The Energy Drink Blog

Television shows like the biggest loser and others have shown that it is possible to achieve any weight loss goal. While some people may only have five or ten pounds to lose, other may have 100 or more pounds to whittle off their frame. Even though this may seem like an impossible task, it can be done. So what is the best way to lose weight effectively?

First, writing down what your weight loss goal is, is the first step to accomplishing the goal. It was once said that if you write down a goal, you own that goal. Writing this number down, honestly, is the first step to accomplishing it.

Second, break down the larger number into smaller more achievable goals. Staring a number of 50 pounds or more can be very deterring. Incremental goals of five pounds are much more realistic, and accomplishable. Plus, since it is possible to lose up to three pounds a week safely, these small achievements can be big motivators.

Third, remember to eat. Dieting is not about starvation and deprivation, in fact it is about the opposite. Fueling your body with smaller, nutritious meals throughout the day as opposed to eating fewer, larger meals is also critical. Achieving as little fluctuation in blood sugar levels is necessary to burn calories most efficiently. A variety of foods should be included in the diet.

Fourth, exercise! No matter what the activity is, just as long as it is activity, is important to weight loss. Burning more calories than is consumed is what drops the pounds. Metabolism can also be boosted with a diet pill.

Did you know that about 20 percent of the calories an individual consumes in a day are derived from drinks?  It is often over looked that the beverages that we consume in a day also contain calories, but truth is they do, and they are partly to blame for the added weight we carry around.

Starting with breakfast, most people drink coffee, juice or milk. These are all culprits of high hidden calories. For example, while plain black coffee has less than 5 calories, adding cream, and sugar can greatly spike the caloric value to an otherwise nonexistent calorie count. Just by switching from whole milk or cream to skim milk in your coffee, many calories can be cut.  Similarly, juice is often loaded with sugar and one glass can have upwards of 200 calories a glass! This is an important wake up call for those who are trying to lose weight.

Moving on in the day, caffeinated sodas are a diet disaster. Loaded with sugar these drinks can contain about 200 calories per serving. Many people realize this and have made the switch to diet soda. While diet soda may be the lesser of two evils, research shows that diet soda drinkers are 34% more likely than those who don’t drink it to develop a metabolic disorder. Also, it has been studied that diet soda drinkers are likely to have a high craving for sweets and eat more than those who do not. For most people, a diet drink and a bag of chips constitutes a lunch, however a whey protein shake is a much better alternative, as it send signals of fullness to the brain and is relatively low in calories with lots of nutrition.

Finishing out the beverage intake for the day, some people like to finish off the day with a drink. No matter if the drink is hard liquor, beer or wine, these beverages contain anywhere from 90 to approximately 200 calories per serving. This is another sneaky source of extra calories which lead to weight gain.

The best way to lose weight and cut out calorie intake from beverages is to drink water. Water can be flavored with many items such as citrus and herbs to add some flavor and depth without adding calories. Even hoodia extract can be added to water to help suppress the appetite.

Creating a culture of its own, the Atkins Diet is based on the concepts of low carbohydrate intake. When the Atkins Diet’s popularity spiked at the beginning of the millennia, approximately one in eleven adults in America were participating in the latest weight loss craze. With the population so fascinated with Atkins, many companies scrambled to market to this new weight loss craze.  

Misconceptions about the diet have put a skewed picture of the diet in the eyes of the public. To begin with some background information, the Atkins diet was formulated based on an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. Robert Atkins. This diet was a response by Atkins to control the weight he gained during medical school and medical training. The diet is broken down into a four step plan that participants flow through when certain weight loss goals are met.

The Atkins Diet is broken down into a four step plan: induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance.  While the diet drastically restricts the carbohydrate intake in the induction phase, it is often overlooked that once weight loss is achieved, carbohydrate intake is gradually introduced back into the diet, thus opponents of the diet have labeled it as the “all-you-can-eat” steak” diet.

How Atkins Really Works

As previously mentioned, Atkins is a four step process. Step one, the induction phase limits carbohydrate intake to 20 net grams per day.  During this phase, unlimited amounts of shellfish, meat and eggs are allowed.  It is important to note that 15 grams of carbohydrates must come from green vegetables. With such a presence of protein and lack of carbohydrates, the appetite is also suppressed, much similar to how the appetite is suppressed with Hoodia Gordonii.

The second phase of Atkins begins once a desirable amount of weight has been lost. Ongoing weight loss, as it is know as, involves the reintroduction of foods into the diet at a slow pace. Food groups that one does not intend to eat can be eliminated altogether.

Moving along to the third stage is pre-maintenance. This is the stage where the maximum number of carbohydrates that can be consumed without gaining weight is determined. This is done by adding 5 net carbohydrates per week.

Finally the fourth stage of Atkins is maintenance. This is the stage where healthy eating has become a lifestyle. This can be done by having someenergy drinks for breakfast, and sensible dinners and snack.

While Atkins may not be the optimal solution for everyone, others have found it to be the best way to lose weight.