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Melt away your belly fat by doing something else: burn fat all over your body! Don’t try spot reduction—it won’t work! Build muscle, burn fat, speed up your metabolism and lose weight (and keep it off) by toning your whole body!
Remember, you want body composition changes (less body fat, more muscle mass). Your belly fat didn’t appear overnight and you won’t get rid of it overnight! Changing your body composition will take time and hard work on your part.
First, Don't focus on your belly fat (don’t look in the mirror too long)! Focus on burning total body fat with full body circuit strength training and short, intense cardio sessions. Your strength training sessions should be about 40-50 minutes (3 times a week) and your cardio sessions should be about 20 minutes (3-4 times a week). Your strength training workouts will include core exercises like planks, bridges, ab curl ups, back extensions and mountain climbers to help burn your belly fat. If you want to do extra "belly fat burning" core exercises on off days, you can.
Second, make sure you have a good meal plan that includes plenty of foods like fruits, vegetables, protein and whole grains. Research has proven that protein keeps blood sugar levels more steady and helps you feel fuller for a longer period (slower digestion). Protein also keeps the hunger hormone (ghrelin) in check so your hunger doesn't spike so high.
Researchers at Penn State found that dieters who ate at least five servings of whole grain breads while following a low-calorie diet lost 24 percent more abdominal fat than those who averaged the same number of calories but ate refined grains, like white bread.
Here’s another major nutrition tip to follow: cut sugars and processed foods from your diet and you will win the battle of the belly bulge! As for sugars, nutritionists point to high-fructose corn syrup consumption as a major player in the nation's obesity crisis.
High-fructose corn syrup is so deadly because the body processes the fructose in high-fructose corn syrup differently than it does regular sugar. It also lowers the hormone leptin in your body. Leptin signals to your brain that you're full. It also forces the liver to kick more fat into the bloodstream (especially true with sugary drinks because they are processed so fast)! So, your body wants more and stores more fat at the same time! A 12-ounce can of soda has as much as 13 teaspoons of sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup!
Follow your meal plan at least 90% of the time, exercise regularly and you will burn belly fat and total body fat over time----and it will stay off! Its not rocket science! You just have to be consistent! You don’t want your abdominal muscles covered with a layer of fat!
So, it doesn’t take 900 repetitions of ab exercises every workout to melt away your belly fat! It takes consistent exercise and healthy eating to melt that body fat!
Do you have a story of how you shed your belly fat and total body fat? If so, let us know!
Mark Dilworth, Certified Personal Trainer
Her Fitness Hut http://herfitnesshut.com
Add a Comment1 Comments
I totally agree that spot reduction just doesn't work! A lot of people get totally frustrated trying to shed fat from their trouble areas, when they could be seeing some decent results by focusing on lowering their overall body fat level. Here's a great resource for anyone looking for fat loss and weight loss information.
October 14, 2009 - 7:54pmThis Comment