Muscle Sport Magazine

Separating Fact from Fiction: 5 Scientifically Proven Ways to Lose Fat

By Matthew Denos – 

Tired of the hype surrounding fat loss? Even downed bowl after bowl of cabbage soup in an effort to lose—or tried awful combinations of lemon juice and cayenne pepper to “cleanse” your body of fat. If you’re tired of the fads, look for fat loss techniques and ideas that are backed by real science, not hype.  I was totally fed up with all of the questionable advice out there, and decided to find some studies with real science behind them. Every item on the list below is backed by solid research – and can actually be implemented outside of a laboratory.

Have Some Green Coffee

I got a little thrill reading the recent headlines about a study that connected coffee with fat loss—I like a good latte and could stand to lose some body fat. Sadly, the coffee in the study is green coffee, not the tasty hot beverage. The green stuff does work, though, according to a research study presented by scientists from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

Participants took the green coffee in capsule form since the raw ground bean has a bitter, unpleasant taste. People taking the coffee three times per day for 14 weeks lost more weight than they did when they took the capsules that contained a placebo. Specifically, the participants saw a drop of 18 pounds in their body weight, a decrease of 3 points in their BMI, and 4.44% reduction in their body fat. Dr Vinson, professor of Chemistry, believes that the weight loss effect of green coffee is due to the chlorogenic acid, a plant chemical known as polyphenol that blocks the absorption of fat and interferes with the glucose metabolism.

What is particularly interesting is that green coffee boosted weight loss for these individuals without them making any changes in their diet or physical activities. In addition, the effect was totally side effect free. No jitters, no trouble sleeping; none of the typical caffeine side effects. If you are concerned about the caffeine content in green coffee, you will be surprised to know that the amount of caffeine contained in the daily does of green coffee that the test subjects consumed corresponds to that contained in half a cup of regular roasted coffee. This may be good news for you if you want a more natural, drug free way to lose weight. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for products made with green coffee in the near future.

Eat Chocolate

Do you have visions of Easter bunnies and Godiva truffles dancing in your head? I know I did when I read the news about chocolate from Beatrice Golumb, a researcher from the University of California in San Diego. Her findings indicate that consuming chocolate on a regular basis won’t make you overweight—in fact, the opposite is likely true.

Regular chocolate consumption can help you stay thin! According to this study, people who regularly consumed chocolate of any type were slightly thinner than their chocolate-shunning counterparts. This is an interesting finding because it adds to the existing body of scientific evidence that it is the type of calories you consume, not just the number of them, that determines your weight. The next time you want something sweet, reach for real chocolate and you won’t sabotage your weight loss plan.

Forget Supplements and Weight Loss Aids

Taking dietary supplements to get ripped or lose weight is an expensive and faulty proposition, according to a study profiled by the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Researcher Melinda Manore of Oregon State University studied hundreds of dietary supplements in the following 4 categories:

  1. 1.     Fat and carb blockers (i.e chitosan)
  2. 2.     Metabolism boosters (i.e caffeine, ephedra)
  3. 3.     Supplements that change the body composition by reducing fat (i.e conjugated linoleic acid)
  4. 4.     Appetitie suppressants (i.e soluble fibers)

Manore came to the same conclusion—most supplements don’t work. This is bad news for anyone hoping to become fit the easy way. The good news? You can use the money you save on supplements to buy more produce,  a gym membership, and a good pair of running shoes – two things that really will help you lower your body fat and increase your muscle mass.

Eat more protein

Protein rich foods like meats and beans may be the key to better weight loss, according to a study reported in the American Journal to Clinical Nutrition. According to researchers, eating foods rich in protein can help you feel full faster, and stay full longer. People who followed a 10% protein diet ate 12% more calories (mainly from snacking) than when they followed a 15% protein diet.

Adding protein to each meal can help you drop pounds because it can satisfy hunger more effectively than carb and fat. Sixty to a hundred and twenty grams of protein per day, or 15-35% of your daily calories is a good range for weight loss, according to researchers. This is why diet plans for women and men to lose weight, like Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Medifast, Nutrisystem, are based on a relatively high protein diet (For a 30% Weight Watchers discount click here)

Avoid attractive and tempting food images

Cancel your subscription to Gourmet magazine, step away from the culinary books and bypass food blogs entirely if you want to lose weight. Tempting advertisements featuring food can add on pounds, even if you don’t get a bite of the food you are viewing. You can blame your brain for this, according to researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, who recently released a study on this very issue. The hormones that regulate your appetite can be stimulated by the sight of appealing food, making you eat more of whatever is available. Change the channel the next time a tempting food and comes on and avoid temptation.

By adding beneficial items to your daily diet—chocolate, green coffee extract and protein rich foods, and avoiding a hunger-stimulating environment, you can begin to take control of your weight loss journey today.

Photo courtesy of photoxpress.com

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