Posted by Journey

Beer belly - big gut - spare tire whatever you want to call it, the abs are the one area of the body people really want to do something about. Why? A hard, flat stomach symbolizes sex appeal. Lets face it! A big gut isn’t physically attractive. In fact, it’s a big turn off.

But even more important than sex appeal, Yes, I’m afraid so, research has found losing abdominal fat is one of the best things you can do for your health’s sake. Oh, yeah!

Yeah! You see people with bodies shaped like apples, meaning they carry more weight in the abdomen, are at greater risk of heart disease and diabetes than those with bodies shaped like pears, meaning they’re fatter in the hips, buttocks, and thighs. Really!

Yes, really and why? The more body fat, especially stomach fat, the higher C-reactive protein levels are in the bloodstream. C-reactive protein is a blood indicator of inflammation in the body. Some inflammation is good but problems arise with ongoing inflammation because it’s linked to heart disease.

High body fat and inflammation are intertwined so your mantra should be LOW BODY FAT!

Stomach fat or visceral fat is more dangerous because it’s deeper in the abdomen, surrounds and protects the internal organs and is metabolized by the liver. Subcutaneous fat, the other kind of fat, is stored just under the skin.

So how to get rid of stomach fat? Here’s the two best ways!

1. Eat a healthy balanced diet. By healthy, I do mean foods good for you and not a healthy or huge portion size. And think BALANCED! Choose nutritious foods from the protein, fat, carbohydrate and fiber food groups. Your body needs them all just don’t OVERDO it.

If you want a trim waistline, you’ll need to make lifestyle changes. There’s no way around it. This means reducing calories by cutting back on the amount of food you eat, (eating less or eating smaller portion sizes), and choosing lower calorie - lower fat foods.

Always eat breakfast because it’s associated with successful weight loss and keeping it off. After sleeping for 7-8 hours your metabolism is in a lowered state. Eating breakfast will jump start it and rekindle the fat and calorie burning engine and also keep you from overeating later on in the day by distributing calories throughout the day.

Eat high fiber, low energy density (low calorie) foods like oatmeal and strawberries for breakfast.

Don’t have time in the morning? Fix it the evening before. Here’s what I do: Bring two cups of water to a boil. Add one cup of old fashioned oatmeal. Bring it to a boil again. Cover it with the lid and take it off the heat. Let it cook overnight. In the morning put it in a bowl and warm it up in the microwave. Add ½ cup of low-fat milk, cinnamon, honey or organic cane juice sweetener, one cup of sliced strawberries and one tablespoon of walnuts.

Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water during the day. Why? Because a properly hydrated body ensures the liver, the organ responsible for fat burning, is converting stored fat to energy as efficiently as possible. Water will also help to curb your appetite.

Most people walk around dehydrated all day. Don’t be one of them! In fact, you should drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning so it becomes habit forming.

Make sure you include a variety of bright colored (red, yellow, green, and orange) vegetables and fruits, whole grains and beans. They’re naturally high in fiber, low fat and low energy density (low calorie). The high fiber content will help fill you up without adding pounds to your midsection.

How do you tell if a food is whole grain or not? Check the ingredients - the first ingredient on the food label should say whole wheat or whole grain.

Restrict fats, especially, saturated and trans fats. They’re bad for your heart and high energy density foods. Meaning they pack a lot of calories.

Go easy on the alcohol and lose your beer belly. It supplies calories but little in the way of vitamins, minerals and fiber your body needs. The same goes for refined sugars like corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup.

2. Regular Exercise. Stomach fat is stored surplus calories or energy. To get rid of it, you need to burn more calories than you eat on a regular basis. This means you have to make another lifestyle change. What is it? Committing to exercise every day. Yup! You heard me! So make the commitment to exercise regularly. Do it right now! In fact, write it down and stick to it!

Researchers are finding daily exercise helps a person burn calories by revving up the metabolism. And studies have also shown the fastest way to burn abdominal fat is by doing both weight training and aerobic exercise.

Any weight bearing activity, like walking, is good for fat burning. Start by walking for fifteen to thirty minutes and gradually increase it to an hour or more a day. And it doesn’t have to be grueling to be beneficial so exercise moderately.

If you don’t have time to do one long session instead do two shorter sessions. In fact, studies show several short sessions of exercise daily are at least as effective and maybe more so at burning fat than one long session.

© 2007 Mario Lerma - Copyright Reserved.

For more information on how to lose fat quickly and easily even if you’ve tried everything and the flab doesn’t seem to budge CLICK HERE NOW and find out how to get rid of the excess fat for good.