Today we’re going to focus on keeping your energy going so that you can keep losing weight. That’s right! You can actually lose weight by keeping your energy up. Just follow these simple guidelines:
- Eat breakfast within one hour of waking as this meal breaks the fast from the previous night. By eating breakfast, you kick-start your metabolism for the day so that you burn more calories overall.
- Add protein to every meal and snack because it increases your metabolism by 25%.
- Add complex carbs for energy and to boost your mood and motivation.
- Eat every three to four hours to keep your metabolism running and because the simple act of eating burns calories! Think about it: Exercise burns calories due to your body working harder. So chewing, swallowing, and digesting is work that burns calories.
- Add spices to every meal. Experts have long known about the health benefits of spicing up your food. For example, the compound that gives peppers their spicy kick—capsaicin—has been shown to promote weight loss by triggering changes in certain proteins that help fight fat accumulation. The hotter the chili, the more capsaicin present and presumably the higher the health benefit. So add dried or fresh peppers to lunch and dinner. Start with ancho chilies if you’re sensitive to heat, then move on to jalapeños for a little more spice. If you’re looking for even more of a kick, habaneros are the peppers for you!
- Drink 5 cups of green tea. Five cups of green tea a day, they would burn an extra 70 to 80 extra calories through an effect known as thermogenesis – the process of heat production in organisms
Remember that peppers or tea alone can’t keep your weight under control; you still must watch your portion sizes.
