How do you eat to burn the fat?  Eating regularly has a tendency to keep the metabolism going. Skipping breakfast is not recommended. If breakfast is skipped, then it puts the body in fasting mode, which slows down the metabolism. (That is why they call it break-fast.)

The problem with fasting is the body has a tendency to think there is a famine going on, and it begins to find ways to store fat (in case of an emergency). It does this by making a genesis enzyme that causes the fat to sort of “stick together,” so that it stays in the fat cell, and does not get released into the blood stream. If it is not released into the bloodstream, then it cannot be used as energy. Starvation and deprivation are no help in winning the weight battle.

To stop the vicious cycle, try spreading your meals out. It is also better than eating too much at once, because if you consume too much in one sitting, it results in the storage of more fat. Several smaller meals (like five per day) is a better way to keep the metabolism going. In other words, snacking isn’t such a bad thing. If your stomach is growling and you feel hungry, it is better to put something in it to keep the metabolism going. And, you never feel deprived. Isn’t that great?

The following article is more evidence of the power of the mind-body connetion.   http://shine.yahoo.com/event/vitality/turn-back-the-clock-on-your-life-7-ways-to-keep-yourself-young-2392273/

Here’s a thought: Does someone who appears to be at a healthy weight count calories? Just ask them. The answer will probably be “NO.” But if you still want an idea of how many calories you can (or should) consume to reach and maintain a particular weight, the following is a “rule of thumb.”

If your ideal weight is 150 pounds, you would start by multiplying it by 10 to get 1500 calories (which is the basic amount needed for burning energy). Add another third of that (500 calories) for total energy expenditure, or the additional calories needed for normal physical activity. Add that together to get 2,000 calories, and add an additional 10 percent of that (200 calories) which your body needs to metabolize food. The grand total would be 2,200 calories per day, which may be more than you thought.

To put it more simply: 1,500 + 500 (1/3rd) = 2,000 + 200 (10%) = 2,200

So if your ideal weight is higher than 150 pounds, then you can consume even more calories to achieve that weight. But who wants to count calories? Calorie counting is not exactly fun, and who has the time anyway? 

Instead, check out my other blog posts for more information on how you can Lose the Diet and the weight in a healthy and happy way.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet.  Copyright by Kathy Balland.  Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!  And join the Lose the Diet Club at www.LosetheDietClub.com.

The truth is that a person who weighs 180 pounds is able to eat more calories to get down to 120 pounds, than a 130-pound person can eat to get down to 120 pounds. Generally, a heavier person can eat more food than they think in order to lose weight. So assuming that you are not eating enough, if you increase your food intake, you can increase your body’s capacity to burn energy, and ultimately lose weight. Just think of eating food like putting wood on a fire. If you don’t put enough wood on the fire, then the fire cannot burn.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet.  Copyright by Kathy Balland.  Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!  And join the Lose the Diet Club at www.LosetheDietClub.com.

A healthy body fat range for men is 10 to 15 percent. Women should have at least 15 percent body fat in order to maintain a normal menstrual cycle. Too little fat changes hormone levels, which can result in the loss of bone mass (and osteoporosis). Also, the lack of menstruation results in the stagnation of tissue in the uterus, and can lead to cysts and tumors.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet.  Copyright by Kathy Balland.  Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!  And join the Lose the Diet Club at www.LosetheDietClub.com.

The reality is that you should never eat less than 10 times your ideal body weight in calories. For example, 150 pounds would be 1500 calories per day. If you eat less than that, after a period of time your body will slow down the burning of fat in order to survive. The scary thing is when people diet, they are often not consuming enough calories to maintain a healthy body. When people go overboard with dieting and over-training, it actually slows down their metabolism. It is much better to free yourself from a vicious cycle of deprivation.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet.  Copyright by Kathy Balland.  Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!  And join the Lose the Diet Club at www.LosetheDietClub.com.

Sometimes people try fasting, however only about half of the weight that they lose while fasting is actually fat. In fact, weight loss from fasting can be described as a reduction of the total body weight, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue.

If we lose muscle from “under” eating, our bodies burn less fat, even when we are simply sitting still. Five pounds of muscle burns about 200 calories per day, without doing any exercise. So, under eating can defeat the whole purpose of reducing the amount of fat in our bodies.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet.  Copyright by Kathy Balland.  Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!  And join the Lose the Diet Club at www.LosetheDietClub.com.

Understand, fat is not necessarily a bad word. Fat is simply stored energy. In fact, fat is essential to the body (like essential fatty acids.) Fat is actually needed to absorb certain nutrients. When people go “overboard” in their quest to slim down, they actually defeat their purpose. In fact, many prescribed diets do not provide enough calories for effective weight loss.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet.  Copyright by Kathy Balland.  Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!  And join the Lose the Diet Club at www.LosetheDietClub.com.

There are advertisements that offer the “easy way out” with a “magic” diet pill. This may be tempting, but it does not deal with the underlying issues, and these pills can cause permanent physical problems, such as heart damage. In the end, the diet pills do not appear to be a healthy or permanent choice in weight management. Even if we look at weight from a physical perspective, diets still do not work. So many fad diets cut out entire food groups, (which isn’t healthy) and require us to deprive ourselves of the foods we love.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet.  Copyright by Kathy Balland.  Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!  And join the Lose the Diet Club at www.LosetheDietClub.com.

Consuming pre-packaged diet foods may give a person instant gratification as they begin to lose the weight.  However, once the pre­packaged food is gone, the person’s body can easily revert to the way it was. After all, the person who is on the diet is not preparing the food themselves, and, therefore, is not learning a permanent way to balance one’s weight. When the special diet food is taken away, it can be very difficult to maintain the achieved weight. Any emotional eating that was previously there, can easily come back again.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet.  Copyright by Kathy Balland.  Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!  And join the Lose the Diet Club at www.LosetheDietClub.com.