A Moment on the Lips...

Holidays are traditionally a time for families and friends to get together and eat themselves silly. For some people this is ok. They never put on an ounce or if by some chance they do, they manage to lose that little bit of weight in no time. For the rest of us, it can be disasterous. For some of us, it seems as though all we have to do is look at a delectable morsel of food for it to become permanently affixed to the hips.

We are the ones who need to find new and inventive ways of making that fat go away. Believe it or not there are fairly painless ways of doing this. They take work and willpower but they won't bring you to your knees. It just take a little willpower and determination. Come on, I know you can do it. I promise you'll love the results.

1. One of the best ways, and my favorite ways, to rev up my metabolism is by eating around 20 to 30 grams natural resistant starch per day. What is a natural resistant starch? That's a very good question. A natural resistant starch is a starch that resists being digested in your stomach. This starchy fiber is turned into particles that attack and dissolve fat. 20 to 30 grams of these starches are equal to 1 cup of potato that is boiled and then chilled. Or a cup of cooked dried beans. Chili is a wonderful fat burner not only because of the beans but because of the spices in it. Spices are also great fat burners that rev up your metabolism. The spicier the better.
2. Another helpful food to eat is brussel sprouts. Brussels sprouts contain a compound that prevents it from binding to fat cells. I have read to studies that claim you can lose up to 5 pounds in 4 weeks simply by eating at least a cup of brussel sprouts per day.
3. For those of you who crave chocolate there is good news. Vanilla is said to reduce your cravings for chocolate. Apparently all you have to do is breath in vanilla when you feel you just have to have that piece of chocolate and it will lessen you craving feeling. If you are a true cho-a-holic you can lose up to 4 pounds within a month by using this little trick.
4. Eating an apple about 15 minutes before you eat a holiday dinner will lessen the amount you eat at that dinner. The apple will fill you up without adding a lot of calories.
5. Adding mint to you tea, salads or desserts will help you lose up to 4 pounds in one month. The oil in the mint leaves trigger the release of extra bile from your gallbladder. The more bile you have roaming around in your body the faster your body breaks down fat.
6. Do not skip meals, make sure you eat regularly. As a matter of fact many nutritionists recommend that you eat five to six small meals a day. When you start skipping meals your body begins to hold on to those calories you do give them. Your body doesn't know when the next bunch of calories is coming and it holds on to what it does get just in case it will need it. When it does this your metabolism slows way down and the storage of energy in the way of fat increases.
7. Make sure you are getting enough B vitamins in your diet. B vitamins will give your natural fat burning powers a boost. Vitamin B2 helps in the process of turning fat into energy. B6 helps the body break down fats. B12 binds to protein so your body can convert them into energy.
8. I know you may not want to hear this but...you really need to exercise. When we diet we lose not only fat but muscle. When we start losing muscle it slows down our metabolism by about 20%. Slower metabolism leads to weight gain.

I saved the best for last. I felt this tip deserved its own personal space. The best news of all is that sleeping can help you lose weight. All you have to do is get at least 8 hours of good sleep a night. Getting that amount of sleep increases your level of leptin. Leptin is a hunger-curbing hormone. You will also lower you levels of peptin. This is a very good thing. Peptin is a hormone that increases your appetite. That's something none of us want to happen.

Good luck and Happy eating.