If you’ve begun Zumba dancing as part of an overall conversion to a more active life, you’ve taken up half the battle. Zumba Fitness classes can help you burn 400 or more calories an hour, depending on how energetically you perform the cumbia, salsa, samba, reggaeton and similar international dance steps and routines.

The rest of the equation involves eating nutritious foods in moderation
to support the fitness aspect of your dancing. The founder of Zumba Fitness, fitness trainer Beto Perez, teamed up in 2009 with nutrition author Maggie Greenwood-Robinson, author of “The Biggest Loser,” to design meal plans that would augment Zumba Fitness dance classes. The result was their jointly authored book, “Zumba: Ditch the Workout Join the Party! The Zumba Weight Loss Program.” Its meal plans are built around whole grains, complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and foods rich in fiber and calcium.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/462581-about-the-zumba-diet/#ixzz219usbtai

Getting Started
Perez and Greenwood-Robinson describe a five-day express diet to get started. You have a choice of breakfast menus including either toast, an egg, fresh fruit and tea or coffee with no sugar, cream, milk or honey; or 1 cup of high-fiber cereal and skim milk in lieu of the toast and egg. Lunches for the five days rotate through soup and salad, spinach salad with low-fat feta cheese, chicken salad sandwiches, tuna-stuffed tomato and fruit salad. For dinners, you have a choice of grilled steak with steamed broccoli, pork chops with steamed mixed vegetables and baked fish with a half-cup of cooked brown rice. In an interview with the online site That’s Fit, Greenwood-Robinson said the express diet can lead to a weight loss of between 2 and 9 pounds in five days.

Maintaining
A chapter on “Meal Magic” provides 14 days of breakfast, lunch and dinner suggestions, followed by a chapter on recipe details. The Zumba Fitness meal plans include some breakfasts similar to the those of the express diet, while others allow you to branch out with turkey bacon, low-fat granola, cooked oatmeal and Western omelets. Lunches include grilled chicken breast, quick-fix fajitas, lentil soup with salad, chickpea salad, gourmet spinach salad and tuna nicoise salad. Dinner options include crab cakes with brown rice and a vegetable medley, or lamb chops with green beans and sweet potatoes.

Eating Out
Perez and Greenwood-Robinson recommend eating in during the express diet phase to stay with your meal plan. If you need to go out, stick carefully to baked, broiled or grilled chicken or fish with vegetables, they advise. Avoid alcohol and ask the server not to bring the bread basket. Ask for a salad without dressing. You can even combine diet and exercise if you can find an innovative restaurant that combines a healthy lunch with a Zumba Fitness class, as Crow’s Cantina in Galveston, Texas, does.

So keep these important guidelines in your mind and make sure that you perform some kind of aerobic work out at the very least 3 times per week. In almost no time at all you'll have the body which you dream about.

Why do Zumba dance and exercise classes appeal to so many people?

Does Zumba work? Can you REALLY lose weight and inches with the Zumba dance and exercise workout? Is it possible to lose weight using the Zumba weight loss workout?

The simple answer is a huge… YES!




When my clients ask about Zumba weight loss and whether or not it will help them lose body fat and drop inches, I share with them these top tips and strategies that'll quickly help them obtain there weight loss and fitness goals.


Zumba Weight Loss Tips to Fast Weight Loss

Tip 1: To make sure you get a good workout and look for the nearest Zumba class, at least three times a week. Videos are good in a pinch, but a Zumba class has a lot of energy and a great fun feeling that makes the workout just fly by.

Tip 2: It is important to read nutrition labels and eat a healthy diet. Foods that are low in trans fat and don't have any saturated fat are best for a lean physique. Wise choices for snacks include vegetables, raw fruits, plain popcorn and yogurt.

Tip 3: As you probably know -stay away from any soda. When you are dieting you want to keep your intake of water high 6-9 8oz. glasses a day. This helps you to feel fuller and aids your body in getting rid of the body fat that you are burning off.

Tip 4: Sticking to a plan can be tough when you're on the job, so bring your own lunch and snacks and stay away from the candy machine.

Tip 5: Almonds are a great source of protein and one of the best nuts you can eat; add them to salads or eat 10 as a snack. Almonds are also a great source of magnesium; this mineral helps you sleep peacefully.

Tip 6: You still need plenty of calcium to burn fat, so add low fat dairy products to your diet.

Tip 7: There are certain foods that actually will help you burn body fat faster. For example, Omega 3 fatty acids are contained in fish. Especially in salmon. Make sure you eat seafood at least once a week that is high in Omega 3s. This has the added benefit of boosting your metabolism and helping you burn body fat even faster.

Tip 8: To accomplish a longer full feeling throughout the morning, eat egg whites for your first meal of the day. Your stomach will not protest in hunger!

Tip 9: Beans have muscle building power. Loaded with iron, fiber, and protein, beans are a great accompaniment to foods, soups, and salads.

Tip 10: Drinking Green Tea is better in the morning for you than coffee. Because green tea raises metabolism and the rate at which fat burns, it will help you lose weight and inches.

Tip 11: You can still eat carbs – just not too many or you may end up bloated and heavy. If you want those carbs, make sure you're getting them from whole grain. There's no reason you should be eating carbs from processed foods – you can find everything from pretzels to pasta in whole grain. Avoid eating more than 2 servings a day or you'll have a harder time dropping those pounds.

Zumba Can Help You Lose Weight Following these tips and doing a dance aerobic workout at least three times a week will help you shed body fat and completely re-sculpt your body......Let's Party!