Weight Loss Wonders: Tips and Tricks

Our next Before & After story comes from Amanda Fraijo-Tobin, who blogs about life after losing 130 pounds on her blog Friday Love Song , which is part of our POPSUGAR Select Fitness network. Below, she shares how she lost the weight and how she keeps it off. Amanda: Before Growing up, I wasn't severely overweight - sure, I had a pudgy stage, but a lot of people did! My weight wasn't something I thought much about being a kid (as it shouldn't be). My parents had good intentions, like most, but we certainly did not grow up eating very healthy. Snacks, soda, meals prepared without nutritional aspects considered. Soda became a very bad habit for me, especially as I got into my teens and didn't have anyone stopping me from drinking so many. Fast-forward to high school - like most high school girls, I thought I was fat. Even though, in retrospect, I clearly wasn't. I didn't let it consume my life, though I was a little on the chubby side (so I thought) and I wa...

If we want to understand the accumulation of excess body fat, it's tempting to focus our attention on the location that defines the condition: adipose tissue.  Ultimately, the key question we want to answer is the following: why does fat enter adipose tissue faster than it exits? It follows that if we want to understand why obesity occurs, we should seek to understand the dynamics of fat trafficking in adipose tissue, and the factors that influence it.  Right? I don't think this is right, and here's a metaphor that explains why. The speed of a car depends primarily on the force that its wheels exert on the asphalt below them.  If we want to understand why cars move quickly sometimes, and slowly at other times, we should seek to understand the dynamics of how force is transferred from the wheels to the asphalt, and the factors that influence it, right? As you may have already surmised, that wouldn't be a very effective way of understanding car speed. To understand car sp...

Damn you deliciously-sweet and adorably-decorated cupcakes! We're trying to be good and eat kale smoothies and quinoa salads and then you show up at my office calling to me to rescue you from that claustrophobic cardboard box. Of course I'll save you, but then I'll devour every last sprinkle! If you have a slight obsession with cupcakes, you'll totally relate to these. Related Stories: Celebrate Cupcake Lover's Day With This Delicious Vegan Treat Vegan Easter Delight: Carrot Cake Cupcakes from POPSUGAR Fitness http://ift.tt/2d228Cy

Every body is different, and while many of you are on a weight-loss journey, we know that some of you are trying to put on a little weight and create some healthy muscle tone. We're here to help! Putting on weight can be challenging, especially if you're trying to do it the right way. You don't want to gain fat, but rather, healthy muscle. That way, you'll still have a lean, toned body, but build strength and build your physique a little bit. To get some insight on this, POPSUGAR consulted trainer and nutrition coach Carrie McMahon. She introduced us to the concept called "reverse dieting," and we think you're going to like it. Related Stories: These BBG Before-and-After Weight Transformations Are NOT What You’d Expect "Reverse dieting is a way to slowly gain weight - focusing on muscle weight gain - as well as repair metabolic damage due to strict, low-calorie, detox and fad diets." In Carrie's words, it's essentially to undo damage from...

Getting fit doesn't have to be impossible. You don't need to follow overly complex programs. You don't have to have the knowledge of a registered dietitian. You also shouldn't be forced to spend countless dollars on gimmicks that make a lot of promises but deliver very little to you. All you really need is effort and a little help from the one thing that's by your side 24/7. With just your smartphone you can get fitter than you'd expect without having to download a single thing. Bonus: no apps to buy, no trainers in your ear buds shouting at you and no ridiculous straps or wearables to fumble with and spend more money on. Just you, your phone and some effort. Are you ready? 1. Keeping Track Let's get a little sophisticated and implement some forethought into your health and fitness plan. Using your note function on Sunday night, write down what you expect to eat and what your goals are for Monday. On Monday night, go back and compare your actual performance ...

Eating vegetarian is supposed to help people lose weight, right? Well, speaking from experience, not eating meat in college did nothing to prevent me from gaining 40+ pounds . If you're vegetarian and trying to get slimmer, avoid these mistakes (that could end up causing weight gain). Trading Protein For Carbs If you're skipping the chicken or salmon for dinner, don't just eat a bowl of pasta! While carbs are essential for energy and brain function, you need protein as well. Find ways to get your fill with legumes like lentils, black beans, and soy products, whole grains, nuts, seeds, eggs, and dairy products (if you're eating them). This chart shows you how much protein you need in a day . An easy way to get your fill is to remember to eat some form of protein at every meal and snack. Only Eating Junk Food Ice cream, french fries, cookies, bagels, pizza, and candy bars may be vegetarian, but they're not void of calories. Remember that food is fuel and every time yo...

You're interested in eating low-carb to lose weight because you've seen other people's success eating this way, but you have tons of questions. Can I eat fruit? What about whole grains or whole-wheat pasta? And if so, how much? You definitely don't want to go completely carb-free because you know your body needs some carbs to function normally, so follow this simple guide from certified dietitian Leslie Langevin, MS, RD, CD, of Whole Health Nutrition . It will make going low-carb so much easier. When going low-carb for weight loss, Leslie recommends that around 25 percent of your diet be devoted to carbs. If you're trying to maintain your weight or feel healthier and less bloated, go for 40 percent. You can figure out how many carbs to eat in a day with this formula from Leslie: start with your daily calorie goal, multiply that number by 0.25 (25 percent), then divide that by four (there are four calories per gram of carbs), and this will give you the total grams of...

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The answer is unexpectedly simple but effective. It all started with feeling a lack of energy and an unclear mind…… Recently, I realized that I’ve been feeling pretty dehydrated no matter how much I drank, and was feeling an overall lack of energy and wasn’t having a clear thinking . Part of this is due to it being winter. Another part is being active most nights of the week in one sport or another and sweating out my body’s water. But then part of me started thinking that why, no matter how much water I drink, am I always thirsty? So I started researching everything about water and the body. From most of my questions, I found some answers, and other questions provided some pretty basic answers that didn’t get me anywhere. I’ve set this up below in the form of questions with the answers I found. Hopefully at least one of these will answer something you’ve been wondering, or at least make you smarter. Feel free to astonish your friends with knowing more than them on this subject. ...

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