How To Activate Fat Burning Hormones In Just 3 Steps

Losing weight is something millions of people are trying to do right now. The process is fairly difficult, but it can be easier if you’re patient and consistent about some things. First things first, you need to put yourself on a healthy diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables. Next, you need to cut the sugar intake and make sure you eat 3 small meals while avoiding eating after 7 pm. Exercising is also important, which is why you need to hit the gym or go running or swimming at least 3 times a week.

Sudden weight gain may be linked to hormonal imbalance, especially if the levels of the stress hormone cortisol are out of order. The main causes of hormonal imbalance are certain foods that we eat every day, but we’ll show you a simple 3-step process that will balance your hormones and activate the fat-burning ones and help you lose weight naturally.

Step 1 – cut out the sugar

Carbs can make your body unable to lose fat. If you’re often consuming cookies, starchy vegetables, alcohol or processed foods will impair your body’s ability to burn fat, so if you want to lose weight, you need to cut the sugar from your diet.

Step 2- consume more vegetables or juice them

Beans and green leafy vegetables are great if you’re trying to lose weight. Consume them steamed or raw in order to start burning fat. Vegetables contain a lot of fiber and are great for your digestion. If you don’t want to consume them, try juicing them as an alternative. People that suffer from diabetes should consume more spinach, parsley, cauliflower and asparagus. Juice some of these veggies and sweeten up the juice with apple or carrot juice to activate your fat-burning hormones and lose weight easier.

Step 3 – a healthy eating schedule

If you want to lose weight, you need to train it not to crave food after 7 pm. You should eat at 4 or 5 pm. at latest. You can eat 3 smaller meals or 2 meals and a light salad in the evening. Stop drinking sugary meals and fruit juices and drink herbal teas or lemon water more often. Don’t skip meals – eat earlier for breakfast and dinner and consume cooked meals more often. Stop when you’re feeling full and chew slowly.

Step 4 (optional) – weight training

In order to lose weight, you need to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Add some light weight exercise to start burning your fat and build new muscles. Try starting with a 10-minute cardio exercise to warm up, then move to weight training. Repeat 2 sets of the exercise and relax 1-2 minutes in between sets. Repeat the exercises until you feel the muscles stretch.

This Is What A Single Gym Session Can Do For Your Brain, According To Science

Up until college, I had never stepped foot in a gym.

If someone told my high school friends that I would become someone who works out on a regular basis, they probably would’ve lost it.

Although, I have to wonder if high-school-me would have hopped on the elliptical if I knew that just one gym sesh could promise amazing things for my brain.

Despite what our own president has said about the benefits of exercise (or lack-there-of, in his mind), a new review discussing the impact of acute exercise on brain functions effectively bursts Trump’s uninformed bubble.

The investigators involved in this review, which was published in the journal Brain Plasticity, summarized extensive research on the vast cognitive, behavioral, neurophysiological, and neurochemical changes that can come from just a single bout of physical exercise.

Wendy A. Suzuki, PhD, a principal researcher on the study and a professor of neural science and psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University, told EurekAlert! Science News,

Exercise interventions are currently being used to help address everything from cognitive impairments in normal aging, minimal cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer’s disease to motor deficits in Parkinson’s disease and mood states in depression.

Our review highlights the neural mechanisms and pathways by which exercise might produce these clinically relevant effects.

After examining a large body of research involving both animals and humans, the study authors found that acute exercise was consistently correlated with improved executive function (meaning the mental processes that allow you to plan, focus, and multitask), better mood, and lower stress levels.

So, even if you can only manage to fit in a simple StairMaster sesh once a week, that’s still better than nothing.

However, understanding the positive outcomes that can come from just one workout is the first step in recognizing how a long-term fitness lifestyle can literally change how your brain functions over time, and thus how it can change your life for the better.

According to the review, future research plans to bridge the gap between neurological and behavioral changes that can be seen post-exercise, and how these changes differ in humans versus animals.

But, for now, you have no excuse to not squeeze just one workout into your day, your week, your month, or even your year (yes, I do need to stop watching Friends so much, but you also need to stop judging my life).

What Really Happens to Your Body When You Skip Meals

When your car runs out of gas, where can it go? No where. When your cell phone runs out of juice, who can you call? No one. When a light bulb burns out, can the lamp still be used? Absolutely not.

Our bodies react the same way when we don't provide them with a proper source of energy. While these are great analogies for what happens to your body when you don't give it enough food, I can provide some personal insight because I've experienced the consequences of skipping meals firsthand. So I'll start with my own experience, and then I'll go into the science so you have a solid understanding of what really happens to your body when you skip meals.

My Story

I graduated college and entered "the real world." When I got my first part-time job in my field, I learned what it meant to work eight-hours straight in the fast paced world of my chosen career. The first week, I was out and about every afternoon, then running back to the office to meet a deadline, not even thinking about how I barely ate breakfast because my hair and makeup took precedence (of course), and skipped right past lunch in order to finish all of my work. That's the time I hit my downward spiral, starting a routine of skipping meals.

My body revolted, and let me tell you — "hangry" isn't just a word I use to describe my boyfriend when he gets into one of his moods. It's uncontrollable.

While I spent as much time at the gym as I could, building a strong, healthy body, skipping meals meant my body started to feed on my muscle. Slowly but surely, I felt a difference in my day-to-day attitude. I wanted to sleep more, I had frequent headaches, I felt tired all of the time, I wanted to go to the gym less and less. Not to mention, all of my clothes started to look like sacks draping over my body (although, Kayne would have been into it).

I still remember the day my baby sister came up to me and asked why my face was so white. This was mid summer and I'm full Italian, so there was absolutely no reason for it. I remember all of the times my boyfriend commented, saying I needed to "get some meat on your bones." When I used to look fit and athletic, and then I just felt weak and impaired… it took a toll on my mind.

I was miserable, but I couldn't figure out how to get my eating habits back on track and still manage my hectic schedule. I learned the hard way that my extra-grande-mocha-whatever-you call-it caffeine source could not fill the void of a well balanced meal. The worst part was that the longer it took for me to get my eating habits back on track, the more my stomach shrunk, which made it even harder for me to get the nutrition that I needed.

Getting back on track hasn't been easy. It takes will power and planning. I just hope that by reading this, you realize that skipping a meal is never the answer, whether you're trying to lose weight, or simply don't prioritize nutrition, as I did. The day you start skipping meals is the day your body will begin responding like this:

Unhealthy weight loss

"One of the most common misconceptions about skipping meals is that by skipping meals, you save on calories and ultimately lose weight. Unfortunately, it's not that simple," says Lindsay Salvatore, R.D., a dietician in southern New Jersey. When you skip meals, your body goes into shock, storing all food you consume and turning it into fat. And it starts with your muscle.

"Going long periods without any food can [also] cause muscle breakdown aka catabolism. Long term damage can be lowered muscle mass, which can increase fat stores, which can lead to a number of health issues," says Michael Doehla, a nutrition specialist with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. So, despite seeing weight loss, more fat is being produced to protect your body from the loss of muscle.

And then unhealthy weight gain

Unfortunately, once the damage is done, it's not just a quick fix. According to Salvatore, "when you start to eat normally again, you gain weight in the form of fat, so you're really setting yourself back." Skipping meals can lead to overcompensating and overeating, which according to a study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, means weight gain. The American Heart Association has found that it's common for those who skip meals during the day to eat larger meals in the evening, which can cause higher BMIs. Overeating also causes sugar levels to spike. Your body will crash instead of feeling better, like you think it will. The insulin response to bring your sugars back down to a healthy level causes it to overcorrect by bringing it down as fast as you brought it up.

Your brain turns into a fuzzy tv screen

You lose your ability to work properly, and can feel lightheaded and unfocused — seemingly out of no where. Your body needs essential nutrients to produce brain power, and without those sugars, electrolytes and sodium everything can get foggy. "Vitamins and minerals play a huge part in our everyday functions that without them we feel sick all the time with headaches or stomach aches or many other common ailments," warns Salvatore. "When you're tired due to skipping meals, you lack the mental motivation and physical motivation to be active and make healthy food choices. People who skip meals will often make up for calories in the form of unhealthy foods later in the day, only making them even more tired and unmotivated."

Who wants to look frail and pale?

You can't hide the fact that you have unhealthy eating habits, and according to an Australian study, those who skip meals consume way less vitamins and minerals as they need. Those vitamins and minerals not only help with weight gain and loss, as mentioned before, but they also provide the shine and bounce in your hair and the glow in your skin – among other things. If you're not eating enough fats and proteins throughout your day, your body can't even use some of the vitamins you may intake when you attempt to make up for skipped meals.

Queue potentially severe outcomes...

It's important to note that skipping meals in an effort to lose weight can potentially lead to an eating disorder. As you adjust to the day-to-day lifestyle of skipping meals, it rewires your brain and eventually it's no longer a priority to eat at all. "One skipped meal every now and then leads to a skipped meal every day, which leads to skipped meals multiple times per day. At some point anorexia may be diagnosed and the individual would have to undergo treatment to not only literally save their life, but to then work to repair their relationship with food," explains Doehla.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, many young adults end up with eating disorders after looking for an alternative weight loss option. As already stated, skipping meals is not a proper way of dieting or weight loss. A recommendation on the NEDA's website states that the AAP (The American Academy of Pediatrics) is, "discouraging dieting, skipping of meals or the use of diet pills; promoting a positive body image by promoting a balanced diet and exercising for fitness rather than weight loss."

So, if you just don't have time, make time — plan your meals in advance. If you want to lose weight, hit the gym, eat multiple small meals a day, give your body the nutrients and energy it's craving. You'll find the outcome makes you feel happier, energized, and gives you the results you want to stay healthy.

Why Exercising Outdors Is Betters For You Than The Gym

Spring is full of endless sunny days and weather that’s just warm enough to work up a sweat outdoors without feeling like you’re going to suffer from a heat stroke.

Not only does it feel great to work out outside, but there are also tons of other health benefits.

Here’s why you should take your workout outside for the next few months:

1. We work harder.

When we work out indoors, we set our own pace, and we only work out for a limited amount of time.

However, according to one study, people who took their work out outdoors did at least 30 minutes more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week than those who only did it inside.

This allows you to burn more calories throughout the week, which leads to weight loss and muscle building.

The participants who exercised outdoors also reported feeling healthier overall.

By allowing our body to experience various terrains, hills and locations, this strengthens our muscles and joints, causing them to be less susceptible to injuries and keeping them in top-notch shape.

2. Being outside lowers depression.

According to a recent study, people who frequented the park had lower rates of depression and high blood pressure and were more social, compared to those who visited green spaces less frequently.

Being outdoors and interacting with nature can be calming for a lot of people, and exercising in a park could benefit you in more ways than one.

3. It could prevent cancer.

According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, when we breathe in fresh air, we breathe in phytoncides, airborne chemicals that plants give off to protect themselves from insects.

Phytoncides have antibacterial and antifungal qualities that help plants fight disease.

When people breathe in these chemicals, our bodies respond by increasing the number of white blood cells in our bodies.

These white blood cells kill tumor and virus infected cells.

So, just being outside and simply breathing for a few minutes each day can help protect ourselves against cancer.

4. Nature helps us focus.

Throughout the day, we often have a million things going on that need our attention. Focusing on any one task can be difficult.

However, spending time in nature allows our mind to wander, as we explore plants, water, birds, trees and wildlife.

Doing this allows us to give the cognitive portion of our brain a break, allowing us to focus better when we need to, and it also helps renew our patience.

5. It saves us money.

Spending time outside is free.

All we need is a good pair of shoes, and we’re ready to go.

Step outside your door and go for a run. Head to the nearest park and go for a walk.

Why use precious gas money and drive to an expensive gym just to work out on a treadmill or ride a stationary bike?

Save money by utilizing the great outdoors as your gym. That way, you won’t convince yourself working out can’t fit into your budget.

6. It’s more fun.

Once we take our workout outdoors, the possibilities are endless!

We can go running, road biking, golfing, hiking, mountain biking, swimming and more.

Soaking up beautiful views and refreshing air simply isn’t possible when you’re cooped up inside of a gym.

Not only that, but working out outside is both mentally and physically challenging. So, it utilizes both your mind and body, the ultimate type of workout.

So whether we’re biking, running or taking that workout video to the park, the benefits are astounding.

Utilize the best resource we all have access to: nature. Soak up some Vitamin D to feel happier, healthier and more focused.

What more could we ask for? I don’t know about you, but I’m going to be spending less time inside and more time outside this season.

6 Triceps Exercises to Tone Your Arms For Beach Season

Yes, biceps curls are great for making you feel like a low-level action hero, but you're a wily gym veteran, so you know that the key to super-swole arms is the triceps. In honor of the suns-out-guns-out season that is nearly upon us, we asked some fitness pros for a few new triceps exercises to try instead of the old, reliable EZ bar skullcrusher. The names may not be as cool, but the workout will be just as good.

Idalis Velazquez: Dumbbell skullcrusher. Stick with the same exercise, but use dumbbells instead. This variation requires each arm to work independently of the other. The fact that dumbbells are harder to control than an EZ bar provides an additional challenge to your muscles (so yes, this means you should use less weight!). You can also experiment with different grips on the dumbbell, which affects how the triceps are recruited.

Robin Arzon: Incline single-arm dumbbell skullcrusher. Using an incline bench recruits core muscles to help develop balance, while focusing on single-arm movements addresses any imbalances that may have arisen on either side.

Jay Cardiello: Crisscross push-ups. Begin in a push-up position, but with your arms crisscrossed. Your right hand should be directly under your left shoulder, with your left hand slightly behind your right shoulder. To check your positioning, lower yourself to the floor until your forearms rest flat on the ground — your right hand will be in front of your left elbow, and your left hand will be behind your right elbow. Press through your palms and raise your body back into a push-up position. Repeat as many times as possible for 30 seconds.

Ben Booker: Single-arm cable push-downs and pull-downs. Skullcrushers are great for working the triceps, but I see many people performing them incorrectly due to shoddy elbow placement or poor shoulder mobility. Try single-arm cable push-downs and pull-downs instead. Switching up the positioning of your grip during cable work targets a different part of that magical triceps horseshoe.

Gideon Akande: Bear plank push-up. It’s as nasty as it sounds. Assume a bear hold position, with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips, like so. Lift your knees one inch off of the ground, and then perform a push-up in that position. Keeping the elbows close to the body will smoke the shoulders and ignite the triceps. Besides, this looks way cooler than regular skull crushers.

Alexia Clark: Standing rotation triceps extension. Start with your arms bent at a 90-degree angle and your palms facing each other, holding dumbbells. Keeping your arms at that degree angle, rotate your arms so that your elbows are pointing straight up to the air and your biceps are by your ears. From this position, straighten your arms to perform a tricep extension, as shown here. Rotate your arms back down to a 90-degree angle at chest level and repeat. The rotation helps develop shoulder mobility, and standing while doing the extension engages the deeper end of your triceps.

5 'Unhealthy' Habits That Are Actually Good For You

When it comes to diets, we are very quick to focus on what we should not be doing or what we are doing wrong — don’t eat that, cut back, eat less, this is better — not only is it confusing, but it is overwhelmingly negative.

Food and eating, along with keeping healthy, should generally be enjoyable and positive parts of your life. And the good news is, some of the lifestyle habits that you may have thought were bad for you may actually be much better for you than you thought.

Taking a break from your diet

One of the most common pieces of feedback from clients at a diet appointment is that they have “been bad." No, they have not murdered anyone — they have eaten a few things they should not have according to their diet plan.

The good news is that when it comes to diets, things do not have to be perfect. Rather, they need to be consistent. This means that an occasional treat, or higher-calorie meal, is not an issue. In fact, research that has examined the effects of strict calorie restriction over time has actually shown that there is a benefit in eating more calories occasionally as then the body does not think it is starving and as such continues to burn calories. So enjoy something you feel like every so often — a piece of cake or a couple of glasses of wine — as there is no harm done.

Eating carbs

Chronic dieters are often particularly strict with their carbohydrate intake, and for those wanting to lose weight initially, cutting back on the processed carbs can be a good dietary move. At the other extreme, chronically low intakes of carbohydrate can leave you feeling tired, irritable, constipated and actually burning less fat, as the body slows down metabolic rate to account for this fuel shortage. As many of us lead inactive lives, indeed we are likely to need fewer carbs than was once recommended, but eating fewer and fewer carbs is not the answer. So if you constantly count carbs, and yet never see much change in your clothes, it may be time to throw in an extra slice of bread, piece of fruit or potato a few times each day.

Enjoying a drink

It is not enjoying a single glass of wine regularly that is related to both weight gain and an increase risk of some diseases. Rather, it is drinking in large volumes regularly that causes an issue with both our physical weight and our internal health. In fact, some types of alcohol, including antioxidant-rich red wine is linked to better cholesterol levels and a higher intake of antioxidants. So there is no need to go cold turkey when it comes to your vino — just keep the glasses and the pour small.

Taking a break from the gym

When we get into a good training habit, the structure and routine, along with the endorphin rush on a daily basis can become addictive. Such a strong exercise habit can also lead to feelings of guilt when you do really want to take a break. When it comes to performance and muscle recovery, the truth is that rest is actually the key to optimal performance. In real life terms this means that on the days you really do not feel like going to the gym, you are probably better to sleep a little more and have a day off. The body is very good at telling you when you need a break, you just have to listen to it.

Indulging in comfort food

Let’s be honest, who has not wanted a greasy burger and fries; or a massive serve of ice-cream occasionally? Rich tasting comfort foods can play different roles in our lives whether it is reminding us of eating at a particular time, or more commonly craving some serious calories after periods of strict eating and dieting. Whatever the reason for your craving, sometimes it is better to just eat what you are really wanting rather than to deny, deny, deny the craving, eat plenty more instead as you try to avoid it before you end up eating what you were originally craving anyway. Again one off indulgences are not the issue, rather binge eating in which you order the entire fast food menu is a problem. So next time you are hungry, a powerful questions is ‘what do I really feel like’ and if it is a burger or cake occasionally, so be it.

5 Best Bodyweight Training Exercises

You'll be surprised how effective these bodyweight exercises can be for maintaining your muscle and fitness.

Many people don’t realize the benefits of bodyweight training because in every magazine you see, there are dudes in the gym hitting weights. But, with all training, there is a regression and progression to every exercise. For example a regression for hanging leg lifts is performing a plank. The progression would be performing the movement with a medicine ball between your feet.

Another example would be a bench press. Many people can’t do a conventional bench press because of existing shoulder issues, their form is bad or they just don’t have access to the equipment.

Pushups are a great alternative. Not only can you perform push-ups with various hand positions but you can also do them from an elevated surface extending the range of motion for the shoulders and engage more muscle fibers.

BODYWEIGHT TRAINING BENEFITS

1. Free
2. Versatile, many different variations
3. Can be done anywhere
4. Improves movement
5. Improves relative strength
6. Can improve reactive strength

Here are my top 5 bodyweight movements

1. PUSHUPS

Not only builds up the chest, shoulders and triceps, but is a great stabilizer of the torso and lower back.

Can be done with various hand, feet and elevated positions. Pushups variations such as EQI’s, hindus and push-up plus are incredible rehabilitative exercises.

2. BODYWEIGHT SQUATS

This basic movement has huge benefits! It can be an indicator for ankle, hip and thoracic mobility, or it can be an incredible conditioning tool.

Perform them against the wall to drill proficiency and technique, or perform linked in a bodyweight circuit.

You can also create a complex linking with a plyometric movement like sprints, jumping or zig zag hops.

3. PULLUPS

One of the biggest mass builders for the back, pullups are also one of the most versatile.

How to Modify the Pullup:

• Varying grip element (towel, thick rope, offset grip)
• Modifying linear movement; you can perform side to side movement, you can perform a leg lift or L-sit with each rep
• Overload the movement with a bookbag between your feet.

Remember if you can’t do a pullup, inverted rows are an excellent choice!

4. BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS

I really like this movement because it not only builds muscle and leg strength, but it also improves hip mobility and knee stability. If you have a bookbag with some books in it, you can hold it during this movement overhead, in a zercher or bear hug at the chest or out in front of you.

Don’t forget, elevating your front leg on a box will extend the range of motion for this exercise. Also, an EQI in this position is amazing for rehabbing hip and knee issues.

5. AB ROLL-OUTS

A more advanced modification to a plank, this movement forces torso rigidity for better movement and increased strength potential for compound, ground-based exercises.

The difference between this movement and a plank is that movement of the upper body is engaged while the torso remain rigid (resisting extension).  Many of you know that there are some pretty innovative modifications to this exercise in Combat Core. I suggest an ab roller, but you can also use blast straps or gymnastic rings to mimic the movement.