The Top 10 Belly-Fat Burning Foods

1.   Oatmeal
2.   Almonds
3.   Olive Oil
4.   Eggs

5.   Whey Protein
6.   Berries
7.   Lean Meats
8.   Whole Grains
9.   Peanut Butter
10. Green Veggies

 

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Want to look better in jeans? The Muffin-Top Workout.

Bye, Bye muffin top!

It’s called the muffin top—that back-of-the-hips area that bulges over the waistband of our favorite jeans. “It’s body fat, plain and simple. And the fastest way to get rid of it is by doing cardio intervals,” says Los Angeles trainer Valerie Waters, who works with celebs, including the notably “bloop”-less Jennifer Garner. By mixing intense bursts with slower periods, intervals torch calories faster than exercising at a steady pace. (Even better, a study found that after two weeks of interval training, women burned 36 percent more fat during moderate exercise.) Do Waters’ interval plan and sculpting moves, below, three times a week to make long T-shirts an option, not a necessity.

The muffin-busting plan

These intervals work with any cardio exercise you like—such as walking, biking or jogging.
Start off with a five-minute warm-up at a low-to-moderate intensity to get your blood flowing.
Pick up the pace for one minute; the effort required should be about a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10—1 being effortless and 10 being extremely tough. Speed isn’t the only way to boost intensity; try increasing the treadmill incline, running stairs or hopping onto a tough cardio machine like a stair-stepper.
Recover for one to two minutes at an easier pace—about a 5 on your toughness scale.
Repeat those hard and easy intervals for a total of 20 minutes. Once you get the interval rhythm down, throw in some spurts in which you’re working at an 8 or 9 on your intensity scale to challenge your body and burn even more fat.
Cool down for five minutes at a light pace. These exercises will tone and “cinch in” the whole area, says Waters. In other words, they devour muffins.

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Yummy Asian Lobster Salad? YES PLEASE!!!!

Ingredients:

SALAD:
¾ pound cooked lobster meat, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 cups thinly sliced Chinese cabbage ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced 4 scallions, thinly sliced ½ ounce toasted sesame seeds DRESSING: 2 tablespoons unsweetened rice vinegar 2 tablespoons Tamari soy sauce 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Directions:
1. For the salad: In a large serving bowl, combine lobster, cabbage, bell pepper, scallions and sesame seeds.
2. For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the rice vinegar, Tamari soy sauce, ginger and sesame and canola oils together.
3. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently to coat.  Season with fresh ground black pepper and salt.

Nutritional Information
Per Serving:

Net Carbs: 7 grams
Fiber: 3 grams
Protein: 40 grams
Fat: 14 grams
Calories: 325

Recipe Information:

Makes: 2 servings
Prep Time: 0:15:00
Marinate Time: 0:00:00
Cook Time: 0:00:00
Cool Time: 0:00:00

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The Secret to Killer Abs

What is the one fitness goal you wish you could achieve? If you're like most people, you want six-pack abs. It seems easy: Do hundreds of crunches a day and wait for your abs to magically appear. But, after a few months of that you might be wondering: Where's my six-pack?

It Takes More Than Ab Exercises
As you may have found, crunches aren't enough to flatten your abs. Ab exercises will build strength, especially if you focus on core strength but, if there's a layer of fat there, you'll never see them. You've probably heard that spot reducing is about is effective as spitting in the wind, but when you work your abs in an effort to reduce the belly flab, spot reducing is exactly what you're trying to do. The body can't be forced to lose fat in a particular area by exercising the muscles directly under that area. What you should be focusing on is losing body fat and gaining a little muscle.
Start with Your Diet
The first step to losing body fat is changing your diet.

1. Eat more often. Eating several small meals throughout the day will boost your metabolism and help you burn more calories.
2. Eat Fewer Calories. Create a mild caloric deficit by monitoring your portion sizes and making sure that you're eating less than you're burning. It's easier to eat fewer calories if you fill up on high fiber foods with a focus on whole grains, fruits, vegetables and other nutrient-dense foods.
3. Drink More Water. Sometimes hunger pangs are actually your body's plea for water.

Start an Exercise Routine
Once you've reduced your calorie intake, its time to start working out. Diet without exercise will lead to some weight loss, but at some point you'll reach a plateau. Exercise can get you past plateaus while preserving your muscle mass. Your program should include:

• 3-5 days of cardio a week for 30 to 60 minutes in your THR zone. Any cardio will do--doing what you like will make workouts more fun. You should also work at a variety of intsensities to get the most out of your workouts.
• Weight training that targets all of your muscle groups 2-3 non-consecutive days a week, abs included. You don't have to work your abs every day and, in fact, that can be counterproductive. You're much better off focusing your energy on working the larger muscle groups and activities that help you burn more calories overall, like cardio.
• Stretching after your workouts for flexibility and relaxation
• Warm ups before each workout, cool-downs after and plenty of water in between

Consider your Genetics and Lifestyle
The truth is, even if you do everything right and start losing body fat, there's no guarantee you'll lose it from your abs. Your body stores and loses fat according to your genes, so you can't control where or when you lose fat from certain places. We all store excess fat somewhere - for women it's often around the lower belly, hips and thighs. For men, it's often around the middle and back.
So, does that mean it's impossible to lose fat there? Not at all. But, it may take awhile and it may never completely go away. The only way to know is to follow your healthy diet, exercise regularly and allow your body to respond.
You also have to think about your lifestyle. It could be that you could achieve flat abs if you managed to take your body fat to lower levels - but what if that requires more exercise or stricter attention to your diet than you have the time or energy for? If that's the case, you may need to forget about getting flat abs and adjust your goals to fit the way you live.
Should You Still Do Ab Exercises?
You might be wondering if there's any point to working your abs now that you know that ab exercises aren't going to help reduce the fat around your belly. The answer is yes and no. Yes, you still want to work your abs (your entire core, in fact) but maybe not with the usual moves like crunches and sit ups.
I'm a big fan of working multiple muscles at the same time to build strength, work on stability and burn more calories during your workout. When it comes to your abs, there are a number of great exercises and tools you can use to strengthen your core with more dynamic moves. One of the best ab tools you can invest in is an exercise ball which can be used for a variety of moves in your core workout. Because you must stabilize your body on the ball, you use more muscle groups than traditional ab exercises.

Bottom line, you're not going to get those six pack abs unless you get up, get moving and make some adjustments to your lifestyle.  Who's up for the challenge?

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Baked Chicken With Artichokes-Healthy & YUMMY!

Looking for an easy, elegant healthy meal to serve up over the holidays?  Pair this delicious chicken dish with a green salad and you're good to go!

Baked Chicken with Artichokes

Nutritional Information
Per Serving:

Net Carbs: 9 grams
Fiber: 5 grams
Protein: 36 grams
Fat: 18 grams
Calories: 368

Recipe Information:

Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 0:20:00
Marinate Time: 0:00:00
Cook Time: 0:40:00
Cool Time: 0:00:00

Ingredients:

¼ cup All Purpose Baking Mix ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1¼ pounds) 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 small yellow onion, chopped (about ½ cup) ½ pound button mushrooms, sliced 1½ tablespoons chopped garlic ½ cup dry white wine 1 package (9 ounces) frozen artichokes, thawed and drained 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1½ teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped

Directions:
Dredging chicken in flour before sautéing seals in the juices and give it a nice color.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place baking mix, salt and pepper in a shallow plate and mix well. Dredge chicken in the mixture, turning to coat evenly and then tapping to remove any excess.
2. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned, turning once, about 4 minutes. Transfer to baking dish.
3. Add onion to skillet and sauté until softened, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until lightly golden, about 3 more minutes. Add garlic and sauté until aroma is released, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine, artichokes, rosemary and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer.
4. Pour artichoke mixture over chicken in the baking dish, cover and bake 40 minutes, until chicken is tender and cooked through. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired, and stir in oregano before serving.

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Tuesday's Ten Tips To Fill Up Your Tummy

Get crunching!!

1. Choose surf over turf: Fish is more satisfying, per kilojoule, than beef or chicken, according to Dr Susanna Holt’s Satiety Index, a rank of different foods’ ability to satisfy hunger.
2. Turn up the heat: The cooler a room, the more people tend to eat – which is why restaurants often keep thermostats low.
3. Can the juice: Whole fruit contains fiber that makes you feel fuller than juice.
4. Bulk up: Fiber expands in your GI tract to make you feel full, so make sure you get your RDA of 30g.
5. Love your bread: Dodge the wonder white and go for wholemeal – it’s 5½ times more filling.
6. Pass on diet labels: A study found that after eating full-fat muffins, subjects ate less in the next 24 hours than after a fat-free version.
7. Hold your nose: Just smelling a fresh-baked cupcake can induce insulin secretion that makes you think you’re hungry. Bet you’re not.
8. Munch raw carrots: Irish researchers found carrots are more filling when they’re raw. Get crunching!
9. Down vitamins: Research suggests your body may compensate for a lack of nutrients by increasing your appetite so you’ll eat more.
10. Be pro protein: A study found people ate 1846 less kilojoules a day on a 30 per cent protein diet versus a 15 per cent protein diet.
    
    
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Today's 10 Tips for Losing That Weight

Try to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces every day.

1. Drink one glass of water every hour. It will make you feel full.
2. Drink ice cold water. Your body will burn calories just getting the water to a normal temperature to digest. Also it is great for your complexion.
3. Drink 3 cups of green tea daily. It will help boost your metabolism, plus its anti-oxidants make your skin look great.
4. Take vitamins daily. Do not take vitamins on an empty stomach, otherwise they have nothing to catalyze with.
5. Eat ice or gum when hungry. This will make your body think it had food without the calories.

I think I'm going to faint.

6. Do aerobics until you want to faint.
7. Eat spicy foods. They raise your metabolism.
8. Take cold showers because your body will burn calories to heat you back up.
9. DON’T take laxatives. They don’t help you to lose weight.
10. DON’T use diuretics. They only dehydrate you.

Keep fightin' the good fight!

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