FAT BUSTING FOODS

There are so many ways to kill a rat. Hit it, burn it, shoot it, or pour a basin of hot water, whichever way you choose, the most important thing is killing the rat. Fat loss can be achieved through different ways too; you can burn them through dieting, exercise or with foods that burn fat. I will call this a shortcut to losing weight. Edible amphetamines are foods that act like speed for the fat-melting motor known as our metabolism. 

Every time you eat, your body burns calories when processing that food. The irony of dieting is that reducing calories can reduce your metabolic rate, causing you to burn fewer calories. Eat less and the body's calorie burning capacity often drops. The solution is feeding on the fat burning foods. You are guaranteed to burn more calories when you eat these foods.

So grab a fork, it’s time to add fuel to the fire.

FOOD	SECRET INGREDIENTS	HOW THEY WORK
Milk, Whole Grain Cereal, Oats,	Calcium, complex carbohydrates, and fiber	Complex carbohydrates and fiber increases metabolism by keeping insulin levels low after you eat. That is very good, because raise in the production of insulin send a signal to the body that it's time to start storing fat. And in order to accumulate fat, your body has to slow down your metabolism, causing you to burn fewer calories. The calcium in milk is a metabolic trigger as well.
Green Tea, Coffee	Caffeine and a chemical in the tea called EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate)	Caffeine helps speed up your heart rate. The faster your heart beats the more calories you burn. EGCG works in a similar way, it causes your brain and nervous system to run more quickly thereby helping you burn more calories.
Red Peppers-Jalapenos, Habaneros, Cayennes	Capsaicin—the chemical in peppers that gives them their bite	By speeding up the heart rate. They burn calories by triggering a thermodynamic burn that lasts hours after eating A study from the late 80s found that eating a single spicy meal can boost your metabolism by up to 25 percent, with the increase in calorie burning lasting for up to 3 hours after you finish eating.
Lean Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Eggs, Beans	Protein	It takes more energy for your body to digest the protein in meat than it does for it to digest carbohydrates or fat; this means that the more protein you eat, the harder your body has to work to digest it, and the more calories you will burn in the process.
Soybeans	Lecithin	Lecithin shields the cells from accumulating fat. It also breaks down fatty deposits in the body.
Salmon, Tuna, Sardines	Omega-3 fatty acids	Omega- 3 fatty acids alter levels of a hormone called leptin in the body. Several recent studies suggest that leptin directly influences your metabolism, determining whether you burn calories or store them as fat. Metabolism is higher when leptin levels are low. Eating Fish is the best way to lower your leptin. If you do not like fish, fish oil supplements may work also.
Carrots.	Carotene	Carotene is a form of Vitamin A that literally flushes the body of fat and waste quickly. Carotene is transformed into Vitamin A in the intestines and help to speed up metabolism. Remember that the faster your metabolism, the faster your body burns fat.
Citrus fruits- Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, Lemons and Limes	High concentrations of vitamin C	Vitamin C reduces the effectiveness of fat. It reduces its content and can liquefy or dilute fat. By diluting the fat, it makes it less effective, and easier to flush out of your system. Vitamin C also works on cholesterol deposits. Vitamin C can help burn out the cholesterol, hence, making it difficult for cholesterol deposits to form in blood vessels.
Apples, Berries, Fresh Fruit.	Pectin	You've always heard the saying "An apple a day will keep the doctor away". Well now you can add the saying "An apple a day will keep the fat away". Studies suggest that pectin contained in apples limits how much fat your cells can absorb. Pectin, once in your system, has a water binding property, it absorbs watery substances, and these watery substances in turn bombard the cells and make it release fat deposits.
Banana	Potassium	Bananas have approximately 450 mg of potassium, a naturally occurring chemical that boosts metabolism and regulates the body’s water balance.
Olive Oil	Monounsaturated fat	Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are finding provide outstanding health benefits. Certain fats are good for you and your body needs them. Olive oil is one of those "good fats". In fact, it's so good that it helps you burn fat and keeps your cholesterol down
Garlic	Mustard oils, and thermogenic ability	Garlic has mustard oils and these oils create a cleansing action in the body. They promote a vigorous action of peristalsis, which is muscular contraction, and this will loosen fat and help wash out fats. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, a blood sugar regulator, and also works like a thermogenic in the body. It boosts metabolism and keeps insulin levels low to maximize fat burning
Tomato	Vitamin C, Citricmalic-oxalic acids	Tomatoes have high Vitamin C and Citricmalic-oxalic acids. The acid will accelerate the metabolic process. It also helps the kidneys to release more water and helps to wash away fat.

These foods are fat burning Granted!  You can not just eat an apple or a teaspoon of cayenne pepper then lazy around all day. Combine these foods with daily dose of exercise and you will be able to shed that extra weight.

 

BON APPETTI!

WHEN YOUR CHILD IS OBESE

According to the Center for Disease Control, Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years, with the prevalence among children aged 6 to 11 increasing from 6.5 percent to 19.6 percent. Among teenagers, the prevalence of obesity has increased from 5 to 18.1 percent. Globally, there are over 20 million children under age 5, who are overweight or obese.

I found this statistics very depressing and worry about what the state of health of our future generations will be. Weight control is becoming a family affair. Not only are adults struggling to make healthy food choices, children are also caught up in a battle against overweight and health problems that come with it.

Being a child is supposed to be fun, but the battle faced by an obese child takes all the fun away. Being fat gives children low self-esteem and makes them a target for bullying. The battle against obesity is not a battle to be lost by any child. According to CDC, Obese children are at higher risk than those at a healthy weight for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and bone and joint problems

 If you are worried about your child’s weight, the first step is to establish a healthy lifestyle for the entire family. Consult a Nutritionist who will help you develop a healthy eating plan that is easy to follow. Secondly, model the good behavior that you want to see in the child. To get your child to eat vegetables, you need to eat them too. Be aware that young children model their behaviors on yours, always lead them by making healthy choices at all times.

Here are some simple tips to help you:

1.      Schedule meal times and make regular meal times a priority. Keeping a schedule helps to discover individual hunger cues.

2.      Make meal times an opportunity for the family to connect. Let your good eating habit be displayed for the children to emulate.

3.      Never eat in front of the television. This makes it difficult to pay attention to the quality of food and to know when to stop eating.

4.      Don’t let your child establish the dangerous habit of taking carbonated drinks. Remove such drinks from the house and prohibit buying them at school. Reduce your juice purchases because most varieties are loaded with sugar. Encourage your children eat whole fruits and drink a lot of milk and water. Introducing varies like freshly squeezed fruit juices and fruit blends will replace their craving for sugary juices.

5.      Share out everyone’s food in a plate, and leave the extras in the kitchen, this helps to avoid mindless eating. Any one that needs an extra may think twice about whether they are really still hungry before taking a trip to the kitchen.

6.      Avoid forcing the child to finish his or her food when they have eaten to their satisfaction. This will discourage paying attention to hunger cues.

7.      Satisfy the sweet tooth with fruits, smoothies and low fat yogurt to deliver a nice dose of bone building calcium.

8.      Make healthy snack choices. Place bowl of fresh and already washed fruit in a designated drawer in the refrigerator where they can be easily accessed.

9.      Make regular physical activity part of the family schedule. This can be taking walks, playing hide and seek etc. Experiment with different activities until you find something your family loves and looks forward to doing together. Move television and video games out of children’s bedroom and set time limits when to use electronics daily and stick to it.

In summary, the first step to helping your obese child starts with you modeling the positive behaviour. GOOD LUCK!