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4 Weight Loss Recipes that Your Taste Buds Will Love

The commonest complaint of people searching for weight loss recipes is that most of them are low on the taste quotient. Well, the recipes that are going to be described here will leave you no room for any such objections.

Grapefruit

Grapefruit is a huge hit with people who are trying to lose weight. In addition to its weight loss benefits it also helps in lowering high levels of blood pressure as well. Just like many other health foods, grapefruit also has bitter taste, which acts as a deterrent for folks with sensitive taste buds. But there definitely are some excellent weight loss recipes that can work around this problem as well.

One of them is to use grapefruit in combination with sweet tasting foods like banana and honey. Eating this powerful combo for breakfast can not only help in maintaining your blood pressure at healthy levels throughout the day, but also keep you full for longer duration due to the filling effect of grapefruit. Grapefruit also helps in lowering blood sugar levels and increases insulin sensitivity, there by acting as a potent aid to support weight loss.

Quinoa

Quinoa is another health food that can be used for weight loss and the plus point is that it is tasty, unlike the grapefruit in the previous recipe. Here is a great tasting weight loss recipe with quinoa, chicken and veggies of your choice.

This recipe is the most easiest to dish up because you simply need to dump all the ingredients into the pot and give it a waiting time of about 4-6 hours on the slow cooker. Okay so the ingredients are a cup of uncooked quinoa, a pound of chicken breast (boneless meat), 3 cups of diced mix veggies of your choice, 3 cups of fresh tomatoes diced up, a cup of diced onions, a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste, 2 tablespoons of curry paste, 2 cups of tomato puree and 2 cups of chicken broth, a tablespoon of olive oil and 2-3 cloves.

Once it is done, enjoy it warm with healthy and generous toppings of nuts, chopped coriander and freshly grated coconut.

Navy Beans

Navy beans are rich in starch and this starch is not the usual kind, but of the resistant variety. Resistant starch has great health benefits and acts almost like soluble fiber. For this recipe you need to make a hummus with white beans (also called navy beans), olive oil, chives and lemon juice.

Salmon

Now salmon is one dietary ingredient that is highly placed on every health conscious person’s list. You can not only get your dose of good health from salmon, you also get to pamper your taste buds as well. To top it all, salmon is easy and quick to cook and awesome for your heart and blood cholesterol and provides the protein necessary to build muscle as well. More muscle obviously signals towards a better chance of burning more calories off your body and losing extra weight. What more could you ask for from your health food?

For this recipe, you need to cook your salmon on a skillet using bare minimum of cooking oil. Once you have managed to grill the salmon on both sides, allow to cool for a bit. Once cool, break the fish into smaller bite sized bits.

In a salad bowl, take fresh green veggies and herbs of your choice. Some of the recommended ingredients of this salad that are great for weight loss are avocados, celery, parsley, cucumbers, zucchini etc. Once you have had your pick of the greens, add the salmon bits and dress the salad with generous amounts of natural vinegar. Speaking of natural vinegar, apple cider vinegar is a great choice because of its numerous health and weight loss benefits.

Weight loss recipes can be healthy and tasty at the same time if you are prepared to spend some time and effort in picking out the right choices.

Finding the Best of All Weight Loss Programs for Women

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Obesity and body weight issues have become rampant nowadays and everyone is in search of weight loss solutions that really work. Weight loss programs for women are those solutions that tend to focus on just the female population.

Weight Issues in Women

Before discussing anything further about weight loss programs for women, it is important to know what the commonly prevalent issues that bother women are. The biggest complaint that the members of the fairer sex have about their body fat is that it clings to them stubbornly and is more difficult to lose when compared to men. This may be due to various causes but the most important among them is obviously the pattern of Mother Nature.

Women and Body Fat

Women are at a loss when it comes to the minimum 10 % which makes up the natural physique or body fat. Due to the physiological requirements of pregnancy, child birth and breast feeding, women have been naturally designed to carry more body fat especially around the breasts, hips, waist and the buttocks, as compared to the males.

This puts a woman at a disadvantage when it comes to maintaining overall fitness and controlling body weight. Women are also prone to certain hormonal disorders like dysfunctions of the thyroid gland more often than men. These hormonal disorders again cause obesity as one of their long term effects.

The other most disturbing issue for women is that their bodies undergo a lot of transformation in response to different stages of life like puberty, pregnancy, lactation and finally menopause. All these phases of life are charged by hormones and evidently causes body weight fluctuations and storage of fat.

Variety of Solutions for Your Weight Loss

There are a huge variety of weight loss programs for women out there and you may choose one that fits your personal needs. Most of the weight loss programs that you find on the internet are self-help programs. Anyone can do these types of programs by following the diet, exercise and other recommendations that each of these programs suggest.

Then there are certain products that cause weight loss by using them in the recommended way like slimming belts, diet pills, diet plans, supplements etc.

Also there are certain weight loss websites on the internet where you could register yourself and you receive personalized weight loss programs that are tailored according to your needs. These type of websites also have an active forum where the subscribers come together and engage in discussions and share their hurdles, defeats and successes in their weight loss journey. These forums are a great way to find motivation to stay on and continue with the weight loss program.

There are numerous health clubs that are coming up nowadays that are specifically geared towards treating obesity and weight related issues. You will have to register here and follow instructions and also attend their scheduled meetings.
Some women, especially celebrities prefer the residential weight loss programs for women. These programs not only provide the necessary weight loss solutions but also provide complete privacy.

Finally there are medically supervised weight loss programs for women which are by far the safest and most recommended ones due to obvious reasons. Here you will be under the supervision of medical professional staff who are trained and qualified to deal with weight related problems and advise safe and reliable solutions. The best part about these type of programs is that you are dealing face to face with your weight loss solution provider who can not only examine and study your individual weight problems but also is available and competent to help you in case you bump into any problems during the course of the program.

Weight loss programs for women are dime a dozen, but it is up to you to decide and choose one that works best for you. Medically supervised programs are highly recommended.

Yummy Smoothies for Weight Loss

When you are speaking of smoothies for weight loss, there are many different kinds. A smoothie usually contains either yogurt or milk, but both of these food stuffs can add extra calories to your diet and also some fat, which is totally unwelcome on any weight loss aspirant’s diet menu.

So in today’s post I have gathered a few smoothie recipes that will either do away totally with the fattening yogurt or maybe use only very small quantities of milk or yogurt if at all the recipe calls for it.

Green Smoothie

Hmm, you probably have guessed that the first smoothie recipe has got something to do with veggies. Yeah, your guess is absolutely right and veggies being the powerhouse of nutrients, you really cannot think of any healthy or weight loss recipe without including them for good measure.

You will need to maintain a 70:30 proportion between veggies and fruits to whip up this smoothie. So get together a bunch of good old spinach, a head of romaine lettuce, about 3 or 4 stalks of celery (you probably couldn’t do without this wonder food), a bunch of cilantro, a couple of fresh mint leaves, an apple and a pear (both of them need to be cored to get rid of the seeds before use), a small bunch of parsley leaves and add to the blender along with one and a half cup of water.

Blend all the ingredients together and add a few drops of freshly squeezed lime juice to give a punch to your drink. Voila, you now have one of the best smoothies for weight loss in your hands waiting to be gulped down without any further delay.

By the way did I mention that this wonder smoothie could do wonders for your system by helping in detoxifying the impurities and toxins too?

Delicious Smoothie

Irrespective of whether your goal is to lose weight or not, this is one smoothie that you definitely want to taste. Made with 4 differently tasting but delicious fruits, this smoothie tastes best when blended over ice.

You will need a tomato, a cup of strawberries, half of a cantaloupe and 2 oranges for creating this smoothie.

You definitely can look forward to a more robust immunity system after all the Vitamin C boost that this smoothie is going to provide you.

Morning Smoothie

I definitely recommend this smoothie first thing in the morning after your exercise because the ingredients are literally going to act like an energy bank which will help you stay active and vigorous throughout the day.

Blend together a small bunch of spinach, a handful of blueberries, a green apple, a cup each of diced pineapple and watermelon and some sweet coconut water.

The other advantage of drinking this smoothie is that it is quite filling and will help you avoid that unhealthy bagel or doughnut that you were craving to gulp down for breakfast.

Very Berry Smoothie

You probably do not need me to tell you how important berries are for good health. They may look small and unimportant, but in reality have lots of healthy goodness packed inside. They not only are a good source of antioxidants that help to fight off the free radicals but also help to rejuvenate your skin and arrests premature aging.

This smoothie is very easy to make and you simply need a handful of whatever kind of berries that you can find to create it. Make sure that you include at least 3 different kinds and add a small bunch of spinach to take the health quotient a notch up.

You can expect more people to comply if you recommend smoothies for weight loss because they are yummy and quick to make. You could even create a weekly smoothie menu to avoid monotony.

Foods to Include in Your Meal Plan to Lose Weight

You need a well thought out meal plan to lose weight if you are trying to lose weight by controlling your dietary habits. But that is easier said than done and planning a proper meal plan often takes a lot of effort and time. And of course you need proper information about the effect of foods on the body and you need to know which foods help and speeden the loss of body weight.

To make your work much easier, I have compiled a list of metabolic foods that you can include in your daily meal plan to lose weight. Metabolic foods are those that speed up the metabolic rate of your body and help prevent the storage of fats.

1) Whole Grains

Oats, barley, and wheat belong to a category of foods (whole grains) that will surely increase your metabolism. They are rich sources of fiber that make you feel fuller for a long period of time. Being protein and fiber-rich, these metabolism increasing foods are not easily broken down by the human body. They not only speed up your metabolism but also burn up more calories.

2) Vegetables

Vegetables are known to speed up your body’s metabolism. They are super healthy foods that are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Your body spends more energy and increases its metabolic rate during the digestive process for the proper absorption of minerals and other nutrients. Some great vegetables to include in your meal plan to lose weight are lettuce, broccoli, carrots, radish, and celery.

3) Fruits

Fruits are not only delicious and flavorful butare known to be beneficial for your body due to their fiber-rich content. They make you feel less hungry and their natural sweetness helps in controlling your calorie intake. Apples, grapefruits, blackberries, lemons, oranges, guava, and strawberries are just some of the tasty fruits that you can try.

4) Dairy Products

Low-fat yogurt and skimmed milk are dairy products considered to be metabolic foods. These calcium-rich products help prevent storage of fats and provide complex carbohydrates that speed up your body’s metabolism.

5) Soups

Soups are known to act as an appetite suppressant that can help decrease consumption of the main dish course. These metabolic foods have potential in increasing your body’s metabolic rate due to their solid and liquid ingredients.

6) Spicy Foods

Jalapenos, black pepper, and ginger are some of the spicy foods that can boost your metabolism. These foods contain capsaicin which is a chemical substance that can temporarily speed up your heart rate and metabolism by prompting your body to release stress hormones. Capsaicin is also known to generate heat inside your body making you burn more calories.

7) Nuts

Nuts are naturally rich in good fats. They also contain soluble fiber and incomplete proteins which can increase the metabolic rate of your body by converting fats as your source of energy. So do not forget to include almonds, walnuts, and cashews in your meal plan to lose weight.

8) Fish

Salmon is a fish that is very popular for its rich content of omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are essential in developing muscle, melting unwanted fat, and increasing your body’s metabolism. On the other hand, tuna fish is beneficial because of its Leptin content and Leptin helps to lower insulin levels in the blood. These are wonder foods will surely help you burn those unwanted fats and excess calories.

9) Lean Meats

Lean meats contain high amounts of protein that speed up your metabolism and utilize fats to build muscles. Examples of these are chicken, beef, turkey, and lean pork meats. Proteins are the foods that are most difficult to digest, and a heavy protein-rich meal can take up to 24 hours to be digested. Imagine the amount of calories your body is going to take up all day, in digesting a single meal.

Your meal plan to lose weight should ideally be designed to suit your personal dietary habits, food allergies, lifestyle, climate, availability and of course your target body weight.

The Pros and Cons of a Low Carb Diet Plan

In case you are planning to lose weight and become slimmer using a low carb diet plan, you certainly must make it a point to gain some information about carbs before proceeding any further.

Carbs or carbohydrates have always been blamed and looked upon with disdain by people who are desperately trying to get rid of their excess body weight. It is a common trend across the world to accuse carbs for everything that is wrong with the bodies of fat, unfit or obese individuals.

Some people even claim that whatever carbs they eat goes directly and settles as stubborn fat and hangs down from their bellies, hips and thighs and this fat just never seems to want to go away.

Are Carbs Really the Culprits?

Well, carbs may partly be at fault, but the first and foremost fact that you must know about carbs is that they are available as different types. Some carbs are truly notorious for making you unhealthily fat and then there are some carbs that are in fact good for you.

If you know which carbs to keep eating and which ones to exclude from your low carb diet plan, then that could be your magic bullet to fat loss and weight loss. But this step is also a bit difficult as many of the bad carbs are being touted as good for health. If you keep consuming these bad carbs while trying to lose weight, then they can backfire and make you fatter in the long run.

Benefits of Low Carb Diets

A low carb diet plan could be beneficial for people who suffer from certain neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Epilepsy, in obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome etc.

The Good Bad and Ugly

Okay now your curiosity has peaked and you really are dying to know what carbohydrates need to go out and which of them need to stay inside your kitchen. Well, here goes.
The good carbs list includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds etc.

Then there are some carbs that are touted as good for health but can cause damage to your health like whole wheat bread, whole grain cereals, whole grain pasta etc. The problem is not with the carbs actually. These carbs are healthy if prepared in the right manner. But industrial production processes add a lot of unwanted and unhealthy materials to these carbs and by the time these carbs reach your dining table, they have more of preservatives, additives and chemicals than their inherent goodness.

The bad carbs list includes the refined flours, white rice, sweets, candies, pastries, cakes, sugars etc.

The criterion for determining the goodness or badness of carbs is their glycemic index. Good carbs are those that have a GI (Glycemic index between 0 and 55), while carbs that have GI between 56 and 69 are good to be eaten in moderation and carbs with GI between 70 and 100 are best avoided.

Popular Low Carb Diet Plans

There are numerous low carb diet plans that have gained popularity like the Atkins diet, Dukan diet, South Beach diet, Paleo diet, Keto diet etc. All of them restrict the intake of carbs in the diet and encourage consumption of proteins instead. Some of them completely restrict intake of carbs on certain days of the week and the diet is strictly all-protein on such days.

The permitted foods in such diets are meats of all kinds, fatty fish like salmon, trout and sardines, eggs, dairy products and low carb foods like kale, spinach, broccoli, asparagus etc.

Is a Low Calorie Diet Plan Worth the Trouble?

Desperate times call for desperate measures and that is probably what transpires through the minds of the millions who seek to lose weight with a low calorie diet plan. I use the expression ‘desperate’ because this diet plan involves deceiving your body and consuming lesser calories than what is needed to maintain your normal body weight.

Men and women are created differently and what works for men does not work for women and vice versa. The minimum calorie requirement to maintain normal body weight is 1800 calories for men, while women can do with just 1200 calories per day.

Whenever the term low calorie diet plan is used with respect to women, it always denotes that the total calories provided by such diet plans will be lesser than 1200 calories per day.

Types of Low Calorie Diets

There could be a variety of low calorie diet plans depending upon the food composition that makes up the plan or the total amount of calories such a diet provides. It is crucial to understand that when your diet plan is formulated in such a way so as to provide you lesser than 1000 calories (for women) or lesser than 1500 calories for men, then it is no longer just a low calorie diet.

Such diets are classified as VLCD or very low calorie diets, which are not at all recommended and place your health and general well-being at high risk.

Some of the popular VLCD diets are the 1000 calorie diet, 800 calorie diet and the most extreme 500 calorie diet.

In reality such VLCDs are just starving your body and forcing it into short term weight loss by withholding calories in the diet.

Is It Okay to Consume a Low Calorie Diet?

Well, the question can be answered better if you describe your goal clearly. If you are looking to lose weight quickly and have just a few pounds to knockoff, then a low calorie diet plan should help you out. Such kinds of diets are recommended when you are suffering from diabetes and are obese as well.

Research studies have confirmed that a low calorie diet could in fact help in losing body weight but you also could lose some aspects of your good health if you are not careful. Some of the unwanted effects on your body could be depression, high stress levels, insulin resistance and of course cardiovascular disorders.

But as with any other rapid weight loss measure, these effects on health may not be seen in everyone who uses a low calorie diet and the intensity could also vary from person to person. Moreover, it depends upon how long you intend to follow a low calorie diet and also on the concurrent health disorders that you may be suffering from while being on a low calorie diet plan.

Who Should Avoid Using Such Diets?

Well, if you ask my opinion it is always better to follow a healthy diet pattern and an active exercise routine to lose weight rather than starve your body or follow an extreme calorie-restricted diet. There are certain folks who may be better off if they avoid such calorie restricted diets.

If you are suffering from thyroid disorders, you must avoid losing weight with the help of such diets as they can worsen your thyroid dysfunction and consequently bring about an increase in body weight due to the profoundly important role of the thyroid gland in maintaining normal body weight.

Another health disorder that calls for avoiding such diets that limit consumption of calories is hypercortisolaemia. High cortisol levels in blood can cause many health disorders and a low calorie diet is known to increase levels of cortisol in the body.

Critical facts to Know Before Trying Liquid Diet Weight Loss

Liquid diet weight loss is certainly one of the most popular method adopted by people who are seeking fast and rapid reduction in their current body weight. It goes without saying that such individuals are looking only for short term weight loss because it is not possible to sustain for long on just liquids.

Important Facts About Weight Loss

Everyone keeps saying how desperately they want to lose weight and how they are trying such and such diet therapy or exercise program to lose weight. But if you think closely you will realize that your aim is not actually to lose weight. I say this because if weight loss actually meant just weighing lesser on the scales, then people who are unfortunate to get their limbs amputated also do lose weight. But is that what people actually intend to do when they are looking to lose weight? Nope!

To clarify further, your body weight could be due to many things other than fat like water retention, improper disposal of toxins from your gut etc.

Actually the right term to use is fat loss because unhealthy and excess fat is what you do not need and causes disease while muscle is something you want to build.

How does a Liquid Diet Help in Losing Body Weight?

Liquid diets cut back heavily on the daily calorie consumption. In reality these diets create an artificial calorie deficit in the body and in the process, tricks the body into losing all the excess weight. Because of this, a liquid diet is considered unhealthy if continued inordinately. Besides, it can lead to severe health complications as well, if used without proper medical consultation and supervision.

The major concern with liquid diet weight loss among the medical fraternity is that it primarily causes loss or deficit in the muscle tissue rather than reducing fat tissue. Now loss of muscle tissue will happen only if the body cannot find enough of protein in the diet.

So the best way to use a liquid diet to lose weight is to consume lots of proteins. The usual routine followed by liquid diet weight loss enthusiasts is to consume protein powder shakes as a replacement of all or most of their meals. These protein powder supplements may also be fortified with vitamins and essential minerals so as to avoid any deficiencies.

When all the meals of the day are replaced with a purely liquid diet then you will have to consume these protein shakes thrice a day. But if you are on a partial liquid diet, i.e. you are replacing just your breakfast and lunch with a liquid diet, then it is better to consume a low fat diet dinner that is not too large in proportion.

How Many Pounds Can You Lose?

If you are consuming a fully liquid diet then you may look forward to reducing about 3 pounds in a week. But if you are on a partial liquid diet then you may expect about 2 pounds of weight loss in a week. The problem with this liquid diet weight loss is that you cannot continue for more than 2 or 3 weeks at a time, so the maximum weight you could potentially lose with this liquid diet plan is anywhere between 6 and 9 pounds.

Why Is Liquid Diet Dangerous?

Liquid diets when continued for long can impair health and even lead to serious complications like arrhythmias of the heart, calculi in the gall bladder, constipation, vertigo and general tiredness and fatigue.

Using a liquid diet to lose weight is not at all recommended without the expert supervision of a qualified medical professional.

Reasons to Try Juicing For Weight Loss

Juicing for weight loss is a great choice to try out when your goal is to quickly shed the extra inches and pounds that you lug around. It is also a wonderful way to bring a much needed momentum to a weight loss regime that has come to a stubborn standstill.

Important Basics of Losing Weight

Most people struggle to keep their weights within the normal and recommended healthy range. Understanding the basics of how your body loses or gains weight will go a long way in equipping you to handle your body weight issues better.

Body weight is all about how the body is conducting the consumption of calories and subsequent burning of these very same calories. When the calories that you consume are more than what you accomplish burning off, then there is a resultant surplus of calories in the body which is translated into weight gain. So by common logic it is evident that you will need to burn more calories than you consume if your aim is to shed extra weight.

Now you need to engage in strenuous activities to burn off calories and the catch is that you need energy to do these strenuous activities. This will again bring you to consuming calories in the first place.

But if you are smart enough you can circumvent this issue of eating more calories to provide energy for strenuous calorie burning activities. You must scrutinize your diet to sort the nutrient rich stuff from the nutrient poor ones. To the body both types of foods are good enough to satisfy the craving for food or to appease your hunger. But making a conscious choice to select only the nutrient rich foods in your diet can help you immensely in managing your body weight better.

Juicing For Weight Loss and More

When you choose to use juices of fruits and vegetables to satisfy your hunger pangs, you are actually making a healthy choice. As you already are aware, fruits and vegetables are storehouses of energy and nutrients and as described in the previous section, you are actually helping your body to lose weight by doing so.

But it is also quite important to note that juicing has other benefits in addition to bringing about weight loss. Adopting juices in your diet can prove to be extremely beneficial to your body as they help immensely in detoxifying the blood and thereby reducing the liver of the burden of toxins that have been sourced from unhealthy dietary habits, environmental factors and abuse of medications.

How to Get Maximum Benefit from Juicing?

Juicing, as explained above, can indeed turn out to be quite advantageous, but you must be aware of certain crucial points in order to derive the maximum benefits out of this healthy dietary habit.

The first and foremost thing to note is that when you decide to switch to juicing, use only the best quality of fruits and vegetables for this purpose. When you speak of quality of fruits and veggies, you need to know that fertilizers and pesticides used in cultivation of these health foods can prove to be more dangerous than beneficial. It is better to use organic variety as much as possible.

Secondly, you must use all of these foodstuffs in their raw and uncooked form in order to get maximum benefit.

Thirdly, you must exercise actively because as mentioned in the previous section, juicing can help in detoxification. Active exercise combined with juicing can help in better elimination of toxins.

Fourthly, avoid unhealthy foods like sugars, fats, junk food etc. when juicing.

Natural Herbs for Weight Loss

Obesity is a major health concern in this modern world and people are desperately trying to get rid of the excess body weight. There are numerous people who are trying herbs for weight loss with much success. In fact there are more weight loss success stories with natural herbs and plant products than with using drugs or hormonal supplements.

Are Herbs the Safest Weight Loss option?

The best thing about using herbs to tackle your weight problem is that they are comparatively safer and have fewer side effects if used properly and as recommended. But that does not in any way mean that I am trying to put a blanket term of ‘all safe’ for these herbs.

Herbs like any other drug or medication, have to be used with ultra-most caution and care. Misusing anything, even herbs or natural plant products for that matter, can wreak your health and well-being. So use herbal weight loss methods only on the recommendation of a licensed medical practitioner.

That being said and out of the way, let us now see what the popularly used herbs for weight loss are.

Ginseng

Ginseng is a wonder herb that finds an all-important place in Oriental medicine, Indian (Ayurvedic) medicine and of course in many of the traditional medicine practices of natives of various countries across the globe.

Speaking of ginseng, everyone knows that it has loads of health benefits and that probably is the reason why many ethnicities have developed a habit of drinking ginseng tea to maintain good health and to avoid diseases. The recommended dosage for ginseng tea is to add 1 teaspoon of the extract powder to a cup of water and boil. You could also sweeten this tea with a few drops of honey if needed. It is recommended to stop the usage after 2 weeks and to take a break and then restart.

But very few realize that this wonderful gift of Mother Nature is also one of the important herbs for weight loss. There are numerous advantages of using ginseng for weight loss. It is well known that when you try to lose weight you usually end up weak and tired too. But ginseng acts like a powerhouse of energy. So using ginseng for weight loss is a great aid to lose weight without draining out your body energy.

Ginseng also is said to reduce blood sugar levels in people who suffer from Type-II diabetes. So it could be a great option for diabetics who are also overweight.

Citrus Aurantium

This herb is more popularly known by another name, which is “bitter orange” and some clinical studies that were conducted in Montreal, Canada have shown that this herb can boost thermogenesis. In plain words it means that it aids in ‘burning of fat’. To be more specific, this herb for weight loss brings about its slimming down effect by helping to burn off the most stubborn fat tissue in your body which is the brown fatty tissue.

It also helps to mitigate the hunger pangs by bringing about easy satiety and this in turn proves to be beneficial in losing weight by reducing the amount of calories consumed per day.

Like ginseng this herb also is said to boost the energy levels. The recommended dosage is just 30 mg/ day of the supplement.

Guggul

Indian traditional medicine (Ayurveda) describes very highly of this herb and has found its place in many of the Ayurvedic medicines. But the commonest way of utilizing the weight loss benefits of this herb is by using it in combination with Triphala and Medohar.

When combined with Triphala the recommended dosage is to take 1-2 tablets thrice a day with a warm drink. It is necessary to avoid using cold water to consume these tablets as the desired effect will not be achieved.

It helps to lose weight by boosting the thyroid gland functions and there is an increase in the amount of thyroid hormones circulating in the blood. It also enhances the metabolic breakdown of fat and inhibits or slows down the generation of new fat cells in the body.

Guggul is also used as a potent herb to cure high blood cholesterol levels and diabetes.

Using herbs for weight loss is a trend that is catching on nowadays with great gusto. But it should always be kept in mind that herb usage also needs medical supervision.

Exercises to Lose Weight for Women Who Hate the Gym

It does not take a scientist to figure out that you need to do exercises to lose weight if you want to maintain a slim and fit body. After all, diets and supplements and slimming products are only going to help you with weight loss for a temporary duration.

If you are truly seeking a permanent solution to lose weight you need to exercise and what other place works best for exercising other than the gym? But try saying that to some folks out there who hate the gym. If you belong to that group, then this post is going to make you very happy.

Why Do People Hate the Gym?

Well there could be a million reasons, but the commonest reason that gym haters cite is that the ambience is so boring and clinical and the exercises are so tedious. Okay but who said that only tedious exercises repeated mechanically like a robot can help you lose weight. What if I said that you could engage in exercises to lose weight and still have a lot of fun and enjoy your weight loss journey?

Yeah, you read that right! You could even dance your way to a slimmer and trimmer figure. Or maybe play like a little girl and still lose weight?

If you are still skeptic about giving up the routine gym exercises to lose weight then read on to find out the fun alternatives.

Slimming the Zumba Way

An electrifying dance workout routine, Zumba has fast caught on with the ‘in’ crowd at any gym or aerobic centre. An engaging potpourri of the various Latino dance styles, this dance workout was crafted by Beto Perez.

Samba, Merengue, Cumbia and Salsa define its simple yet challenging steps which are a reflection of the body twisting Latin dance moves. Zumba is the foremost amongst the fun exercises to keep fit.

Some Unique Features of Zumba

Depending upon the intensity and your personal fitness, some Zumba exponents claim to lose 350- 650 calories per hour in a single workout. Zumba uses a mixture of slow and fast dance rhythms in a method called interval training which boosts your metabolism and burns extra calories. One of the unique fun exercises to lose weight, Zumba workout programs can also be purchased and used at home.

Melt Fat by Belly Dance

Belly dancing has exploded into the fitne ss scene as one of the truly great fun exercises to keep fit. Though many dance schools are hosting belly dance programs, nowadays belly dance workout DVDs are widely available for you to practice at home.

Belly Dance offers the dual advantage of a toned physique along with weight loss due to the nature of the dance. The typical belly dance workout shapes your shoulders and hips in addition to toning your belly, thus giving an all body workout experience. Many variations are also possible in this dance involving hand held weights and yoga moves thus making it one of the truly fun exercises to keep fit.

Ball Room Dances

Ball room dances have become extremely popular exercises to lose weight due to the wide exposure received on TV. One of the foremost fun exercises to keep fit, ball room dancing can be learnt at formal dance schools and even self learnt by watching training DVDs. Ball room dancing works out various muscle groups offering a complete body workout. It uses muscles used in exercises like Pilates even while dancing the Waltz or Tango.

Exercises to lose weight need not be boring and tediously done in the gym. There are a lot of fun exercises to keep fit and dance your way to fitness.