If You Drink This at Breakfast, You’ll Keep Burning Calories All Day Long

Most breakfast buffs would argue that coffee reigns supreme in the morning beverages department. Although a cup of joe is the perfect liquid pick-me-up to get you through a long day, drowning it in cream and sugar could take a serious toll on your waistline. (Here’s how to make your coffee habit healthier.) On the other hand, English breakfast tea, a combination of different kinds of black tea, might be the best of both worlds.

Not only does black tea provide the a.m. caffeine rush you need, but it also has some pretty incredible weight loss benefits, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of California report that black tea could produce healthy gut bacteria and even boost your metabolism. Here are even more surprising benefits of black tea.

To determine the effects of black tea on weight loss, the researchers randomly assigned mice to four different diets: Low-fat and high-sugar; high-fat and high-sugar; high-fat, high-sugar, and green tea extract; and high-fat, high-sugar, and black tea extract. Then, they tracked the mice’s weight for four weeks.

Overall, mice who received both black and green tea lost the same amount of weight as those on a low-fat diet. And mice on the black tea extract diet, in particular, showed an increase of the metabolism-boosting bacteria Pseudobutyrivibrio in their systems. (Ready to make the switch from coffee to tea? Here’s what might happen to your body if you do.)

“Our new findings suggest that black tea, through a specific mechanism through the gut microbiome, may also contribute to good health and weight loss in humans,” Susanne Henning, lead author of the study and human nutrition professor at UCLA, said. “For black tea lovers, there may be a new reason to keep drinking it.”

Polyphenols found in black tea spurs the gut’s production of short-chain fatty acids, which have been shown to speed up the body’s metabolic rate, researchers explain.

But before you start chugging tea by the gallon, it’s worth noting that this study only tested black tea by itself. Researchers are unsure of how milk or other additions could affect tea’s weight loss perks. Since this study was only performed on mice, its effect on humans remains unclear.

Still, we say it can’t hurt to squeeze a cup or two of English breakfast tea into your breakfast lineup! Just make sure to pair it with the best metabolism-boosting breakfast of all time.

[Source: Metro]

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9 Common Mistakes That Make You Regain Weight

You’re off your “diet”

Dropping the weight is only half the battle: the results of your “diet” don’t matter if you’re not able to maintain the weight loss for good. If you abruptly give up your diet or workout routine after you reach your goal, you’re not giving yourself the tools necessary to sustain it. “While fad diets may be fast-acting, they’re unsustainable and don’t show you how to keep the excess weight off,” says Adam Rosante, fitness coach and creator of The People’s Bootcamp. “As soon as you go off whatever plan you’re on, the pounds come creeping back to where they were, and then some.” Rather than going on a crash diet, make small changes that you can incorporate into your lifestyle for years, not weeks, to come. Try out these 50 ways to lose weight without a lick of exercise.

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If You Work This Shift, You’re Completely Derailing Your Metabolism

For the most part, the 9 to 5 of the average American is rarely from 9 to 5. For plenty of professions, from the food service industry to the medical field, irregular hours are common and simply expected. Adjusting your internal clock takes some time and can lead to quite a few sluggish days along the way. But the effect on your body goes beyond the bags under your eyes, according to Science Daily. (Did you know that losing sleep can put you at risk for this condition?)

A newly published paper in Obesity Reviews highlights the health risks inherently tied to working the night shift on a regular basis. In the meta-analysis, data was pulled from 28 published studies which analyzed the health of this very specific segment of the workforce.

Permanent night shift workers are 29 percent more likely to become obese or overweight, and 35 percent more likely to develop abdominal obesity (belly fat). It’s estimated that 20 percent of the world is employed through some sort of shift work, according to Science Daily. It’s stated in the study that this is due to the disruption of the body’s natural cycles. (These are 12 other things that mess with your metabolism.)

“Melatonin plays a key role in synchronizing central and peripheral circadian rhythms and regulates the secretion of hormones such as cortisol, insulin, and leptin,  such misalignments may lead to a disturbance of body homeostasis and produce abnormal metabolic profiles….[which can lead to] adverse health effects such as metabolism abnormalities that include obesity.”

The body’s circadian rhythm is essentially its internal clock, which habitually regulates when the body should feel attentive and wake up and when it should slow down and start to prepare for bed. Evolution has preconditioned humans to associate natural light with being awake and darkness with going to sleep, and this response is thrown out of whack by regular nighttime work.

[Source: Science Daily]

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7 Things Nutritionists Wish You Knew About the Warrior Diet

What is the Warrior Diet?

The Warrior Diet entails spending the majority of your day fasting or under eating and then indulging in a large meal at night. Exercise is also integrated into the plan, and workouts usually are scheduled during the times you are not eating. “It is essentially modeled after a ‘warrior’ lifestyle, the idea being that ancient warriors would eat very little during the day because they would spend their days hunting, gathering, fighting, etc., and would subsequently prepare and eat one big meal at night,” says Nesochi Okeke-Igbokwe, MD, MS. Those on the Warrior Diet are instructed to eat minimally during the day, usually for a period of about 20 hours. Fluids are okay, and very small snacks are allowed. Then at night, one large meal is consumed. There are certain food combos and pairings that are recommended as part of the diet plan and some that are to be avoided, but protein and vegetables are always allowed to be consumed together. Here’s what you need to know before fasting.

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This One Workout Can Cut 2 Inches Off Your Waist—Fast

Forget crunches and treadmills. The secret to a slimmer waistline may start in the gym, but cruising through your cardio session isn’t doing you (or your tummy!) any favors. As a matter of fact, science says that interval training may be more effective at banishing your belly fat, instead. (No gym membership? Here’s how to flatten your belly without a lick of exercise.)

Greek researchers recruited participants to perform four hour-long workouts every week, which included 40 minutes of strength training. For the additional 20 minutes, one group ran on treadmills, while the other group performed body-weight intervals.

After eight weeks, the researchers measured the participants’ waistlines. Those who performed body-weight intervals lost two inches of belly fat; meanwhile, the runners lost less than one inch, according to the final report. These foods fight belly fat, too.

Alternating high-intensity workouts with lower-intensity ones increases the amount of calories you burn for the rest of the day, researchers say. How? Short, intense intervals withdraw oxygen from your body rapidly, forcing it to work overtime to get your O2 back to normal levels. Although you might burn the same amount of calories regardless, you’ll burn more calories throughout the day through interval training. Translation: “The harder and longer you go, the more calories you’ll burn later,” Craig Ballantyne, M.S., Master Certified Turbulence Trainer, told Men’s Health.

As a bonus, intervals allow you to focus on different muscle groups as you switch between exercises, which gives certain muscles time to recover while you fire up others. Get started with these 8 exercises that will flatten your belly, without a single crunch.

[Source: Men’s Health]

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7 Compelling Reasons You Should Try Acupuncture for Weight Loss

Acupuncture works

Assuming you are OK with needling and going for visits aren’t out of your budget, acupuncture can play a role in weight loss. Once considered alternative medicine, acupuncture is moving toward the mainstream and recommended by many doctors and may even be covered by insurance. The practice involves inserting fine, clean needles along specific pathways on the body to improve chi or energy flow. It doesn’t encourage weight loss in isolation, but when combined with a reduced calorie diet and regular exercise, women who got ear acupuncture weekly lost seven pounds more than their counterparts who only ate a reduced calorie diet and exercised. The women getting acupuncture also reported feeling less hungry. Here are some other surprising conditions that acupuncture can treat.

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Find the Motivation and Support You Need to Be Healthier

Losing weight, working out regularly, and eating right are lifestyle changes you may wish to make for yourself. They can help you to have a happier and healthier life overall.

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