Change Your Brain Now

One frustrating thing about trying to lose weight is the snail’s pace at which the pounds seem to drop. Then there’s the harsh reality that the more weight you lose, the harder your body fights to hold on to the calories it gets and the fewer calories it burns. That’s usually about the time you hit the infamous weight-loss plateau  and start losing steam. But what if you could turbo-charge your weight-loss efforts without a lot of sacrifice? We’ve come up with easy ways to boost your metabolism, or the rate at which you burn calories. We’ve also thrown in ideas for cranking up the calorie burn of your workout — without making it longer. Taken together, these tips should be more than enough to shift your weight loss out of neutral and move it full speed ahead again. Still, it’s important that you maintain a realistic expectation of what’s considered “healthy” weight loss. About a pound or two a week is ideal; much more than that is unlikely to last long-term. 1. Sip gree...

Burn-calories Women with great bodies have a dirty little secret. Sure, they work out and eat well — but they also sneakily burn hundreds more calories than everyone else. From the outside, they don't seem to be doing anything particularly strenuous. "You wouldn't believe how many straightforward ways there are to burn calories," says Lauren Slayton, director of foodtrainers.net. "But it's easy to miss the opportunities if you're not looking for them." Research has shown that swapping sedentary habits, such as watching television, for pretty much anything that doesn't involve sitting down can make a world of difference. "Most people don't realize that a little extra effort can yield great results," says Steven Wheelock, a trainer at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts. The experts we consulted explain how to take every opportunity to flex your muscles, boost your heart rate, and eat foods that yield maximum fullness for mi...