Belly fat – wouldn’t it be nice if we just all had flat stomachs? The fact is that belly fat is a problem for a lot of people, even for thin people. Sometimes people don’t even realize what a problem it is as some of the fat hides inside you surrounding your inner organs which can possible cause a health threat if you have too much fat regardless of your size.

So where did all that belly fat come from and what can you do about it?

Before continuing on, it’s important to understand that your body does need some fat and that this isn’t about being judgmental but about allowing you to be healthier and to feel better about yourself by getting leaner.

Location, Location, Location

Not all fat is the same… it can behave differently depending on where it’s located and that’s key to the health risks that it can pose.

People typically store fat in two ways:

• It can be under the skin in the butt, hips, thighs and abdomen. This type of fat is called subcutaneous fat (it’s located under the skin).
• Another type of fat is the one that’s inside around your vital organs such as your heart and lungs, in the chest and abdomen as well. This type of fat is called visceral.

You can think of it this way:  subcutaneous fat can visually be seen while visceral fat can’t.

Belly Fat Diet Misconceptions

It’s funny…  we all hate dieting and yet anyone that wants to lose belly fat ends up going on some type of diet. It can be hard to maintain a diet when you see all your friends pigging out. It also doesn’t help that most diets either have you eat foods that taste like cardboard or are so restrictive that end up going on a binge.

The thing is, dieting doesn’t have to be boring or completely restrictive. If you learn how to eat properly and healthy, you really can eat anything you want. The key is moderation.

With a few of our secrets you’ll find sticking to a diet to be a breeze.

Foods That Boost Your Metabolism

There are various foods that can actually help boost your metabolism allowing you to burn more calories and lose fat. Listed below are just a few of the many foods out there that make for a healthier diet while allowing you to achieve your weight loss goals much more easily. They are:

Green Tea:  AMJN (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) has reported that drinking green tea has assisted people with losing more than six pounds in eight weeks.  They believe the main reason is due to ECCG or epigallocatechin gallate. This compound speeds up the nervous system allowing you to burn more calories.

Grapefruit:  This fruit is considered a super diet fruit and for good reason. Grapfruits help to lower insulin levels which therefore forces the body to process foods more efficiently and quicker. The end result is that you burn more calories, store less fat, and achieve your goal of losing belly fat.

Lean Meats: Proteins are the building blocks for muscle. The more lean muscle your body has, the more calories it burns. Protein also has a high thermogenic effect meaning that you’ll burn more calories during the digestion process. You should look at poultry and lean cuts of beef and pork when considering meats. Other good sources of protein are fish and beans, lentils and soy for vegeterians.

Whole Grains (whole wheat pasta, oats, brown rice): Ditch the refined carbohydrates, which aside from having little nutritional value, boost your insulin levels which increases your fat levels. Instead, you should look at whole grains which makes the body burn twice as many calories since these foods are typically fiber-rich. Additionally, you’ll find yourself feeling less bloated when eating whole grains as opposed to refined.

Almonds.  Almonds are full of nutrients and a good source of essential fats. You should look at eating a small handful a day of nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.

By changing your diet to include some of the foods listed above to your diet on a regular basis, you will find that you’ll be able to achieve your goal for how to lose belly fat faster and reach your ideal weight sooner. If you’d like to learn about additional foods that will help burn fat as well as foods that prevent you from reaching your weight goals, then click here.

Rapid Weight Loss Exercise Secrets

Exercise is another key component to losing weight and building muscle allowing you to lose the fat around your midsection and to have a sexier physique. The problem is that we don’t have a lot of time to get us toward our goal.

So why not learn the exercises that will give you the biggest bang for the buck? When it comes to building muscle and how to lose belly fat, there are certain exercises that are much more effective to burning calories. Let me share a few of these exercises with you.

Grocery shopping is something we all do, but when it comes to trying to buy healthy groceries, it can be easy for a shopper to be misled by packaging labels and nutrition claims that shout things like “all-natural” and “multigrain” in an attempt to convince us to purchase unhealthy products that are masquerading as health foods. Even in stores like Whole Foods, which emphasizes “natural and organic foods“, there can be unhealthy options.

Luckily, FitSugarTV has some fool-proof advice that will allow you to navigate through your grocery store and pick out the healthy choices. A rule that’s easy to follow and that’s fairly accurate is to shop the outer walls of your grocery store first. Typically, this is where you’ll be able to find the fresh produce to fill your cart with before you head over for the packaged foods.

Speaking of packaged items: Take a look at the label and pick out foods with less than five ingredients.

Watch the video below for additional tips about how to pick the right meats, veggies and fruits that you aren’t eating but should!

If you’re looking at one thing that you can do to fight fat and lose the belly fat, then exercise is one thing you definitely need to incorporate.

A recent study showed the following results:

• Those who were inactive had more fat buildup deep inside their stomach.
• Moderate amounts of exercise kept levels of belly fat the same.
• Higher, more intense exercise cut deep into the fat around the midsection.

The study appears in The Journal of Physiology. Duke University Medical Center researchers performed the study under the supervision of Cris Slentz, PhD, who is an exercise physiologist and colleagues.

Mindset Shift

If Slentz had it his way, people would stop thinking “weight loss” and start thinking “health gain.” You see, belly fat or abdominal fat is known in the scientific community as visceral and liver fat and it’s located very deep within the abdominal cavity. It also fills the spaces between internal organs and this type of belly fat has been associated with an increased risk for heart problems, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and even certain types of cancer.

Visceral fat isn’t just a problem for all the millions of overweight and obese people. People who appear thin can also have too much visceral fat if they aren’t in shape.

How Do You Compare?

The study conducted by Slentz included 175 men and women from North Caroline.

• All the people chosen were overweight, sedentry, and had cholesterol issues ranging from mild to moderate
• The age group selected was between 40 – 64 years old
• All women selected were postmenopausal.
• Of those selected, none had high blood pressure or diabetes
• None of those selected had any plans to diet
• Close to 20% were minorities.

The people were split into groups and agreed to do the following for six months:

• Stay inactive (the comparison group)
• Asked to get low amounts of exercise that would be considered moderate-intensity (roughly equal to walking 12 miles weekly)
• Asked to get low amounts of exercise that would be considered vigorous-intensity (roughly equal to jogging 12 miles weekly)
• Asked to get high amounts of exercise that would be considered vigorous-intensity (roughly equal to jogging 20 miles weekly)

Participants were either supervised directly or wore heart-rate devices to monitor their exercise intensity. The participants used either a treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical trainer.

During the study, they were asked not to change their diet.

Blasting Belly Fat

Imaging scans of the belly were done before the study and after to check visceral fat levels. The results:

• For the sedentry group, visceral fat rose by nearly 9%.
• For the group who did low amounts of exercise at either intensity, visceral fat stayed the same.
• For the group who got vigorous exercise, visceral fat dropped on average by 7%.

The group did the most vigorous exercise also had close to a 7% drop in fat around their midsection. This group was also the only group that lost fat.

Ending Thoughts

Those who actually ended up losing fat did the equivalent of jogging 17 miles a week. While this seems like a lot of exercise, it is an achievable amount of exercise as seen from the study participants who were all previously either overweight or obese and all were sedentary.

It should also be noted that resistance training is wonderful for strength improvement and increasing lean body mass, however according to Slentz “if you are overweight, which two thirds of the population is, and you want to lose belly fat, aerobic exercise is the better choice because it burns more calories.”  According to his study, 67% more calories were burned when doing aerobic training as opposed to resistance training.

If you’re looking to lose belly fat, aerobic exercise is the way to go, and while high intensity exercise is best for losing the fat, it’s just important to get balance and to get out there and exercise. What really counts is how much exercise you do per day, how many miles you walk or jog and how many calories you’re able to burn. If you end up choosing a lower intensity for your aerobic exercise, it will just take you a longer amount of time to burn the unhealthy fat as opposed to those who do higher intensity.

When it comes to building muscle, it can be a good idea to learn from others. You want to absorb the correct information, the proper movements and which exercises go together. A lot of people don’t maximize their gains because they don’t have the proper information.

In this post, I’ll talk about several fantastic programs that have been reviewed and tested to allow you to gain muscle quickly and efficiently.

Consistency and dedication are a key to allowing you to get 100% out of these workout routines so it’s important to choose a program that you feel fits well with your goals so that you don’t burnout and fail.

P90X

Author: Tony Horton
Website: www.tonyhorton.blogspot.com
Rating: 10/ 10
Cost: $119.85 (billed $39.95 per month for three months, plus $15 shipping)
Guarantee: 90 days full money back.
Pros: Highly effective for gaining muscle, losing body fat and getting into better shape
Cons: Must be willing to commit 1 hour a day for 6 days a week for a total of 90 days (including the 1 rest day a week)

Description: I’m sure you’ve seen the infomercials for this one, but does it really work? Absolutely! This program is amazing and is great for both men and women who are looking to lose body fat while gaining muscle. This program will whip your butt into shape and you’ll end up with better balance, flexibility and overall you’ll be in better shape.

MI40

Author: Ben Pakulski
Website: www.benpakulski.com
Rating: 9.5/ 10
Cost: $77
Guarantee: 60 day risk free guarantee
Pros: Highly effective for building mass. Also very informative as it helps with nutrition and supplements.
Cons: This isn’t a program meant for people who are trying to just tone up. MI40 is extreme and will pack  on multiple pounds of solid muscle. This program is typically geared more towards men than women.

Description: This guy is a beast, and there’s a reason for that. The program revolves around the number forty, hence the name MI40. The total length of the program is forty days, the length of a set is forty seconds with forty seconds of rest and there are forty exercises. Forty days has consistently been proven to be the most optimal amount of time needed to have your body adapt to a new routine and to allow it to effectively build mass.

The effectiveness of MI40 is quite astonishing. A lot of people have made extraordinary gains using the program. Ben explains everything that needs to be done, from the routines to what you should be eating and what supplements you should take for optimal muscle growth. If you decide to opt into his program you receive a 40-Day MASS Intelligence Training Manual which goes into the science of why forty is so optimal for creating muscle tension leading to rapid and permanent muscle growth, as well as a 40-Day MASS Consumption Nutrition Manual which will discuss Ben’s patented nutritional plan to allow you to lose body fat and gain muscle. Additionally, you get the 40-Day MASS Instruction Workout Videos which is over 7 hours of training material in video format so that you can visually learn how to do the routines. You also get a few other goodies when purchasing this program.

With this program, if you’re willing to put in the time and follow it, you will see some amazing gains. Of course, there’s no such thing as a magic pill or single exercise that will get you into shape. You have to be willing to put in the effort and follow the guidelines if you’re hoping to get results. If you dedicate yourself, then I guarantee that you’ll see results.

Whilst it is important to cut down on your consumption of saturated animal fats, cutting out too much fat from the diet can deprive us of essential fats, which play a vital role in keeping us healthy.

Essential fats are needed by the brain, nervous and immune systems, cardiovascular system and the skin, and are rarely stored as fat.

According to Dr Udo Erasmus, the world’s leading authority on fats and oils: “Dry skin, water retention, increased thirst, physical and mental exhaustion, emotional imbalance and inflammatory diseases such as eczema and arthritis, frequent infections or allergies are the first signs of essential fat deficiency.”

A deficiency in these fats is also linked to high blood pressure, dry eyes and poor memory function. The ideal ratio for good health is approximately twice the amount of omega 6 to omega 3. A low intake of essential fats can trigger depression.

Diet

There are two types of essential fatty acids (EFA’s). These are Omega 6 and Omega 3. They are termed essential because the body cannot survive without them.

Omega 6 fats are found in oils such as evening primrose oil, starflower oil and sunflower oil. They are vital for thinning blood, lowering blood pressure, maintaining water balance in the body and decreasing inflammatory conditions like arthritis.

Omega 3 fats are most commonly found in oily fish such as mackerel and salmon, and in linseeds and pumpkin seeds. Omega 3 aids brain function, co-ordination and mood as well having a regulatory effect on the level of cholesterol in the blood. Sprinkling one tablespoon of linseeds plus a tablespoon of sunflower seeds onto your breakfast cereal daily creates a breakfast both high in fibre and EFAs.

Supplements that may help

There are many ways to ensure you get enough essential fats in your diet:

Essential Balance Oil is made from cold pressed linseeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and contains a healthy ratio of Omega 3 and 6 fats. Use over salads or add a couple of teaspoons to cooked dishes. Available from all good health stores.

Dr Erasmus has developed his own oil called Udos Choice made from organic flax seed, sunflower, sesame seed and wheat germ oils which is available either in bottles or in capsule form.

For details, ask your local health store. These oils are highly unstable and should be kept in the fridge and never heated.

Hints

I use these oils for my salad dressings and they taste delicious if mixed with a drop of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and a little mustard.

For anyone who has had their gall bladder removed, suffers Crohn’s disease, colitis, has a sensitive gut, irritable bowel and cannot tolerate too much oil (as the liver has to metabolise all fats and oils) use Dri-Celle essential fatty acid powder by BioCare. The EFAs have been micro encapsulated into water-soluble fibre and then freeze dried using no oxygen or heat. This powdered formula is therefore totally stable which increases absorption dramatically. It bypasses the liver and is 100 per cent absorbed in the intestines.

Avoid buying refined, mass produced oils from supermarkets and never fry food as this makes the fat rancid, which may cause cancer.

Avoid all oils and fats that have been hydrogenated or have “trans fats” on the label. Use Vitaquell or Biona (instead of hard margarines) as they contain healthier fats, available from supermarkets and health stores

I’d like to take your attention off of coconut water just for a second, and talk about another fantastic healing tonic; Aloe Vera juice which is fantastic for pain relief and inflammation reduction among other things.

The juice has a very distinct, almost pungent taste, so you may want to mix it into your protein shake or morning smoothie. The recommended dose for getting the most benefit out of this fantastic beverage is two to eight ounces a day.

Some of the benefits of Aloe Vera juice includes the following:

• It helps with the entire digestive process, encouraging good bowel movement. If you’re constipated, it’ll help with elimination of waste and if you have diarrhea it will help to ease your intestinal tract to make your movements more solid.
• Aloe Vera assists with your immune system, even for those with chronic immune disorders like polysaccharides or fibromyalgia as Aloe Vera’s polysaccharides assists in stimulating macrophages, the white blood cells that fight viruses.
• It helps with pain relief and reduction of inflammation by improving joint flexibility and strengthening joint muscles, as well as assisting with regeneration of body cells.

Although coconut water has been wildly popular for centuries where coconuts grow naturally, it’s only now in the U.S. that the fitness community has been heralding the advantages of coconut water, even referring to it as “nature’s sports drink.” The reason for this is that it contains five electrolytes and is great for re-hydrating yourself.

To learn some of the benefits of coconut water, read below.

Coconut water is:

• Rich in natural vitamins, particularly vitamin V. It’s also rich in minerals and trace elements such as zing, iodine, selenium, etc.
• It’s rich with amino acids, enzymes,  and phytonutrients.
• It’s a source of  five separate electrolytes and natural salts, especially potassium and magnesium.
• It’s very low calories and nearly fat free. It’s also very low in sugars… it contains only a fifth of what other fruit juices contain in terms of sugar.
• Full of cytokinins which has anti-aging, anti-cancer, and anti-thrombolytic effects in people.

Most people don’t like having that extra flab around their midsections, but we tend to just put up with it. The problem is that the extra fat around the stomach can be quite unhealthy. Even for people who are thin, having extra fat can cause health concerns.

Here’s the thing, people store their fat in one of two ways:

• Right underneath the skin in areas like the thighs, hips, buttocks, and abdomen. This type of fat is subcutaneous (under the skin) fat.

• If you take a deeper look inside the body, you can find fat that covers the vital organs  (liver, lungs, digestive tract, heart, etc.) as well as in the chest, abdomen, and pelvis. This type of fat i’s called visceral fat.

You can think of it this way… subcutaneous fat is the visual type of fat whereas visceral fat is hidden and cannot be seen by the eye.

Clearly, people are more self-conscious about the fat that they can see, however it’s the fat that we can’t see that can pose the bigger threat regardless of your size.

Fat doesn’t just sit around doing nothing. It acts like an organ that secretes substances, says Kristen Hairston, MD, who is assistant professor of endocrinology and metabolism at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

While visceral fat provides necessary cushioning around organs, Hairston says, it secretes “lots of nasty substances” that can be absorbed by the neighboring organs.

For instance, visceral fat cells release inflammatory compounds that can lead to insulin resistance and some cancers. Excess visceral fat is linked to greater risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and cancers of the breast, colon, and endometrium.

So now that you understand that fat can be a problem regardless of your pant size, the question is how to lose the fat. Aside from allowing you to be healthier, it will give you more confidence to shred belly fat and get yourself into good shape.

How Can You Control Visceral Fat?

There are two major components to losing fat: exercise and diet!

Exercise

Forget spot-reducing as there is no such thing that you can do to target your fat. As you burn calories, you’ll lose fat.

But if you really want to cut the fat, high intensity aerobic exercise has been shown through various studies to trim subcutaneous and visceral fat as well as fat stores in the liver linked to fatty liver disease. Not only that, but by doing aerobic exercise vigorously, you can slow the build-up of visceral fat throughout the years.

Duke University performed a study where participants performed 30 minutes of intense cardiovascular activity which was done four time a week. When the study was finished, the results showed that the participants of the study were able to reduce more visceral abdominal fat as well as subcutaneous fat over the control group. Resistance training alone reduced only subcutaneous fat.

It’s important to always have some activity in your life. Studies have shown that people who lead inactive lifestyles have a greater build up of visceral fat over time. A lifestyle that includes moderate activity – raising your heart rate for 30 minutes at least three times per week – significantly slows visceral fat gains.

Diet

There is no diet that targets visceral fat alone. But when you lose weight, belly fat usually goes first. Check out some of the foods listed below that will help with boosting your metabolism and allowing you to burn the fat around your belly! Before we get to the special metabolism boosting foods, something that you should consider is eating more meals a day but reducing your portion size. Most people recommend eating 5 – 6 meals a day, trying to have something to eat every 3 – 4 hours.With each meal, try to incorporate at least one of the foods listed below to really help keep your metabolism at its peak.

Special Power Foods That Boost Metabolism

Whole Grain Cereal, Oats
Secret Ingredients: Calcium, complex carbohydrates, and fiber

Foods that are made up of complex carbohydrates and fiber such as brown rice or oats will speed your metabolism by ensuring that your insulin levels are kept low after eating. The reason this is good is because spikes in insulin is what triggers your body to store fat which leads to your body slowing down metabolism meaning fewer calories are burned. Complex carbohydrates break down much more slowly in the stomach than refined carbohydrates so that your insulin levels don’t spike as much.

Milk
Secret Ingredient: Calcium

Milk is great because the calcium acts as a metabolic trigger. A study was done that found dieters who consumed around 1,200 (mg) of calcium a day lost almost twice as much weight as those dieters that received less calcium.

Jalapenos, Habaneros, Cayennes
Secret Ingredient: Capsaicin—the chemical in peppers that gives them their bite

Capsaicin can speed up the heart and a study performed in the 80′s found that eating one single spicy meal boosts metabolism up to 25 percent. Not only that but the calorie burning effects can last up to 3 hours after you’ve finished your meal.

Green Tea, Coffee
Secret Ingredients: Caffeine and a chemical in the tea called EGCG

Caffeine can speed up your heart rate which can cause your body to burn more calories. EGCG, the active ingredient found in green tea works almost in the same manner, except instead of making your heart pump faster, it causes your nervous system to run more quickly, which allows you to burn more calories.

If you really want to burn some extra studies then take some caffeine with a dose of EGCG three times a day. Doing so can help you burn almost an additional 100 calories a day, at least according to a recent research study. That’s just your body at rest!

A study performed in Quebec at the Laval University found that men who consumed a spicy peppered snack with a cup of coffee were able to burn almost 1,000 more calories over the control group!

Lean Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey
Secret Ingredient: Protein

More energy is required for your body to digest protein, especially from meat sources, than either fat or carbohydrates. The more protein you eat means that your body will have to work harder during the digestion process allowing you to burn more calories.

There is no diet that targets visceral fat alone. But when you lose weight, belly fat usually goes first.