Eat organic
Regular fruits and veggies often contain pesticides that have been shown to disrupt your endocrine system, which then increases your hunger, decreases your metabolism, and causes your body to store fat. So go organic when you can, or make sure to thoroughly wash non-organic produce, even if the package says it is pre-washed. Soak it all in a big bowl of water for 1-2 minutes, then rinse it with running water.

Make yourself cold
Shivering makes your muscles contract, which therefore makes you burn calories. Take a cold shower, drink ice cold water, or hang out in a freezing room for a bit for an exercise-free metabolism boost. But just for a few minutes. Make yourself too cold, and your immune system could go down. You want to burn fat, not make yourself sick.

Drink green tea
Green tea contains catechins, a chemical that can speed up metabolism and reduce body fat. Some studies show that green tea also lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Sniff peppermint or citrus
Citrus and peppermint scents stimulate the nervous system, which then boosts your metabolism. (We use orange spray in our studio!) Strangely, smelling buttered popcorn and strawberries while exercising will help you burn more calories, too.

Limit alcohol
Research shows that just two drinks (wine, beer, or hard alcohol) can reduce your metabolism for 73 percent for several hours, until the alcohol has burned off. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates only have 4 calories per gram. So alcohol packs a lot of calories that your body is forced to burn BEFORE it burns any of your stored fat. Plus, if your cocktail contains a sugary mixer, that’s even more calories that will turn into body fat. …Unless you hit the gym super-hard the few days to burn it off. So if you binge drink one night, make sure to give us a call in the morning!

By Katrina, manager and trainer at Mayet Fitness

Good news is that it’s high in protein, iron, and Vitamin B-12; and it is low in carbohydrates.

Problem is that steak is high in saturated fat, which has been linked to heart disease. Plus, saturated fat is tough to burn. So you might as well just staple it to your waistline.

Fortunately, there are leaner cuts of steak that won’t destroy your abs.

The best choices (all 200-300 calories and 2-4 grams saturated fat per serving):

1) Sirloin tip side steak
Very lean, but still flavorful.

2) Top round steak
Tender with a good amount of flavor.

3) Eye of round steak
A little tougher and less juicy.

4) Bottom round steak
Also tougher, but a good marinade makes it delicious.

5) Top sirloin
Like the bottom round steak: Also tougher, but a good marinade makes it delicious.

Not-so-great choices (all about 350 calories and 6 grams of saturated fat per serving):

1) Filet mignon (Chateaubriand or tenderloin)

2) Porterhouse steak

3) Skirt steak

4) New York strip steak

Bad choice (almost 400 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat per serving):

T-bone steak

Worst choice (almost 500 calories and a whopping 15 grams of saturated fat per serving-EEK!):

Rib-eye steak (rib roast, prime rib). A very marbled (aka fatty) cut.

Regardless of which cut you choose, if you’re cooking it yourself, you can make it a little healthier by broiling it instead of frying it. You save at least 50 calories and 5 grams of fat by choosing to broil.

We recommend using olive oil instead of butter. Both oil and butter have about the same amount of calories, but olive oil has unsaturated fats, which are healthier and easier to burn than butter’s saturated fats.

If you’re at a restaurant and feeling ballsy, you can ask the waiter to have your steak prepared with olive oil and to hold the butter. Just prepare for a possible death look in return.

Written by Katrina, Manager and Trainer at Mayet Fitness

Main sources:

Men’s Health. Today. Bradford Schmidt. Fat Secret.

Fitness is amazing! With guidance and determination, you can change your life!

During each hour-long StairMaster session, I go through two large sweat towels. Spinning class–three large towels.

I hate the feeling of sweat dripping on my skin, so I’m constantly wiping myself down.

Turns out I’m in the wrong.

As this article points out:

“Don’t wipe unless you’re drenched. Sweat releases heat by evaporative cooling. As each gram of sweat transitions from liquid to gas phase, it absorbs 2,427 joules of energy from the body and dissipates the heat into the environment. But if you wipe away the perspiration before it evaporates, that process will get cut short, and you’ll need to sweat more just to achieve the same degree of cooling.

“On the other hand, any sweat that drips to the ground before it can evaporate won’t do you any good, so if you’re really soaked you may as well reach for the towel.”

So, I should let my icky, nasty sweat flow freely, I guess. I’m going to be one of “those” people who sweat all over the machines… But I promise I’ll clean up afterward. 

-Katrina

Our daily lives have us craning our necks forward all day every day, primarily while at the computer. We must strengthen our back muscles to undo any posture damage.

This machine comes in all shapes and sizes, but the movement is always the same. Sit with good posture: head straight up, shoulders back and down. Grab the handles and pull back as far as you can, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Make sure you maintain good posture throughout each repetition.

We suggest 3 sets of 15 repetitions, 2-3 times a week.

Apples are low in sodium and high in water content. They also reduce bloating, making your body look slimmer.

Now for even more good apple news: A new study, from Ohio State University, shows that eating one apple every day for a month can lower your “bad” cholesterol by 40 percent. That’s huge!

“Bad” cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), can damage your body and harden your arteries.

For the study, 16 healthy adults ate one large Red or Golden Delicious apple each day for four weeks. Prior to the study, they each only consumed 1-2 apples a month. Unfortunately, the study didn’t record any weight changes, but we’d surprised if each person didn’t lose a couple pounds.

Apples are less than a dollar each. You can’t afford NOT to take advantage of this super health food!

Of course, this sent hoards of people on a raspberry ketone hunt, and pills have been flying off the shelves since.

Raspberry ketones are what give raspberries flavor and smell. Lisa Lynn, a personal trainer who sells supplements, told Dr. Oz that her clients have seen weight loss results in as few as five days. (Note: They were also eating a low-calorie diet and working out!)

The dosage recommended on the show was 100mg/day, which, is the amount of ketones supplied by 90lbs. of raspberries.

So, do the supplements actually work? Maybe, although there isn’t much science backing them up.

If you do try raspberry ketone pills, here are a few guidelines:

1) Don’t fall for a “free trial,” especially if it requires giving your credit card information. We certainly learned this lesson the hard way via all the acai berry scams!

2) Read the label. Look for “natural” raspberry ketones. Avoid fillers like green tea or acai berry. If it says “proprietary blend,” it most likely contains fillers that will do nothing for you.

3) Don’t forget to eat well and workout! Never rely on just a pill to lose weight. Plus, exercise has a gazillion other amazing benefits.

At 0.2lbs, this rattle is perfectly safe for babies. And oh-so-cute!

Only $9. Buy ‘em here.