Are diet drinks making you fat?

A study out of the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio found a positive relationship between diet drinks and weight gain. After following 1550 residents of San Antonio for 8 years, they found that for every can (12oz) of diet soda consumed a day a person's risk of becoming obese went up by 41%. Now, this does not mean that diet soda causes obesity, but there does seem to be a link. Some believe that the sweetness in diet soda causes a person to crave more sweet foods. Or, it could be that someone switching to diet soda is already gaining weight and is trying to balance the calories by drinking no calorie drinks. Whatever the answer may be, the best drink to quench your thirst is still water (if you must drink diet soda, try to keep it to no more than one a day). Or, as I just posted, try iced green tea, but brew your own and stay away from the green tea drinks that are full of sugar.

Drink Your Tea

A new study out of Athens Greece shows that drinking 3-4 cups of green tea a day will keep your vascular system healthy. This is extremely important as your vessels impact almost all aspects of your health. Now, I have heard it before -- you do not like green tea. Fortunately, there are flavored green teas that are great for brewing. (Or if you prefer it cold, brew it then add some ice and cool it down). I personally do not like regular green tea, but have found one that I have been able to get used to and now enjoy -- Republic of China Pomegranate Green Tea. I had to try several before I found one that I liked. By the way, there are also studies that show green tea to have a weight loss benefit -- although, the jury is still out on this one. So, schedule in some tea breaks throughout the day, and better yet, add a piece of fruit or some nuts to your tea break.

Speed a sluggish metabolism

The term “metabolism,” especially in terms of weight loss and gain, gets kicked around a lot. For many, this is an ambiguous term that is either blamed for weight gain (as in, “I have a slow metabolism”) or blamed for the ability of skinny people to eat all they want and stay skinny (as in they have a “fast metabolism”)! We all have a metabolism and what we want to do is keep it stoked so that it’s using fuel (food) at a good rate. Here are ways to actually “work out” and strengthen your metabolism to aim for the highly coveted “fast metabolism.”
- Eat every 3-4 hours (doesn't have to be a full meal but something)
- Aerobically exercise 30 minutes on most days (high enough intensity to break a sweat) and strength train 2-3 days a week (hard enough so your muscles feel fatigued)
- Increase the amount of protein and fiber in your diet -- beans and other legumes accomplish both
Other foods that may help boost metabolism:
- Green and oolong teas have been found to increase energy burned by about 3% and decrease body fat by 14%. Recommendation: 5 cups a day is the goal and it can be decaf.
- Spicy foods, like cayenne and hot peppers, have capsaicin thought to raise metabolic rate slightly. Recommendation: Whenever you can handle the heat.
- Caffeine in coffee, colas and energy drinks, is a stimulant and may increase metabolism slightly. Recommendation: Don't start downing a lot of caffeine but a cup of joe, especially before a workout, has been shown to increase endurance and make it feel less strenuous.