Fat burners: Top 20 fat burning tips

Triggering your body's fat burning ability is not a herculean task. There are ample ways to perk up your weight loss efforts. Mike Jackson - Nutritional Consultant and Physique Transformation Specialist gives 20 best ways on how to lose unwanted body fat. 

Fat Burning Tip # 1: Run everyday 

Running is one of the simplest ways to burn fat easily. Every day running not only helps to burn fat but also boost your metabolism, so that your body keeps on burning calories and melting. 

Fat Burning Tip # 2: Sleep well 

Efficient sleep every day is another important thing to burn fat easily. Improper sleeping habits can ruin your entire efforts to lose fats, as it produces more ghrelin and thus triggers cravings for sugar and other fat-building foods. Besides improper sleeping can also alter your hormone production that can cause belly fat. 

Fat Burning Tip # 3: Sip on green tea 

Sipping at least two cups of green tea, will not only help to burn fat but also reduce your risk on developing cancer. Green tea is rich in catechins, which helps boost the level of metabolism speeding brain chemicals - norepinephrine, this further boosts your metabolism and helps in burning calories. 

Fat Burning Tip # 4: Load up on protein 

To get your desired lean muscle body, load up on your protein intake. Fill your diet with serving of 3 ounces of lean meat, nuts, low-fat yoghurt, to every meal and snack. Besides a protein rich diet will also help you to stay full for a longer duration and thus help to curb your food cravings. 

Fat Burning Tip # 5: Avoid alcohol 

In your journey to burn fat, stay away from alcohol, because consuming even a glass of alcohol will invest approximately 90 calories in your body and make your fat loss task even more difficult.

Fat Burning Tip # 6: Take the stairs 

Take up the simplest things in your fat burning journey i.e. skip the elevator and take up stairs. This easy mode will help your burn fat in a hurry, without many efforts. 

Fat Burning Tip # 7: Eat Less, but Don't Starve 

Consuming fewer than 1000 calories a day tells your body to start storing food and slowing metabolism to prepare for starvation. This may help you lose some initial weight, but as soon as you start consuming a healthy portion of calories again, you will gain it all back. 

You will also be completely drained of energy. When your body stores nutrients, you don't have anything left to burn for energy. Decreasing your caloric intake is important for weight loss, but don't take it too far. Instead, eat healthier foods with lower calorie counts that fill you up and leave you energised. 

Fat Burning Tip # 8: Keep your dinner the smallest of the day 

In order to burn body fat effectively, keep your evening meal the smallest of all. You should be eating your smallest meals in the evening and eating your largest meals in the middle of your day.

Fat Burning Tip # 9: Love fishes 

Most types of fishes are loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, which help in wide variety of ways, including burning quick fat. So add all types of fishes in your diet and experience the full range of benefits. 

Fat Burning Tip # 10: Choose solid rather than juices 

If you want to burn fat, then choose apple rather than apple juice. However, juices are good for health, but they are not good if fat burning goal is in your mind. Having a fruit is more beneficial than drinking juice because, this will help to fill you up more efficiently and you will be ingesting far fewer calories and carbs. 

Fat Burning Tip # 11: Eat the right foods 

Your diet also has a lot to do with your metabolic rate. Eating a well-balanced diet ensures you have the nutrients necessary to properly process and regulate incoming carbs. 

Protein, for example, is an important part of your diet. Calcium is another area to watch for. Calcium-rich foods actually help the body metabolise fat more efficiently. 

Fat Burning Tip # 12: Keep your meals small 

Eating to stuff your stomach can ruin your fat loss plans. Eat not more than 600 calories per meal, if you want to lose fat successfully. Keep your meals small as far as possible when it comes to portion and numbers. 

Fat Burning Tip # 13: Keep eating at regular intervals 

If you want to lose, fat then instead of skipping meals, eat meals at regular intervals in small portion size. Aim to eat at least 4 to 6 small meals daily. 

Fat Burning Tip # 14: Add healthy fats to your diet 

Aim to achieve a diet rich in good fats, as it helps to burn fat quickly. Consumption of monounsaturated fat rich foods like olives and avocados, not only helps to lower your bad cholesterol but also make your fat loss goal successful. 

Fat Burning Tip # 15: Drink plenty of water 

In addition to a balanced diet, you should also be drinking plenty of water. Cold water changes the body's internal temperature. As your body, works to heat it, your metabolic rate increases and more calories are burned. 

Fat Burning Tip # 16: Avoid being a couch potato 

Being a couch potato will not do anything good for you, it will just increase your waistline. Instead, try some activity like cleaning your house or taking your pet for a walk. 

Fat Burning Tip # 17: Try low GI foods 

Add lots of low-GI foods in your diet, to burn fat. Besides, don't eliminate carb from your completely, instead, cut it gradually, but make sure you are only cutting bad carbs to have great fat-burning results. 

Fat Burning Tip # 18: Add interval training in your schedule 

Sticking with the same exercise routine day in and day out won't just make you bored, it stagnates your metabolism. Keep things fresh with interval training. Interval training involves changing the intensity of your workout throughout each session. For example, if you walk for fitness, try jogging for one minute every five minutes. On a bicycle, shift into a higher gear for one minute every five minutes. If you're a swimmer, try speeding up every other length. 

Fat Burning Tip # 19: Avoid sugar 

Maintain distance with your sugar cravings by filling yourself with protein, veggies and whole grains. Replace sugar with healthy sweet options like cinnamon, this will help to stabilise your blood sugar level and burn more fat. 

Fat Burning Tip # 20: Choose a sport 

If you want to burn fat, in a fun way then pick up a sport. Playing sport is one of the best way to burn fat, in no time. Playing a sport involves cardio and lots of non-linear movement (jumping, back pedalling, side stepping) making it healthier than straight jogging. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/fitness/Fat-burners-Top-20-fat-burning-tips/articleshow/20856388.cms

Hit the Weight-Loss Bull's-Eye

Is your quest to shed those extra pounds on target or way off the mark? We asked MF weight-loss adviser Christopher Mohr, Ph.D.,R.D., to weigh in on what works and what doesn't.

On Target

Drink More Water
It'll flush away sodium, which bloats you. You'll also be less likely to down high-calorie beverages. People often underestimate how important hydration is when it comes to losing weight.

Cut Calories
You'll never lose weight until you change your diet. Americans have grown accustom to large portions at the dinner table. The bottom line is you've got to take in fewer calories than you are burning each day. Period.

Running Intervals
Ever notice how sprinters have extremely lean, toned bodies? Sure, they spend half the day training on the track, but even the average person can greatly benefit from 10-20 minutes of interval training each day. There's no better way to burn off fat.

Fill Up On Fiber
Fiber allows you to make the most of the food you eat, because it keeps you full longer than any other food. Load up on lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains every day.

Pop a Multivitamin
They can fill in gaps in your diet but don't expect them to work miracles. You still need to rely on a nutritious diet in order to maintain healthy metabolism.

Off the Mark

Skip Breakfast
The morning dash to get shower, dressed and out the door usually results in you skipping the most important meal of the day. Bad move. The meal keeps your body's metabolism stoked and burning strong throughout the day.

Light Weights, High Reps
While good for toning, this method doesn't burn much fat at all. Increasing the weight accordingly allows your muscles to work harder and burn more calories — even after you leave the gym.

Slash Carbs
An active person can't simply go without carbs. In fact, your body needs at least 100 grams a day for energy. Always remember to maintain a balance of carbs, protein and healthy fats in your diet. This gives you what you need in terms of energy, muscle growth and recovery.

Swear Off Your Favorite Foods
Anytime we want to drop few pounds, most of us immediately slash all comfort foods from our diets. The problem is you'll eventually cave, and it won't be pretty. So enjoy a treat once in a while — just remember that moderation is key.

Train, But Just Barely
Any degree of training is better than nothing at all. But you can only get out of something what you put in. Remember, losing weight isn't just a matter of going to the gym once a week. It also involves lifestyle changes. Talk a walk on your lunch break, park on the opposite end of the parking lot at stores, and do more yard work (your girl will love the new you).

Postworkout Snack
People love to reward themselves for a hard day at the gym. But, remember, many granola and protein bars are also packed with extra calories — don't cancel out all the hard work you just put in at the gym.

Load Up On Diet Snacks
Another misconception in the diet arena. Baked chips and fat-free candy are still junk food. Train your body (and mind) to think of fresh fruit and vegetables as delicious snacks. After 30 days, you'll be surprised at how you start to crave these nutritious foods.

Treadmill Marathons
When it comes to losing weight, people always put the emphasis on cardio. While running and biking is highly recommended, you still need to get in some strength training. Working those muscles is what really fires up the metabolism.

http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/hit-weight-loss-bulls-eye

Weight Loss For Athletes

For a number of sports, losing weight, and in particular, reducing body fat, can mean the difference between finishing in the middle of the pack and standing on the podium. Dropping a few pounds may confer an advantage, because it increases your power-to-weight ratio, a term that describes the amount of power you're able to generate relative to the pounds you're packing. For a Tour de France cyclist on a mountain stage in the Alps, having the same or more muscle power while carrying less body weight means faster ascents. For runners, every pound that you're not schlepping around a track or course has a positive impact on pace. Other athletes wish to lose weight to compete in a specific weight class or because appearance is an important element of their sport.

The benefits of shedding a few pounds of body fat are certainly enticing on paper, but anyone who has tried to lose weight knows it's not an easy task. If you take the wrong approach, your performance may suffer, you may get sick more frequently, and the scale may not budge, despite all of your sacrificing.

This article gives you the inside skinny on how athletes can best lose weight. It covers when it's best to begin a weight loss regimen during your training cycle, what approaches to weight loss work most effectively and why, and practical strategies and tips that can make the whole process less arduous and more successful.

Let's acknowledge the obvious

If losing weight was easy, two-thirds of Americans wouldn't be walking around today overweight or obese. So right up front, let's face facts: There is no magic bullet, no wonder drug, and no fad diet that will melt away the pounds or effortlessly trim body fat.

Weight loss is about calories. If you consume more calories than you expend on a daily basis, you gain weight. If the calories coming in balance with the calories you're burning, your weight is stable. And if the calories you take in add up to less than what you burn, you lose weight. So if weight loss is on your to-do list, the latter scenario is where you want to be.

Timing is important

From the rate of weight loss you can reasonably expect within a certain period to the best time during your training cycle to implement a weight loss regimen, timing is key.

A realistic goal is to lose about 1 lb (0.45 kg) of body weight per week. To achieve this, you'll need a calorie deficit or shortage of about 500-750 calories every day. If you want to drop 5 lbs (2.3 kg), plan on taking about 5 weeks to pull it off. For an 8-lb (3.6-kg) weight loss, plan on about 8 weeks.

The time to implement your weight loss regimen is during the off-season, when training demands are less and you're not competing. Take the first 4 weeks at the end of the season simply to recover and take a breather from the rigors and stressors of training and competing. You can focus on losing weight after this much-needed period of rest. In-season is not the time to drop the weight, because the combination of strenuous training and cutting calories is bad for performance and bad for your health. When you're not meeting your energy needs, you're also not getting sufficient carbohydrates to restore glycogen fuel reserves on a daily basis. This can lead to chronic fatigue, poor training sessions, and a decline in performance. Too few calories combined with a tough training schedule also can impair your immune system and leave you more vulnerable to colds. Losing weight is tough enough on the body, so do it during the off-season.

Lose the fat, keep the lean

When losing weight, you'll want to trim fat - not muscle. Most of the time, when you lose weight, only a portion of it is actual fat loss. But you also lose muscle mass. This highlights the concept of power-to-weight ratio again: Your big-picture goal is to return next season lighter in weight, while maintaining or even gaining in power and strength. To do this, you'll want to maintain your muscle mass as much as possible while you trim the body fat.

To pull this off, you'll need three things: control your calorie intake, train aerobically at a moderate intensity, and engage in a program of resistance exercise. The combination of controlling calories in and exercising will create the necessary 500-750 calorie per day deficit for weight loss. The moderate-intensity aerobic exercise will burn mostly fat and not overly deplete your carbohydrate fuel stores, and the resistance training will help give your muscles the stimulation they need to remain strong. Plan to train aerobically for at least an hour daily at about 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate. During resistance-training workouts, focus broadly on all the muscle groups specific to your sport.

Simple strategies for controlling calories

As a seasoned athlete, the aerobic training and the resistance exercise components of your weight loss plan probably won't be hard to manage. But how do you cut back on calories? The following are strategies that, if followed, will make it easier for you to successfully achieve the 500-750 calorie deficit each day:

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• Don't skip meals - break the fast 
  A common mistake when trying to control calorie intake is to skip meals, especially breakfast. The problem with skipping meals is that we humans are pretty good at adapting to a shortage of food. If your body senses that calories are in short supply because of hours of fasting, it readily adapts by reducing your metabolic rate. So, you're thinking that you're melting the fat away by going hungry, when in fact your body is trying to protect you by slowing down the rate it burns calories. So break the fast. Don't skip breakfast - or any other meals, for that matter. In fact, try to spread your caloric intake evenly throughout the day by eating smaller meals more frequently.
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• Forgo full-fat dairy foods 
  We all agree that creamy, full-fat dairy products taste good, but if you have pounds to lose, you can't afford this fat extravagance. Choose low-fat or nonfat dairy foods instead of full-fat versions. This applies to milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, cottage cheese, and sour cream. Why pick on fat? Because it has over twice as many calories as the equivalent amount of carbs or protein. So more fat means more calories. Consider an 8-oz (240-ml) glass of milk. If it's whole milk, it has about 150 calories and 9 grams of fat. The same serving of 1% low-fat milk has only about 100 calories and about 2.5 grams of fat. Nonfat milk only has about 80 calories. And when it comes to dairy snacks and desserts like yogurt and ice cream, lower fat and light versions today are often just as tasty, and they can save you major calories.
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• Get it on the side 
  Fat calories can quickly add up, so be mindful of sauces, gravies, and dressings that are fat-based. Ask for these on the side. That way, you can choose how much you consume. Don't drink your calories A 12-oz (360-ml) regular soft drink weighs in at about 150 calories. The 20-oz (590-ml) size has 250 calories. And the 36-oz (1065-ml) version you buy at the corner convenience store packs a whopping 450 calories - that's a good portion of your entire daily calorie budget. If you need soft drinks to get through the day, make the switch to diet. Your taste buds will quickly adapt.
• Fruit juice may have a few more vitamins, but it has just as many calories as a regular soda. Limit yourself to a single glass of juice daily when you're trying to cut calories.
• Don't think you're doing yourself any favors when having a blended coffee drink. These tasty concoctions are nothing more than upscale milkshakes. However, if you must indulge, think serving size and light. The largest serving size option is typically on the order of 24 oz (710 ml), and made with whole milk: It packs a 530-calorie punch! Cut out the whipped cream, request the light version made with nonfat milk, and downsize to the 16-oz (475-ml) medium-size option instead. You'll still get plenty of yummy at just 180 calories. And if you select the 12-oz (360-ml) serving, your payload is just 140 calories. That's a savings of 390 calories right there!
• If you enjoy a glass of wine, a cold beer, or a cocktail, you need to account for these calories, too. An 8-oz (240-ml) glass of white wine has about 170 calories and red has about 210 calories. A 12-oz (360-ml) beer has about 155 calories, and a 12-oz (360-ml) light beer has about 110 calories. A 6-oz (175-ml) margarita weighs in at about 265 calories.
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• Eat foods that fill you up, not out
  Starting a meal with a bowl of soup, a salad, or a small plate of steamed or fresh vegetables helps take the edge off of your hunger pangs. People who follow this type of dietary pattern feel satisfied at the end of a meal while consuming fewer total calories. Adding broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, or beans to stews, pasta dishes, or chili is also effective. We are creatures of habit. We tend to dish out a set portion size. So if your portion includes lower-calorie, higher-fiber ingredients like vegetables or beans, you end up with fewer total calories consumed.
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• Don't skimp on protein
  Don't cut your protein intake while you're cutting calories. You need protein to maintain your muscle mass, and for some individuals, protein foods are particularly satiating. Make sure to consume in the range of about 0.7-0.9 g protein per lb body weight (1.5-2.0 g protein per kg) daily. For a 150-lb (68-kg) individual, that equates to about 105-135 g protein per day. Eat until you're satisfied, not stuffed We don't just eat because we're hungry. We eat for all kinds of reasons, including when there's simply more food at the table. Pay attention: Eat when you are truly hungry, and stop when you are satisfied. Avoid eating to the point where you feel stuffed, bloated, uncomfortable, or like you can't eat another bite. Instead, stop when the hunger cues dissipate. By eating a bit slower, your brain will have more time to detect the absence of those cues: You could eat more, but you don't really need to. Find that comfort point, because that's the point where you're eating fewer calories than you're burning - just where you need to be to lose weight.
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• Avoid mindless munching
  We often forage for food just to break up the routine of whatever we're doing. Find another distraction, or bite into something that's low in calories like apple slices, carrot sticks, or pretzels. But when you are truly hungry, eat! Remember that going hours without eating works against you because it tends to slow your metabolism.

Navigating the fast-food lane

Eating on the run can be a calorie disaster if you make the wrong choices. One way to navigate fast foods is to stay out of that lane entirely. If you a have choice between fast food or a sandwich shop, opt for the sandwich: Three slices of turkey breast with jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, sliced olives, bell peppers, and a hefty spread of yellow mustard on a whole-wheat roll adds up to just 325 calories, and it's filling. In comparison, the ¼-lb cheeseburger and French fry combo at a burger joint nails you for almost 900 calories. You can navigate Fast Food Boulevard with your calorie deficit intact, but it requires that you make smart choices. For example, go with a grilled chicken sandwich at 360 calories, or one of the entrée salads - a Cobb salad with grilled chicken comes in at about 400 calories.

Plan for your weak spot Ask anyone who's ever tried to lose weight before, and they'll tell you that there's one time of the day or night where it's absolute torture not to raid the cupboard or refrigerator. For others, food cravings can be overwhelming. Denial and sheer discipline won't work in the long-term. Don't disown the foods you can't seem to live without; instead, have less of them.

For example, if chocolate-covered peanuts are your weakness, by all means, don't buy them in bulk from the area warehouse store. Instead, buy the single-serving bag - and then hold yourself to no more than a single bag. A small bag of chocolate-covered peanuts has 250 calories. That's not necessarily a deal breaker in terms of calories, but what does break the bank in a hurry is three heaping handfuls of the little goodies, which clock in at 750 calories!

And don't make this harder than it needs to be: Staring at the box of cookies or holiday fudge on the kitchen counter qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. If others in the house have the green light for that stuff, ask that it be kept out of your line of sight whenever possible.

Calorie-smart sports nutrition
It's not at all uncommon for an athlete focused on losing weight to head off to the gym on an empty stomach, to push through a workout, and to then head for home completely famished. This scenario is a dieting train wreck waiting to happen, because when you feel starved, it's extremely difficult to control your calorie intake. Avoid putting yourself in that position. You do need to fuel in support of your training. The trick is to do it without consuming extra calories needlessly.

Rather than heading off to the gym on an empty stomach, provide your muscles with the carbs and protein they need - while controlling calorie intake.

Recovery enables you to rehydrate, replenish muscle fuel stores, and repair and build muscle protein in response to your training. Your body is ready to start the recovery process as soon as you finish your workout, but you need to provide the nutritional components.

Weight-cutting: What not to do
Weight-cutting or making weight is the practice of rapid weight loss just before a competition. It's sometimes practiced by athletes involved in sports that have weight classes, such as wrestling, boxing, martial arts, weight lifting, and rowing. It's worth noting, because it's definitely not the way to lose weight. Weight-cutting typically involves some method of dehydration just prior to the weigh-in for a competition. Athletes may dehydrate by some combination of food and fluid restriction, exercise, spending long periods in a sauna, steam room, or heat room, use of diuretics, and use of laxatives.

This approach to weight loss has virtually no effect on body fat. Instead, the weight loss stems from loss of body water. But athletes may also suffer from a depletion of carbohydrate muscle fuel (glycogen stores) and a decrease of muscle mass. This practice not only can have a detrimental effect on your performance, it can have very serious effects on your health as well.

Putting it all together The goal for a safe weight loss of about 1 lb (0.45 kg) per week is to expend 500-750 more calories than your consume on a daily basis. The best way to create this calorie deficit is through a combination of burning more calories - from aerobic and resistance exercise and cutting back on calories consumed. The best time to implement your weight loss regimen is during the off-season, when you don't have the stringent demands of training and competition.

To fill up on fewer calories, put these strategies to good use:

• Don't skip meals Replace full-fat dairy products with low-fat or nonfat varieties
• Get gravies, sauces, and dressings on the side
• Start a meal with soup, salad, or a small plate of steamed or fresh vegetables
• Add veggies or beans to your mixed dishes
• Eat some protein at each meal Have smaller meals more frequently
• Avoid sugared soft drinks and have no more than a glass of juice daily
• Beware of blended coffee drinks: Go light and smaller in portion size
• Opt for sandwiches or salads when food needs to be fast
• Eat until you no longer feel hungry, not until you feel stuffed
• Avoid mindless munching
• Eat that to-die-for treat, but adjust the portion size
• Take advantage of PowerBar calorie-smart sports nutrition products
• Weigh yourself weekly to track your progress

http://www.fitmax.com/site/index.php/blog/weight-loss-for-athletes/

Could Artificial Sweeteners Cause Weight Gain?

By Brenda Goodman

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 10 (HealthDay News) -- Artificial sweeteners appear to disturb the body's ability to count calories and, as a result, diet foods and drinks may wind up encouraging weight gain rather than weight loss, an expert contends.

These sweeteners may also increase the risk of health problems like heart diseaseand diabetes, some evidence suggests.

In an opinion piece published July 10 in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, Susan Swithers, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., rounded up recent research on artificial sweeteners.

Commonly used sweeteners include sucralose, aspartame and saccharin, among others.

Swithers has been studying the effects of artificial sweeteners on rats, but the journal asked her to look at evidence of health effects in humans too.

Swithers said studies following people who regularly consume diet soft drinks over time have found that those people are at higher risk for weight gain and obesity than people who don't drink sodas at all.

Compared to people who avoid diet or regular soft drinks, diet soda drinkers also appear to have elevated risks for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome -- a group of symptoms that puts people at increased risk for those conditions.

What's more, Swithers said, the risks for these health effects seem to be similar in people who drink diet sodas compared to those who drink regular sodas, suggesting that there isn't much benefit in switching.

Some of those studies aren't conclusive, however, because they can't rule out the possibility that people were drinking diet sodas because they were gaining weight, not the other way around -- a problem called reverse causality.

One study of soda-drinking teens found that those assigned to swap regular soda for one diet soda every day gained less weight over the course of 18 months than those who kept drinking sugar-sweetened soda. The study didn't look at what might happen if teens were asked to drink water instead of sweetened beverages, however.

Not everyone agrees with Swithers's assessment of the research.

"The views in this opinion piece I found to be biased and speculative," said Theresa Hedrick, nutrition and scientific affairs specialist for the Calorie Control Council, a lobbying group for the manufacturers of artificial sweeteners. "She's presented only the research that supports her opinion and ignored the large body of scientific research that demonstrates the safety and benefits of low-calorie sweeteners."

"I think it's important to remember that low-calorie sweeteners are one aspect of a multifaceted approach to health or obesity prevention," Hedrick said. "They aren't magic bullets."

But Swithers said her animal studies support the counterintuitive notion that artificial sweeteners may lead to weight gain, even if they don't have any calories.

She said she's seen evidence of metabolic disruptions caused by artificial sweeteners in rats.

It basically goes something like this: In a world without artificial sweeteners, a taste of something sweet preps the brain and the gut for digestion of incoming calories. When the calories don't show, as happens with artificial sweeteners, those metabolic responses don't fire the way they should. Insulin doesn't increase; hormones that increase the feeling of fullness and satisfaction aren't triggered; and the brain doesn't get a feeling of reward from the dopamine that sugars release.

After a while, Swithers said, it's like the mouth keeps crying wolf, and the brain and gut stop listening. As a result, when real sugar and real calories come along, the body doesn't respond to them as strongly as it normally might. Calories don't end up making you feel as full as they should. They aren't as rewarding. So you don't get the signals that might stop you from eating when you should.

Artificial sweeteners may also facilitate something psychologists call cognitive distortions. That is, they allow us to trick ourselves into thinking we can eat more calories than we really should. Saving calories with a diet soda now means a slab of chocolate cake is OK later.

"I think there are multiple things that are contributing to this," Swithers said. "Psychology is a factor, but physiology can also be altered."

Based on her research, she said, water is the best bet for people who are trying to lose weight or improve other measures of health.

"The downside to drinking the diet sodas is that they may undermine these unconscious processes that could help us regulate our weight and other things like blood sugar," she said.

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20130710/could-artificial-sweeteners-cause-weight-gain