That's THE ultimate quest from every woman: "How to get rid of my belly fat and have a flat tummy?"
This thinking is just a myth and is all in the mind. You have to separate truth from myths in order to succeed in your fitness regiment. Know the facts then apply them.
You cannot continue to eat all types of food then end your day with a number of crunches to work off the fatty foods. This is just building fat on top of your muscles.
Some important facts to consider:
1. You can’t lose fat in just one part of your body since it is evenly distributed. Losing the fat must also be even.
2. You can’t crunch your way to a flat stomach without cardio exercises and a proper diet.
3. You will not gain a flat stomach if you have a layer of fat covering your stomach muscles.
4. By doing cardio exercises, you will burn fat all over your body, reducing the fat covering your stomach and enabling your stomach muscles show.
5. Cardio exercises burn more calories than stomach exercises like abdominal muscle w
orkouts and crunches. When you do cardio exercises, your body burns calories, which will result in you losing overall fat, stomach fat included.
6. The key to flattening your tummy is to increase your body’s metabolism so that it can effectively get rid of that excess body fat. A weight loss programme is the key to slimming your mid-section. Remember:
To flatten the tummy, you need to lose the fat covering your stomach muscles. The best way to lose belly fat is by changing your eating habits so your body stores less fat, and doing cardio exercises to burn existing stomach fat. Finish up with the crunches.
Here a few tips
• Exercise all you want but watch what you eat. As long you eat sugar and fat, your belly will stay flabby. Concentrate on eating fresh fruits, vegetables and lean proteins at each meal.
• The general rule is to cut kilos and calories. Stay away from fatty foods, high calorie condiments such as salad dressings, cookies and cakes, and eliminate sugary drinks.
• Beer bellies are not a myth. Avoid or drink alcohol in moderation as it makes you gain weight around your mid-section.. The sugar in alcohol gets stored as fat. If you want to drink beer, limit your consumption to one a day or stick to wine.
• Get your heart-rate up by doing moderate cardio-vascular exercises at least four to five times a week. This works your heart and boosts your metabolism to burn excess fat and calories. Exercises such as swimming, jogging, biking, brisk walking and even walking uphill are good for you.
• Twenty-five good, quality abdominal crunches are better than 100 half done ones. Perform four sets of 20 to 25 solid crunches while resting for about 90 seconds in between sets. Vary the exercises with ball crunches, reverse leg lifts, bicycle cycling, captain’s chair leg raise, full vertical crunch and plunks on elbows and toes. While these exercises won’t help you lose fat around your mid-section, they strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles, which will help amplify the flat stomach look.
• Drink plenty of water as staying well hydrated is the key to overall health. Water plays an added advantage when you are trying to tone up the tummy.
• Another key to burning fat is to keep your blood sugar stable. Eat small meals and healthy snacks on frequent occasions, like every two to three hours.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
17 No Sweat Ways to Burn Calories and Lose Weight
1. Take vitamin D
Women who were deficient in it lost weight more slowly in a study in the British Journal of Nutrition. Stephen Gullo, a weight-loss expert in New York City and author of "The Thin Commandments" (Rodale), recommends 2,000 milligrams daily.
2. Drink coffee
Studies have found that caffeine increases the rate at which you burn calories, according to Susan B. Roberts, author of "The 'I' Diet" (Workman) and a professor of nutrition and psychiatry at Tufts University in Boston.
3. Sleep more
Getting fewer than four hours of sleep over an extended period of time slows the metabolism. Experts recommend aiming for between seven and nine.
4. Do things by hand
Wash your dishes, vacuum, or cook dinner. "We consider it a luxury to have tasks done for us, but doing some of these for yourself takes considerable energy," says Slayton.
5. Wear a basic pedometer
"Every week, aim to take a few more steps than you did the last week," says Wheelock.
6. Eat lightly and often
"For most people, the body uses up more energy digesting smaller meals every few hours than by eating the same number of calories in two or three sittings," says Chrissy Wellington, a nutritionist at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts.
7. Move briskly
"Walk like you're late for a meeting," says Gunnar Peterson, who trains Jennifer Lopez in Los Angeles.
8. Laugh
"It burns up to 50 calories if you laugh for 10 to 15 minutes per day," says Adelino Da Costa, owner of Punch Fitness Center in New York City.
9. Eat breakfast
"You send your body a signal that you're not starving, so it starts burning fat — even when you're just doing normal activities," says Peterson. He suggests eating scrambled egg whites or oatmeal with fruit.
10. Time yourself
Spend the last five minutes of each hour (set your computer timer) up and moving around, says Kristin McGee, a New York City yoga and Pilates instructor.
11. Fill up on fiber
Low-carb, high-fiber foods take more time to digest than other foods, leaving you feeling fuller longer and less likely to snack, says Gullo. He suggests spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and cauliflower.
12. Go out of your way
At work, take the long way to the restroom — or even go up one flight of stairs.
13. Fidget
You can burn up to 350 more calories a day than someone who remains stationary, according to a study at the Mayo Clinic. The impulse to fidget may be hardwired, but nonfidgeters can imitate it: Tap your feet, pace, or move restlessly in your seat.
14. Stash flats in your bag
"My clients aren't going to slip on sneakers to go home, but there is a happy medium," says Slayton. "You might not run a marathon in ballet slippers, but at least you can move quickly."
15. Don't eat late at night
It can interrupt sleep, according to Wellington, and may induce you to skip breakfast — bad for your metabolism.
16. Straighten up
"Good posture not only makes you look taller and leaner, but it strengthens your abdominal muscles," says Brooklyn Decker, the model on the cover of this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
17. Drink more
Dehydrated people experience a drop in their metabolic rate. Drinking water throughout the day caused metabolic rates to increase by about 30 percent in a German study. The goal: eight cups a day.
Women who were deficient in it lost weight more slowly in a study in the British Journal of Nutrition. Stephen Gullo, a weight-loss expert in New York City and author of "The Thin Commandments" (Rodale), recommends 2,000 milligrams daily.
2. Drink coffee
Studies have found that caffeine increases the rate at which you burn calories, according to Susan B. Roberts, author of "The 'I' Diet" (Workman) and a professor of nutrition and psychiatry at Tufts University in Boston.
3. Sleep more
Getting fewer than four hours of sleep over an extended period of time slows the metabolism. Experts recommend aiming for between seven and nine.
4. Do things by hand
Wash your dishes, vacuum, or cook dinner. "We consider it a luxury to have tasks done for us, but doing some of these for yourself takes considerable energy," says Slayton.
5. Wear a basic pedometer
"Every week, aim to take a few more steps than you did the last week," says Wheelock.
6. Eat lightly and often
"For most people, the body uses up more energy digesting smaller meals every few hours than by eating the same number of calories in two or three sittings," says Chrissy Wellington, a nutritionist at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts.
7. Move briskly
"Walk like you're late for a meeting," says Gunnar Peterson, who trains Jennifer Lopez in Los Angeles.
8. Laugh
"It burns up to 50 calories if you laugh for 10 to 15 minutes per day," says Adelino Da Costa, owner of Punch Fitness Center in New York City.
9. Eat breakfast
"You send your body a signal that you're not starving, so it starts burning fat — even when you're just doing normal activities," says Peterson. He suggests eating scrambled egg whites or oatmeal with fruit.
10. Time yourself
Spend the last five minutes of each hour (set your computer timer) up and moving around, says Kristin McGee, a New York City yoga and Pilates instructor.
11. Fill up on fiber
Low-carb, high-fiber foods take more time to digest than other foods, leaving you feeling fuller longer and less likely to snack, says Gullo. He suggests spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and cauliflower.
12. Go out of your way
At work, take the long way to the restroom — or even go up one flight of stairs.
13. Fidget
You can burn up to 350 more calories a day than someone who remains stationary, according to a study at the Mayo Clinic. The impulse to fidget may be hardwired, but nonfidgeters can imitate it: Tap your feet, pace, or move restlessly in your seat.
14. Stash flats in your bag
"My clients aren't going to slip on sneakers to go home, but there is a happy medium," says Slayton. "You might not run a marathon in ballet slippers, but at least you can move quickly."
15. Don't eat late at night
It can interrupt sleep, according to Wellington, and may induce you to skip breakfast — bad for your metabolism.
16. Straighten up
"Good posture not only makes you look taller and leaner, but it strengthens your abdominal muscles," says Brooklyn Decker, the model on the cover of this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
17. Drink more
Dehydrated people experience a drop in their metabolic rate. Drinking water throughout the day caused metabolic rates to increase by about 30 percent in a German study. The goal: eight cups a day.
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