If you have put off pumping iron, get to it. According to experts, you burn calories faster after a strength-training session than you would after a cardio session. And researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that lifting weights 3 times a week for 25 weeks caused women to lose an average of 4 pounds of body fat.
The fat-busting benefits of green tea boil down to disease-fighting compounds called catechins. One study of 240 Japanese men and women found that when subjects drank green tea containing 583 milligrams of catechins per 12-ounce cup, they dropped more weight – and inches – than those who ingested tea containing only 96 milligrams. Max your results by steeping your bag of green tea as long as possible. The darker the hue of your brew (and how bitter it is), the more catechin-rich the cup.
A study published last year in the journal Hepatology found that feeding fructose-laced water to rats increased their risk of obesity. Ditch the artificially sweetened juices and sodas and get your fructose from fruit – a form that researchers say could be kinder to your waistline.
