21 Ways to Burn Fat Faster

some medically proven moves that'll make it happen — and help you drop some pounds.

Stock up on green tea

Green tea isn't known only for its cancer-fighting benefits: It may help boost your metabolism, too. People who took green-tea extract three times a day saw their metabolic rate increase by about 4 percent, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (Translation: You could burn an extra 60 calories a day, which equals about six pounds a year!) It may be because green tea contains catechins, which increase levels of the metabolism-speeding brain chemical norepinephrine.

Pump iron

Weight training is the ultimate way to burn calories fast. "A pound of muscle burns up to nine times the calories of a pound of fat," explains Richard Cotton, M.A., chief exercise physiologist for myexerciseplan.com. Weight training increases your resting metabolic rate, which is the number of calories you burn while sitting on your butt. What's more, it gives your metabolism an added boost after you exercise: It remains in overdrive for up to two hours after the last bench press, according to a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Strapped for time? Try these quick moves: squats, bench step-ups, lunges, push-ups, pull-ups and crunches. In a pinch, just do single sets of 10 for each exercise — you'll get optimal results for the time invested.

Eat iron

Yeah, we just told you to pump iron, but you also need to eat it. "If you don't have enough of this mineral, your body can't get enough oxygen to your cells, which slows down your metabolism," explains Samantha Heller, R.D., a nutritionist at the New York University Medical Center. Most multivitamins contain around 18 mg (the RDA for adults); you can also get your fill by eating three to four daily servings of foods rich in iron, such as lean red meat, chicken, fortified cereal and soy nuts. If you are feeling symptoms such as fatigue and weakness, ask your doctor to test you for anemia (it's a simple blood test) at your next physical.

Order water — and ask for a refill

A new German study found that when you drink 17 ounces of water (about two glasses) within a certain time frame, your metabolic rate shoots up by about 30 percent. Using these results, they estimate that by increasing your current water intake by 1.5 liters a day, a person would burn an extra 17,400 calories a year, resulting in about a five-pound weight loss.

Get your thyroid checked

Suspect you have a sluggish metabolism? You might have hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid gland, which afflicts about 25 percent of American women — many of whom don't know they have the condition, according to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. "The thyroid gland controls your body's metabolism, so one of the first signs that it may be off is an inability to lose weight," explains Pamela Peeke, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Maryland and author of Fight Fat After Forty. Your doctor can determine if you're suffering from hypothyroidism by running a blood test. If you do have an underactive thyroid, you'll be treated with a synthetic thyroid supplement, which you will need to take for the rest of your life (it will return your metabolism to normal, so it should be easier to lose weight).

Avoid alcohol

Want to keep your favorite meals from going straight to your hips (thighs, belly)? Wash them down with water, not wine. Alcohol slows your metabolism by depressing the central nervous system. A British study found that when alcohol was added to a high-fat, high-calorie meal, less dietary fat was burned off and more was stored as body fat.

Rev up workouts

Interval training — in which you add bursts of high-intensity moves into your workout — is a surefire metabolism booster, says Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D., director of the Kinesiology Program at the University of Virginia and author of The Spark. Researchers at Laval University in Quebec found that high-intensity interval training burns more fat than regular, consistent aerobic exercise. If you usually jog at a 10-minute-mile pace, for example, add a 30-second sprint every five minutes. Or add a one-minute incline to your treadmill workout every five minutes. "Even if you just have 10 minutes for a quick workout, you can walk at a normal pace and then add in a 30-second bout of speed-walking every three minutes," recommends Gaesser.

Do more dairy

Women who ate low-fat dairy products, such as nonfat yogurt and low-fat cheese, three to four times a day lost 70 percent more fat than low-dairy dieters, according to a study published in the journal Obesity Research. "Calcium serves as a switch that tells your body to burn excess fat faster," explains study author Michael Zemel, M.D., director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Sorry, but you won't reap the same benefits from calcium-fortified O.J. Research shows that you get the best results from dairy products themselves, not fortified foods. Aim for 1,200 mg, which includes about three servings of dairy a day.

Take up a new sport

Are you like Old Faithful when it comes to your morning walk or evening jog? Know this: The more you do an activity, the more your body adapts to it, so you burn fewer calories. If you want to light a fire under your metabolism, consider cross-training. For example, if you normally walk, try biking instead. "Since you're not used to working all those different muscles, it's a more intense workout, which can translate into a greater metabolic after-burn because your body is working harder to recover and get oxygen to all your tissues," says Carol Espel, M.S., an exercise physiologist for Equinox Fitness Clubs in New York City.

Go fish

Break out the lemon wedges: Regular fish eaters tend to have lower levels of the hormone leptin — good because high levels of leptin have been linked to low metabolism and obesity, says Louis Aronne, M.D., an obesity specialist at the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. Try to consume three to four servings of a fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna or mackerel, each week.

Say "ommm"

Stress may contribute to abdominal fat, according to several studies, including a recent one at the University of California, San Francisco. "When you're stressed, hormones like cortisol stimulate your appetite, slow your metabolism down and encourage fat storage inside your abdomen," explains Shawn Talbott, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition Clinic at the University of Utah. So what's a frazzled girl to do? "Find an activity that reduces stress for you, whether it's listening to soothing music or taking yoga, and do it daily," advises Talbott.

Have a PB&J

Think peanut butter is only for pint-sized palates? Think again. PB is rich in magnesium, a mineral that motors up your metabolism by giving your cells energy. Aim for 320 mg a day of magnesium: Good food sources include a peanut butter sandwich made with whole-wheat bread (100 mg) or spinach (1/2 cup has 80 mg). 

Exercise off that PMS

You could lose more weight exercising during the later phase of your menstrual cycle than at any other time in your cycle, according to a recent study from the University of Adelaide in Australia. Hormones estrogen and progesterone fire up your fat-burning furnace: They promote your body's use of fat as an energy supply, so more is burned off when you exercise. "Women burned about 30 percent more fat for the two weeks following ovulation to about two days before menstruation," explains study author Leanne Redman.

Don't blow off breakfast

Studies show that eating breakfast plays a part in successful weight loss — almost 80 percent of people who successfully keep weight off chow down on this meal, according to a study published in Obesity Research. "Your metabolism slows as you sleep, and the process of digesting food revs it up again," explains Heller. Aim for a 300- to 400-calorie breakfast, such as a high-fiber cereal (another metabolism booster) with skim milk and fruit.

Pump up protein

Not in an extreme, Atkins sort of way, but having a little protein at every meal fires up your metabolism. "Your digestive system uses more energy to break it down, so you burn more calories," explains Lisa Dorfman, R.D. However, keep protein levels to between 20 and 35 percent of your diet; eating too much of it can cause kidney strain and may cause your body to store too much fat.

Snack away during the day

Grazing is a surprisingly good idea because it helps you avoid metabolic slowdown. "Your body will be tricked into thinking it's constantly eating, so it will never slow your metabolism down," explains Bauer. Aim for five small meals (200 to 500 calories) a day rather than three large ones. Also try not to go more than four hours without eating — if you eat breakfast at 7am, for example, have a snack at 10am, lunch at noon, another snack at 3pm and dinner at 7pm.

Skip the starch

Carb crazy? Consider this: Refined carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes and rice, create a surge in insulin that in turn drives down your resting metabolic rate, explains Aronne. "It's important to keep carbohydrates in your diet, but really focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which have less of an effect on insulin levels," he explains. And when buying whole-grain breads and cereals, make sure the first ingredient listed is whole wheat, whole oat or cracked wheat.

Break up your workouts

Try dividing your workouts into two shorter 20-minute sessions. You'll rev up your metabolism for an hour or two after each workout, which means you'll burn more calories than if you did one longer session. Don't have time? Even small bursts of activity will get your metabolism chugging again, according to a study in Nature. "Just a five-minute walk around the house every hour translates into an extra 200 to 300 calories burned every day," says Peeke.

Pace while you're on the phone

People who are constantly in motion — crossing and uncrossing their legs, stretching and pacing — burn more calories. When researchers at the Mayo Clinic asked subjects to eat an additional 1,000 calories a day for eight weeks, they found that only the nonfidgeters stored the calories as fat.

Eat more bananas

They're full of potassium, which revs up your metabolism by regulating your body's water balance, says vitamin expert Susan Lark, M.D., author of The Lark Letter. If you're dehydrated, you'll burn fewer calories. Make sure you're getting at least 2,000 mg: a banana has 450 mg, a cup of milk has 370 mg and an orange has 250 mg.

Get enough z's

Yeah, Gosling may be on Letterman, but it's way more important for your waistline to head to bed. A study at the University of Chicago Medical Center found that people who got only four hours of sleep had much more difficulty processing carbs. The culprit? Increased levels of insulin and the stress hormone cortisol. "When you're exhausted, your body lacks the energy to do its normal day-to-day functions, which includes burning calories efficiently," says Talbott. So the best way to make sure your metabolism runs smoothly is to get six to eight hours of shut-eye each night.

Easy Ways to Lose Weight: 50+ Ideas

You know the drill when it comes to losing weight -- take in fewer calories, burn more calories. But you also know that most diets and quick weight-loss plans have about as much substance as a politician's campaign pledges. Here are more than 50 easy ways for you to finally lose the weight.

If you’re trying to drop a few pounds, don’t start off by trying to overhaul all your eating and exercise habits. You’re better off finding several simple things you can do on a daily basis—along with following the cardinal rules of eating more vegetables and less fat and getting more physical activity. Together, they should send the scale numbers in the right direction: down.

1. Indulge in fat releasing foods. They should help keep you from feeling deprived and binging on higher-calorie foods. For instance:

• Honey. Just 64 fat releasing calories in one tablespoon. Drizzle on fresh fruit.
• Eggs. Just 70 calories in one hard-boiled egg, loaded with fat releasing protein. Sprinkle with chives for an even more elegant treat.
• Part-skim ricotta cheese. Just 39 calories in one ounce of this food, packed with fat releasing calcium. Dollop over a bowl of fresh fruit for dessert.
• Dark chocolate. About 168 calories in a one-ounce square, but it’s packed with fat releasing fiber.
• Shrimp. Just 60 calories in 12 large.

2. Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the crown. Make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel and a bowl of fruit the crown. Cut down on the chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky, filling fresh salsa, suggests Jeff Novick, director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Florida. Balance a little cheese with a lot of salad.

3. After breakfast, make water your primary drink. At breakfast, go ahead and drink orange juice. But throughout the rest of the day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. The average American consumes an extra 245 calories a day from soft drinks. That’s nearly 90,000 calories a year — or 25 pounds! And research shows that despite the calories, sugary drinks don’t trigger a sense of fullness the way that food does.

4. Carry a palm-size notebook everywhere you go for one week. Write down every single morsel that enters your lips—even water. Studies have found that people who maintain food diaries wind up eating about 15 percent less food than those who don’t.

5. Buy a pedometer, clip it to your belt, and aim for an extra 1,000 steps a day. On average, sedentary people take only 2,000 to 3,000 steps a day. Adding 2,000 steps will help you maintain your current weight and stop gaining weight; adding more than that will help you lose weight.

6. Add 10 percent to the amount of daily calories you think you’re eating, then adjust your eating habits accordingly. If you think you’re consuming 1,700 calories a day and don’t understand why you’re not losing weight, add another 170 calories to your guesstimate. Chances are, the new number is more accurate.

7. Eat five or six small meals or snacks a day instead of three large meals. A 1999 South African study found that when men ate parts of their morning meal at intervals over five hours, they consumed almost 30 percent fewer calories at lunch than when they ate a single breakfast. Other studies show that even if you eat the same number of calories distributed this way, your body releases less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps control hunger.

8. Walk for 45 minutes a day. The reason we’re suggesting 45 minutes instead of the typical 30 is that a Duke University study found that while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.

9. Find an online weight-loss buddy. A University of Vermont study found that online weight-loss buddies help you keep the weight off. The researchers followed volunteers for 18 months. Those assigned to an Internet-based weight maintenance program sustained their weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group.

10. Bring the color blue into your life more often. There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.

11. Clean your closet of the “fat” clothes. Once you’ve reached your target weight, throw out or give away every piece of clothing that doesn’t fit. The idea of having to buy a whole new wardrobe if you gain the weight back will serve as a strong incentive to maintain your new figure.

12. Downsize your dinner plates. Studies find that the less food put in front of you, the less food you’ll eat. Conversely, the more food in front of you, the more you’ll eat — regardless of how hungry you are. So instead of using regular dinner plates that range these days from 10-14 inches (making them look forlornly empty if they’re not heaped with food), serve your main course on salad plates (about 7-9 inches wide). The same goes for liquids. Instead of 16-ounce glasses and oversized coffee mugs, return to the old days of 8-ounce glasses and 6-ounce coffee cups.

13. Serve your dinner restaurant style (food on the plates) rather than family style (food served in bowls and on platters on the table). When your plate is empty, you’re finished; there’s no reaching for seconds.

14. Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table. One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Seems having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you’re trying to lose weight in the first place.

15. Put out a vegetable platter. A body of research out of Pennsylvania State University finds that eating water-rich foods such as zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers during meals reduces your overall calorie consumption. Other water-rich foods include soups and salads. You won’t get the same benefits by just drinking your water, though. Because the body processes hunger and thirst through different mechanisms, it simply doesn’t register a sense of fullness with water (or soda, tea, coffee, or juice).

16. Use vegetables to bulk up meals. You can eat twice as much pasta salad loaded with veggies like broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes for the same calories as a pasta salad sporting just mayonnaise. Same goes for stir-fries. And add vegetables to make a fluffier, more satisfying omelet without having to up the number of eggs.

17. Eat one less cookie a day. Or consume one less can of regular soda, or one less glass of orange juice, or three fewer bites of a fast-food hamburger. Doing any of these saves you about 100 calories a day, according to weight-loss researcher James O. Hill, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado. And that alone is enough to prevent you from gaining the 1.8 to 2 pounds most people pack on each year.

18. Avoid white foods. There is some scientific legitimacy to today’s lower-carb diets: Large amounts of simple carbohydrates from white flour and added sugar can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and lead to weight gain. But you shouldn’t toss out the baby with the bathwater. While avoiding sugar, white rice, and white flour, you should eat plenty of whole grain breads and brown rice. One Harvard study of 74,000 women found that those who ate more than two daily servings of whole grains were 49 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate the white stuff.

19. Switch to ordinary coffee. Fancy coffee drinks from trendy coffee joints often pack several hundred calories, thanks to whole milk, whipped cream, sugar, and sugary syrups. A cup of regular coffee with skim milk has just a small fraction of those calories. And when brewed with good beans, it tastes just as great.

20. Use nonfat powdered milk in coffee. You get the nutritional benefits of skim milk, which is high in calcium and low in calories. And, because the water has been removed, powdered milk doesn’t dilute the coffee the way skim milk does

21. Eat cereal for breakfast five days a week. Studies find that people who eat cereal for breakfast every day are significantly less likely to be obese and have diabetes than those who don’t. They also consume more fiber and calcium—and less fat—than those who eat other breakfast foods. Of course, that doesn’t mean reaching for the Cap’n Crunch. Instead, pour out a high-fiber, low-sugar cereal like Total or Grape Nuts.

22. Pare your portions. Whether you eat at home or in a restaurant, immediately remove one-third of the food on your plate. Arguably the worst food trend of the past few decades has been the explosion in portion sizes on America’s dinner plates (and breakfast and lunch plates). We eat far, far more today than our bodies need. Studies find that if you serve people more food, they’ll eat more food, regardless of their hunger level. The converse is also true: Serve

yourself less and you’ll eat less.

23. Eat 90 percent of your meals at home. You’re more likely to eat more—and eat more high-fat, high-calorie foods—when you eat out than when you eat at home. Restaurants today serve such large portions that many have switched to larger plates and tables to accommodate them!

24. Avoid any prepared food that lists sugar, fructose, or corn syrup among the first four ingredients on the label. You should be able to find a lower-sugar version of the same type of food. If you can’t, grab a piece of fruit instead! Look for sugar-free varieties of foods such as ketchup, mayonnaise, and salad dressing.

25. Eat slowly and calmly. Put your fork or spoon down between every bite. Sip water frequently. Intersperse your eating with stories for your dining partner of the amusing things that happened during your day. Your brain lags your stomach by about 20 minutes when it comes to satiety (fullness) signals. If you eat slowly enough, your brain will catch up to tell you that you are no longer in need of food.

26. Eat only when you hear your stomach growling. It’s stunning how often we eat out of boredom, nervousness, habit, or frustration—so often, in fact, that many of us have actually forgotten what physical hunger feels like. Next time, wait until your stomach is growling before you reach for food. If you’re hankering for a specific food, it’s probably a craving, not hunger. If you’d eat anything you could get your hands on, chances are you’re truly hungry.

27. Find ways other than eating to express love, tame stress, and relieve boredom. For instance, you might make your family a photo album of special events instead of a rich dessert, sign up for a stress-management course at the local hospital or take up an active hobby, like bowling.

28. State the positive. You’ve heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Well, if you keep focusing on things you can’t do, like resisting junk food or getting out the door for a daily walk, chances are you won’t do them. Instead (whether you believe it or not) repeat positive thoughts to yourself. “I can lose weight.” “I will get out for my walk today.” “I know I can resist the pastry cart after dinner.” Repeat these phrases like a mantra all day long. Before too long, they will become their own self-fulfilling prophecy.

29. Discover your dietary point of preference. If you work hard to control your weight, you may get pleasure from your appearance, but you may also feel sorry for yourself each time you forgo a favorite food. There is a balance to be struck between the immediate gratification of indulgent foods and the long-term pleasure of maintaining a desirable weight and good health. When you have that balance worked out, you have identified your own personal dietary pleasure “point of preference.” This is where you want to stay.

30. Use flavorings such as hot sauce, salsa, and Cajun seasonings instead of relying on butter and creamy or sugary sauces. Besides providing lots of flavor with no fat and few calories, many of these seasonings—the spicy ones—turn up your digestive fires, causing your body to temporarily burn more calories.

31. Eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. For the calories in one kid-size box of apple juice, you can enjoy an apple, orange, and a slice of watermelon. These whole foods will keep you satisfied much longer than that box of apple juice, so you’ll eat less overall.

32. Spend 10 minutes a day walking up and down stairs. The Centers for Disease Control says that’s all it takes to help you shed as much as 10 pounds a year (assuming you don’t start eating more).

33. Eat equal portions of vegetables and grains at dinner. A cup of cooked rice or pasta has about 200 calories, whereas a cup of cooked veggies doles out a mere 50 calories, on average, says Joan Salge Blake, R.D., clinical assistant professor of nutrition at Boston University’s Sargent College. To avoid a grain calorie overload, eat a 1:1 ratio of grains to veggies. The high-fiber veggies will help satisfy your hunger before you overeat the grains.

34. Get up and walk around the office or your home for five minutes at least every two hours. Stuck at a desk all day? A brisk five-minute walk every two hours will parlay into an extra 20-minute walk by the end of the day. And getting a break will make you less likely to reach for snacks out of antsiness.

35. Wash something thoroughly once a week—a floor, a couple of windows, the shower stall, bathroom tile, or your car. A 150-pound person who dons rubber gloves and exerts some elbow grease will burn about four calories for every minute spent cleaning, says Blake. Scrub for 30 minutes and you could work off approximately 120 calories, the same number in a half-cup of vanilla frozen yogurt. And your surroundings will sparkle!

36. Make one social outing this week an active one. Pass on the movie tickets and screen the views of a local park instead. Not only will you sit less, but you’ll be saving calories because you won’t chow down on that bucket of popcorn. Other active date ideas: Plan a tennis match, sign up for a guided nature or city walk (check your local newspaper), go cycling on a bike path, or join a volleyball league or bowling team.

37. Order the smallest portion of everything. If you’re ordering a sub, get the 6-inch sandwich. Buy a small popcorn, a small salad, a small hamburger. Studies find we tend to eat what’s in front of us, even though we’d feel just as full on less.

38. Switch from regular milk to 2%. If you already drink 2%, go down another notch to 1% or skim milk. Each step downward cuts the calories by about 20 percent. Once you train your taste buds to enjoy skim milk, you’ll have cut the calories in the whole milk by about half and trimmed the fat by more than 95 percent.

39. Take a walk before dinner. You’ll do more than burn calories — you’ll cut your appetite. In a study of 10 obese women conducted at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, 20 minutes of walking reduced appetite and increased sensations of fullness as effectively as a light meal.

40. Substitute a handful of almonds in place of a sugary snack. A study from the City of Hope National Medical Center found that overweight people who ate a moderate-fat diet containing almonds lost more weight than a control group that didn’t eat nuts. Really, any nut will do.

41. Eat a frozen dinner. Not just any frozen dinner, but one designed for weight loss. Most of us tend to eat an average of 150 percent more calories in the evening than in the morning. An easy way to keep dinner calories under control is to buy a pre-portioned meal. Just make sure that it contains only one serving. If it contains two, make sure you share.

42. Don’t eat with a large group. A study published in the Journal of Physiological Behavior found that we tend to eat more when we eat with other people, most likely because we spend more time at the table. But eating with your significant other or your family, and using table time for talking in between chewing, can help cut down on calories — and help with bonding in the bargain.

43. Watch one less hour of TV. A study of 76 undergraduate students found the more they watched television, the more often they ate and the more they ate overall. Sacrifice one program (there’s probably one you don’t really want to watch anyway) and go for a walk instead. You’ll have time left over to finish a chore or gaze at the stars.

44. Get most of your calories before noon. Studies find that the more you eat in the morning, the less you’ll eat in the evening. And you have more opportunities to burn off those early-day calories than you do to burn off dinner calories.

45. Close out the kitchen after dinner. Wash all the dishes, wipe down the counters, turn out the light, and, if necessary, tape closed the cabinets and refrigerator. Late-evening eating significantly increases the overall number of calories you eat, a University of Texas study found. Stopping late-night snacking can save 300 or more calories a day, or 31 pounds a year.

46. Sniff a banana, an apple, or a peppermint when you feel hungry. You might feel silly, but it works. When Alan R. Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, tried this with 3,000 volunteers, he found that the more frequently people sniffed, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost — an average of 30 pounds each. One theory is that sniffing the food tricks the brain into thinking you’re actually eating it.

47. Order wine by the glass, not the bottle. That way you’ll be more aware of how much alcohol you’re downing. Moderate drinking can be good for your health, but alcohol is high in calories. And because drinking turns off our inhibitions, it can drown our best intentions to keep portions in check.

48. Watch every morsel you put in your mouth on weekends. A University of North Carolina study found people tend to consume an extra 115 calories per weekend day, primarily from alcohol and fat.

49. Stock your refrigerator with low-fat yogurt. A University of Tennessee study found that people who cut 500 calories a day and ate yogurt three times a day for 12 weeks lost more weight and body fat than a group that only cut the calories. The researchers concluded that the calcium in low-fat dairy foods triggers a hormonal response that inhibits the body’s production of fat cells and boosts the breakdown of fat.

50. Order your dressing on the side and then stick a fork in it — not your salad. The small amount of dressing that clings to the tines of the fork are plenty for the forkful of salad you then pick up.

51. Brush your teeth after every meal, especially after dinner. That clean, minty freshness will serve as a cue to your body and brain that mealtime is over.

52. Serve individual courses rather than piling everything on one plate. Make the first two courses soup or vegetables (such as a green salad). By the time you get to the more calorie-dense foods, like meat and dessert, you’ll be eating less or may already be full (leftovers are a good thing).

53. Passionately kiss your partner 10 times a day. According to the 1991 Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex, a passionate kiss burns 6.4 calories per minute. Ten minutes a day of kissing equates to about 23,000 calories—or eight pounds—a year!

54. Add hot peppers to your pasta sauce. Capsaicin, the ingredient in hot peppers that makes them hot, also helps reduce your appetite.

55. Pack nutritious snacks. Snacking once or twice a day helps stave off hunger and keeps your metabolism stoked, but healthy snacks can be pretty darn hard to come by when you’re on the go. Pack up baby carrots or your own trail mix made with nuts, raisins, seeds, and dried fruit.

56. When you shop, choose nutritious foods based on these four simple rules:

1. Avoid partially hydrogenated.

2. Avoid high fructose corn syrup.

3. Choose a short ingredient list over long; there will be fewer flavor enhancers and empty calories.

4. Look for more than two grams of fiber per 100 calories in all grain products (cereal, bread, crackers, and chips)

57. Weed out calories you’ve been overlooking: spreads, dressings, sauces, condiments, drinks, and snacks. These calories count, whether or not you’ve been counting them, and could make the difference between weight gain and loss.

58. When you’re eating out with friends or family, dress up in your most flattering outfit. You’ll get loads of compliments, says Susie Galvez, author of Weight Loss Wisdom, which will be a great reminder to watch what you eat.

10 Fast Weight Loss Tips (We Tried Them!)

Tried-and-true tips

 Sick of chasing fad diets? Time to hop off the bandwagon and get some down-to-earth advice from people who have been there, done that.

Sure, we spend our days sifting through the latest research and asking super-toned celebrities about their workout secrets. At the end of the day, though, peeling off the pounds is just as challenging for us as it is for anyone else.

These 10 diet tricks aren't always easy to stick to, but they've worked for us.

Put away the (food) scale

"Portion control isn't about measuring; it's about ordering two appetizers instead of an entrée and cutting back on bread if you have pasta."

Stash fruit

"Keep fruit at work. It helps during the I-need-chocolate part of the afternoon."

Shake chocolate

"When I'm trying to drop a few pounds, I carry around a shaker cup of chocolate protein powder. If I'm ravenous, I add the water, and it fills me up so I don't eat something high-calorie instead."

Set limits, then go nuts!

"In the cafeteria I use a 4-by-4-inch Styrofoam box, and I put whatever I want in there. It's almost impossible to overeat."

Floss for dessert

"Brushing my teeth after dinner makes me less likely to eat again before I go to bed."

Take a 'before' photo

"Before I got in shape, a friend convinced me to take photos of myself wearing nothing but a sports bra and underwear. Anytime I fall off the wagon I look at those pics—that's all the motivation I need!"

Avoid liquid calories

"Cut out drinks with calories—juice, lemonade, and, hardest of all, after-work wine."

Break out the skinny jeans

"Wear something tight! It provides the extra bit of motivation to lay off the fries."

Pitcher this

"Fill a pitcher with water and cucumbers. It's pretty—and it feels like a treat."

Set aside leftovers

"Serve yourself, then immediately pack the leftovers in a Tupperware container and store in the fridge."

EFFECTIVE WAY TO BURN BODY FAT

Burning body fat is the fastest way for most people to get the body they want. Unfortunately, with all the confusing and incorrect information out there, most don't lose as much fat as they plan. Burning body fat doesn't have to be confusing or difficult. Just follow a few simple tips, and you will be on your way to the fit, toned body you want.

Step 1

Reduce your calories. Losing body fat all comes down to consuming fewer calories than you burn. Before you change anything, keep a diet log for about a week. Record everything you eat then use your calorie counter to find your caloric intake for each day. Take the average amount of calories eaten per day and subtract 500 calories. This is your new daily caloric goal which should put you on track for about a pound of fat lost per week.

Step 2

Limit starches. Starchy carbohydrates like pasta and bread, once eaten, convert quickly to blood sugar. When your body has more blood sugar than it needs for energy, it will store whatever it doesn't need as fat. Replace breads, pasta, and rice with vegetables, legumes and fruit. These slower digesting carps will give your body a more steady supply of energy, and allow you to burn, not store body fat.

Step 3

Spread your calories out. Eating small frequent meals will give you a steady supply of energy, eliminate mood swings, and raise your metabolism. By breaking your meals up into five to six little meals, you'll prevent your body from storing fat and stay in a burning mode all day.

Step 4

Train with intervals. Cardiovascular exercise is a great way to burn fat. To raise the fat burning effects of your cardio even more means interval training. This works best on a stationary bike. After a 10-minute warm-up, pedal as fast as you can against very high resistance for 30 seconds. Next, pedal slower at a moderate resistance for 60 seconds. Immediately go back to the 30 second sprint. Try to complete five sprints your first time out. Going back and forth between high and moderate intensity exercise not only burns more fat than steady state cardio, but also boosts your metabolism for hours after.

Step 5

Lift weights. Gaining muscle raises your metabolism, making it easier to burn fat. Use basic, compound movements like chest presses, rows, leg presses. Shoulder presses and pull-downs. Stick to three sets of 10 and train three days per week. You can train your abdominals every workout but keep in mind that crunches themselves do not burn abdominal fat. They only strengthen muscles of the mid-section.

4 Reasons You Don't Have The Body You Want

Allergies, Bad Habits and Even People That Can Hold You Back – And How To Beat Them

your diet is clean. You have a pantry full of supplements and haven't missed a training session in six months. Yet you still don't have the body you want.

This is a common dilemma. There’s a tendency to blame genetics or look at magazine covers and assume those folks are taking something not readily (or legally) available. But there actually are four reasonable explanations for why you are not progressing the way you’d like to be.

You're in a bad relationship

Bad relationships lead to stress, and there are few things worse for your body composition than stress. 

This applies to much more than romantic relationships. Overbearing parents and in-laws, an abusive boss, and needy co-workers, friends, and acquaintances, can stress out your system and cause you to hold onto fat, especially in the abdominal region. 

Cutting bad relationships can be difficult – sometimes impossible. You’re pretty much stuck with the parents and in-laws, and unless you switch jobs, the boss and co-workers aren’t leaving either. But make an effort to cut as many toxic people out of your life as possible and you will be happier and healthier for it.

You're Intolerant

This one is a real kick in the pants. You eat everything you’re supposed to - eggs, fish, lean meat, gluten-free whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables - and yet, you can't shake those last five pounds of fat. 

You could have a more stealth version of a food allergy: a food intolerance. Such an intolerance causes inflammation in the body. Not a full-blown, swollen-faced allergic reaction, but low-level inflammation that keeps your system from running smoothly. 

If your system isn't running correctly, dropping fat is the least of your problems. Eggs, nuts, soy, wheat and dairy are the "Big Five" when it comes to food intolerances but you can be intolerant to anything from garlic to parsley to pineapple to eggplant. And, chances are, the more you eat something (and people tend to eat the same things when on a fat loss plan) the more likely your body will become intolerant to it. I told you it was a kick in the pants. 

Things such as food intolerance tests (performed through blood work) and elimination diets can identify the culprits. Eliminating these foods might be all you need to jump start your training program.

You're Polluted

Remember Britney Spears? She wasn’t exactly a rocket scientist, but she might have been on to something when she sang, “You’re toxic!” 

Environmental toxins -pollution, cigarette smoke, cosmetics, metal tooth fillings, prescription drugs, and mercury in fish – are stored in fat cells, and have the potential to wreak havoc on your body. 

Since your body is smart, and prioritizes survival over ripped abs, it refuses to use these fat cells for fuel. Doing so would release these toxins into general circulation. Essentially, you are holding onto these fat cells so the toxins don't make you ill. 

So how do we get rid of these unwanted guests, become less toxic, and drop that last chunk of stubborn body fat? You could take measures ranging from infrared saunas, detoxifying foot baths, chelation therapy, all the way to liver and GI tract detoxifying diets. These methods can help you remove metals and toxins from your system. 

Such measures can be fairly dramatic depending on the source of the toxicity. Consult a specialist before taking on any type of intervention, to determine what, if anything, is appropriate.

You're not working hard enough

Just because you’ve been working out consistently doesn’t mean you are getting the most out of your training. If showing up is half the battle, the other 50 percent is the effort you bring to the gym. 

Most people do not realize what their bodies are capable of enduring. Are you leisurely working on a cardio machine while reading a magazine or talking on the phone? Do you continue to do the same workouts long after your body has adapted to them? 

If so, take a look at the folks in your gym who appear to be getting results. Chances are, they’re pushing themselves, working at a furious pace, and continually undertaking new regimes. 

There’s a reason those people have better body compositions than you do. It’s not by accident or genetics; they’re busting their asses – and you can too. 

You’ve already done the hard part by dedicating the time and showing up. Now just commit to working harder.

Lose Belly Fat

How to Lose Belly Fat with Home Remedies

There are many home remedies you can use to boost fat burn on your belly. Many of them will already be in your cupboard or refrigerator. The right foods can detox your liver and rev your metabolism, helping you to target belly fat. Belly fat is more than a cosmetic concern. It ups risk for a host of health conditions, including diabetes and heart disease. Consuming fat-burning foods and spices will put you well on your way to trading in that rubber tire in the middle for a sleek torso.

Step 1
Remove the things in your diet that stress your liver and lower your metabolism, and reduce your calorie intake. A stressed liver cannot properly metabolize fat, says nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., author of "The Fat Flush Plan." Liver stressors include processed foods, too many carbohydrates in general, all forms of sugar, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, trans fats and soda. Cut 500 to 1,000 calories from your daily diet to lose 1 to 2 lbs. weekly, the safest and longest-lasting weight loss rate, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Step 2
Drink 100 percent cranberry juice or cran-water. Cranberries are high in organic acids that act as digestive enzymes. The enzymes work to gobble up little fatty deposits that get stuck in the lymphatics, Gittleman says. Mix a day's supply of cran-water with 8 oz. unsweetened cranberry juice and 56 oz. of water.

Step 3
Consume your omega-3 fatty acids. These target tummy fat, Gittleman says. Fish oil is one great source. Take 6g, which is an overflowing tablespoon, or eat salmon or mackerel twice a week. Also chomp on chia. This ancient super seed is high in protein, is a good source of B vitamins, has calcium and is a high source of antioxidants.

Step 4
Get gamma linolenic acid (GLA) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) into your diet. GLA activates brown fat, often found in overweight people. Many people's bodies don't make GLA from its precursors-vegetable oils like safflower oil-so try a supplement. CLA aids the body in accessing and utilizing stored fat, particularly. This omega-6 fatty acid found in organic beef or can be taken as a supplement.

Step 5
Make monounsaturated fats another priority. MUFAs are omega-9 fatty acids that became important components of diet plans like the Flat Belly Diet following studies that show MUFAs rev body fat burn in the belly. MUFAs also are favored by the American Heart Association. The association recommends people replace trans and saturated fats with MUFAs. Cook with olive oil or try sunflower or safflower oil. Eat macadamia nuts, filberts, avocados and olives.

Step 6
Sip lemon or lime juice in hot water daily. These both invigorate the liver and help to liquefy fat, which aids in flushing it from your system more quickly. Getting enough water in general is important. Mild dehydration can cause your kidneys to call on your liver for help, reducing the liver's ability to burn fat. This can lead to fat deposits, often in the belly.

Step 7
Detox gently by drinking dandelion tea. Add 200mg each of milk thistle and the Oregon grape root to further detox. These supplements are gentle enough to use every day, Gittleman says.

Step 8
Eat thermogenic spices to rev metabolism including cayenne and ginger. Consume cinnamon as well as cloves and cardamom to stabilize blood sugar.

How to Lose Weight Quickly and Safely (for Teen Girls)

How to Lose Weight Quickly and Safely (For Teen Girls)

If you are "pleasantly plump" or if you want to shed a few pounds and start loving your body like you know you can, your goals are in reach. Use this plan as a start. If you want to make sure that the plan you are following is a healthy one, you may also want to check www.weightloss-stories.com, since there you can find a very detailed action plan that can help you lose about 8 pounds in 9 days and a few other success and motivating weight loss stories. Also read the steps below!

Steps

Part 1: Make a Diet

1) Start with your diet. For fast results, you must change your eating habits. Because you want fast results, you must make some changes. However, just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean you can't eat.

• In fact, you must eat in order to lose weight. Starving yourself causes your metabolism (the mechanism that burns fat) to go into hibernation, so that it can store up energy. This means that starving yourself is actually a really bad idea. You'll do harm to your body and wonder why you're not shedding pounds, even though you haven't eaten anything.
• It goes without saying, but you also don't want to develop an eating disorder. Anorexia and Bulimia are serious conditions that need treatment. If you think you might have an eating disorder, tell someone you trust and seek help immediately. No amount of weight loss is worth jeopardizing your health.

2) Know and understand the food pyramid. Knowing how many servings of different types of food you should eat in a day is essential for healthy weight loss. You will need to eat and drink the following:

• A glass of water or green tea before and after every meal to fill you up more so you don't eat as much and the second to help digest the food faster.[1]:
• Minimum 3 servings of fruit daily.
• Minimum 4 servings of vegetables daily
• 3-7 servings of protein[2] (meat, fish, etc.) and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) daily
• 3-5 servings of fats[3] (nuts, peanut butter, etc.) daily
• Eat carbs sparingly. Eating carbs and sugars will make weight loss harder.

3) Make menus for yourself. Know what foods you need not to eat and make healthy menus for yourself. Here are some suggestions on what you should eat.

• Breakfast Ideas: Toast with your favourite spread; a banana (high in potassium[4]!); cereal with skimmed milk and fruit, etc.
• Lunch Ideas: It's best to bring your lunch from canteen but should be less of fat as you can become overweight by consuming it, as that's always healthier than what you can buy at any canteen/tuck shop/cafeteria. Try a sandwich on wholegrain/wholewheat/multi-grain bread (Don't use white bread - it's bleached flour and contains very little nutrients) with lean chicken, ham or butter-fried egg (using butter to fry egg instead of oil); a salad with veggies (tomato, cucumber, lettuce, etc); a glass of milk; veggies (carrot sticks, celery, etc.
• Snack Ideas: veggies and fruit; natural yogurt and berries ; a handful of nuts; veggies (like carrots, beans, snow peas) and low fat dip.
• Dinner Ideas: One idea is: 1/2 veggies, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbohydrates. If your parents make fatty foods for dinner, only have a little and make yourself a salad as well. If you're cooking for yourself here's some easy ideas: Some brown rice ( eating more lean meat than part carbohydrates helps); scrambled eggs; if you really can't be bothered, just make yourself a sandwich or eat some fish (it's high in omega 3 which is good for your brain).

4) Follow the basic rules of healthy eating:

• Breakfast: Carbohydrates, fat, dairy
• Lunch: Veggies, protein
• Dinner: Protein, veggies, carbohydrates (small portion)
• Snacks: Fruit, veggies, dairy, protein
• For each meal, make the veggies the main part, then the protein, then the carbohydrates. There can be dairy with every meal, too.
• A serving fits in the palm of your hand

5) Drink lots of water! You should try to only drink water and unsweetened tea if you're trying to lose weight. Water is the best liquid at keeping you hydrated and even helps keep your skin clear and zit-free!

• Plus, drinking only water means that you won't drink any sugar-water or energy drinks, which can contain up to 800 calories per drink. (Just think: half your daily calories in one drink!) Water is healthy, it tastes good, and it's an essential part of keeping you trim.
• If you find yourself hungry after every meal, drink a big glass of water or green tea (unsweetened) before each meal. It'll help fill you up and doesn't contain any extra calories.

6) Have it all, but in moderation. Don't cut anything out completely. Eat everything in moderation. Eat unhealthy things like red meats once a week or once a month - you'll enjoy them more anyway!

• The only thing that you should cut out (if you'd like) is fast food (McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, etc.), sweets (chocolate, candy, chips, pop, etc.), and other junk food (soft drinks, burgers, soft serves, etc.)
• Fast food and sweets are not natural and are not healthy. Maccas soft serves are made from pig fat, KFC fries are fried in lard, and thick-shakes have pretty much no natural ingredients in them! Gross, right? It's all preservatives and additives. At the end of the day, you know what is good for you and what isn't.

Part 2: Dieting Ideas

1) Consider a low-carbohydrate (Atkins) diet. The theory is that overweight people eat too many carbohydrates. A diet rich in carbs causes the body to release insulin.[1] The body controls the insulin by producing glucose (sugar), which eventually gets converted into fat. The low-carb diet structures your meals around proteins, soy-products, vegetables, fruits and nuts to avoid this.

• While you want to limit the amount of carbs you eat, you don't want to completely cut them out of your diet. Try to have carbs at least 20% of the time. Your body does need glucose in order to function, and carbs are a good source for that.
• Foods that are allowed[2] as part of the low-carb diet:
• Unprocessed, high-protein meats, such as beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and turkey.
• Unprocessed, high-protein fish, such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, and trout.
• Low-carbohydrate vegetables and leafy greens.
• Full-fat, unprocessed cow, goat, or sheep's milk cheeses.
• Any artificial, non-sugar sweeteners, such as Splenda or Stevia.
• Foods that are not allowed as part of the low-carb diet:
• Grains. No pasta, bread, cakes, or pastries.
• Fruits and fruit juices.
• Processed foods. These usually have added sugar in them.
• Starchy vegetables. No potatoes, beets, or corn.
• Sugar or margarine.

2) Consider a low-calorie diet. If you burn more calories than you take in, you'll lose weight. The low-cal diet means reducing your intake to between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day for women. It is recommended if you want to lose no more than 2 pounds per week. It is not safe to attempt to lose more than 2 pounds per week unless under strict doctor supervision.

• Limit the amount of fat that you eat to between 35 and 60 grams per day. This means that fats should make up about 20% to 35% of your entire calories for the day.
• Aim to eat about 170 to 240 grams of complex carbohydrates like whole grains, vegetables, and fruits per day. This should make up about 45% to 65% of your entire calories for the day.
• Aim to eat about 55 to 95 grams of low-fat protein, which includes meat, poultry, and fish per day. This should account for about 15% to 25% of your total calorie intake for the day.

3) Consider a ketogenic (keto) diet. Keto diets are like low-carb diets in that you're trying to avoid eating carbohydrates by substituting fats and proteins into your diet. The difference is that Keto diets are higher in fat and lower in protein that the Atkins diet.

• Why fats instead of protein? If you eat too much protein, your body turns the excess protein into glucose, which is what you were trying to avoid in carbs in the first place. On the other hand, fats have no effect on blood sugar and insulin levels.
• Shoot to get about 70-75% of calories from fat, 20-25% from protein, and 5-10% from carbohydrates.[4] Limit the amount of carbs you eat to between 20 and 50 grams per day.
• Since being strict about how many carbs you eat is an essential part of the keto diet, it's important to understand how to count carbs correctly. Invest in a carb counter guide and study it.

Part 3: Exercise

1) Work exercise into your lifestyle. It shouldn't be a chore! Little changes make a big difference, and will keep the weight from coming back. Walk or jog to school instead of driving. Run with your dog. Do crunches during commercial breaks on TV. Cycle with friends/family.

• Plan your week. Have 3 days where you do intense exercise like running or a spin class at the gym. The other 3 days, do low-intensity exercise like a long walk. The other day is your day off.
• Don't spend your days sitting on the couch watching TV. Get off your butt and exercise! Fast weight loss will only be achieved with diet and exercise.

2) Make your exercises last. An exercise "session" should go for about 30 minutes to an hour. You should burn around 400 calories in a high intensity workout session. If you aren't sweating while doing a high intensity workout, you're not working hard enough. You're working hard enough if you're sweating profusely, breathless (not the whole time, but a good part of the time), and when you're done you can drink lots of water with no effort because you need it that badly.

• Stretch! Always, always, always stretch before and after you exercise. It's really hard to lose weight when you're injured. Stretching also helps your growing muscles not to bunch up so you might look like a weight lifter. If you did stretch right, it would have an effect of a ballerina.
• Do some weight training. Muscles burn calories by just being there. The more muscles you have, the faster you'll lose weight.

3) Invest in sports or hobbies that burn calories. Sports are great because they tap into our competitive energy, getting us to dig deeper than we normally would have. Don't worry about what people say, or whether you're "skilled" enough to join a team; just find a group of girls doing something that you're interested in and ask if you can join. Here are some sports that are big-time calorie busters:

• Spinning/elliptical trainer. Spinning or using the elliptical burns the most[5] calories for the average U.S. woman, who weighs 163 pounds. The average female burns 841 calories per hour spinning or doing the elliptical.
• Downhill skiing. According to the same source, downhill skiing is another great way to burn tons of calories, except skiing is generally considered fun, whereas spinning can be (wonderful, beautiful) hell. The average female burns 645-841 calories skiing per hour.
• Full-court basketball. Basketball, as we all know, requires good hand-eye coordination and the ability to run up and down the court. The average female playing basket blasts around 812 calories an hour.
• Competitive soccer. Soccer players are known for being among the most fit athletes in the world. No wonder: You're running up and down a really long field! Female soccer players burn 742 calories of grit and determination per hour.

4) Try yoga or Pilates. Deciding that you don't want to do a super-rigorous sport doesn't mean that you have no other options. Lots of girls and women prefer to do lower-intensity workouts such as yoga or Pilates. Both are good for calorie-busting, and leave you feeling refreshed and energized.

• Yoga is a series of stretching exercises that originated in ancient India. There are different kinds of yoga, each burning a different amount of calories:
• Hatha Yoga, where the student goes through a series of gentle exercises focusing on posture and breathing, can expect to burn 175 calories per hour in an average female.[6]
• Vinyasa Yoga, in which poses are tougher and linked together faster, can expect to burn 445 calories per hour in an average female.
• Bikram Yoga, where the room in which the yoga takes place is heated up to 105 degrees, burns about 635 calories in the average female.
• Pilates is a stretching and body conditioning routine that works the core. It was designed by a German in the early 20th century, and boasts over 10 million practitioners today. Pilates for beginners burns around 200 calories per hour[7], burning more as you advance in difficulty.

Fun Tips

1. Make sure that you get the right amount of sleep. Sleeping for at least 8 hours in the night and 2 hours nap in the day really makes a huge difference in losing weight.When the body gets enough time to kill all the fat and start over with a new portion in the body which seems to be a little healthy,losing weight will be much more easier.

2. Sleep in a dark room. Believe it or not this will make your weight get lost in a breeze. Getting to how it happens is that when every single part of the body is relaxed , it starts doing some body fixing business. Now this business takes place when the lights are off and , you sleep peacefully and have dreams. Waking up suddenly breaks the whole fat killing cycle and instead leads to fat producing.The system start acting the opposite.It's always best to wake up slowly,peacefully and at your own time. If you are aware of how much time you usually sleep,you should go to bed early to fill in those hours. Usually we wake up with alarms which is not good.It disturbs your body.So be sure to sleep at such a time in which you don't need alarms. Alarms are usually put on because we think that our big body is not responsible enough to wake us up. Don't worry,the body does not sleep for more than it needs.

3. Keep a glass of water beside you. We usually wake up due to thirst.That is because the body needs the water's energy so that it can kill even more of that fat. Try not to give a gap in fetching water.That can disturb your body and will make it difficult for you to sleep.

4.Sleep straight!! This is really important. Sleeping on either sides of the body makes it hard for blood to run around which also helps in weight loss.

5. When you are lying straight on the bed before sleeping,take deep long breaths and hold them for as long as you can.Don't breath in a hard way but do it slowly. This will act as a command for the body to make you sleep and start flushing down fats.

6. Have a nice sleep. Forget all those duties and test notes and just fall in to a deep slumber,a deep and peaceful one. The body isn't fit until it gets a nice sleep!! it is going to take about 3-4 days.

Tips

• Eat slowly and chew slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to digest food.
• Try to replace soda with water, or apple juice. You can work that off very easily.
• Cut out the sugars (no hard/chewy candies, or chocolates pastries/cookies) to avoid your gaining the next 5 pounds.
• Link exercise with relaxation. If you are stressed or feeling badly about yourself, go on a long walk or go for a swim instead of crashing and eating a high calorie, non-nutritious/fattening snack.
• Eat breakfast. If you're not hungry in the mornings or if it makes you feel sick, only have a little bit and build up to more after a few days. Breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, and therefore your weight loss. You must eat enough to keep from going into starvation mode while turning up metabolism to lose weight.
• Eat before you go out and don't take enough money to buy food while you're out.
• Don't eat out of boredom. Find something else to do; like exercise.
• Fitness will pay off in the long run, and it will actually make you feel much better/more satisfied than eating the bad fatty/sugary foods.
• Don't overdo the exercising because you will get sore and won't be able to continue for a few days consecutively.
• Buy a dress or a pair of jeans that are too small - now you have something to work towards.

Warnings

• Never try to lose weight too quickly. You'll just end up regaining all the lost weight.
• Puberty will cause you to gain weight, this is perfectly normal. Don't expect to look like a 12 year old when you're 15. Curves are a beautiful thing.
• If you are seriously overweight, you should see a doctor. This 'lifestyle plan' is only recommended for girls wanting to lose 10-15 pounds.
• Do not get pills. Also everyone goes through a chubby phase it is just a part of growing up!
• Weight does not all come from body fat, muscle adds in weight as well. Starving yourself will weaken your muscles and destroy/lower your metabolism, thus making you even unhealthier. Once you come to your senses, stop starving yourself, it will take a while for your metabolism to recover. Starvation means you would put on a lot of weight very easily when start eating normally for maintenance (when metabolism is lowered your body thinks it is going to die and defends itself by putting on weight at every opportunity).
• Don't expect to lose more than a kilo (2.2 pounds) a week. Any more than that is unhealthy. Having said that, you might just get a lucky week and lose 3 kilos. The next week you might not lose any. Weight loss is unpredictable and very hard.
• Consult a doctor before starting a diet; doctors will help you to choose the appropriate diet for your situation.