5 Things That Thin People Do Every Day (but Not Diet or Exercise!)
It's not fair!
Some people seem to get away with the diet equivalent of murder: they eat whatever they want, they never seem to work out, and they stay thin. It seems magical: no belly fat, no underarm flab, and confident enough to wear two-piece swimwear with their teenage daughter during bathing suit season.
Just how do some people have the ageless metabolism of a college student? And how do they do it naturally, without chemical supplements or surgery? Here are five things many of them do every day.
5. Hot water with Lemon
Stars like Jennifer Aniston are keen on this easy combination that has its roots in thousands of years of history: hot water and lemon, first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Full of powerful antioxidants and Vitamin C, the hot water gently motivates digestion and begins to speed metabolism while the lemon curbs hunger cravings throughout the day. Lemon also acts as a natural diuretic, helping to shed water weight and prevent bloating.
Make sure to do it correctly: use fresh lemons and not bottled lemon juice. Don't microwave the lemon juice in the water.
4. Avoid gluten and cruciferous vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and caulifower contain glucosinolates, which form the compound goitrin. Goitrin is a hormone that, when metabolized, interferes with the synthesis of thyroid hormone.
Large amounts of cruciferous vegetables can lead to hypothyroidism in animals, and it's speculated in humans as well. This causes, among other things, tiredness and weight gain.
Why risk even a small amount of hypothyroidism if you need to give your metabolism the edge it deserves?
Cruciferous vegetables can also cause gas and bloating.
Gluten, found in wheat products, is also a strong culprit for gas and bloating as well as the cause of "wheat belly." Genetic engineering of wheat and speedy baking processes have increased its gluten content tenfold, leading to increased resistance. Worse, it can disrupt the natural endocrine and exocrine systems toward weight gain. Its high glycemic index triggers a massive insulin response.
3. Afternoon Coffee
Most see coffee as a morning jolt, to help get out of bed, but its benefits as a gentle afternoon stimulant cannot be overestimated.
It's not uncommon to feel very sluggish after lunch. However, when you feel sluggish, it's your body's natural way of telling you that your metabolism is slowing down. Don't let this happen!
An afternoon cup of black coffee may be all it takes to keep your body metabolizing at its fullest capacity.
Caffeine can also suppress hunger cravings and help to shed water weight, so its benefits are multi-fold.
I recommend the real thing, but experts like Dr. Oz have suggested that green coffee bean extract, in tablet form, has helped people lose up to one pound every week with no change to diet or exercise.
The Five Secrets
- Hot water with lemon
- Avoid cruciferous vegetables and gluten
- Afternoon coffee
- Spearmint oil
- Allow yourself a cheat day!
2. Spearmint Oil or Mint Tea
Spearmint Tea is a zero-calorie beverage that, for thousands of years, has been used to treat the gastric system. Like coffee and lemon water, it naturally reduces hunger cravings and stomach rumblings that indicate hunger for food that may not be good for you.
While many teas are marketed for weight loss, they can be quite expensive. Spearmint tea has been noted by experts to work just as well at a significantly lower price.
This caffeine-free beverage is wonderful mid-morning, in place of a trip to the donut cart - and even better, when you're not eating that donut, you're helping your body to burn fat and lose weight!
1. Cheat!
The number one secret of people who are thin? They don't diet 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week. They cheat!
When you adhere to a strict diet, your body often calls out for pizza, for chocolate and for fried foods. Most diets fail when people can't keep going with a no-bad-foods-ever regimen. So, allow yourself a cheat day a week to simply eat anything you want.
Knowing that you're going to get that fried chicken and baked mac and cheese tomorrow means you don't have to order it today.
There's also some evidence that a day of cheating revs the metabolism for the week ahead. A low-calorie diet can downshift your metabolism as it gets used to taking in fewer calories. Keep your body guessing whether it's about to metabolize more or less - and when it thinks it's getting more but actually gets less on non-cheat days, the fat burns away!
