What Are Raspberry Ketones?

With its unique fat burning potential only coming to light fairly recently, with TV’s favourite Health specialist Dr Oz bringing the hidden powers of raspberry ketones to the general public’s attention, raspberry ketones are the weight loss world’s best kept secret.

Raspberry ketone is a naturally-occurring phenolic compound that gives raspberries their distinctive smell and makes them so delicious and enjoyable to eat. Additional uses for raspberry ketone have been to add fragrance or flavour to certain cosmetics and perfumes but the most exciting discovery of all has been that the ketone compound raised the levels of adiponectin in the body.

Adiponectin is a protein hormone that is directly responsible for controlling the metabolism, regulation of glucose, helps to lower blood pressure and lower levels of body fat. For example, an individual with higher levels of adiponectin will be slimmer than those with lower levels of Adiponectin - a fact confirmed in clinical trials. Aside from helping to control obesity, it can also reduce the risk of certain health conditions that include; fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis.

How Do Raspberry Ketones Work?

Raspberry ketone has powerful fat burning capabilities. It forces the body to release more of the ‘stress’ hormone known as norepinephrine, this hormone stimulates the nervous system and blood supply which in turn kick starts the metabolism to speed the body’s natural fat burning processes. Raspberry ketone decreases the rate in which carbohydrates are taken in, boosting the fat burning process helping you to break down fat deposits, enabling you to lose weight more effectively and naturally.

For this reason it’s easy to see why raspberry ketones are now becoming a weight loss essential.

How Long Does It Take To See Weight Loss Results From Raspberry Ketone

The recommended safe daily amount for Raspberry Ketone supplements is 200mg. Depending on the supplement itself, many users of raspberry ketone begin to see weight loss results within a couple of weeks. 

Additional Raspberry Ketone Benefits

Increased Immune System

Raspberry Ketone increases the production of B and T cells (white blood cells) which helps to bolster the immune system helping to prevent illness.

Protects Against Free Radicals

Raspberry Ketones are rich with potent antioxidants that help to protect the body cells from harmful free radicals in the environment and its effects. This can also help to slow down the ageing process.

Alleviate Inflammation

Raspberry ketones can naturally ease and prevent muscular and rheumatic pain as they possess the same anti-inflammatory effects as drugs such as NSAID’s (e.g. aspirin) by lowering certain enzymes in the body that causes discomfort and pain with arthritic and other related conditions.

Helps To Replace Essential Fatty Acids

Raspberry ketones, when consumed regularly can help to replace essential fatty acids such as Omega-3 fatty acids in the body. Omega-3 is vital for healthy levels of growth hormones and helps to maintain a fully functioning and healthy brain.

5 Advantages of Meal Replacement Shakes

Meal replacement shakes have been a dieting option for many years, and more and more of us are now using them.  But what are the advantages of meal replacement shakes?  Can they really help you stick to a diet and lose weight?

Let's have a look at some of the reasons why these shakes could be a great option for your weight loss.

1.      Convenience

            One of the most useful things about meal replacement shakes is that they are             just so convenient and easy. 

            Fitting your diet into and around your lifestyle can be one of the biggest                         challenges of sticking to your diet.  It can start off fun, but after a week or two             you're tired of how trying to lose weight seems to be consuming  your whole                 life!

           Firstly there is the planning – thinking up exactly what you're going to eat                      and when.  Then there's finding recipes and making a shopping list of all the                  healthy ingredients you need to buy.  Next the regular trips to the shop to                      purchase all these ingredients (not forgetting the cost!), and another trip to                pick up the bits you forgot. 

          Finally you spend hours in the kitchen preparing  fruit and vegetables, cooking             healthy dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  All this effort and it only takes                you 5 minutes to eat it!

         Weight loss shakes can make all this so much easier – you just replace 2 of    your          daily meals with one of the shakes.  All you do is add a scoop of  powder to a                glass of milk and mix it.  Then it's ready to drink.  Simple!  And you can take back         all that planning, shopping and preparation time to do things you enjoy.

2.      Measured Calories
       Another big challenge with dieting is keeping track of how many calories we     eat.  We all understand that to lose weight you need to burn more calories  than you consume from food and drink.  But keeping track of everything you eat and knowing how many calories it contains can be difficult, tiresome        and time consuming.

         This is another benefit of meal replacement shakes – you know exactly how                   many calories you're consuming.  You're told on the package how much                      powder to use and how much milk, and how many calories that will contain.                No calories counting needed!

          EvoShake from Evolution Slimming contains just 222 calories per serving.  So             have a shake for your breakfast and a shake for your lunch, and that's just                    over a 3^rd of your daily recommended calories for dieting.  You can have 2                    small healthy snacks (a piece of fruit  or veg and houmous) and a proper                       dinner (lean meat or fish and vegetables is perfect).

3.                  A delicious, sweet, creamy treat

When you're dieting do you often find yourself getting fed up of salads and diet food and craving something sweet?  Would you do anything for some chocolate?  Or icecream?  And all those other things you know you shouldn't have?

Weight loss shakes can be that treat!  And you get to enjoy them twice a day.  Having a meal replacement shake is like having a thick milkshake, delicious and creamy to help satisfy those cravings you have.  And they come in a choice of flavours to keep things interesting.

The EvoShake has been trialled and taste tested to be the most delicious meal replacement shake you've tried.  And it comes in 3 flavours; Chocolate Delight, Delicious Vanilla and Strawberry Sensation.

4.                  No starving!

Meal replacement shakes are low calorie, but importantly are designed to keep you feeling full. 

A key ingredient of weight loss shakes is whey protein, and add to that the fact you're mixing it with milk, that's a good serving of protein. 

Protein is well known for keeping you feeling full longer, because it takes longer to digest than carbs.  And because of this you also don't get that after-dinner sugar rush and slump.

Plus because the shakes are calorie controlled, you can fit in a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon and not feel guilty!

5.                  Provide you with Nutrients

A final advantage of a good meal replacement shake is that it can help provide you with the nutrients you need.  And you can keep track of this much easier than trying to figure out what nutrients are in your meals.  Just check out the rear of the package to see exactly what vitamins and minerals you're getting.

The EvoShake has added nutrients to help make sure that you stay healthy while you're dieting.  All flavours have added A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, D3 AND E vitamins.  In fact just from your 2 meal replacement shakes you're getting at least 72% of your daily recommended amount of these vitamins (and some of them 100%).  That's got to be good news!

And there is one final benefit of meal replacement shakes.... they do help you lose weight!

Experts for the European Commission have looked into meal replacement shakes, and are happy that replacing 2 meals per day with a shake as part of a calorie controlled diet does help achieve weight loss.

So for an easy, tasty, nutritious way to lose weight choose EvoShake meal replacement shakes from Evolution Slimming.

How to use meal replacement shakes

Meal replacement or weight loss shakes are really easy to use as part of your diet.  As the name suggests you simply replace your normal meals with a meal replacement shake.  Studies have shown that when you combine this with a healthy, calorie controlled diet it can help you achieve your weight goals.

Most commonly people use meal replacement shakes to help them lose weight.  In this instance you want to replace 2 of your daily meals with a shake.  You might choose breakfast and lunch or breakfast and dinner, depending on what works best for you and fits in with your lifestyle.

Meal replacement shakes can also be used once you've achieved your target weight in order to help you maintain your weight and your new found body shape.  Instead of replacing 2 of your daily meals, you only need to replace 1 meal each day with a shake in order to help you maintain your weight.

Here's what a typical day could look like using a meal replacement shake for weight loss:

Breakfast	Chocolate meal replacement shake
Snack	Cup of blueberries
Lunch	Strawberry meal replacement shake
Snack	Carrot batons and low fat houmous
Dinner	Chicken breast, with stir fried vegetables and small portion of fresh egg noodles

Or

Breakfast	Banana meal replacement shake
Snack	Small apple cut into wedges with a couple of cubes of cheese
Lunch	Jacket potato with tuna fish, low fat mayo and mixed leaves
Snack	Home-made kale crisps
Dinner	Chocolate meal replacement shake

It's a good idea to make sure that you drink plenty of water throughout the day as well.  This will keep you hydrated and flush out any toxins in your body.  It will also help to suppress your appetite and stop you feeling tempted to add extra snacks into your diet.  If you get bored of just drinking water, green tea with mint or low calorie fruit teas are another excellent choice.

One of the best things about meal replacement shakes is how easy and convenient they are.  All you need to do is add one scoop of your chosen flavour to 200ml of cold semi-skimmed milk.  Give it a good shake to mix it up and your meal is ready!

Find out about our recommended meal replacement shake here - plus get a free 7 day diet plan to give you loads more meal and snack ideas.  (on the Evolution Slimming website)

What Type Of Cardio Is Best For Fat Loss?

Cardiovascular exercise will help you lose fat from your body. You must perform cardiovascular exercise regularly to get better results, and you can even do other activities, such as playing with your children, home improvement, gardening, daily house work and gym. The main thing is that you must stick to your workout plan so as to get rid of your belly fat.

Here are some of the best aerobics exercises or cardio for fat loss:

Running

Running is the best way to lose excess fat, as it involves all the lower parts of your body, including soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, hamstrings, hip flexers and quadriceps. It helps burn a large number of calories and liquidates your body fat. Further, it also helps improve your athletic performance and fitness.

Rowing

Rowing on a machine is the best cardio exercise as it involves all the major muscles of your body. It has a higher compared to any other cardio exercise. It burns around 840 calories per hour.

Skipping

Jumping Rope or skipping provides a good aerobic workout. Skipping involves a great amount of focus, patience, skill and strength.

Walking

Walking burns 350 to 400 calories per hour which is much less than running and skipping. However it is a low intensity exercise that is suitable for all.

Cycling

It is generally said that 15 minutes of cycling is equal to 45 minutes of walking. Therefore cycling has more intensity than walking. It liquidates 600 calories per hour. For body builders, cycling proves to be a boon as it involves all the body parts.

Swimming

Swimming is as effective as cycling and burns the same amount of calories as cycling. It provides a total body workout. It improves athletic performance and fitness.

HIIT

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It is one of the newer and more effective ways to burn body fat. With this technique, you can burn more calories in less gym time. It suppresses your insulin levels and raises the metabolic rate.

Things to Remember:

These are the different types of cardio exercises to fat. But, keep in mind that while adopting these techniques, you have to follow certain guidelines which are as follows:

Ø  The intensity of these exercises should be gradually increased to prevent injury types of exercises should be taken slowly. They should not be started abruptly.

Ø  Do the exercise according to your capacity.

Ø  Drink water before doing exercise.

Ø  Do not consume food immediately before doing exercise.

Ø  Ensure you have a nutritious, balaced diets while you are training

Can You Trust A Weight Loss Chart?

As you go about your weight loss program plan, one thing that you’ll want to consider is whether a weight loss chart is really the best way to measure how you’re doing with your program. Many people use weight loss charts as they assess their progress and how they’re doing, and it can really control their emotions.

If they see that they are now in the ‘normal weight’ range, they get very excited –thinking they’re doing everything perfectly. If they’re in the overweight category however, frustration will be apparent and they may give up entirely, thinking they’ll just stay overweight permanently. But there are some very negative things that can come about because of using a weight loss chart. Let’s take a look at what these are so that you can form a complete picture in your mind on how they may be throwing you off.

They Encourage Fast Weight Loss

The first problem with weight loss charts is that they can encourage you to go to extremes with your diet plan if you’re going to aim to see as fast of fat loss as possible.

Basically, if you see that you’re in the overweight category and have 15 pounds to lose to get to normal weight, that gives you a firm amount of weight to shed and you may think the faster you can do this, the better. You definitely do not want to be classified as ‘overweight’.

But remember, fast weight loss doesn’t always mean safe or healthy weight loss. When you lose the weight too quickly, very often it’ll come back on just as fast as it left.

A slow and steady approach is a far better way.

They Don’t Factor Muscle In

The second reason why a weight loss chart isn’t going to be ideal is because they don’t factor in muscle tissue.If you’ve been building a high amount of muscle through intense workout sessions or are just naturally muscular as you’ve been athletic your entire life, the weight loss chart will not account for this.

In fact, it may place you as overweight even though you actually have very little body fat on your body.

For these people, it’s just not going to work for them and won’t be a good idea to use.  If you feel like you have a high percentage of muscle on your body and that is why you’re so heavy, a far better plan would be to have a body fat test taken instead. That is really going to tell you the complete picture of what’s going on there.

They May Not Be Right For Teens

Finally, last but not least, if you’re a teen or a parent of a teen who is using the chart for them, realize that teens do grow at different rates and it can take a bit of time for their body weight to normalize to the weight they will naturally be at as an adult.

For this reason, avoid using the weight loss charts for teens. If your teen or you are slightly heavy, be patient. Let your body finish its growth process and then you can focus on dieting if need be.

Instead, concentrate on eating right at this time and being active. That will be the far better approach.

So there you have the top points that you must think about as you go about your diet and consider your method of assessments. Overall, weight loss charts typically are not the best approach to be using.