14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, we were talking about ways to speed up your metabolism and increase the number of calories you burn every day. I mentioned exercising (a brisk, 20 to 30 minute walk every morning should do the trick), strength training to build muscle and drinking caffeinated green and black teas for an extra input of antioxidants. We'll go on talking about additional strategies that help us ensure that our bodies metabolize calories and we don't gain any unwanted weight - on the contrary.
One way to keep our bodies fit and stay slim and toned is to eat smaller meals at regular (shorter) intervals. The theory behind this strategy is that when we eat, we fire up what could be called the "human digestion machine" - in other words, our gastrointestinal tract starts processing the food we ingest and absorbing beneficial nutrients, and the whole process burns extra calories (think of it as starting an engine). Most of the diets and eating plans out there recommend that we eat smaller helpings of everything and exercise portion control - so really, we have nothing to lose by eating small.
The next calorie-burning trick in the book is not in any way new: don't skip breakfast. A growing number of studies show that a hearty, healthy breakfast is the best way to keep your weight under control and get enough energy to keep you kicking throughout the day. The fact is, when we skip breakfast, we tend to eat more calories by the end of the day - which, of course, is not good news.
Finally, another (slightly surprising) strategy for burning extra calories is drinking a lot of water. "Just about everything you call on your body to do burns calories, including absorbing and utilizing water while maintaining fluid balance (sometimes by excreting excess)," one expert tells WebMD. The good news is that drinking 2 liters of water may help you burn nearly 100 extra calories in one single day (which means over 2,500 calories every month), in addition to keeping you fully hydrated and allowing your kidneys to function properly. Perfect win-win situation, right?