Quick and Easy Fat Burning Recipes

Foods that fight fat

Losing weight—and keeping the pounds off—isn't a quick or easy process, but a few simple diet tricks can be a big help along the way. Our favorites? Eating lots of protein, fiber, and healthy carbs, which boost your metabolism and keep you feeling full all day long.

If you're not sure how to work these calorie-burning ingredients into your daily menu, start with these recipes. They all include at least one weight-loss superfood, and, best of all, they can be made in 30 minutes or less!

Photo: Quentin Bacon

Banana & Almond Butter Toast

This simple yet tasty morning pick-me-up features no fewer than three of the best foods to eat for breakfast. The bananas and whole-grain rye bread are high in resistant starch, to help boost metabolism, while the almond butter adds hunger-curbing protein and healthy monounsaturated fats.

One slice contains just 280 calories, but it's guaranteed to keep you full until lunchtime.

Photo: Jim Bathie

Broccoli & Feta Omelet with Toast

This easy breakfast recipe, which takes just 15 minutes start to finish, packs a one-two punch that will leave you feeling satisfied yet energized.

The broccoli provides filling fiber (and just 30 calories per serving), while the protein-loaded eggs curb appetite and will help stave off those late-morning cravings.

Photo: Jim Bathie

Chocolate-Dipped Banana Bites

Dessert doesn't have to erase a healthy meal! The bananas in this easier-than-pie dessert—all you need is a knife and a microwave—are a rich source of resistant starch, a type of healthy carbohydrate that helps you burn calories and eat less.

As an added bonus, the semisweet chocolate contains healthy fats to further rev your metabolism.

Photo: Oxmoor House

Honey Grapefruit with Banana

Trying to trim down or stay slim? You can't go wrong with this tangy tropical fruit salad, perfect for breakfast or as a colorful side dish at brunch. Grapefruit is one of the best foods for weight loss, studies show—perhaps because of the effect it has on insulin, a fat-storage hormone.

What's more, grapefruit is deceptively filling. It has one of the highest water concentrations of any fruit (about 90% of its weight is water), and all that juice fills you up fast and prevents overeating.

Photo: Quentin Bacon

White Bean & Herb Hummus with Crudites

Tired of bland supermarket hummus? It only takes five minutes to whip up a batch of this flavorful, fiber-rich version in your own kitchen. All you need is four ingredients: lemon, hearty-healthy olive oil, chives, and—last but not least—white beans, which contain nearly 4 grams of resistant starch per serving.

Pair with assorted raw vegetables, like broccoli, to get even more fiber and fat-burning resistant starch from this wholesome snack.

Photo: Travis Rathbone

BBQ Turkey Burgers

This fresh spin on burgers is a delicious new way to cut back on beef and eat more turkey, an excellent source of lean protein and a favorite weight-loss food of Jillian Michaels, Biggest Loser trainer and Health magazine cover model.

"Lean protein helps you stay fuller for longer," Michaels tells us. "It has the amino acids that are the building blocks for muscle."

Photo: Jim Bathie

Curried Egg Salad Sandwich

Eggs are an ideal food for dieters. They're tasty, low in calories (about 80 per egg), and filled with satisfying protein that helps curb cravings. In fact, it's a shame to eat them only at breakfast.

This egg salad recipe, a zesty twist on a classic, offers a healthy new way to work eggs into lunchtime. The low-fat Greek yogurt used in place of mayo dials down the fat and calories, while the curry powder provides a jolt of antioxidants.

Photo: Melissa Punch

Creamy Avocado Cups

Put down the chips and dip! These simple bites will quell those mid-afternoon hunger pangs—and at just 30 calories a pop. (They're also perfect as party hors d'oeuvres.)

The source of this snack's appetite-suppressing power is oleic acid, a compound found in avocados' healthy monounsaturated fats. Oleic acid triggers the production of another compound in the small intestine, oleoylethanolamide, which send fullness signals to the brain.

Photo: Travis Rathbone

Crisp Chickpea Slaw

Make this slaw for your weekday lunch or weekend picnic. Trust us: You—and your picnic buddies—won’t be able to tell how healthy it is.

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are loaded with slimming resistant starch. They’re also a great source of protein and fiber, which will help keep you full until dinnertime.

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8 HEALTHY FOODS AND DRINKS THAT CAN MAKE YOU FAT

While they’re packed with antioxidants, protein, and healthy fat, these nutrition powerhouses can pile on serious calories if you’re not careful.

Hit up a sporting event or hang out at a local bar and you’re sure to come across a variety of nuts—and guys chowing down on them like they’re pieces of popcorn. It’s the perfect example of good gone bad. Like avocado, nuts are loaded with heart-healthy fats. But healthy doesn’t always mean lean. A couple of beers and a few handfuls of nuts and you’ve tallied up some serious calories. “A 1-ounce serving of nuts contains 135 calories, and how many nuts you get in a serving will depend on your nut of choice,” Zuckerbrot says. “Think about it: Would you rather have 12 cashews or 22 almonds?”

Protein is good, right? Damn right it is. But not if it’s double-decked with ab-killers fat and sugar. Your protein-bar approach: Save them for when you’re in a jam, like when you’re traveling or out on a long hike, and in those instances eat half the serving size at a time. Rule No. 2: shop smart. Pick a bar with reduced sugar, or opt for a ready-to-drink (RTD) alternative. These products typically contain half the fat and sugar, and 100 fewer calories, compared with bars.

Avocado is everywhere, and rightfully so. It’s a superfood. Each fruit is packed with 10 grams of fiber and more than twice the potassium of a banana. Avocado has been shown to lower cholesterol levels, reduce cancer and diabetes risk, and improve skin health. The drawback: Due to its high-fat content (heart-healthy monounsaturated fat is still fat) and the heavy praise avocado receives for its health benefits, it’s all too easy to go overboard. “While they’re packed with more than 20 vitamins and minerals, avocados are still calorically dense,” says Tanya Zuckerbrot, R.D., author of The Miracle Carb Diet. “Use moderation when adding them to your salads, sandwiches, and anything else.”

In theory, whole-grain, fiber-rich mixes make great on-the-go snacks. Problem is, they’re often dressed up with ingredients like honey, dried fruit, seeds, and chocolate—plus it’s hard to stick to the proper portion size. “A serving of granola is only one-quarter cup—about 4 tablespoons—which is hardly enough to keep you feeling full until lunch,” Zuckerbrot says. Your plan of attack: Again, save these convenient eats for when you’re in jam and opt for a stripped-down mix sold in a bag that contains a single serving.

Take all the nutrients and antioxidants from several servings of fruit and shrink them down into something that’s super easy to eat. Sounds great, right? Well, these miniature fruit snacks are often loaded with added sugar, plus it’s not out of the norm to plow through an entire bagful. Go for fresh instead. “Two tablespoons of dried cranberries or raisins have the same amount of calories as 1 cup of fresh raspberries or 1¼ cups of strawberries,” notes Zuckerbrot.

High-cocoa chocolate contains compounds called polyphenols, which research shows may keep blood vessels dilated and help lower blood pressure. But before making a daily habit of the dark sweets, be mindful that along with cocoa comes saturated fat and sugar. “You may think it’s good for your heart, which it can be if eaten in moderation. But go overboard and you’ll get lots of calories that can pile on weight, which isn’t heart healthy at all,” Zuckerbrot says. Look for brands with the highest percentage of cocoa and opt for smaller packages versus the temptation of larger bars.

These tricked-out thirst quenchers might promise magical powers, like reviving you from the worst hangover of your life or helping you stay focused at work on a Friday afternoon, but the boost you feel after downing a vitamin-enhanced beverage comes more from sugar than it does from a slew of B vitamins and electrolytes. Some 20-ounce bottles contain more than 30 grams of the sweet stuff. And just like your body absorbs nutrients more effectively from real food than it does supplements, the same thing applies to the vitamins and minerals that have been used to fortify these rainbow elixirs. “Get your nutrients from food, and stay hydrated calorie-free with pure water,” suggests Zuckerbrot.

Order a blended drink at a juice bar and it’s all too easy to end up with a gut-busting beverage in your hands. Thanks to colossal cup sizes—we’ve spotted smoothies as big as 32 and 40 ounces—and dessert-like ingredients such as peanut butter, chocolate, real coconut milk, and sherbet, slurping down 600 to 1,000 calories (or more) is a cinch. A better bet: make your drink at home. “Add ice, a serving and a half of produce, and yogurt for a protein boost and rich, creamy texture,” advises Zuckerbrot.



Originally Posted At: http://bit.ly/2dbmCcz

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5 Exercises to Work Off Your Waist

Ladies, it's time to forget those waist trainers you've seen online. The better strategy for cinching: targeting the transverse abdominis. That's the deep core muscle that wraps around the entire belly and acts as your body's natural corset. And my dynamic, plank-based moves hit it extra hard. Strengthening this muscle will also help protect your lower back. Now who's ready to lose the love handles?

Do 30 reps of each move in the series on one side, then repeat the sequence on the other. For exercises 3 and 5, just switch the side you initiate the move on.

Kick, Twist & Arabesque

Sit with feet and palms planted on the floor, fingers facing back. Lift hips, coming onto toes as you extend left arm and right leg up, right inner thigh facing the ceiling (A). Rotate torso, placing left hand and right knee on the floor as you extend left leg up (B). Reverse motion to return to "A." Repeat.

Tuck & Inner Thigh Kick

Sit with feet and palms planted on the floor, fingers facing back. Lift hips and cross right ankle over left thigh. Lift left arm, bending it as if making a muscle (A). Push hips up slightly as you uncross right leg and kick it straight up (B). Return to "A" and repeat. This move will really challenge your balance.

Pike and Dip

Start in plank position, then lift hips; think Downward-Facing Dog (A). As you lower hips, twist waist to the left, dipping hips toward the floor (B). Twist hips back up to center and then over to the right, dipping them down again. Continue alternating, turning leg out from the hip.

Swinging Arabesque Plank

Start in plank, then lift leg as high as possible, toe pointed (A). As you lower down, rotate body to the right, coming to rest on right hip. Immediately swing left leg back behind body (B). Reverse motion to return to "A" (make sure to avoid arching your back here). Repeat.

Alternating Arabesque Kick

Start on all fours with forearms on the floor (A). Lift right leg up and over to the left on a diagonal, rotating torso and right leg slightly so that sole of right foot faces left (B). Return to "A" and repeat move with left leg (C). Continue alternating, trying to reach that leg back.

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DIY Healthy & Easy Lunch Ideas

Hey guys!Whether it’s back to school, or lunches for work, packing healthy on the reg presents challenges. It’s easy to burn out on sandwiches every day, leftovers don’t always travel or reheat well, and it can be really time consuming to think of, and make, really healthy and fresh lunches day after day.That’s why I wanted to give you three simple, cost-effective and super delicious options to throw into your rotation.  I promise you…packing lunches is a MUST if you’re wanting to save calories and money.

I wanted to think a bit outside of the box on these, because anyone can tell you to make a turkey sandwich on sprouted grain bread or pack apples and peanut butter. I wanted to show you how to maximize the use of veggies mid-day to help keep you full, keep calories in check and have you bursting with antioxidants.

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