 10 pounds fast.

How does it work? A well hydrated body burns 3% more calories than a dehydrated body because hydration increases your metabolism.

Water also calms hunger pangs, too. Studies show that when you feel hungry, most of the time it's your brain interpreting thirst as hunger. So, a well hydrated person will eat less than one that's dehydrated. A person who drinks enough water also eats less at meals because their stomach is full of water and there isn't much room for food.

Since water is such a great quick weight loss tool, you don't want to counteract it by taking diuretics. Sure taking diuretics may make it seem like you lost 10 pounds fast, but all that weight is just lost water. To counteract the water loss your body will go into a natural defense starvation mechanism called hording mode. Believing that it's starving, a body on diuretics stores extra water. You end up weighing even more than you did before you took the diuretic.

Exercise Fat Burning Plan

The best way to burn fat through workout is to start a two-fold exercise and weightlifting regimen. Basically, you choose a high impact cardio workout, like running, and follow it up the next day with weightlifting. This is the fastest way to lose fat.

Why is weightlifting so important? Because having lean muscle is the best way to up your metabolism and burn fat.

Some people think that gaining muscle makes you gain weight. This is true, to a point. Most people do have some initial weight gain, but in a few days the weight is gone again because the extra muscle has gotten rid of so much extra fat. And the truth is, muscle weights a lot less than fat, and looks a lot better, too.

The best high impact cardio workout/muscle building workout for a fat burning plan is circuit training. This incorporates two minute bursts of different cardio exercises and muscle exercises that work different muscle groups. The benefit of this type of program is that you get a whole body workout, which will create more rapid weight loss.

Many gyms offer circuit training programs, but you can also create your own to at home. For example, you could run in place for two minutes, then do a set of squats, jump rope for two minutes, then a set of crunches, then go back to running in place.

Meals

The best meal plan for quick weight loss is a high fiber diet. It may not sound pleasant, but it really is the best way to kick your metabolism up a notch just by eating. Foods high in fiber stay in your system longer, keeping your blood sugar at an even level. Also, high fiber foods block seven calories for every gram of fiber you eat.

The average adult eats 10 to 15 grams of fiber per day, but, the ideal amount to eat when trying to lose weight quickly is 20 to 35 grams per day. The best way to kick start your metabolism for the day is to start your it with a high fiber, low fat cereal such as oatmeal. Throughout the day, keep your metabolism working fast with small, high fiber meals every few hours.

If you combine all three of these strategies, you will lose 10 pounds fast, and continue rapid weight loss.

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