It’s common knowledge that eating foods high in fat can contribute to weight loss.  High fat generally equates to high calories, which if not burnt by the body is then stored as fat on our bodies.  However, it may be that not all fats are detrimental to our efforts to lose weight.

Not all fats are equal

Fats are an essential part of our diet, required for many functions in the body.  They are needed to maintain healthy skin and hair, as well as to allow uptake of fat soluble vitamins A,D,E and K into the body.  The essential fatty acids, needed for clotting of blood, brain function and inflammatory response, must be obtained from food as they are not synthesised in the body.

Saturated fats VS Trans fats

There are a number of different fats that are found in the foods we eat.  Saturated fats, those found in animal products like meat, butter, and cheese and also a lot of processed foods are generally agreed to be unhealthy and likely to inhibit weight loss.  These fats are converted to bad HDL cholesterol in the blood, whilst simultaneously reducing levels of helpful LDL cholesterol.  This can cause a build-up of fat in the blood vessels, eventually leading to cardiac disease.  Saturated fats have also been implicated in the development of other lifestyle diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes and some cancers, not to mention obesity.

Then there are the trans fats.  These are originally unsaturated fats, which are chemically altered by the process of hydrogenation, usually to make them into a solid form that can be used as a cheaper alternative to solid animal fats such as butter and lard.  This alteration essentially causes the fats to behave in the same way as saturated fats in the body and high levels of intake have been linked to similar lifestyle diseases, most commonly coronary heart disease.  It should be noted that there is now strict policies regarding labelling of trans fats in food in the US and some states have in fact banned them from foods.  Hence food products such as margarine are now either trans fat free or contain very low levels.  Both trans and saturated fats will not only increase your risk of heart disease and other lifestyle diseases, but also contribute to weight gain when eaten in large amounts. See also: Burn fat and build muscle

What are healthy fats?

So let’s move onto the healthy fats.  The ones that may have the potential to help us decrease our overall body fat in additional to a host of other health benefits.  These are known as the unsaturated fats and come in a variety of forms such as polyunsaturated (PUFAs) and monounsaturated(MUFAs).  PUFAs are generally found in plant based foods, but also include the omega 3 fatty acids found in oily fish and are thought to improve blood cholesterol as well as to lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes.  MUFAs are found in a variety of foods and oils and have also been shown to improve blood cholesterol levels and blood sugar control.

Studies have shown that there is a possible relationship between intake of these healthy fats and a decrease in weight.  One Harvard study compared men and women on both low fat diets and diets which consisted of 20% of calories from MUFAs.  The high MUFA diet group dropped almost double the weight in eighteen months even though both groups had a similar calorie intake.  Other studies comparing traditional low fat diets with diets such as the Mediterranean diet, which is higher in unsaturated fats, have also shown better weight loss with the higher fat eating plans.

There has been some talk of fats, such as conjugated linoleic acids (found in dairy products and sunflower oil), MUFAs, Omega 3s, increasing the metabolism in the body resulting in the burning of more body fat.  A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that when saturated fats were replaced by MUFAs in the diet, participants lost weight and body fat, despite the fact that overall calorie intake didn’t change.  Similar results have been seen in numerous studies in animal models.

Eating a diet high in unsaturated fats may also increase satiety, curbing hunger and therefore contributing to a lower overall intake of food, therefore less calories are consumed.  This may cause the body to start to burn fat for energy.   However, it is still important to remember that all fats, even the healthy ones contribute a large amount of calories, therefore it is advisable to keep total fat intake to less than 30% of your daily calorie intake.  When increasing your intake of unsaturated fats, try to choose un-processed natural sources where possible, as chemical alterations can change the health benefits of the oils.  Try to include a source of MUFAs at each meal for best results.

Good sources of unsaturated fats:

• Vegetable oils and nuts

These are high in MUFAs.  The best sources include sunflower, olive, canola, avocado, peanut, sesame, soybean and cod liver oils, as well as almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, peanuts and cashews.  Spreads such as margarine made from these oils are also good sources.

• Fruits

Avocados and olives are both high in MUFAs.

• Legumes and Seeds

Sesame seeds and products made with them such as tahini, as well as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds are all high in MUFAs.

• Fish

Oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, tuna and sardines all contain large amounts of PUFAs (in this case Omega 3 fatty acids), as well as a moderate amount of MUFAs, making them an ideal choice for increasing unsaturated fat intake.

• Enriched foods

It is now possible to buy many foods that have been enriched with nutrients thought to have health benefits.  Unsaturated fats are often found in products where they are not normally present or where normal levels are low.  Common foods to be enriched  include yogurts, bread, milk, juices and margarines, many of which can be found containing omega 3 fatty acids or plant stenols and stanols (which inhibit bad cholesterol formation).  Even with this fortification however, you may still need to eat a huge amount of the product to see any effect on your health.

• Supplements

There are thought to be many beneficial effects of unsaturated fats, particularly the omega 3 PUFAs.  However, if you do not like fish, are vegetarian, or unable to eat fish and seafood for whatever reason, it can be hard to eat the levels required for optimum health benefits.  In this scenario, it may be beneficial to take fish oil or omega 3 supplements, but it is important to consult with a health professional to see if supplementation is really necessary in your diet.

If you are anything like me, you love watching movies, reality TV shows and other forms of entertainment. Which means you  have probably noticed how almost all celebrities seem to be  in excellent shape year round , but why is that, what do they do different from average people ?  Is it because they have access to miracle supplements or 300 dollar an hour personal trainers?

It’s all about dedication and motivation

Well if you read my latest article on supplements, you would know they can help you, but they certainly are not causing any “miracle transformations”. Now they may a have a slight advantage with the trainers though, they have world-class trainers watching what they eat and designing their workout programs.  However, what is the real reason they stay in such good shape? The answer is simply dedication, and motivation. They are paid to look good, and that promise of money will bring them all the dedication and motivation they need.  What you need to do, is find something that motivates you to get healthy, and use that to make sure you stay dedicated. Is it that you want to be able to play in the yard with your grandkids someday?  Or is it as simple as the promise of a long healthy life, that’s for you to decide.

Once you find a real reason to exercise and eat correctly, doing it day after day, week after week, will not seem like such a big deal. In addition, that dedication will be what you can use to look just as good as any celebrity through consistent dieting and exercise.

Fastest is not always the best way to lose weight

However, once you have that dedication to your fitness goals, there is still the task of finding the best way for you to achieve them. Notice I did not say fastest way to achieve them, losing weight extremely fast is not all its cracked up to be. The weight you are losing could be just water weight or even worse lean muscle mass.  Losing weight and getting into shape takes time, on average you should expect to lose 2-5 pounds a week, 5 pounds being the high-end and not very common.

The first thing you need to do if you plan to lose weight (or belly fat) is get together a good nutrition plan. Your primary concern should be finding a plan you can follow easily without getting bored and cheating. I have helped many people lose weight and let me tell you, there are no exact steps or recipe for fat loss that will work for everyone.  Such as meals per day, studies have shown eating more meals a day (6+ meals) is healthier for you overall, it increases your metabolism each time you eat and has many other physiological benefits.  However, the main reason I recommend this to clients is simple, the more meals you eat per day, the more likely you are to get a large variety of healthy foods and nutrients.

Instead of eating three square meals a day such as…. 

Breakfast: 4 Eggs and 2 Pieces of Toast

Lunch: 2  Deli Cut Ham Sandwiches on Wheat Bread

Dinner: 15 Ounces of Sirloin and a baked potato

You could eat something like

Breakfast: A bowl of oatmeal or a low sugar cereal

Snack: A cup of blueberries, strawberries, or a banana

Lunch:   Ham and low fat cheese Pita bread wrap.

Snack:  A low fat dip with celery sticks or even a serving of baked chips

Dinner:   A 8-10 ounce sirloin and baked potato

Snack:  A 100-calorie snack pack

Unfortunately, some people due to time restraints simply cannot find enough time in the day to eat this many meals, which is why they may need to go about dieting in a different way more suitable for their lifestyle. However, the second option is a more interesting diet and allows you to mix things up.

Are you cheating on your diet?

One of the main reasons people fail with diets is because they get bored of them and then CHEAT.  This is also another reason I recommend multiple meals a day. Say you follow my plan and eat 6 meals a day for 7 days a week that is 42 meals a week. Now make two of those cheat meals.  Based on that, basic math tells us we would be only “cheating” at around 4% of our meals and eating healthy the other 96%. That sounds fair to me, and I have helped many people lose 30+ pounds using that same basic philosophy, because that is what worked for THEM.

In the end, if you want to look good year round like celebrities or athletes you need to use a diet that fits your lifestyle and you could see yourself following the rest of your life.  Also, remember it took you YEARS of unhealthy eating to put on that extra 20-50 pounds of excess fat, so do not expect it to be gone in a week.

Exercise like a celebrity

The next thing you will need to incorporate into you daily life to reach your fitness goals will be exercise. Although dieting alone CAN help you reach your fat loss goals, it will be a lot easier and more forgiving if you use exercise as well. Plus, if the celebrity or athlete you want to look like is a man, you can bet he spends a lot of time in the gym, but we will just go over cardio training for now.

There are two types of cardio popular to lose weight, high intensity interval training commonly known as HIIT, or low intensity training such as walking or biking a few miles. Which one is more effective?  I recommend you use a mixture of both, slightly leaning towards more HIIT training. If you saw the movie “300″ you know every guy in that movie was in great shape. Which is especially relevant because they even published the workout they used for the actors, “The 300 workout”, and it was a form of HIIT training. Research has shown HIIT training not only affects fat lose faster during your workout, but also increases your chance to burn fat after the workout.  I recently wrote an entire article just on HIIT, and recommend you give that a look to learn more about that specific form of training.

However, remember no exercise or diet program in the world can help you get your ideal physique if you are not dedicated enough to follow it. Nevertheless, if you stay consistent with a program, I guarantee you will get results faster then you ever thought possible.

Being deeply involved in the fitness world and regarded as a fitness expert, one of the questions I receive daily is “What supplements work?” And I think that is a good question, but you also need to ask another question as well, which is “Which supplement COMPANIES are the best?” That is why I decided to write this article, in hopes to answer all of your questions you may have about supplements, but especially those two very important questions. I will start it off with the companies as I feel this should be your primary concern and first step to getting actual results out of your supplements.

Which Supplement Companies Are The Best?

To me a good supplement company is a company who not only carries products with good basic ingredients that work, but also companies who go that extra mile for you. Does the company have a support line you can get your questions and concerns answered directly by them?  If it is a performance based nutrition company, is the company heavily involved with athletes that are in the trenches competing everyday? To me this is one of the things to look for in a company; it proves that the company not only supports their product by talking with you about it, but they also support athletes to make sure their product works well for everyone.

However, you may be thinking, “I am not an athlete why does that matter to me?” Well it is simple: it matters for you because athletes expect great results and be at the top of their game every day, they will only use supplements that help them build as much muscle and lose as much fat as possible. They will use supplements that give them energy to compete at a high level and they will not accept products that do not deliver.  Look at an athlete like Scot Mendelson, being the worlds best bench presser, he cannot use second-rate products, he has to use every advantage at his disposal to keep his world records intact.

Which Supplements Work and Why?

It is safe to say that if you are eating healthy, working out and looking for supplement advice you are trying to build muscle, lose fat or improve your general performance.  Therefore this is what will discuss with you below.

“Weight Loss” Supplements 

Anyone looking to lose a serious amount of weight has considered weight loss pills I am sure. However, what are these “Magical Pills” really doing for you? You see, most weight loss products on the market today are simply using extreme amounts of caffeine with some other filler ingredients to help you “lose weight”.

First of all, you need to know caffeine is a Diuretic, basically meaning it will make you urinate more, thus losing more water weight.  But if you have read my other articles, you know water weight is something that can easily return and is not true fat loss, it just makes people THINK they are losing weight fast thanks to the pill, but then they will gain it back. They will probably gain the water weight back right when they come off the pills and begin to urinate normally again, a good strategy for the company right?

Sadly, it does trick many people into jumping on caffeine-focused weight loss pills that really just hurts them in the end.  Prolonged unnecessary amounts of caffeine on a daily basis have actually been shown to increase stress levels, overall appetite and cravings for “junk food”. This is why if you notice a “fat loss” pill is mostly made up of caffeine, you should stay away.

Now I am not saying all weight loss pills are useless, but the ones with PRIMARILY caffeine in them are just a clever trick by companies to sell overpriced caffeine pills that will just hurt you in the end.

L Carnitine

L Carnitine is an example of a weight loss supplement that does not use any caffeine.  It is a natural compound found in a few different sources such as avocados and dairy products. I am not saying it will help you lose 30 pounds, but if you are relatively lean already, you can definitely see results from it. Studies have shown it can be beneficial to increased muscle mass, fat loss and increased energy.  A main factor L Carnitine has is a low price, and this is why I think it is at least worth a try.

Muscle and Performance Enhancing Supplements

The next group of supplements we will discuss are supplements that are used to enhance your bodies performance or ability to build muscle.

Pre Workout Supplements

A good example of a performance enhancing supplement is a pre-workout supplement, these types of supplements are designed for you to take sometime before your workout to improve your focus, performance and results in your workouts. What you are looking for in a good pre-workout supplement are solid basic ingredients proven to work through testing.

You are looking for is a good mix of energy boosting ingredients such as Vitamin B-12 , 1,3-dimethylamylamine  and even some caffeine (avoid all products who focus mainly on caffeine).

The best pre workout supplements also use muscle building or recovery ingredients to constantly feed your muscles with nutrients and help you receive better results during and after your training.  Good examples of these ingredients that are completely safe and proven to work are Beta Alanine, L- Arginine, and Creatine.

Protein

The next supplement I will talk to you about specifically is Protein. Protein can be found in many food sources we eat every day  ranging from meats, eggs, nuts, cheeses, and beans to seeds. Protein is what our body uses to actually build the muscle we work out so hard to gain. If you do not consume enough protein daily, you simply will not gain muscle as you expect. Most experts recommend AT LEAST 1 gram of protein per 1 pound of your bodyweight daily. Therefore, a 200-pound man should consume 200 grams of protein spread out through the day.  However, there are two main types of protein supplements on the market today, Whey and Casein.

Whey Protein is a quick absorbing type of protein not found in any specific food. Therefore, to consume a large amount of whey protein and get its benefit of being quickly absorbed into your body, you will need to buy whey protein powder. Whey protein powders come in many varieties and flavors, but always check the label and look for key words such as Whey Protein Isolates and Whey Protein Concentrates. This shows that the best quality protein is used in the product. Whey protein is appropriate for your post-workout source of protein and will quickly be absorbed by your body. Almost all professional athletes are using whey protein after a workout and some even use it pre-workout to fuel their muscles throughout their training.

Casein Protein, on the other hand, is a slow digesting protein, which can also be found in milk and other dairy products such as cottage cheese.  Casein protein being a slow digesting protein is best taken right before bedtime, this way it will continue supplying your body with protein throughout the night as you sleep and recover. Casein protein is not a type of protein you want to take near your workout though, as it cannot be absorbed fast enough. If a protein supplement mainly contains casein protein, do not buy it for pre or post workout uses.

Creatine

Creatine is supplement staple used by athletes and weekend warriors alike for around 100 years. Creatine was actually first discovered in 1832 and has been used for supplemental uses since 1912.

Creatine is naturally produced in the human body in the Kidney and Liver. Most of our Creatine however (around 95% of it) is stored in skeletal muscle, and considering it is created daily in the human body, it is a non-essential nutrient. 50% of all Creatine stored, comes from the food we eat, mostly being meat as many studies have shown vegetarians have significantly lower amounts of Creatine in their bodies. This is why supplementing Creatine may be more important for some than others.

Studies have shown Creatine to increase performance in short bouts of exercise by as much as 15% and is used by bodybuilders, Olympic lifters and other athletes around the world.  One of the main benefits of creatine is that it increases your muscles water retention, in some individuals  adding around 4 Lbs of retained water around muscles in as little as 1 week. This has been proven to allow for the muscle itself to grow faster overtime. However, more importantly, Creatine is also used by the body to create ATP, which is necessary for the body to produce energy in day-to-day life.

Although we naturally consume Creatine through food sources daily, you simply cannot consume enough Creatine without supplementation to gain its real benefits.

Beta Alanine

Beta Alanine is yet another great supplement I recommend and is beginning to pop up in all the best products. Beta Alanine is not as popular as creatine or protein yet, but it is on the rise and I am sure soon it will be. The easiest way for me to explain how Beta Alanine works is that it increases your bodies’ carnosine levels, which acts as a ph buffer in your muscles, allowing them to retain their strength and endurance longer throughout the workout.  Prolonged studies of Beta Alanine supplementation have shown increased aerobic and anaerobic endurance, which allows you to work harder and longer to build more muscle.

L- Arginine

L Arginine will be the last specific supplement I will discuss with you.  L – Arginine is another naturally occurring substance. It is actually necessary for your body to aid in protein production.  For fitness related goals, L – Arginine has been proven to increase blood flow to muscles, increase your tolerance to exercise and even boost your immune system.  L Arginine has been linked with a lot of great benefits for your general health as well, such as faster surgery recovery, lowering blood pressure, helping dementia and much more. It is just a great general “catch all” of the supplement world.

General Health Boosters 

The main reason we try to lose weight, eat healthy and workout is to become more healthy individual’s right?  That is why I think you should at least take a daily vitamin product. Our bodies are very complex organisms and require many different variables to stay healthy and strong. This is where general daily vitamin products shine , they are packed full of different ingredients found naturally in your body that will help you feel better by improving your immune system , mental focus, liver and kidney function ect.  There are too many potential ingredients found in these products to discuss with you now, but that is where picking a good company will come into play

How to choose supplements that work – Summary and recommendations

That is probably a lot of information for you to process at once, but my goal was to give you at least a general idea on how to pick out a supplement and which ones are proven to work.  I just get so many questions about this subject daily and it can be a great asset to your training if used correctly. As I mentioned before, many supplement companies out on the market today falsely represent their product and take advantage of consumers like us.  Which means you should not only be picky about the actual supplement you use, but which company made it. Below I have included recommendations of my personal favorite supplement brands.

Protein Recommendations 

Protein is something I am relatively picky about using, a lot of companies these days use filler in there proteins and not actual Whey or Casein. Always look at the label of the protein to confirm if its main ingredient is actually whey or casein like your paying for. Or you could just use what I consider the best protein company on the market right now.

Optimum Nutrition: They have been around a long time and have a great track record with veteran athletes as being a go to source of protein.  Plus their products taste great and easily mix into shakes or food recipes.

Creatine Recommendations

Creatine is another product you do not want to risk buying a low quality version of and if you do, you will possibly just get bloating and no real gains. For a solid Creatine brand you cannot go wrong with Universal Nutrition’s, they use creapure, which is one the best versions of Creatine on the market. Creatine is something companies are all making “new and improved” versions, but do not believe the hype, just stick to a good old creapure Creatine.

Beta Alanine Recommendations

This is a pretty long list of supplements to take, don’t you agree?  That is why I always try to group them and make sure my pre workout supplement has Beta Alanine in it, which most good companies do, as Beta Alanine is great to take pre workout.  This will save you money and time. A good pre workout supplement with Beta Alanine in it is NLA Performance’s Supp-D.

L- Arginine Recommendations

L Arginine is another supplement I like to group in my pre workout supplement as that is a great time to take it anyway.  Again, you can use NLA’s Performance’s Supp-D to get your daily source of L Arginine.  Although, some people like to take L Arginine post workout as well, there are many good brands that offer L – Arginine only based supplements. Just look for a fair price and check the label and you cannot really go wrong.

Pre Workout Recommendations

A good pre workout supplement is going to get you pumped up, focused and ready to hit the gym.  There are countless companies that produce pre workout supplements, but in my opinion none make as good of a product as NLA Performance’s Supp D.  The factor that makes their product so successful to me, is they use proven ingredients in just the right balance to give you a great boost of energy and keep you focused.

L Carnitine Recommendations

As I said earlier, L Carnitines main thing it has it the fact that it is very affordable. It may not give you big benefits like a pre workout or protein supplement , but studies have shown it is a very effective supplement at what it does, which is promote fat loss , lean mass gains and provide you energy during exercise.  For the price, most companies sell it for I do not think you can go wrong.  A good company I personally use for my L Carnatine is NOW.

General Health Boosters Recommendations

The reason you are taking a “general health boosting” supplement is just to cover all the bases in a sense. Your body needs a large variety vitamins and nutrients daily to keep functioning at 100% efficiency and these are a great way to ensure you get all of them.  A great supplement to perform this task would be NLA Performance’s Frat Pack. It is a great general performance orientated supplement containing over 50 different natural ingredients.  It will help you with everything from enhancing your immune system to building muscle.  And trust me, it has every ingredient needed to achieve this, the company really knows that they are doing and just produces products proven to work, no gimmicks or strings attached.

Thanks for taking the time to read my article; I hope it answered many of your supplement questions and I wish you good luck in your fitness goals.

The Christmas period is approaching and the big rush to get ready has started. With less than a month to go the panic starts to kick in. Thanks giving just been and gone and you are still counting the food and drink casualties while you are trying to squeeze your into your outfit.

If your quest is a flat (or near enough) stomach, think both diet and exercise. With diet you will manage to lose the extra abdominal fat which has been accumulated but you will need exercise to actually increase both the weight loss and the appearance of your tummy.

Read here how you can get a flat stomach for the festive period and how you can keep it. 

5 Diet Tips for a flat stomach 

1.     Stop Dieting

Now this may sound silly. How on earth are you going to lose weight without dieting? Well how many times have you been on diet the past year alone or how many times have you said you will go on diet, and how many diets have you seen so far? If you are searching the internet for more dieting solutions obviously they previous haven’t worked.

Think of healthy eating instead of finding a diet. Aim to make small changes which they will become a lifetime habit rather than another weight loss project.

2.     Go Mediterranean

The Mediterranean dietary pattern has been consistently suggested by ‘the experts’ as one of the best diets to follow in terms of weight loss results and health outcomes. There are a number of different weight loss diets which have been based on a Mediterranean style of eating which you can choose from. Alternatively, you can just follow the basic principles of a Mediterranean diet such as, eat olive oil, eat ample fruit and veg., lower sugars and carbs etc.

Remember: Aim to establish lifestyle changes rather than just a weight loss plan. 

3.     Start Now

It may look like a bad idea to start eating healthy on the door step of a food and nibble festive period. However, eating healthy does not mean you will be depriving yourself this season. You can still enjoy what you like but in a healthier way.

If you leave it for tomorrow you will most probably end up picking a 1 week crash diet which is likely to make you suffer, not result in any significant fat loss (mainly water and sugar) and unlikely healthy. Hardly worth the torture, so motivate yourself and make that start.

4.     Cut down on liquid calories

This is probably the easiest way to cut at least 200 kcal from your day. Think how many sodas you have in one day. How many coffees or glasses of wine, or beer, or hot chocolates, milkshakes, fruit juices…the list can go on and on. You don’t have to go cold turkey and stop all your drinks through the day but you can make a plan and have so many per day.

Try to substitute some drinks with water or a green tea; both could help you lose weight and keep healthier. Why not carry a small bottle of water in your bag and if you feel thirsty you just have a sip. Have a freshly squeezed juice or a sugar free soda (not recommended to have too many sugar free drinks as some of the sweeteners used have been question for their safety).

5.     Go low carb and then enjoy that big meal

You are probably thinking that now it is the hardest time to follow a diet or make changes with all the dinner parties and/or meal commitments you have to attend. Well actually not.

Go strict low carb in the weeks/days leading to a big meal or dinner party (etc.) and then just enjoy the meal. No wise choices or diet options, low fat this or salad that; just eat whatever you want. The next day just go back to low carb until the next party.

This way you will actually be boosting your metabolism. However, you do need to be strictly low carbohydrate and low sugar in the in-between days and it may not be recommended if you have problems in controlling insulin/blood sugar.

4 Exercise Tips for a flat stomach

1.     Go Olympic

There is always that misconception that weight lifting is only for men and some exercises are only for body builders. Wrong. Resistance exercise can actually help you lose more weight than aerobic exercise alone as it used to be preached in the old days. In addition, functional exercises which provide full body (or close enough) work out can be better than just stationary weight lifting alone.

To bust one more myth, weight lifting does not necessarily translate to big muscles as some women tend to fear. What does going Olympic mean is try to do some Olympic lifts and functional exercises and you are more likely to get that flat stomach than doing 100 crunches alone. Below are some exercises for those who want to give it a go. These are for an example for beginners, men and women.

Dead lift: Works a number of muscles in the body directly or for stabilisation, including those in the abdomen, back and legs. There can be a few variations in performing the dead lift. Bellow is the classic style.

A new diet has arrived in the weight loss world. It is written by H. Hagikalfa and reviewed by Dr. A. Slee. In a market saturated with weight loss diets, can’t help wondering if adding one more it is just too much. You will find diets in every corner you look; magazines, books, internet sites, eBooks, and television they all have to offer a weight loss regime which is guaranteed to change your life forever.

So what does the ‘Combination Diet’ has to offer that other diets haven’t done so far?

The details

According to the authors, the Combination diet is designed to provide dieters with flexibility, by choosing what they want to eat and when they want to eat it.  How? I guess you can say it is a little bit of a mix and match style. The diet includes tables with food choices for main meals and for additionals. Dieters can choose any foods from the main tables and combine them with any foods from the additional tables as they please.

The idea is that dieters will be following a range of calories depending on how much weight they want to lose. They can then make their food choices and eat within that range of calories.

Does it work?

As a first view it can appear fiddly and confusing. What do I eat with what, calorie counting, how many calories I follow…etc. The authors do provide a detailed user’s guide which explains how to work the diet step by step. Put aside all complicated thinking in its bases is quite simple. You have the food tables and you can mix and match as you please.

In addition, it does provide some flexibility in respect of calories so dieters do not have to be playing around with grams of food to match the exact calorie target every day.

Moreover, it appears to be quite hard to over eat in calories as most of the choices have quite a low calorific content so unless you eat the entire menu at once you should be fine.

The deal

The Combination Diet is actually sold as a package of a bigger deal. What you get is access to a number of services such as calorie counter, food journals and experts’ advice. Money for value seems to be good as part of a package which would either wise cost a lot more than the £19.99 price of the deal. The question to be asked is how user friendly these services are and if services will be updated through time.

The book itself also contains a section for practical weight loss tips and an exercise section which is mainly focused in improving abdominal fitness. Although the tips section is not very big it has some valued points which can be used in everyday practice.

Scientific basis

The authors have included a list of references upon which the diet and the book contents have been based. The diet regime is designed upon the Mediterranean dietary pattern. A number of studies do support that The Mediterranean style of diet, can have a number of health benefits and can lead to weight loss.

It must be noted that what is the ‘Mediterranean diet’ is very hard to define as it includes around 18 countries and their different dietary styles. Some of the main elements considered beneficial and part of the ‘Mediterranean’ dietary pattern is olive oil, ample amounts of plant derived foods (i.e vegetables, nuts), and omega 3s (fish oils). The Combination diet seems to include majority of the ‘Mediterranean diet’ elements and to provide a balance of nutrients for the period it is aimed to be followed for (2 weeks).

In summary Pros and Cons

 Overall outcome…

Well it will not suit everybody but that goes with everything in this world. It is a good solution for those who can’t follow rigid diets and like some flexibility. That flexibility could feel as if you are not on diet at all as it doesn’t really restrict too many foods apart from takeaways, burgers, chips, cakes etc. Well it is a diet after all, for losing weight, so can’t ask too much.

It is not for those who want to lose a lot of weight as it is not meant for a long period although it can be followed for longer if wished and it does include tips on how to continue a healthy diet. In addition, it is not meant for those who want to lose 100lbs in a week.

However, it seems to be a good start for healthy weight loss and lifestyle change and it is part of a good package deal which includes just about everything you may need to lose weight. I guess if you are looking for a healthy multifaceted solution to weight loss and abdominal fat then it is worth trying the Combination Diet.

If you want to ask any questions about The Combination Diet, post your comment below and our experts will reply to the questions.

Searching for the fastest way to lose belly fat is very common. People are always looking for the fastest ways to do things and fitness is not an exception to this rule. The bad news is that there are no short-cuts when it comes to losing belly fat. Reducing your stomach size is a big challenge and you have to work hard and for a long time to see some real results. The good news however, is not impossible. Many people have managed to lose their belly fat and get a flat stomach or even a six pack. The best and fastest way to lose your belly fat is no other than exercise. Dieting is a major player in the whole process as well but you need to exercise regularly in order to remove fat from your body. Let’s see what you can do to speed up the process.

Fat burning exercises for the belly – the basics

First you need to understand that there are no specific exercises you can do to target fat residing in the belly. What you should do instead is fat burning exercises that will help you get rid of overall body fat. By losing fat from different parts of the body you will gradually open the way to reduce fat from the stomach as well. Generally there are two types of exercises you can do to accelerate the fat burning process and these are no other than cardio and strength training exercises. Once you eliminate the fat tissues from the belly muscles you can work your abdominal muscles and build a firm belly and why not a six pack as we said above. When you get to this stage you can also read about the best exercise to lose belly fat which explains with animated illustrations which are the best exercises for toning the belly muscles.

Continuing on our question, which is the fastest way to lose belly fat, it is important to note that to lose fat you need to achieve two things with your exercise and diet:

1. You need to burn more calories than you consume so as to lose weight and fat
2. You need to push your body to the limits, increase your heart beat rate and boost the fat burning process.

For the first part you can work more on your diet and be selective on the foods you consume. There are foods that carry less fat than others and there are even foods that can help you burn fat as you eat them (negative calorie foods). To get a complete list of these foods you can also read best foods for losing belly fat. This part alone however will not help you achieve fast results. To get rapid results you need to work on the second part.

Fastest way to lose fat

Burning calories can be achieved through exercise and physical activity. The more intense are the exercises the more calories you burn. This is the key in losing belly fat fast. You need to accelerate the fat burning process through cardio and strength training exercises. With cardio exercises you can burn calories and combining that with strength training exercises you can build more muscles which in turn will help you burn more fat. It is not very easy to do especially if you are a beginner in fitness.

This routine implies that you do cardio for 15 minutes, and then do strength training exercises (for example weight lifting) for 15 minutes and then cardio for another 15 minutes. What is important is to minimize your breaks and try to push yourself to the limits by accelerating your heart beat rate. When weight lifting, aim for more repetitions with less weight than fewer repetitions with more weight. Your goal is to wake up your muscles and boost your metabolism. Needless to say again that before doing any vigorous activities you need to consult your doctor to ensure that your body can cope with high intensity exercises.

So, the fastest way to lose belly fat is by following a low-fat diet and by doing cardio exercises combined with high intensity strength training exercises.

Do you want to lose belly fat but can’t find a way to actually do it? Most people tried dieting alone to lose belly fat and weight, but this usually takes a long time for it to show some good results unless if you are on an extreme diet like fasting. But for those who can’t even stick to their diet plans for a long time then it could be a big problem.

Think about it, exercising is the best way to lose fat and it may be the solution of the problem. It is a way to help you burn fat and also promotes good figure. Now, how can you do it if you really aren’t fun of going to gym whatsoever? Sports is the answer. Everyone have tried sport at some point in their life, and everyone has a sport that they truly enjoy. Why not use them to benefit in your weight loss endeavor. Here is how you can do it.

Start with a little check on what things you love to do. Sometimes it needs a bit of love to actually start something new. You should choose something familiar to you and that you love. It could be anything: it could be bicycling, or it could be camping or hiking. Start from there and actually do them. But if you want to have more choices in your list of what sports you can do, here they are.

Running

Running will help you burn for as much as 459 calories in just 30 minutes. And on top of that it promotes good inhalation and cardio exercise which totally benefits your health. Endurance and leg strength are utilized and strengthened as well. You only have to buy a pair of running shoes and your set to go.

Rock climbing

One good and adventurous way to lose weight is rock climbing. The energy burst that occurs when moving from one rock or to another would give you good results in muscle strength, endurance, flexibility, decision making, and of course fat burning. It helps you burn around 350 calories for every 30 minutes of rock climbing.

Swimming

It is considered as the best form of exercise by experts, swimming is a fun way to easily burn 360 calories in 30 minutes. You can easily tag along your friends or you can do it alone. Anything goes as long as you enjoy it.

Cycling

Famously used by many athletes or ordinary men and women. When you go on cycling you enjoy the sceneries and also lose weight and belly fat in the process. You can easily reach a range of 300 to 400 calories of fat burning per hour. Cycling is a definitely a good non-weight bearing exercise.

Boxing

A lot of women love this method! A pair of gloves and a punching bag or someone to spar with can help you lose weight easily. It is definitely a sport that a lot of people enjoy.  Boxing helps you burn for as much as 324 calories in half an hour.

The different ball games

Racquetball and basketball or soccer can help you burn belly fat and lose weight in a fun way. You won’t notice time pass while doing these activities. This would help you reach 300 calories burned, soccer maybe a bit higher than the first two since it requires constant running.

Seasonal sports like ice skating and skiing

These two can help you lose a range from 180 to 250 calories burned every 30 minutes, though a lot of accessories and experience may be needed for these kinds of activities.

Dancing

Dancing is a beautiful sport that most of us already use to burn fats. Aerobics is a form of dancing, now other kind of dancing like belly dancing helps you form and trim down belly fats.

When you think about it, there are actually a lot of ways to do it. And sport is just one part of it. Open your mind and lose your belly fats for real. Start now!

Belly fat is a problem for any age group. You could be a teenage, a mom or a woman on menopause and have a belly bulge. The problem most of us have is that we don’t have time to go to a gym and workout. We could be very busy with school, kids or career that the belly bulge gets to stay—maybe for life. If you want to look better today, there are some activities that you can do at home which will also help you lose belly fat. What follows are three categories, and in each of those are tips on what you can do at home to lose your belly bulge.

FOLLOW A HEALTHY EATING PATTERN

You can never lose belly fat and keep on eating like a slob. The first step to losing belly fat is to eat healthy, but not eat less. First, never let yourself starve. Eating is easy when you’re just at home, but don’t overeat too. Eating small meals every three hours is ideal, but you also need to watch what you’re eating. Load your diet with a great deal of fruits and vegetables. These are rich in fibers and are great for cleaning your system. You’d also want to eat food with complex carbs such as mushroom, broccoli and spinach. These kinds of food slowly release sugar into the blood system, giving you lots energy for the day. If the whole family is interested, you can incorporate your diet into the family meal and have everyone eat healthy food.

DO CARDIO EXERCISE

Doing cardio exercises is important for burning fat (like belly fat). This kind of exercise is when you make your heart rate go faster, such as when you go running or jogging. If you don’t have a treadmill at home, you can actually go up and down the stairs for at least 30 minutes a day, three times a week. As you progress, you can even switch to jogging up and down instead of just walking. Cleaning the house is another way to burn fat. Walking, lifting the furniture and moving your arms are a great way to make the heart go faster. If cleaning is not your thing, you can also dance at home. Dancing is a great cardio exercise, and you can either do it following a dance workout video or hire a dance instructor to partner with you.

DO STOMACH WORKOUTS

If you want to have a toned belly, you also need to work out the muscles in the mid- area. There are a lot of stomach workouts to choose from like crunches and sit- ups. If you don’t know how to do these properly, check the internet for instructions and videos on how to do it right. You can also buy an instructional video for you to follow. Aside from this, you can also practice holding your stomach in (when walking, sitting, etc). This is also a form of work out, and it will help you have a toned belly.

Belly bumps are a problem for a lot of people. While this is common with obese and overweight people, there are also some who have lean bodies but big bellies. Commonly, a health expert would tell you to follow a healthy eating pattern and do cardio exercises if you want to lose belly fat, but that also means you’d have to lose weight. If you are already on your ideal weight and just have to learn how to lose belly fat, here are some tips for you.

INCLUDE COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES IN YOUR DIET

Also called polysaccharides, complex carbs are made when a simple carbohydrate has three or more molecules bound together. Since it takes the body more time to break complex carbs down, it slowly releases sugar into our blood system, which in turn creates a consistent level of energy. You get to move more when you have more energy, and this greatly help in losing belly fat. There are many vegetable and whole grains that are considered complex carbs. Mushrooms, peppers, onions and spinach are good example of food with complex carbohydrates.

CONSUME A LOT OF LEAN PROTEIN

Lean protein is effective for making you feel full for a long time, preventing you from overeating. Fish, such as salmon, is an excellent choice. Aside from containing lean protein, it also contains omega- 3 fatty acids—a good fat that is beneficial to health. You can also eat chicken and turkey as long as you choose the white meat. Just make sure to remove the skin before eating. Roasted, grilled or baked meat and a plate of salad are great for losing belly fat.

WEIGHT TRAIN

Aside from doing cardio exercises, it’s also ideal to do weight training if you want to lose belly fat. Weight training is when you lift weight to develop skeletal muscles. Unlike powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting though, weight training is simply a form of exercise and not a sport. If you decide to include weight training in your workout, it’s best that you consult with a doctor first. You may have an underlying problem which could get worse when you do such activities, and it’s better for a doctor to give you a check up first.

There many people who want to lose fat and more particularly the so called belly fat. Because it took months or years for you to get them, it would definitely take just about the same time or even more to get rid of them naturally. For that reason, some people consider the idea of availing surgical procedures like liposuction to achieve a faster result. However, since liposuction is an invasive procedure, the risk of infection and hemorrhage is always there. So, if you wish to learn how to lose belly fat, nothing still beats the natural method. This article tells you the best exercises to lose belly fat fast and healthy.

LOSE THE FLAB THRU CARDIO

Go from flab to fab by hopping on a treadmill for at least 30 minutes a day. Cardio machines like treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, and stair mills are great calorie burners because it requires your body to convert fat deposits to energy to accomplish the tasks.

A good cardio workout is very important if you wish to lose weight fast. Crunches and other belly specific workouts do burn calories, but they are mainly focused in sculpting the midsection for a stronger core.

DO BELLY SPECIFIC WORKOUTS

Although cardio workouts are your best option to lose the belly fat, fitness experts would always recommend incorporating it with some belly specific workouts. Below are the top three on our list based on its ability to work on the three major abdominal muscles – rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and transverse abdominis.

#1 Bicycle Crunch exercise:

1. Lie flat on the floor
2. Place your hands under your head
3. raise your legs and move it in a circular pedal motion
4. While doing leg work, bring your left elbow to your right knee; right elbow to left knee as you continue pedaling.
5. Do 15-20 counts for 2-3 cycles

#2 Captain’s Chair exercise

1. Using the Captain’s Chair, Start by dangling your legs and slowly lifting your lower limbs up towards the chest
2. Control your movement as you deliberately return to the starting position.
3. Use your abdominal muscles to lift your lower extremities.
4. Do 10 to 15 counts for 1-3 cycles

#3 Balance Ball crunch

1. Lie on the balance ball with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Use your abdominal muscles to lift your torso to no more than 45 degrees
3. As much as you can, keep the ball stable as you do your crunches.
4. Do 10 to 15 counts for 1 to 3 cycles.

DO FLEXIBILITY EXERCISES

Do not limit your workouts to cardio and strength training. Enrolling in classes that help your body become more flexible like Yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates are very beneficial to achieve a flatter belly. Though these workouts do not burn as much calories, flexibility workouts put the body and mind in synch and helps reduce the risk of joint and muscle pains when doing other exercises.

If you wish to lose the belly fat fast and healthy, make sure that you incorporate these three exercises in your daily routine – Cardio workouts, Strength training, and Flexibility exercises.

It is a fact that is harder for women to lose weight compared to men because they have higher fat percentage and less muscle mass, thus women needs to exert more effort to achieve the body that they desire. Furthermore, women gain fat faster than men because of the same reason and because women are genetically programmed to accumulate fats in the belly to prepare the body for conception, the chance of women getting belly fat fast is extremely high. Don’t worry though because this article provides some tips on how to lose belly fat fast for women naturally.

Tip #1 Write a food journal

Celebrities like Carrie Underwood are one of those women who effectively used the food journal to lose weight. A food journal can be a small notebook or a notepad where you can write all the food you have eaten with its corresponding calorie value. Keeping a food journal helps its bearer to lose weight because it enable you to tract your calorie intake, thus you do not go beyond the calories that you have planned.

Moreover, a food journal could also contain your weekly menu so you won’t be wasting time computing the calorie content of your food in front of the waiter. It may also contain the foods which you mostly eat with its corresponding calorie value so when you crave for an unplanned snack, you can always check your food journal how much work you need to exert to burn the calories it contain.

As a fitness expert, I strongly recommend food journals to my clients because it could be a healthy outlet. Studies show that a depressed person tends to overeat causing him/her to gain weight, writing how you feel in your food journal could help you vent out your feelings minus the extra calories.

Tip #2 Keep your cool

As earlier stated, stress causes a person to eat more, but do you know that stress could literally causes belly fat?

The body secretes a naturally occurring hormone called Cortisol when responding to stress. Cortisol is generally good because it helps the body cope with stress however it also moves fat from some parts of the body and places it around the organs of the abdomen which is called visceral fat. Too much accumulation of visceral fat causes the so called “belly fat” which is not only unhealthy but unsightly as well.

Tip #3 Burn the fat through dancing

There are several ways to lose the fat; you can opt to exercise in the gym, try out a new sport, or do activities that you enjoy like dancing. The latter is quite popular among women. It is a very effective calorie burning activity because it combines rhythm, coordination, slow to fast movements, and fun. The energy that is being exerted plus the amount of fun which allows a person forget about the time makes it the best belly busting technique.

My belly fat-burning list includes belly dancing, step aerobics, hiphop, and ballroom dancing. Doing at least 30 minutes to an hour of these everyday is surefire way that you’ll melt those belly fat like butter.

The belly is one of the hardest body parts to work with. If you take a look online or even on TV, a lot of products are offered to deal with belly fats. This is because you cannot be truly sexy unless you have a flat, toned abdomen. A lot of people think losing belly fat is not that complicated. Just do as much crunches as you can daily, and you’re on your way to getting the abs that you want.

When I was young, I tried doing crunches every night. I started with 20, then to 50 then finally to eighty. While I feel my abs ache as a result of the exercise, I never got the same abs that Britney Spears have. This made me frustrated, and I eventually stopped doing the crunches. If I had only done it right, the time I spent doing crunches every night might have yielded to better results. To prevent yourself from going through the same level of frustration, here’s what you can do to lose belly fat.

DE- STRESS

Yes, keeping yourself from stress will actually help get rid of belly fat. Studies have shown that the area around the belly has more cortisol receptors than any other parts of our body. Cortisol is the hormone produced by our system when we get stressed. Since the area around the belly is abundant with it, the receptors cause more fats to be deposited on it whenever we get stressed. Who’ll think that stress actually causes more belly fat, right? Now that you know, avoid being stressed as much as possible. My secret is to take a deep breath every time something stressful happens, which is actually quite effective. Taking a break from work every now and then will also help your body cope up with stress. Instead of working on your rest day, take the time to go fishing with your family. You’ll find that this will help you lose your belly fat in no time, and would even strengthen your family bond as a bonus.

DO MORE THAN CRUNCHES

Even when you want to lose belly fat, working out the belly area alone is not very effective. To have a flatter belly, you’d need to do more than crunches. You can start with doing cardio exercises, which will help burn the fat stored in your belly. Not only that, cardio exercises will also increase your metabolism which means you’ll lose weight too. There are a lot of cardio exercises one can choose from. You can jog on your treadmill daily, or you can also run outside and enjoy the outdoors. You can also swim laps if you love water. The important thing here is to make your body move, raising your heart rate.

SLEEP MORE

If you don’t sleep as much as you need to, your body metabolism slows down. This is your body’s way of coping with the lack of sleep, in that it preserves as much energy as possible. Remember that less fat is burned when you have slow metabolism, and this will not help in losing belly fat in any way. Another reason for you to get more sleep is because lack of it will cause more stress. People who were not able to get a good night’s sleep are not able to focus on work or on school, leading to more frustration and stress. Remember that stress will cause your system to produce more cortisol, and it will end up in your belly. To avoid having a bump where a six pack should be, work out; rest, and prevent yourself from getting stressed.

A lot of people hate their belly because of the bulging belly fat. Belly fat could restrict a person from wearing body-hugging clothes, two-piece bikinis, and midrib shirts. This goes especially true to women, thus they resort to wearing baggy sweater to hide the belly fat. If you are one of those who wish to attain a flatter belly, the following are foods that can help you lose belly fat fast and safe.

Food #1 lean is green

It is a common knowledge that vegetable salads could make a person full yet they contain very few calories. This fact does not oblige you to go vegetarian to lose weight. If you are a natural carnivore, you do have the option to continue eating meat however you must stick with lean meat only. This means scraping off the fat that surrounds the red meat and skipping the greasy chicken skin.

Eating lean meat helps you lose belly fat because of its high protein content. Protein helps build and repair the muscles, and muscles burn more calories which results to fat loss. So the next time you have the urge to eat meat, go on and grab the leanest you can find as this could be the key to achieve a flatter and leaner belly.

Food #2 Egg whites

Some people could have omitted eggs in their menu because it is said to contain a lot of calories. This is partly true, literally. The inner part of the egg – egg yolk – contains 59 calories and has extremely high amounts of cholesterol. However, the outer part – egg white – only contains 17 calories and has very low amounts of cholesterol. Furthermore, egg whites are heavy on the belly and a very good food source of protein.

Tip: Use hard boiled egg whites instead of meat as your protein for vegetable salads. It has lesser calories but contains almost the same amount of protein as that with meat.

Food #3 Whole grains

Carbohydrates could give you more pounds. However, if you know how to choose the right carbs, it may actually help you lose belly fat. There are two types of carbs – simple and complex.

Simple carbohydrates are directly absorbed in the blood, which causes a sudden spike of energy. This type of carb is usually found on sweet foods like milk, syrups, and milk products. On the other hand, complex carbohydrates take longer time to process, thus they provide constant supply of energy. This means, the glucose from complex carbs which are converted to fat will not be stored in the body in large quantities compared to the simple carbs. Thus, consuming complex carbs found in whole grains are one of the highly recommended foods if you wish to lose belly fat or any other fat in the body, in general.

The best way to lose belly fat fast is to cut down your calories but do remember to maintain a balanced diet when doing this. This means, eating foods that contains all the nutrients that the body need but with lower calories.

One of the things that most people wished to attain is an ideal body, a fat-free belly and to become physically fit. Belly fat seems to be one of the biggest problems that men and women are facing nowadays. We thought that women are the only ones who are conscious of their health and dreamt to attain an ideal waistline. Think again, because even the male gender had wished to lose the belly fat and probably build a six pack abs as well.

Some men wanted to have a fat-free belly due to health reasons, while others simply want to look good. Whatever their reason is, majority of men around the world have the same question in their mind and that is “how to lose stomach fat?”

Factors that contribute to belly fat on men

Factors that contribute to belly fat on men are sedentary jobs, unhealthy eating habits, and vices such as alcohol drinking. These are just few of the reasons, but eliminating or doing something about these factors will greatly help in reducing the belly fat and love handles.

To start, you should have a proper mind set or goal on how to lose stomach fat. In addition to that, you must engage in a regular exercise and commit in eating a balanced diet. This means you need to avoid, or at least limit, consuming sweets, oily foods, and junk foods.

A good workout routine for men who aims to lose stomach fat is a round of at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise daily and resistance training. Cardio workouts include treadmills, versa climbers, stair mills and any other machine that increases your heart rate to the fat burning zone.

However, if you feel uncomfortable in a gym, you may also do outdoor cardio activities like swimming, hiking, and biking. In fact, even recreational sports that most men enjoy like basketball and football could be a great calorie burning workout as well.

After losing a good percentage of fat, you may also want to build the muscles on your midsection. You can achieve this through resistance exercises like crunches, sit-ups, lying leg raises, and plank poses. In addition to sculpting your abs, you may also want to do a total body resistance training to achieve a proportionate and well-sculpted upper and lower body.

Losing stomach fat alone is a big challenge, much more if you wish to have ripped abs as well. However, if you are determined and committed, there will be no reason why you can’t reach your goal. Hard? YES! Impossible? NO!

In one of our previous posts on how to lose stomach fat, we outlined the two major methods you can use to get rid of the fat reserves from the belly: Careful diet and regular exercise. Although this sounds logical and correct many people have difficulties getting the results they want. The major reason that this happens is failure in following the diet or exercise regime consistency for a number of weeks. People are very anxious to lose belly fat and get ready for the beach but and they get bored easily and quit. The result is frustration and disappointment. In this post we will outline 5 tips you can follow on a daily basis that are not hard to implement but they can generate some good results if you follow them consistently for a period of time.

1. Eat small meals more often. This is a very basic rule of weight loss. Eating small meals regularly will increase your metabolism and boost your weight loss efforts. Prepare a daily/weekly meal plan in advance and follow it for a couple of weeks. Once you get used to this way of eating you will realize that it is more practical and healthy.

2. Breakfast is a must. Do not have the misconception that by skipping breakfast you aid your efforts to lose stomach fat. Breakfast is a great way to start your day and can give you the energy required until your next meal.

3. Do not eat anything without checking. If you are serious about your efforts to lose weight and fat then you need to start taking care of what kind of foods you eat. Eating anything you like is not going to help you get the results you want fast. Before buying anything read carefully the food labels and try to avoid foods that contain high amounts of calories, fats and sugars.

4. Become a slow eater. People who eat slowly have a great advantage when it comes to weight loss because they tend to eat less than people who eat fast. There is a scientific explanation as to why eating slowly will make you eat less but what is important for you at this stage is not the theory but to actually put that technique into practice.

5. Water is your best friend. Do not underestimate the importance of water in healthy leaving. Our body is full of water and this 0 calories liquid has to offer a lot to our health and well-being. We are not going to explain all the benefits of water in this post but it is very important that you drink as much as water as you can. If you want make it a habit to drink a glass of water before your meals. You will notice that not only you will eat less but your organism will function better.

So, the summer may be many months away (for some regions) but by following the above tips you have more chances going to the beach with a flat stomach.

Many people have difficulties understanding how to lose belly fat. They know the theory about losing fat from the belly but they do not know from where to start. To give you an idea of what you need to do to lose belly fat we have prepared a sample meal and exercise schedule. Following this plan will help you get into the right track and sooner or later you will get the results you want. Knowing exactly what you need to eat and what kind of exercises you need to perform can be very helpful in the beginning until you figure out your own meal and exercise schedule. What will bring you long lasting results is not a plan prepared by someone else but a plan that suits you own needs and requirements.

Menu for the week

Exercise plan for the week

See also: Exercises to lose belly fat and best way to lose belly fat

When a person wants to lose belly fat fast, s/he tends to do stupid things. S/he could resort to weight loss pills, fad diets, or even go under the knife. However, those ways could be very expensive, thus people look for other weight loss alternatives that does not require you to shell out cash.

The most popular choice is starvation because it is convenient, inexpensive, and said to be effective. But do you know that starvation diet is dangerous? It slows your metabolism, deprives your body from the nutrients it need to function properly, and could even resort to an eating disorder called anorexia nervosa. If you want to know how to lose belly fat in 2 weeks without starving, this article is for you.

#1 Understand how it works

Belly fat is burned when the body requires high amount of calories to be converted to energy. Therefore, you need to either reduce you calorie intake or increase your daily activity and aim to lose the excess body fat deposited in different areas of your body.

#2 Know how much you need

You may use online calorie calculators or The Harris-Benedict Equation to know your daily calorie requirement. This is essential so you can effectively formulate your belly-fat burning game plan.

#3 Do a calorie deficit

Consume fewer calories than what your body burns. For example, if you burn 2000 calories daily, reducing your calorie intake to 1500 calories per day will require your body to burn the stored fat to produce the amount of energy you need, thus creating a calorie deficit. For every 3500 calories converted to energy from body fat, you’ll get to lose one pound. Having a 500 calorie deficit daily results to 2 pounds lost in a week.

#4 Burn calories

Though regulating your calories work, doing exercises to burn the belly fat works faster. You may do high intensity interval trainings (HIIT) to burn calories super fast. HIIT is composed of the usual exercises like cycling but with higher intensity and with a shorter duration. A typical HIIT will only last for 20 minutes per session and 3 sessions per day.

#5 Do belly specific exercises

Though crunches and plank poses do not greatly help in losing belly fat, it is still important to incorporate these abdominal exercises in your routine because it will aid in sculpting a well-formed belly. In choosing your exercises to lose belly fat, simply target the major abdominal muscles because they will define the shape of your belly, thus producing a slender and a well toned look.

A flat stomach is an asset to show off whether you’re a guy or a gal. It gives you the “right” to wear skimpy swimwear as well as body- hugging clothes. Getting a flat stomach is not actually as hard as what most people think, provided that you know how to do it. There are a lot of tips to follow; most of them are related to low fat diets and belly exercises. In this article we selected the best tips for getting a flat stomach. These tips are not the usual stuff you read about losing belly fat but they are 3 alternative ways on how you can approach the whole process without feeling bored or tired.

Best Tips for Getting a Flat Stomach #1: Try belly dancing

Belly dancing requires your whole body to move but the special movements are focused on strengthening the stomach muscles. Through belly dance, you awake all the tissues in your belly thus providing a head start for the overall calorie-burning process. Furthermore, belly dancing improves blood circulation and helps your body convert fat to energy. It is an activity that requires the major muscles of your abdomen to move, thus in some way you get to tone them. This proves that belly dancing does not only flatten the stomach, but it increases the possibility of you getting a six pack abs as well.

Best Tips for Getting a Flat Stomach #2: Eat low calorie food that is packed with nutrients

Following a balanced diet is a major factor for getting a flat belly. And what is more perfect than a vegetable salad with goat cheese, olive oil, and roast turkey? This is the total package.

For example you can toss in sliced vegetables like lettuce, cucumber, potato, tomatoes, and fresh Arugula. Squeeze in some lemon juice, drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil, small amount of cottage cheese, and top it with lean turkey breast with skin off. And don’t forget a dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper to add more taste. This salad is less than 150 calories but you get all the nutrients from different food groups in it. You get carbs from the potatoes, vitamins and minerals from the vegetables, protein from turkey, calcium from the cottage cheese, and good fat from olive oil. This is a good way of meeting your daily nutrient requirement without compromising your low-calorie diet

Best Tips for Getting a Flat Stomach #3: Engage in relaxing activities

Activities that help you feel relaxed, like yoga, are said to help a person achieve a flat stomach. According to yoga experts, yoga tones abdominal muscles because of routines like supine poses and other belly- busting poses. Furthermore, yoga helps relax both the body and soul and instills the discipline of healthy eating and healthy living. If a person understands and applies the principles of yoga eventually he/she will naturally eat foods that are only good for the body and increase physical activity, thus weight loss and a flat belly is achieved with lesser effort.

A sagging belly fat is usually coupled with a bulging lower back fat. This lump of fat on this part of the body is more difficult to disappear because it does not break down easily, compared to fat deposited in other areas of your body, thus you need to exert extra effort to reduce the quantity of fat or to totally get rid of the fat stored in the adipose cells.

It is highly beneficial to know that the lower back fat as well as all the other fat deposits in the body is due to the intake of excess calories that are not converted to energy. This usually happens because of a bad diet and sedentary lifestyle, thus calories are converted to body fat or “reserved energy” instead of “real- time energy”.

Based on the above fact, the only effective way of losing the fat in the posterior is by reducing the total fat percentage of the body. This means, workouts that provide pressure on the back will not help you lose fat but will only allow you to develop stronger back muscles. Unlike, if you do total body fat reduction exercises you will be able to reduce fat in all the areas of your body including your lower back fat.

Cardio exercises that increase the heart rate as well as improve the oxygen system in the body are among the best fat burners. These exercises include treadmills, elliptical trainers, rowing machines, stair mills, stationary bikes and versa climbers. If you are not the type of person who enjoys working out in a gym, you may do the actual activities mimicked by these machines like walking, running, climbing up the stairs, mountain biking, and rowing. The important thing about getting a good cardio exercise is that you force your body utilize a large amount of energy to perform these activities by converting body fat to energy.

As for the caloric intake, it is of utmost importance to watch the amount of calories you get from the food daily. This does not mean that you start starving yourself to death by not consuming calories at all, but the point is to simply limit the amount of calories. Make sure that the calories you take in will not exceed the amount of energy that your body burns off daily. Furthermore, you need to know the amount of calories contained in the food you eat. It is unnecessary to memorize the exact amount of calories of each food. But to give you an idea, fatty and starchy foods usually contain high calories. Though this may be the case, you still need to make sure that you are able to consume foods from all the major food groups like carbohydrates, fats, protein, calcium, and vitamins and minerals because your body needs the nutrients from these foods. So the best thing you can do is to look for low-calorie alternatives by reading the label found at the back of food packages.

Start reading the label from the top where you can see the serving size, the amount of servings per container, and the calories per serving. This portion will tell you how much or how little you should be consuming from the pack. Just below the calorie information is the percentage of daily value. You often find the unhealthy nutrients contained in the food listed first. This usually includes Total Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium. These are the nutrients that you need to limit. And just below that, are the healthy nutrients. These include but are not limited to Dietary Fiber, Vitamins, and Minerals. A quick guide in understanding the daily value is, 5% or less is low and 20% or more is high. And lastly, you’ll find the Footnote which will serve as a guide on the recommended daily value for each nutrient.

Lower back fat is definitely unsightly and difficult to lose, however if you know how your body works and follow the tips on this article, you would have a better chance of at least reducing the size of that bulging fat on your lower back area. Soon, with continuous exercise and disciplined eating, you will attain a leaner and sexier back.

Men and women have been opting to have a well-sculpted body. This includes a broad shoulder, a firm chest, lean thighs and arms, and flat abs. These areas tend to accumulate fat easily because they contain most of the fat tissues in the body.

First in – Last out

The abdomen will be the first part of your body to bulge due to the amount of fat deposits and the last to tone down because of its large share of adipose tissues or fat tissues. The rule of gaining and losing body fat can be summarized as “first in; last out”. This means, if you start seeing an increase of body fat in your belly, let it be a message that you need to start doing something about it. Furthermore, if you feel that your abdomen starts to flatten, it tells you that you are on your way to a healthier and leaner you.

The size of your abdomen tells a lot about your weight. The appearance of belly fat and love handles are definitely not a good sign because it tells you that you are getting unhealthy and it could also stop you from wearing tight-fitting clothes as well as swimsuits.

Get rid of love handles!

If you are desperate to learn how to lose belly fat and love handles, you would probably resort in purchasing expensive abs workout machines, taking weight loss pills, or even thinking of getting a surgery. These procedures may work but any health expert would surely recommend taking the healthy path.

It may sound too cliché but the best way to lose belly fat and love handles is to eat a balanced diet. A balanced diet includes consuming food from all the major food groups which includes protein, carbohydrates, fats, calcium, and vitamins and minerals. Be aware though that not all foods are healthy, so you need to check the labels. Choose foods that are high in nutrients but low in calories. Find the lowest calorie food you can find and try to mix and match this with other low calorie food to attain a fulfilling meal. You can find all sorts of “low-calorie” or “no-calorie” food alternatives in the grocery take advantage of these goods because losing weight is equal to losing belly fat and love handles.

Another cliché advice that you’ll receive is exercising regularly. As boring as it may sound, but working out will really help you lose weight and eventually that sagging tummy bulge. The effectiveness of losing weight through workouts depends on factors like the kind of exercise, the intensity, and the amount of time you allotted for it. Exercises with higher intensity and done more frequently require the body to produce a good amount of energy, and guess where the body gets the reserved energy? From the fat deposit sites like the belly, of course.  That means, the best exercises to lose belly fat and love handles are those that require a good amount of energy to perform like cycling, running, and jumping and not the “crunches” like what most people think.

It is important to remember that you need to watch what you eat and burn the calories that you don’t need, whether you aim to lose body fat on specific parts of your body or you just want to maintain your current shape. Eating a balanced diet and getting a regular workout are two elements that are essential for you to attain the body of your dreams. Losing belly fat and love handles healthily does take a while, however everything will seem fast once you get used to it and start enjoying it. The important thing is you get to have a leaner and healthier body that you’ll be proud of.