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11 Fat Burning Foods You Should Try For Weight Loss!

fat burning foods

You’ve been exercising, eating food in measured quantities, counting your calorie intake, controlling your cravings and drinking a good amount of water, yet, even after 5-6 weeks of doing everything you can possibly do, you don’t see results. That weight scale doesn’t tip the way you want it to and you wonder what could be wrong! Is it your choice of food? It just might be but don’t worry! Try these fat burning foods which will improve your metabolism and support weight loss.

Fat Burning Foods For Weight Loss

  1. Eggs: also called the nutritional power house, tops the list as it is a complete food. Being high in protein and healthy fat ,leaves you feeling fuller for a longer time. It is generally observed that most people who include eggs in their breakfast experience less cravings throughout the day and achieve good results in reducing waist circumference and reduction in body fat percentage.
  2. Green Tea: is a strong antioxidant which triggers fat cells to release fat stored in them for energy. Sipping on a cup of green tea can reduce body fat and lower cholesterol levels. Plus, it helps your body repair more quickly after high-intensity workouts. It contains flavonoids and phytochemicals that can help reduce weight and boost metabolism.
  3. Nuts & Seeds: such as almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds are high in micronutrients like magnesium, selenium, zinc and chromium. They help avoid hunger pangs and contain healthy fats which help in reducing belly fat. Flaxseeds, in particular, are high in fiber and rich in mucilage that forms a slimy, gum-like substance when mixed in water, creating a feeling of fullness and satiety
  4. Fatty Fish: like Salmon, Herring, Sardines, Mackerel and other oily fish contain omega-3 fatty acids which help in reducing inflammation. Fish is an excellent source of high-quality protein. Digesting protein leads to feeling of fullness and increases metabolic rate significantly.  The fats and protein in fish helps support lean muscle mass, which increases your resting metabolism and burns more fat during rest.
  5. Avocados: The monounsaturated fat, minerals like magnesium and potassium prevent water retention and bloating, aids weight loss and activates enzymes to control digestion, better absorption and utilization of nutrients and glucose by cells. With the healthy fats and fibre, avocados gives you a feeling of fullness for a longer time.
  6. Leafy Greens: like kale, spinach and collard greens are loaded with minerals like magnesium and iron which help reduce stress and carry oxygen throughout the body and support weight loss as weight loss is directly related to stress. Being good in fibre, they also delay the stomach emptying time and can also be easily incorporated in our diet.
  7. Probiotics like Curds and Yoghurt: help improve gut health, reduce bloating, improve immunity and prevent fluctuations in weight by promoting better absorption of nutrients. Imbalance in gut health slows down metabolism and leads to weight gain.
  8. Spices: like pepper and cinnamon encourage you to cut back on high sodium foods and avoid salt, plus, has mild diuretic effects, helping you flush out excess water. Pepper is high in capsaicin, which is proven to burn belly fat and boost the body’s ability to convert food to fuel. Daily consumption of capsaicin speeds up abdominal fat loss. Capsaicin counteracts the slowdown in metabolic rate that typically occurs with decreased calorie intake. Cinnamon helps better uptake of glucose by cells, supporting weight loss
  9. Apple Cider Vinegar: Having ACV before a meal slows the digestion of carbs. This helps in keeping your blood sugar from spiking, and blood sugar spikes are suppressed fat burning. Having apple cider vinegar before a meal can also help you feel fuller with less food. It also helps detox the body and maintain the stomach’s pH balance.
  10. Legumes: like beans, peas, chickpea, and lentils contain protein, fibre and complex carbs which take longer to break down. The protein in beans supports muscle formation. Having more muscle mass increases your caloric burn—even at rest. Having good fibre, they slow down the rate of digestion. They slow down the release of simple sugars and delay the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates from the digestive tract.
  11. Oils: like coconut oil and olive oil support weight loss. The MCT in coconut oil suppresses hunger and supports burning of fat efficiently and also keeps you fuller for a longer time. It also supports better uptake of thyroid hormone to support healthy metabolism.  On the other hand, olive oil helps improve insulin sensitivity and prevent spikes in blood sugar level.

So add these fat burning foods to your diet if you’re well on your weight loss journey. Before you try to add any of these foods, please consult your doctor, nutritionist or dietitian especially if you have any food allergies.

You can find more information on nutrition and weight loss here. To get sustainable weight loss tips directly from a GOQii Coach, subscribe to Personalised Health Coaching here.

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5 Fat Loss Mistakes You Might Be Making

fat loss mistakesThe internet can be useful, there’s no denying it. Those fun DIY tricks and videos that can help you learn a new skill-set are pretty awesome indeed! But everything in this world has a downside and sadly, the internet has one too! While the internet helps you discover new things every day, it also leads you to fake news, tips and ‘hacks’ for instance – Quick Fat Loss Tips or Lose Fat in 10 days.

While there is no shortage of news that can lead you astray, you need to understand that there is no shortcut to fat loss and losing weight! Let’s bust some myths and check out some mistakes you might be making on your journey to fat loss!

1. Starving for Fat Loss 

Research indicates that chronic starvation reduces muscle mass and organ size by 20%. Weight loss via starvation decreases bone density and makes you more prone to injury. Along with this, starvation leads to a reduction in metabolic rate and your body functions slower. Also, post this eating phase, once you return to normal eating, you will gain all the fat back as the body starts storing extra calories as fat. So the rule of thumb is to eat healthy, balanced meals on time.

2. No Rest Day 

Are you thinking that if you over-train, you are losing more fat? The answer is NO! Rest days are important to prevent overuse of muscles and allow the body to recover. Lifting weights creates tiny tears in your muscles which repair only during rest. Your lean muscles actually grow when you rest. Overtraining can cause a plateau in your fat loss process. It can mess with your menstrual cycle and cause Amenorrhea (absence of menstruation i.e. 2-3 missed menstrual periods). Ideally, you can rest 1 day per week and do very light activities like slow walking, yoga, breathing exercises, etc.

3. Excess Protein Doesn’t Mean Better Fat Loss

Excess of anything is bad. Eating more protein can definitely help you lose weight but a high protein diet alone cannot. Protein can make you feel full for longer and helps in reducing overall calorie intake. Excess protein makes it difficult for the body to digest it. You need enough fruits, vegetables and complex carbs too for losing fat.

4. Lack of Optimum Sleep

Research indicates that sleeping fewer than 6hrs reduces hormone leptin and stimulates hormone ghrelin which makes you feel hungrier and less satiated. It is documented that dieters with enough sleep of 7 or more hours lose more fat and less muscle. To add on, inadequate sleep raises your cortisol (stress hormone) levels and it actually inhibits the breakdown of fat for energy and increases muscle breakdown. So if you are someone who sleeps late and wakes up early to exercise without completing optimum sleeping hours, it might not be the best idea!

5. Keeping Unrealistic Expectations

Definitely tangible goals can keep you motivated but having unrealistic expectations can work against you. It is reported that overweight and obese women who expect to lose more fat in a short amount of time are most likely to drop out of a health program after 6-12 months due to frustration. Make your goals more modest with the help of a certified health coach.

To get the right information on exercise and nutrition for fat loss, speak to a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

Did you find this information valuable? Let us know in the comments below! Find more articles on weight loss here.

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10 Easy & Effective Tips For Fat Loss

fat loss

In recent years, food choices have become plenty and the comfort of ordering food online via an app makes it difficult to eat healthy much less aid fat loss. With so many choices, abundance and variety, natural and healthy foods have somewhat been left behind.

Even food brands, restaurants or eateries that sell “healthy foods” don’t help you cut back unwanted fat. So how exactly can your food choices help you reduce body fat? Here are a few tips that can help you reduce fat and get healthy!

10 Effective Tips For Fat Loss

  1. Begin Your Day with a Fruit: Eat a fruit within 15-20 mins of waking up. This is handy for both working and non-working folks who are rushing through their morning routine. Fruits being rich in fiber, fructose and micronutrients, replenish glycogen stores in the liver after a long fasting period at night and jumpstart metabolism which aids fat loss.
  2. Avoid Processed/Packaged Food: Certain processed foods that come in plastic packets are calorie dense, don’t have natural dietary fiber, and usually lack essential nutrients & minerals required for fat loss. Whereas dietary fiber from whole grains has longer intestinal-transit time and hence has a higher satiety value as compared to processed/packaged foods. This prevents the creation of required calorie deficit for fat loss. Thus, avoid products containing refined flour, white sugar, salt and fats such as biscuits, breads, chocolates, sugar cadies, packaged fruit juices, pastries, white pasta, white noodles, pizza, samosa, Kachori, vada pav, etc.
  3. Begin Your Meal with a Salad Twice a Day: For instance sprouts + vegetables. Since raw, non-starchy vegetables contain high amount of water and fiber, they can be consumed in a relatively larger amount contributing to increased satiety with fewer calories. Thus, aiding fat loss by creating an energy-deficit. Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients which boost the speed of various biochemical reactions that burn stored fat. Dietary fiber from vegetables also have a prebiotic effect and promotes growth of health beneficial bacteria which even aids lipid metabolism.
  4. Add Protein in Meals: Proteins take longer time to digest. Hence, it keeps us fuller for a long time which in turn prevents us from eating more often. Secondly, proteins are building blocks for muscles which again help in increasing the basal metabolic rate. Thus, help in burning extra fat stored in Adipocytes.
  5. Small & Frequent Low Calorie Meals: Try to eat smaller meals every 2.5 to 3 hours rather than eating a huge meal after a long gap or eating too frequently. Spacing out the meals adequately and breaking it down into smaller meals gives our body enough time to metabolize the food. This leaves little or no chance for food to get converted to fat and get stored in your body. Don’t forget to eat up to 70-80% of your stomach’s capacity.
  6. Drink a Glass of Water Every Hour: Now, you might be thinking, how water can help in fat loss? Well, water fills you up in zero calories and being a medium of all cell fluids, it facilitates all physio-chemical reactions in the body including the ones which causes fat oxidation.
  7. Go for Home-Cooked Meals: Yes, at least 4-5 days in a week, eat home cooked food. This prevents intake of outside food which may have an unhealthy quality and quantity of fats. You’d rather eat a satiable and nutrient dense meal which aid fat loss.
  8. Use Cooking Oil Sparingly: Go for steamed, grilled, roasted, sautéed cooking methods using non-stick cookware to reduce the amount of oil used for cooking.
  9. Get Active: An active lifestyle helps in burning the stored fat by increasing the basal metabolic rate and blood circulation. Exercise should be a combination of aerobic/cardio and resistance training.
  10. Sleep Your Way to Fat Loss: Are you getting adequate sleep? Yes! If you don’t sleep well, it will create stress in your body and facilitate the release of cortisol which leads to fat accumulation in the body over a period of time. So get a good night’s rest. Try these tips to sleep better!

Remember, food is for nourishment of body not for over indulgence. Eat to Live, not Live to Eat. If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below. You can browse through more articles on weight loss here.

If you want to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable manner, get the right advice from a certified expert through the GOQii Transform weight management program here.

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How Important Is Cardio For Weight Loss?

cardio and weight lossYou are well aware of the fact that you lose weight when you burn more calories irrespective of how much you eat. The best way to lose weight is to follow a combination of cardio, strength training and a healthy diet.

Cardio is one of the key components because:

  • You burn more calories at one time.
  • Getting your heart rate into your target heart rate zone means your blood is pumping, you’re breathing hard, and you’re sweating and burning calories.
  • You can easily add intensity to increase your calorie burn. With cardio, it’s easy to increase your calorie burn with small changes, for instance running or walking faster, jumping higher, climbing hills or trying new activities that your body isn’t used to.
  • It adds to your overall calorie deficit. Burning calories with exercise means you don’t have to cut as many calories from your diet.
  • You can do cardio most days of the week. With strength training, your muscles require rest to recover and grow stronger. Cardio can be done most days of the week without worrying about injury or over-training.

The Best Cardio Exercises

While you know that cardio is important for weight loss, which exercises are best and how much do you really need for weight loss?

The truth is, there really isn’t any best cardio exercise. The best activity is the one you’ll do on a regular basis. So, finding something you like is critical to reaching your weight loss goals. That said, some exercises offer more intensity than others.

  • Impact activities: Exercises that involve some impact, like walking, will usually boost your heart rate quicker than no-impact activities like swimming or cycling.
  • High impact activities: High impact, or exercises that involve running or jumping, will often burn more calories than lower impact things like walking.
  • Whole body activities: When you involve both the upper and lower body, such as an aerobic activity which is also is known as cross training, it’s often easier to get the heart rate up and burn more calories.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother with low impact exercise. Both types of activities offer opportunities to burn calories and doing both gives you a well-rounded cardiovascular endurance development.

To get an idea of just how much cardio can do for you, check out the following list of common exercises. Below is the number of calories burned for a 150-pound person in 30 minutes:

  1. Step aerobics: 340 calories
  2. Stationary bike: 238 calories
  3. Swimming: 270 calories
  4. Walking 4 mph: 170 calories
  5. Running 5 mph: 270 calories
  6. kickboxing: 400 calories

Everything from walking to kickboxing can burn a significant number of calories!

How Much Do You Need?

It’s tough to know exactly how much cardio we need for weight loss. The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association recommend about 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity activity on most days of the week. But, the truth is how much cardio you need varies from person to person and depends on factors such as:

  • How many calories you eat
  • How hard you exercise
  • Metabolism, age and gender
  • Fitness levels
  • Body fat percentage and weight
  • Exercise schedule

That said, here are some tips for setting up an effective cardio program:

  1. If you’re a beginner, start with 3 days of the cardio exercise of your choice, working at a level you can handle.
  2. Add time each week to work your way up to 30 to 45 minutes of continuous exercise.
  3. As you get stronger, try interval training once a week to help boost endurance and burn more calories.
  4. Work your way up to 5 to 6 days of cardio and try to vary what you do and how hard you work.

It will help you lose weight but it is most effective when combined with strength training and a healthy, low-calorie diet and adequate rest.

How Much Do You Need To Build Muscle?

You may think you shouldn’t do cardio exercise if you’re trying to gain muscle. But, cardio isn’t just for weight loss. It also helps condition the heart and lungs and promotes health and well-being. If your goal is to gain muscle, you won’t need tons of cardio. But, doing at least three 20-minute sessions a week won’t hurt your goals and will help you reap the benefits of cardio without burning too many calories. These are some simple necessities for cardio in weight loss. After reading this, I am sure all your misconceptions about weight training and weight loss are cleared!

If you want to begin working out or want to take your workouts to the next level, book a GOQii PRO class through the GOQii App and join our certified experts for a live, interactive session.

For more on weight loss, click here. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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