diet tips

Want to turn your body's fat-burning potential up a notch? Check out these five ways to wake up and up the calorie burn.

1. Exercise: That dawn workout doesn't just put a pep in your step; exercising in the morning also helps boost your metabolism, more than exercising at other times of the day. Studies have shown that people who exercised in the morning burn more calories than those who exercise at other times of the day, so lace up your sneaks and greet the sun for an added calorie burn.
2. Add intensity: Good news for the time-strapped: a recent study found that a simple intense 2.5-minute burst of exercise can lead to an increased afterburn all day — up to 200 calories worth, in fact. Need ideas on how to add intensity to your workouts? Here are five short exercises that will help you burn extra calories fast.

Three more ideas after the break!

With Summer vacations on the horizon, getting in shape can be on the top of your mind, but it may not be on top of your schedule. So if you aren't ready to tackle a long-term shape-up plan, then remember these two simple tips from fitness trainer and healthy chef Katy Clark, a former contestant on Food Network Star.

Think about your portions: Whenever you eat, remind yourself to think about your portion sizes by looking at your fist, Katy says. "Look at your fist: that's the size of your stomach," she says. "Then look at your plate: how much food is going on there?" She also uses a demitasse or espresso cup to help her measure food easily.

Be honest with yourself: Self-assessment can do wonders for making sure you know where you stand and what your goals are. "Strip down in front of that mirror and be honest with yourself. You just gotta do it," she says. "And then go get a spray tan," she jokes.

So what to do when it's time for you to start your bikini workout plan? Katy recommends an hour of weight training twice a week, doing a total-body circuit while focusing on key areas like triceps and legs. "Triceps are 70 percent of your arm, so that's what's going to keep flopping around, and that's what you want to focus on," Katy says. "Focus on your legs [too] because your legs are your powerhouse. The more muscle mass you put on there, the more calories you're going to be burning throughout the day, the more lean you're going to get." Remember to add cardio, as well, for an effective shape-up plan, she adds.

With wedding season in full swing, many folks face the good fortune of attending back-to-back celebrations weekend after weekend. In the midst of all the wedding fun, healthy plans often get pushed aside. The following tips will keep you connected to your goals — even in the face of gorgeous wedding cakes and tasty canapés!

Plan Ahead
Going into a wedding weekend with a game plan can help keep you on track. Whether you decide to cut out unnecessary snacking, only have a small slice of cake, or steer clear of sugary drinks, making thoughtful choices before you walk into the party will take out any guesswork. This way you can focus on having fun instead of what you should (or shouldn't) eat next.

Wake Up to Work Out
During all the festivities of the weekend, finding a time to work out in the middle of the day doesn't always happen. Make a point to wake up early, and find a fun workout you'll be excited to try. Hit up a local yoga or barre class, head to your hotel gym, or just go for a run. However you exercise in the morning, you'll feel more energized all day and be able to afford a little extra indulgence without any added guilt.

Keep reading for more helpful wedding season tips.

The Paleo Diet may seem rather straightforward when it comes to all-natural fuel, but there are a few unexpected twists! While there are specific staples to always have on hand, foods like dark chocolate, alcohol, and natural sweeteners are debatable within the Paleo community. Ultimately, the boundaries of any diet are up to you, but if you're looking to adopt a true Paleo lifestyle, here are five rather surprising foods that are considered off limits by many in the Paleo community.

1. Peanuts: Although nuts like cashews are encouraged on the Paleo diet, peanuts are not. This is because they are a legume, not a nut, that contain lectins and phytic acid, which many in the Paleo community believe cause inflammation and gastrointestinal distress. Because of these potential health problems and the fact that peanuts are often prepared roasted with additives and salt, they are off limits on this diet.
2. Starchy vegetables: While there is some debate about having starchy vegetables on the Paleo diet, potatoes and other tubers are almost always off limits. Not only do vegetables like potatoes require a lot of cultivating, they are also high on the glycemic index scale and contain a good amount of carbohydrates, which are believed to have a negative effect on blood sugar levels, something the Paleo Diet aims to stabilize.
3. Coffee: Because the Paleo Diet is all about choosing foods our ancestors would have eaten, that sugar-free latte is certainly not an option. Although black coffee is a natural drink, caffeine can become very addicting. Many argue that by sticking to a strict Paleo Diet, you will experience an increase in energy and eventually won't want or need that morning cup of Joe.
4. Chickpeas: Since legumes are forbidden on the Caveman Diet, so are chickpeas (and hummus), because they need to be cooked or otherwise processed to be eaten. A good alternative to chickpeas is using eggplants or cucumbers to make dishes like baba-ghanoush, a similar dip to hummus.
5. Quinoa: While quinoa isn't technically a grain, it's a seed that has grain-like properties. Similar to buckwheat, these pseudo grains are believed to contain antinutrient compounds, which can have harmful effects that irritate the immune system. Not to mention, with only eight grams of protein per cup, it is not as high in protein as other Paleo-friendly foods like a small serving of lean meat.

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health here on POPSUGAR Fitness.

By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD

I loathe the word diet. Technically, it can simply mean a manner or style of eating, such a vegetarian diet or Mediterranean diet, but for most people, the 'D word' means a short term period of deprivation and downright misery, that will inevitably be abandoned. That's one of the reasons I didn't use the word diet in the title of my latest book S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim (the S.A.S.S! stands for Simple and Satisfying Solutions).

While it is a weight loss strategy, the book is really all about getting into balance; and in my experience, when you do just that, you'll lose weight as a side effect. Even better, if you stay in balance, you'll keep the weight off. That's why no matter what type of program you try, the real key to shedding pounds for good — which is what everyone really wants — is stick-with-it-ness.

If you can't realistically see yourself happily hanging in there six weeks or six months from the start, chances are you'll regain all or more of the weight you lose. Have you been down that road before? If so, avoid going there again, by asking yourself these five questions:

Health.com: Are You Making These Dieting Mistakes?

Is it one size fits all?
A lot of weight loss programs are designed for the average woman, who is 5'4" and based on a moderate activity level. If you're taller or shorter, less or more active, or you're a man, you shouldn't be following the same plan as a woman of average height who exercises for 30 minutes five days a week. If you can't or don't know how to modify an approach for your body's needs, it probably won't work for you.

Does the premise make sense?
When I meet with a new client, I ask them about every other diet or weight loss program they've tried in the past. As we talk through each one, I often hear things like, "I didn't really understand it, but I lost nine pounds." This is often because many diets have nothing to do with science, or how the human body optimally works, but because you ate less or ate differently, you lost weight. And while that may be one way to cut excess calories, it may not be the best way to build or maintain muscle mass and lose body fat, optimize energy, and best support your immune system and overall health. In other words, the 'whys' behind any approach really matter, and if they're flimsy or fishy, you may be seriously shortchanging yourself.

Keep reading for three more questions to ask before trying any diet.

There are things you can't help about your own metabolism, like aging and genetics, but these don't have the final say in how revved up it can be. If you feel like your metabolism could use a boost, check out what works (and what doesn't) below.

1. Start or amp up your strength training: If you're a cardio girl through and through, you've probably heard people telling you that you should add weight training to your routine. That's because muscles burn calories at a higher rate than fat, so your metabolism will be getting a bigger boost the more muscle mass you have. Already incorporating strength training without seeing any more results? Try amping up your routine, switching the type of workout, or adding a yoga or Pilates class to your routine.
2. Get working on those intervals: There are many benefits to interval training, like better endurance, stamina, and speed, not to mention increased fat burning, so if you haven't incorporated interval training into your routine, now's the time to start! Here are some interval workouts to get you started.
3. Eat the right foods: Slow-burning protein keeps you feeling full, and not only that, it increases your metabolic rate as well, since your body is working to digest all that nutritionally rich food. Whole grains and citrus fruits are other foods that rev up your body's fat-burning potential; check out more foods you should eat to increase your metabolism here.
4. Eat at the right time: It's not just what you eat, it's when. Eating breakfast shortly after you wake up, for example, is one of the most important dietary practices you can make when you want to up your metabolism. So make sure you eat breakfast as soon as possible, and eat at regular intervals so you keep your metabolism revved up.

Read on to learn the one thing you shouldn't be doing if you want to boost your metabolism.

Metabolic rate is affected by several factors including age, weight, and genetics. Although there's not a whole lot you can do about those things, there are still choices that can cause metabolism to fire up or fizzle. If losing weight is your goal, avoid these metabolism-slowing mistakes in the morning.

1. Eating too late: Skipping breakfast is one of the worst things you can do for weight loss since it causes your metabolism to slow down. When you don't eat, the brain sends a message to the rest of the body to conserve energy, signaling it to hold onto the stored fat that you're trying to get rid of. Eating within an hour of waking sparks the metabolic process called thermogenesis that turns the food you eat into energy. And no — a cup of coffee does not count as breakfast! Instead choose one of these high-protein breakfast ideas under 350 calories. Make sure to eat throughout the day to maintain blood sugar levels since any drops can cause the body to burn muscle for fuel.
2. Not exercising: Research shows you continue burning calories up to 24 hours after working out, and studies also show that morning exercises burn more calories than those who sweat it out during other times of the day. If you're planning on exercising anyway, for maximum calorie burn, your best bet is to get it done in the a.m. Include high intensity cardio intervals since challenging yourself is proven to activate fat-burning genes, which translates to an increased post-workout calorie burn — 100 to 200 more.
3. Not pumping iron: Lean muscle mass burns calories, and just adding five to 10 pounds of lean muscle to your frame will increase your daily calorie burn by 100 calories. Include strength training in your morning routine such as this 10-minute metabolism-boosting workout.