Top 5 Summer Fruits

Summer is a great time to indulge in fruits and desserts. Be sure that these fruits are part of your summer diet plan!

Here are the top 5 summer fruits you should be loading up on!

3 Fruits to Eat for Any Diet

1. Apple

   Like they say, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". That saying came from a family saying in 1866, which goes like this, "Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread." And it couldn't be truer. 

   Apples are full of fibre, as much as 5 grams, which can combat various illness like intestinal disorders, Alzheimer's and hemorrhoids. It's also packed with vitamin A and C to boost your immune system.

   It's also a great food for diabetics because it slowly releases sugar into the bloodstream. The pectin from apples can also reduce cholesterol levels by decreasing the insulin secretion.

   Plus, it detoxifies the body and cleanses the entire digestive track, purifying the body from heavy metals like lead and mercury. It also prevents tooth decay by getting rid of bacteria when chewed. Doctors say that it strengthens the heart, prevents kidney stones, reduces skin diseases and even fight cancer!

   Alongside to its myriad of health benefits, apples are acidic and juicy, which helps you feel full long afterwards. According to a Brazilian study, eating an apple before a meal helped women lose 33% more weight than those who didn't.* That's because 25% of an apple's volume is pure air. In that sense, it's a true powerfood!

    

   

   2. Banana 

   I am a huge fan of bananas, because they are so filling that it could be a meal replacement in of itself. One time I ate 8 of these on a super-long bus ride, and felt great afterwards! 

   Contrary to popular belief, eating bananas does not make you fat. They provide a substantial boost of energy - 3 small bananas can give you enough energy to last through a 90 minute workout! 

   Bananas can combat various illnesses, like cardiovascular diseases through its potassium-packed body, anemia, and blood pressure. The potassium in bananas help to promote bone mass and counter the negative effects of high-salt diets which is damaging for bones. Banana's natural tryptophan helps to combat depression by converting itself into serotonin, the happy serum.

   Ladies, during your time of the month, eat a banana - its vitamin B6 helps to regular blood glucose level to help you get through the worst of it. Plus, bananas actually make you smarter - a research with schoolchildren showed that eating a banana a day boosts brain power and makes students more alert at school. 

   As for weight loss, bananas help you digest by restoring normal bowel action. So the next time you want to go potty, don't take a laxative, eat a banana!

   

 3. Blueberry 

These little dudes pack all the antioxidant kick you need to jumpstart your day. Its phytonutrients prevents early aging, heat disease, cancer and age-related blindness and memory loss. Plus, it prevents urinary tract infections with the natural epicatechins inside which keep bacteria from clinging onto the bladder walls. Its

Great as a snack on its own, in your oatmeal, or in a powershake, blueberries is your one-stop towards a healthier and slimmer body.

 

*Courtesy of http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/10-reasons-to-eat-an-apple-a-day

Powershake Your Way to Weight Loss

Recently for my wedding, I received two Juice Extractors. Not one - two. I figured this must have been a sign to lose some weight.

According to the instruction manual, you can put a whole apple in it and crank out the juice. Well, I didn't want to eat the core as well, but thankfully there is a core mesh filtering system that prevents the core from being juiced as well. 

And it's really easy to use - all you need are some veggies and fruits. 

On my first try, I juiced one orange and a cucumber. When the orange juice came out, I was surprised as how little much could be pumped out with one large orange! But the flavor was so fresh, and it was so frosty and creamy! SO much better than the orange juice you could get in grocery stores.

Then came the cucumber. Just a note, you should drop it in slowly, or else large chunks wouldn't get processed and go straight to the waste bin.

Drop it in slowly, and don't be afraid of the loud cranky waste filter - it's not going to hurt you. 

The juice came out a nice transparent green, and along with the orange it tasted quite healthy. The cucumber dulls down the orange a bit, but adds more water content to the shake.

I didn't need to add any more extras like milk or bananas because it was pretty filling. Just make sure you don't gulp it down all at once, because you will get the hiccups (like I did)!

Other combinations that I've tried and approved are:

1. Orange power - 3 carrots, one orange, one grapefruit
2. Fruits Frenzy - one apple, 1/2 cup blueberries, 
3. Tropical Trends - 1/2 cup of pineapple chunks, one mango, one orange

I got a ton of inspirations of juicing strategies from this awesome book!

After a week of juicing, I couldn't stop. Lost about 2 pounds during the weekdays and then gained it back on weekends when I didn't juice =)

Lose Weight, Without the Exercise

That's right ladies and gents, there IS a way that you can lose weight without ANY exercise. No more laboring over treadmills and toiling on workout machines. No more muscle pain and physiotherapy from over-worked ligaments. Best of all, you can save a lot of $ on gym memberships, home work-out equipments, and weight loss protein shakes.

Of course, as with anything, there is a caveat to this - you can't just move around without doing anything. It's just that you don't need to do extra exercise on top of why you've already been doing everyday (i.e. walking to work).

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This all started one summer when I wanted to see what would happen if I ate only veggies - namely, salads - all day and all night. So I researched on all the different types of salads that I could easily make at home - Caesar, Cobb, garden, taco. I stuck with the regular lettuce leafs and arugula as the base, and added whatever fixings I wanted - like tomato, cucumber, carrots.

I also added in some extra fixings like raisins, cranberry, and sunflower seeds for extra texture and crunch. For protein I'd add in some nuts or some shaved Parmesan on top.

For the salad dressing, I'd actually make my own with vinegraitte. Occasionally I'd treat myself to a Thousand Island dressing (which is high in calories but what the heck, once in a while is fine).

Then, just shake it up inside a lunch container, and voila! The best thing about it was that I could eat however much I wanted without gaining weight! But usually, I'd get pretty full from simply chewing on the leafs alone.

Of course, you still do get hungry during the course of the day. So for snacks, I'd munch on a bag of carrots (so much so that I turned slightly orange for a period of time).

After a month of my all-salad no-extra-exercise diet, I lost 10 pounds. That's right, 10 pounds from essentially taking out the carbs from my diet. And the best part was that I kept it off.

That's not to say of course that you can't take in any carbs - I would eat some carbs in the morning like buttered croissant or bread with jam. So the downside is that yes, you will free energy-deprived at times, but the upside? 10 pounds and no exercise!

If I had to do it again, I'd probably increase my lean meat intake and opt in for some exercise to maintain a healthy metabolism. Read this article for a holistic way of weightloss!

My 7-Day Crash Diet

We've all been in those situations before - your graduation/wedding/big event is in a week, and you've got to shed some weight to fit into that dress/tux/slim-fit garment. 

Being a performer, I need to maintain my weight on a regular basis. It's really easy to gain weight, especially on tour, where you need to have that extra sugar rush to perform. But at the end of the day, I still need to fit into my costume, so what did I do?

Today I'm going to share with you my secrets to losing 10 pounds in a week. That's right, 10 pounds in 7 days.

First of all, be warned - there's no easy way to do this. I.e. Hypnosis, grapefruit diets, homeopathic remedies simply don't work. Like the adage goes, "No pain, no gain". You've got to have a mentality of "I need to lose these pounds now!" imprinted in your head, at least for the entire duration of your diet. And DON'T reward yourself for your "hard work" until you've really shed the pounds.

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And now - my secret crash diet to losing 10 pounds in a 1 week. Are you ready?

For one week, all I ate were basically fruits and yogurt. The only carbs I'd take in were at breakfast, where I'd have only one piece of toast with a dollop of jam. And a cup of black coffee, with absolutely no sugar or cream.

Around 10-11am, I'd have a little snack with 10 pieces of cashews, almonds and walnuts for some protein. For lunch, a nice Greek or Kefir yogurt. Then I'd snack on 2-3 fruits like apples, blueberries, banana, orange, or peach until 5pm. 5pm was my cutoff time to eating anything.

As for exercise, I'd usually take a walk in the mid-afternoon around 3-4pm to maintain my metabolism and circulation. I've found that you really don't need intense exercise to keep your weight down, because that usually gains lots of muscle mass which is hard to lose.

So that's my simple yet effective diet. I'd like to remind you though that you WILL get hungry - maybe even pass out - after 5, so it's a good idea to drink lots of hot water to keep you hydrated and make you feel full.

Also, willpower is important - by the middle of week when you start feeling like you can't do it, is exactly when you should give yourself that extra push to keep on going, because that's when your body is becoming weak from losing all that weight. 

Finally, once you've lost all that weight, you've got to remember - it's your job to keep it off. (I can help you with that, just subscribe to my newsletter to find out how!) 

Love Food Lose Weight

Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? That's the paradox that has been my motto for the past 15 years. 

A little bit about myself - I'm a professional dancer who is a foodie at heart. I've had to maintain a body weight of 110-115 pounds. The problem is that I'm 5 ft 7" with a medium-built, pear-shaped body. And I gain weight pretty easily. Obviously, these are not the ideal conditions for a professional dancer. 

So over the years I've learnt some tips and tricks on losing weight that I'd like to share with you. You see, weight loss is not as hard as you think - what you DON'T need is to spend tons of cash on useless diet plans or weight-loss pills.

All you need is a plan, willpower and my blog. The rest as they say, is history.