What Is The HMR Diet
The HMR Diet 101
There’s a big difference between the HMR diet and most other diets.
While you are almost always required to eat less when following other diets in order to lose weight, the HMR program actually encourages you to eat as much as you like to stay full. However, your diet isn’t comprised of any foods, but rather special HMR weight-loss foods (as well as vegetables and fruits).
This crucial difference is actually what helps people stay motivated, making it easier for them to lose weight. The reason why you can eat so many HMR foods is because they are really low in calories.
By following most other diets, you would be decreasing the amount of food you eat. This can leave you feeling hungry throughout most of the day. This will make it harder for you to keep going with your diet plan.
There are two main diet plans included in the HMR program – Healthy Solutions and Healthy Shakes.
Healthy Solutions represents a simple and structured diet planed where you aren’t left with many decisions. You’ll get to follow a very basic diet plan and you’ll be required to exercise a bit every week, and you’ll be able to start losing weight in no time.
This diet plan requires you to consume 3 HMR shakes, 2 HMR entrees, and 5 servings of vegetables/fruits every day.
Additionally, you’re required to burn up to 2,000 calories every week.
This plan includes medical supervision in the HMR clinics. Depending on your decision, you can also hire a coach. By following the Healthy Solutions plan, you will be consuming 1,200-1,400 calories a day.
The Healthy Shakes plan is much more flexible.
The goal of this diet plan is to help you reduce the amount of solid meals you eat and focus on drinking HMR shakes instead. This plan requires you to consume 3 HMR shakes, 5 servings of vegetables/fruits, and 1 healthy meal of your choice every day.
The HMR shakes come in two flavors – chocolate and vanilla. This diet plan is self-guided and doesn’t require any medical supervision. However, you will get helpful support materials. By following the Healthy Shakes plan, you will be consuming around 1,400 calories a day.
These two plans were created to help you lose weight efficiently in the comfort of your own home.
However, there is also a third option, which is the Decision-Free program.
This special program includes coaching and medical supervision. In fact, you won’t be able to do it at home. Instead, you’ll be required to spend your time in a HMR clinic during the duration of this diet plan.
The Decision-Free program is the perfect choice for you if you have a significant amount of weight to lose. Additionally, it may be the right choice for you if you’re dealing with high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, or other similar medical problems that would require monitoring during the weight loss process.
During your stay at the clinic, you will be surrounded by a team of professionals who will make sure that you accomplish all your weight loss goals. By following the Decision-Free plan, you will be consuming 500-800 calories a day.
This weight loss program was created by Lawrence Stifler, a behavioral psychologist, in 1983. All of the HMR Programs are divided into two big phases. The first phase revolves around weight loss in a short time period. During this phase, you will start replacing your usual meals and snacks with HMR foods (as well vegetables and fruits). You will also start exercising during this phase.
The second phase revolves around weight management. During this phase, you will get the chance to learn more about how to manage your weight in the long run and how to deal with different eating challenges like dining out.
How to Lose Body Fat
How to Lose Body Fat
Are you desperate to find out how to lose body fat fast?
Two out of three people in the United States are overweight, and there are millions out there who are looking for the most effective ways to burn calories and shed extra pounds.
Losing body fat may not be easy but the following tips will help you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight:
Tip #1: Combine aerobic exercise and strength training.
Moderate aerobic exercise will help jump start your body to burn fat.
If you are severely overweight and want to know how to lose body fat, keep in mind that it’s best to start with low intensity cardio exercises.
Incorporate strength training into your workout to help tone your body and build your muscles. During the early stages of your workout program avoid stressing your body too much to prevent overtaining.
People who are trying to lose body fat can benefit from the fat-burning effects of moderate aerobic exercise. Experts recommend keeping your heart rate at 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. Exercise for at least 30 minutes, but gradually increase the duration until you are able to workout for one hour.
Strength training is one of the most effective ways to lose body fat, but you must focus on high repetitions and moderate weights.
It’s important to keep moving if you are trying to lose weight. You can get the best and fastest results by combining aerobics and low-intensity strength training. Weight training exercises should target all the major muscle groups in the body, such as the legs, arms, shoulders, abs and back.
Overweight individuals who want to start losing body fat can start by walking. Walking is a low-impact aerobic exercise that almost anyone can do.
Tip #2: Eat the right foods.
Good nutrition is just as important as exercise when it comes to fat loss.
Your body needs lean meats, chicken, fish, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. If you want to lose body fat, you have to eat more vegetables such as spinach, tomatoes, carrots, kale, broccoli and celery.
Fruits are also important but you should avoid fruit juices with added sugar. Sugar adds calories and will only make it more difficult for you to lose weight.
Avoid fried foods because they are high in fat and calories.
Limit your fat intake but don’t cut out fats altogether. Your body needs some fat for proper metabolism and to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
Cut back on bad fats found in meats, but increase your intake of good fats such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Cold-water fish, nuts, flax seed, and olives are excellent sources of healthy fats.
Tip #3: Drink plenty of water.
Water does not contain calories but your body needs it to function properly. You need 8 to 12 glasses of water each day. Water helps flush out toxins and waste products from the body and aids the digestive system. Also, drinking water right before a meal makes you feel full, so you won’t eat as much. Whenever you feel thirsty, drink water instead of high-calorie sweetened fruit juice or a soda and it will help you lose body fat faster.
Keep in mind the above three tips as you plan your day to day activities if want want to achieve successful fat loss.
How To Reduce Body Fat
How To Reduce Body Fat
The percentage of adults who are over age 20 and are overweight and obese are over 69% of the population.
That is close to 70% of the poulation that is carrying more weight, and therefore fat, than is normal.
How to reduce your body fat is one of the highest searched questions online because it is such a problem for so many people.
Reducing your body fat is about attacking the problem from two angles – both diet and exercise.
What you eat is as important as how much exercise you get each day.
In fact, you shouldn’t diet!
Dieting implies eating less and deprivation. Instead, it’s important to change your nutritional intake and make lifestyle changes for a lifetime.
Look for nutrient dense foods that are lower in calories and high in fiber. Green leafy vegetables will boost your immune system and keep your metabolism running all day.
Eliminate fried foods and candy and choose to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. Water helps to flush out toxins and increase your metabolic rate.
When eating a healthy diet you lose the cravings for sugar and high carb foods that will pack on the fat and pounds in a matter of hours.
Believe it or not, sleeping is very important to reducing your body fat.
One of the triggers to increasing your body fat is the secretion of cortisol. This is a stress hormone that is secreted from the adrenal glands at the top of the kidneys. Cortisol is responsible for the production of belly fat or visceral fat which is metabolically active and will increase your insulin resistance.
When you are stressed or sleepy, you are also more apt to eat more which increases your overall fat deposits on the body.
Exercise is an important aspect to developing lean muscle and reducing your overall body fat. However, you can also train too hard, which has the opposite effect. As you increase the intensity and duration of exercise you can also increase the release of cortisol, which will only increase the amount of fat that your body produces.
Instead, you want to do a PACE program in which you work out as hard as you can for 30 seconds and then recover for 90 seconds and repeat that pattern 8 times. Put 3 minutes of warm up at the begining and 3 minutes cool down at the end and you have a 20 minute workout that will burn calories hours after you stop working out.
Another way to increase the calorie burn and reduce the insulin secretion (which also increases fat production) is to take a 15 minute walk after meals.
This helps to reduce your blood sugar spikes because you are immediately using the sugar from your meals.
Green tea will help to boost your metabolism and is also known for cancer fighting benefits. You can drink the tea several times a day or just pop a few green tea extract pills, which is probably easier in the long run. Most of us don’t have the time to sit down to tea 4 times a day.
Weight training is one of the best ways to burn calories and develop lean muscle mass. Combine that weight training or strength training with fat burning metabolism from low carbohydrate diet and you are well on your way to reducing your body fat.
In summary:
- Diet and Exercise
- Nutrient dense foods
- Drink plenty of water
- Get adequate sleep
- Reduce Cortisol levels
- Stress management
- Exercise using the PACE program
- Walk after meals
- Green tea
- Weight training
Keep the above ten points in mind as you plan your day to day activities if you want to achieve successful weight loss or just get more healthy and fit.
Not All Carbs Are Bad! Learn the Difference Between Good and Bad Carbs
What is the Difference Between Good and Bad Carbs
No carbohydrates are good or bad. No food is truly bad or good.
Carbohydrates and food items simply cause different things to happen in your body when you eat them.
It is better to think of carbohydrates as whether you should eat them or avoid them, as opposed to them being bad or good. Carbohydrates could get their feelings hurt if they heard you referring to them as bad, or evil.
That having been said, there are distinct differences between certain types of carbohydrates.
You understand that not all fruits look and taste the same. The same is true with vegetables. There are any number of variations of pizzas. So there are definitely different types of carbs.
Let’s take a look at the construction of carbohydrates, because that really is what makes carbs either healthy or unhealthy for your body.
The Difference Between Simple and Complex Carbohydrates
When a food has a very simple molecular construction, it is broken down very quickly. In the case of simple carbohydrates, they enter your bloodstream almost instantly. This is not a good thing. When the carbohydrates you eat are complex, they are hard for your body to break down. Imagine a simple puzzle or brainteaser as opposed to the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Solving a simple puzzle doesn’t do much, if anything, for your brainpower. Solving the New York Times crossword puzzle gives you an incredibly healthy brain boost.
The same difference applies to simple and complex carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are sugars.
They come in a couple of forms, simple and complex. You may hear simple carbohydrates referred to as simple sugars or simple starches as well. Simple carbohydrates, as mentioned above, enter your bloodstream rapidly. They raise your blood glucose levels quickly. Unfortunately, the sugar in these “bad” carbs is rapidly converted and stored as fat, to be used as an energy source later.
Complex carbohydrates are very difficult to break down. Their construction is intricate, so they are hard to take apart. They are usually much higher in dietary fiber than simple carbs, and any glucose in these carbohydrates is efficiently processed before it goes straight into your bloodstream.
Simple carbohydrates include soft drinks, candy, artificial syrups, table sugar, pastries and desserts, white rice, white pasta and white bread.
Complex carbs, “good” carbs, are found in beans, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
If you just do what mama told you when you were a kid (Eat your fruits and vegetables!), you will avoid most simple carbohydrates, enjoy lots of complex carbohydrates, and treat your brain and body to better health and wellness.
Weight Loss Tips For Burning More Calories
Weight Loss Tips for Burning More Calories
How fast you can lose weight depends on several factors, including your metabolic rate. You’ve probably seen people who eat all day long without getting fat. Some are very skinny despite eating huge amounts of food. There are also people who barely eat anything all day long, but still gain weight. The ones in the first category have a fast metabolism. Those from the second group have a slow metabolism. This complex process affects the way your body uses, stores, and burns energy.
As you age, your metabolism slows down.
Boost metabolism to lose weight
This process is also influenced by lifestyle factors such as your diet, smoking habits, and overall fitness.
Active people have a higher metabolic rate than those with a sedentary lifestyle.
Most dieters complain about having a slow metabolism. This is particularly true for those who skip meals and follow strict diets. The explanation is quite simple.
When you’re starving yourself or skipping meals, your body enters into starvation mode. As a result, your metabolism decreases. This means that you’ll burn fewer calories throughout the day.
The good news is that there are several ways to boost your metabolic rate.
Eat more protein.
Beef a source of protein
This essential nutrient speeds up your metabolism, strengthens your bones, and helps build lean muscle. A protein-rich meal will keep you feeling full longer than one rich in carbs.
Strength Training
Instead of doing cardio for hours, you should start lifting weights. Stick to a regular workout routine. Aim for at least three exercise sessions per week.
Eat Less More Often
Another easy way to burn more calories is to eat smaller, more frequent meals.
This helps control your hunger and prevents a crash in your energy level.
Have three main meals and two snacks. Don’t go for more than three or four hours without food.
Remember – when you don’t eat, your body enters into starvation mode.
Stay Hydrated
Regardless of how busy you are, grab a quick snack between meals. This could be a protein bar, some low fat cottage cheese, yogurt, canned tuna, or nuts. Protein shakes are a great alternative to regular snacks, so you should include them in your diet.
A final important point is the importance of staying well hydrated.
Staying hydrated will keep cells functioning properly so that your metabolism
can work at optimal performance to burn calories to help you lose weight.