If the need for losing belly fat is becoming an obsession, you may be wondering how you approach it in such a way as to actually succeed. How to lose belly fat for me is the one goal in my life I have never actually accomplished. To those that do not understand where I am coming from, you probably should not be reading this article as it is likely you have won the battle. However, for those of you that find losing belly fat a lifelong trauma; read on.
The key for me to losing belly fat or any other excess weight lies in four things:
1) Nutrition;
2) Exercise;
3) Motivation, and;
4) Patience.
If I am honest, I need to lose in the region of 112lbs to reach the top end of my 'healthy weight'. To me this seems like a mountain reaching into the heavens that of which I can never reach the summit. So how do you lose belly fat and still enjoy the foods you like to do?
The first step is to understand the relationship between calorie intake and weight. It is simple, for a man to survive not doing any exercise takes approximately 2200 calories. For a woman this figure is in the region of 1600 calories to maintain her weight. If you increase your exercise levels and keep your calories the same over a prolonged period excess fat will be lost and eventually you will reach your ideal weight. Reduce you calorie intake by 100-200 calories per day and your weight loss rate will increase.
Although I understand the principle and can put it into practice over a couple of weeks, even a month I eventually fail due to boredom with the same old routine and my relationship with food. As my mood varies so does my food intake, when experiencing a low mood I tend to reach for the chocolate and crisps. Where most people will have one packet of crisps or a chocolate bar I will have two or three. After which, I feel the same low mood only with a little guilt thrown in due to my gluttony. Now I am not writing this article just to tear myself apart, on the contrary, it is a way for me to assess why I have bouts of overeating and what triggers these episodes. I know I am not alone; millions of people out there suffer the same frustrating relationship with food. We love eating and eat to feel better only to feel guilty for eating.
I would be more pragmatic about our disorder; we simply have not trained ourselves in the methods to control the overeating. So spend one week writing down every time you feel the urge to over eat. If it results in an overeating episode, write down your thoughts on why you ate and MOVE ON to the next day. Every overeater, including myself, around the world needs to learn to forget the last day and live in the moment.
So in order to lose belly fat, it is essential you understand why you have cravings and put mechanisms in place to ensure these thoughts lead to a positive effect on your weight loss. Now my approach is this, every time I feel the need to overeat I put my shoes on and take the dog round the block. This has two effects, the dog burns excess energy and stops chewing my walls and I feel better without the guilt associated with over eating. So try it for one week or a month, substitute food with an activity and like me you will start to feel the benefits of a more active lifestyle and the belly fat will slowly start to reduce.
This leads me to points 3 and 4, motivation and patience. If you need to lose 100lbs it is going to take a lot of motivation and a great deal of patience as it is going to take up to two years to healthily lose the belly fat. In order to keep your motivation levels high I would recommend joining a club where there are groups of people who can help motivate you. If you cannot do this, make a video of yourself or take pictures and every time you feel your m motivation is lacking; take a look at the video or pictures and remind yourself where you came from and the probability of going back there if you fall off your personal weight loss program. So keep motivated but be realistic; do not expect a rapid change. It will take time and patience but your life WILL be transformed in the long run.
Copyright (c) 2009 Lakeland eBooks
I am not here to bash having a drink or two, but I am going to encourage anyone who wants to lose body fat to rethink their drinking habits.
First and foremost, alcohol is a poison and your body must fight to get it out of your system. It directly impairs liver function thus severely hampering your metabolism of fat. If fat loss is your main goal moderation is a key. I have trained many adults who like there nightly beverage, but they never or rarely lose body fat. I would suggest limiting alcohol consumption to once a week if fat loss is your goal.
When your liver is processing alcohol it will stop all other metabolic functions. It will do so until it rids your body of ethanol toxicity which is the by product of alcoholic consumption. This process leads many times to stubborn fat, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and syndrome X.
Drinking in excess will also contribute to fat gain not loss. If you think you are going to gain muscle mass while drinking think again! Your liver is to0 busy doing something it does not want to do, process alcohol instead of amino acids. In addition, alcohol reduces testosterone.
We have not even touched on how many extra calories alcohol consumption can add to your daily caloric intake. As my good friend Tom Venuto states, "Those calories add up so quickly." Think about how much you consume and the caloric value of each drink. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. This is almost twice that of carbohydrates and protein and just under the 9 grams per calorie for fat. Here is an example: consuming 2-3 drinks a day can add up to over 400 calories extra each and every day. Multiply that by one week and you are over 2700 calories extra. That is over a half a pound.
According to studies drinking alcohol increases visceral adipose tissue. This is the fat around your body organs. NOT HEALTHY! Other studies suggest alcohol consumption increases and stimulates appetite. I remember when I went through my Nutrition and Lifestyle Courses, alcohol was an afternoon subject and I recall this sobering thought, "If you really want to piss off your entire digestive system and set your body up for a total metabolic nightmare, drink alcohol before you eat."
Another item I have learned from Tom Venuto was the simple but often overlooked factor that by doing something everyday becomes habit-forming behavior. The daily routine of consuming an innocent evening drink will lead to the ill affects of alcohol consumption.
Consuming alcohol again stops all fat burning, adds extra calories, increases estrogen level (stubborn fat), increases appetite and makes you more easily persuaded to eat that entire cheese cake.
There are some simple guidelines you can follow that will not only help you stay on the fat burning path, but will encourage better overall health.
Drinking red wine is much better for you then drinking beer. Red wine contains some good things that can benefit your health. On the other hand consuming beer, which contains hops and are highly estrogenic, will lead to more fat gain and harder fat loss.
Try to stay away from extra sweet drinks with added sugars. This will keep your blood sugar from a massive spike while having a drink. Have you ever wondered why are these drinks are so popular?
I would highly suggest that you read my stubborn fat solutions report (and you think you have stubborn fat) and to avoid alcohol for at least two weeks while your detoxify your liver and get started on a friendly fat burning environment.
Follow the European model; eat some fat or protein with your wine. The more food you have in your belly the slower the absorption. It also aids in insulin regulation. Avoid high carbohydrates snack with alcohol. It carries many metabolic problems like insulin elevation and high fat levels in your blood stream.
According to nutrition author Ori Hofmelkere if you are going to consume alcohol red wine is the best and beer is the worst.
Some common problems with alcohol consumption are:
Reduced testosterone, developement of additional estrogen, problems with hydration and Inability to absorb vital nutrients
In summary, I would suggest eating an anti-estrogenic, well- balanced diet and minimize alcohol consumption until you reach your fat loss goals. This will also aid in your quest for a set of six pack abs.
Both Mark Inglis & David Grisaffi are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mark Inglis has sinced written about articles on various topics from How to Sell on Ebay, Fishing and belly fat. Join me on our weight loss journey and receive FREE weight loss publications