The winter time remains one of the most exciting times of the year since it is open to many fun activities in the snow. Skiing, snowboarding, and sledding can all prove to be fun ways to burn calories. Some may not look at these particular activities from the perspective of providing a great way to lose weight even though they definitely are.

Really, anything that involves physical movement and can increase heart rate can be considered an excellent means of losing weight. These activities can certainly deliver in this regard. In fact, cross country skiing is considered one of the absolute all-time best methods of burning calories.

It is also possible to burn more calories by upping the intensity level of these activities. This can be further achieved thanks to the cold winter weather which certainly aids in speeding up metabolism significantly.

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Some days you might notice that breakfast is the only meal you eat at home.  This means that your breakfast should be loaded with good amounts of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Most importantly, your meal should also contain some of the following:

Milk and Milk Products

From this group choose low-fat foods like a tall glass of skim or 1 percent milk or a cup of low-fat yogurt.  As an added bonus you can easily add these ingredients into a blender along with some fresh fruit to create some amazing and healthy breakfast drinks.  Low-fat cheese can also be considered as a serving from this group.

Meat, Fish, Poultry and Alternates

Once more, choose a low quantity of fat food and be bold. The egg isn’t the only protein food that you have to place on the breakfast table, even though it’s a popular favorite for many families.  It’s important that you watch your egg-yolk intake because of the cholesterol content, but you can easily extend your intake by incorporating plenty of egg whites, particularly in omelet’s and scrambled eggs.

Bacon and sausages should be eaten in moderation as well.  You should keep an eye on the fat content of the bacon as well as the sausages.

Side bacon is pretty much saturated fat, salt, and nitrites.  Back, or Canadian, bacon is a much healthier and leaner choice.  It’s okay to eat this bacon occasionally.  The same principle can be applied to sausages, which are high in fat.  A great cooking tip to know when you’re cooking these meats is to cook them so that the fat drips off.

Have you ever tried fish for breakfast?

If you want some great fish with Omega 3 fatty-acids try different fish like kipper, or albacore tuna.  Combined with a thin layer of cheese, or a whole-wheat pita they make an excellent breakfast meal.

Breads and Cereals

As always choose the whole-grain breads and cereals whenever you can.  If that’s not an option your second best choice would be to get the enriched versions of refined breads.

Here’s a quick word of word of advice when you’re selecting muffins, quick breads, and breakfast pastries.  That mouth watering Danish that you see in the cake section is probably overflowing with fats as well as sugar.  This can also be true with many store-bought granolas and for the ridiculous amount of butter you might be tempted to smear on that healthy piece of whole-wheat bread.

Remember, breakfast is supposed to rejuvenate and give you loads of energy for your day.  Consuming lots of fat and sugars will get your day off to a sluggish start.

Fruits and Vegetables

A piece of fresh fruit is the supreme choice from this food group.  Raw fruit is actually better than juice because of the fiber that you’ll get.  If you really can’t start your day without a glass of juice then it’ll be your second best choice.  Dried fruits are great to add as toppings to hot or cold cereals, especially for women who are trying to boost their iron intake.

Marci Lall is a Toronto Personal Trainer who helps women increase their metabolism and burn fat fast. If you would like to book your complimentary 1 week trial with him please CLICK HERE. (**Spaces are limited**)

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1.  Eat often

Continually eating healthy foods will keep your body working to burn more calories. Instead of eating 3 big meals a day, break them up so that you’re eating 6 “mini meals” throughout your day. You’ll be able to eat less and never be hungry or starving. To top it off your energy levels will skyrocket because you’re eating throughout your day.

2.  Lift weights

I know…many of you don’t like to lift weights. But I can assure you lifting weights and getting big and bulky is just a myth. Once you start to add a bit of resistance training into your routine you’ll decrease the amount of fat and increase the long lean muscle in your body.

FYI – lean muscle burns fat!

3.  Exercise daily

Working out in Toronto once a month wont do you any good. To see results you have to put in a decent effort. This means that you’ve got to be doing physical exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes to an hour. Often women come up to me and say…

“But Marci I do a lot of house work, and chores around the house, and I’m staying active.”

This is a perfect of example of what the difference between physical exercise and physical activity is. In the end physical exercise is what we’re looking for, you’ve got to take your body to a new level of stress for it to change.

4.  Lay off the processed foods

See all that food in your fridge and cupboards? How many of them have glucose or sucrose in their ingredient list. Eating refined foods will damage your body in ways you couldn’t even imagine. Most of the time they’ll put you on a sugary roller coaster that will leave you feeling energized to sluggish within a few hours. Instead of eating the “fake foods”, go for the raw fruits and veggies instead.

5.  Save time with circuit training

Busy with kids or the family? Can’t squeeze in that hour to workout at a gym in Toronto? No worries you don’t need an hour anyways. You can easily fit an hour’s workout into 30 minutes. Instead of taking a break after you’ve finished one exercise, move to the other exercise immediately. This is going to keep your heart rate up and make your muscles work even harder. 30 minutes of this and you’ll be good to go!

6.  Drink water

Drinking water is essential for hydration, but it plays another important role. It can actually help you lose weight. Water has no calories, which means that you can bring down your caloric intake by consuming more water than juice or any other beverage.

7.  Get up and move at work

Sometimes you don’t have control of this, but if you can get up at work and stretch your legs for a couple of minutes then do it.  Sitting at the computer all day won’t help you achieve the weight loss results you want. Take a walk to the water cooler, even if you’re not thirsty. Find reasons to just walk around every hour or so to get your blood flowing and muscles staying limber.

8.  Walk, walk, and walk

Walking in Toronto can be an extraordinary exercise. But I’m not talking about walking in the mall, or down the street. I’m talking about walking up hills or on the beach. Also, your pace must be fast enough so that your heart rate can increase and you actually feel like you’re getting a work out – and yes it should feel like work.

Marci Lall is a Toronto Personal Trainer who helps women increase their metabolism and burn fat fast.  If you would like to book your complimentary 1 week trial with him please CLICK HERE. (**Spaces are limited**)

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1. As you exercise it regulates your brain’s appetite control center, which is called the “appestat”. The appestat is what controls your hunger pangs. If your exercise level is poor then this will cause your appetite to increase by stimulating the appestat to make you hungry. On the other hand exercising slows down the appestat, which decreases your hunger pangs.

2. When you exercise in Toronto your blood redirects away from your stomach and goes towards your muscles that are working. As you circulate more blood around your body and away from your stomach your appetite will be reduced.

3. If you go for a walk anywhere in Toronto at a moderate pace your body will burn predominately fat rather than carbohydrates. As you walk for a longer period of time (30 minutes) your body burns fat and does not drop your blood sugar quickly.

On the other hand vigorous exercise and having a very low calorie diet both drops your blood sugar quickly, and it’s this same low blood sugar that fires up your appetite and makes you hungry.

Walking, on the other hand, is a more moderate type of exercise and as a result burns fat slowly, rather than carbohydrates, which burn out quickly. This results in the blood sugar remaining regular. And when the blood sugar remains level, you do not feel hungry.

4. Exercising also helps to increase your resting basal metabolic rate (BMR.). Your basal metabolic rate is basically the calories your body burns at rest in order to generate energy.

When you go on a calorie-restricted diet, your BMR slows down. This is because your body thinks your not putting any calories in, you must be starving so your body prevents it self from burning any calories and stores what it has as fat so you don’t die from starvation.

This is one major reason you don’t continue to lose weight on a calorie restriction diet. If, however, you are blending exercise such as walking with your diet, then the walking that you do will keep your BMR elevated even though you’re dieting.

Bottom Line: You’ll be less hungry and burn more calories when you walk every day.

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Be a part of one of Toronto’s newest – and truly distinctive – women’s races. The inaugural Toronto Women’s 5k will take place Saturday August 29, 2009 at Sunnybrook Park at 8:00am

It’s exciting to announce yet ANOTHER new women’s running event — T.O. Women’s 5k (www.towomens5k.com) brought to you by the same great team that brought you the Toronto Women’s Half Marathon.

This is an event like no other. Grab a drink at the Firefighter’s Water Station. Savour the post run chocolate. Double your fun by running with your sister, daughter, mom or best friend. Great technical shirts for everyone. 

Whether you are a competitive, recreational or newbie runner, this is the race for you! 

On your own, with one friend or with 50 friends, don’t miss this race!

See you on Aug. 29th.

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