10 Scientific Facts for A Slimmer You

Source: http://www.shoppinglifestyle.com/beauty/landing.asp?id=252

Can't seem to shake off those excess flabs? Check out these diet facts and research findings on weight loss:

1. Read Food Labels
Low-fat labels don't always mean a healthy choice, so check out the food labels on the back of food products before making a purchase.
Singapore Health Promotion Board recommends reducing your total fat intake to no more than 30% of total calories, while your saturated fat intake should not exceed more than 10%.

2. Eat Your Carbs
In order to slim down, some people cut out all carbs. But it's not healthy to avoid an entire food group altogether - studies show that a high-protein, high-fat diet may be harmful for the kidneys. Complex carbs, like vegetables and wholegrains actually help you feel full faster, so you eat less overall.

3. Eat Your Breakfast
Several research findings have established that skipping breakfast is a risk factor for being overweight. Eating a hearty low-fat, high-fiber breakfast can actually help one lose weight. Breakfast is important for peak work performance in the mornings too.

4. Get A Body-Shaping Product
Buy a body-shaping cream and slather on, especially during PMS, to beat water retention - a carefully maintained figure helps make you stay motivated psychologically so slipping is less likely.

5. Gym-Free Cardio Workouts
You don't have to go to a gym for your cardio workout - housework, walking, using the overhead bridge instead of jay-walking - all these count as moderate cardio activities and help burn fat.

6. Forget About Strange, Fad Diets
Fad diets almost always overemphasize on a particular type of food, and include an impossible list of "good food" and "bad food" you must rigidly adhere to for rapid weight loss. But this sort of selective eating is nutritionally imbalanced and unhealthy. If you can't imagine yourself eating that way for the rest of your life, don't even waste your time or health on it.

7. Say No to Empty Calories
Avoid junk food such as candy bars, chips, alcohol and fizzy sodas. These are high in calories but zero in nutritional value. If you are hungry, eat a proper but smaller-portion meal like sandwiches or salads instead.

8. Build Your Muscles
Start to strength train twice a week. Muscle requires a lot of energy to maintain itself and burns more calories than fat tissues.
In fact, every kilogram of new muscle you build will burn off around 130 kcals per day.
This ups your basal metabolic rate in order to supply the extra energy every hour, every minute. Building muscle also forces the body to use fat, not muscle, when you're on a diet.

9. More Spices, Less Dressings
Go easy on fatty dressings like mayonnaise and thousand island sauces. Instead, flavor up your salads and dishes with low-fat seasonings and local spices such as blachan chilli, black pepper sauce, garlic etc.
Spices are found to have thermogenic (heating) properties that increase fat burning too!

10. Keep A Food Journal
Keep a food diary about your food choices, indicating how hungry you are each time you eat. Pay particular attention to your level of hunger when you snack.
Generally, food diaries are meant to be used for a whole week, but studies have shown that even keeping track of what you eat for 1 day can help you make changes in your diet.