When looking for how to slim down, we usually look at the foods we eat and the amount of exercise we engage in. But what are you drinking? That is something else to consider. Did you know that one fifth of our calories each day come from what we drink?
How to Slim Down: Drink Water
The best drink is of course water. Water doesn’t add calories to your diet, helps flush toxins out of the body, keeps skin hydrated and youthful looking, keeps internal organs functioning properly, helps prevent constipation, increases circulation, replaces fluids lost through sweating and lots more. If drinking straight water doesn’t sound good to you, try adding a little salt or lime to your water. Both salt and lime improve the taste of water, and a slice of lime tends to remove any chlorine that might be in it. Drinking water also helps in how to slim down by making you feel full if you drink before eating, thus you don’t feel the need to eat as much.
How To Slim Down: Cut Out All Carbonated Soft Drinks
You probably know that carbonated soft drinks have hundreds of calories and should not be included on a how to slim down diet. But many people think switching to diet soft drinks makes a difference and is OK when trying to lose weight. This switch will cut down on some calories, but research hasn’t confirmed that switching to diet soda makes a significant difference in weight loss. You still have to look at how many calories you take in each day versus how many calories you burn each day. Ask yourself is that soft drink really worth the extra exercise you’ll need to do or would you rather switch to a totally non-sweetened, non-carbonated drink?
How To Slim Down: Drink Coffee and Tea Straight Up
Another tip for how to slim down is to drink coffee or tea without adding fattening sugar and cream to it. The caffeine found in green tea or black coffee does boost your metabolism for a short period of time, and can help you lose weight. To get the most benefit out of green tea, drink it hot and drink several cups per day. Coffee, like green tea, has no calories and has been found to reduce the risks of Type II diabetes, improve mental concentration and mood swings. Both these beverages have antioxidants that help the body fight off damage from free radicals. If you can’t take your coffee straight black, stick with adding some skim milk or unsweetened almond milk to avoid adding too many calories to it.
How To Slim Down: What’s Good and Bad About Juices
Fruit juices have vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants that are good for you, but read the labels on the juices you buy. Many of them have added sweeteners. To get the nutrition and keep calories low, go for labels that show 100% juice or invest in a juicer and make your own. Vegetable juices have much less calories than fruit juices, but usually have more sodium. Making your own green smoothies with fruits and vegetables is another way to make sure you know exactly what you are getting in your juices. Adding some juice to a glass of water will give you an even lower calorie drink with some of the juice’s nutrition added in.
How To Slim Down: Make a Smoothie for Meal Replacement or Snack
Making your own smoothies or green drinks gives you the power to add in the ingredients of your choosing that you know will help you in how to slim down. Since milk has been found to help in losing weight, you can add skim milk or low fat yogurt into your smoothies to get a protein boost without the calories. Juicy fruits alone can be blended into a smoothie if you don’t want to add in the extra calories of milk or fruit juice. Another tip for how to slim down is to use protein powder to make a smoothie drink that can be a snack or even a replacement for a meal. Powders that contain whey protein rather than soy show better results. Our favorite powdered protein supplement not only gives you 22 grams of protein from whey, but includes bluegreen algae, sprouts and protein-digesting enzymes as well as the omega-3 and omega-6s and all the other amino acids and whole food nutrition from blue green algae. Blending this powdered drink supplement with yogurt, fruit juice, milk or your favorite smoothie can help you stay away from fatty foods and satisfy hunger to combat overeating.
If you are looking for how to slim down, get enough exercise to burn off the calories you consume, eat low calorie meals with lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables and watch what you drink. What you are drinking may be putting on that extra weight that you just can’t seem to take off. Making smarter beverage choices may just be the key for you.
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