Category Archives: Abdominal Fat

Feb 21 2012

Are Layers of Fat Hiding Your Toned Abs?

A layer or layers of fat could be covering your toned abs. While you’re building up those muscles, you need to burn total body fat too. You can do that, among other things, by following a healthy, managed meal plan.

Keep your daily food journal until you know what, how much and when to eat. As the week goes by, compare what you eat to your grocery list and planned menus. This will hold you accountable on a daily basis. Step by step, day by day, week by week…stay with your grocery list and meal plan most of the time and you will succeed.

You will help your success with your meal plan by eating your daily servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. I’ve never heard of anyone getting fat by eating too many fruits and veggies. And, cut out ALL SUGARY DRINKS. Drink only water or unsweetened drinks like tea. If you will do just those two things, you will be well on your way to shedding body fat on your abs and whole body.

How much food do you need to eat every day? You have to achieve a caloric deficit (burn more calories than you consume) on most days to lose weight and burn fat. You don’t need to strictly count calories but you need a good handle on what you are eating.

So, to start out on the right track, set your daily calorie intake based on your basal metabolic rate, your activity level (including exercise) and your goals. This way, you won’t eat too much or too little. Maintaining the right amount of caloric deficit is the key to burning fat and losing weight.

If your basal metabolic rate is 1,800 calories a day, 1,000 calories of food intake is not enough food for you to function properly! This type of calorie restriction will cause your body to shift to survival mode and store fat. Your body will also be a total wreck if you do this too much!

So, if you eat 1800 calories and burn 2,200-2,300 calories a day (through BMR, movement and exercise), you will lose weight and burn ab fat and total body fat.

Despite what some infomercials say, you cannot eat as much as you want and still burn fat and lose weight. There are some medical exceptions but the cause of weight gain for most of us is that we love food too much. Don’t blame your weight gain on your “slow metabolism!” A slow or sluggish metabolism is not the major cause of weight gain.

But you can speed up your metabolism and make burning fat easier. Exercise regularly (strength training and interval cardio) and you will burn more calories during the day and night. Also, eat right and often. Eating small meals every 3-4 hours will keep your metabolism humming and will keep your body from shifting to “starvation mode.”

Eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. For example, eating an apple would be better than eating sugary applesauce.

Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to the replacement method of eating:

Cut out these types of foods: sodas, sugary fruit juice drinks, candy, cookies, donuts, fried meats and fried foods, fast foods, ketchup, mayonnaise, high-fat salad dressings, foods in a box or bag, refined foods

Add these types of foods: oatmeal, nuts, low-fat dairy products, low-fat yogurt, fruits, veggies, unsweetened tea, water, salad greens, lean meats (baked, broiled or grilled), olive oil, cinnamon, mustard

What do you eat for snacks between meals? You could be gaining weight because of your snacks between meals. What you eat for snacks can mean the difference between out-of-control weight gain or weight loss management/fat loss.

Going too long between meals can cause you to load up on sugary carbohydrates to get quick energy. These types of snacks are usually high in calories, not very nutritious and cause rapid ups and downs in blood sugar levels. You also end up wanting to eat more and more. Great snack foods are nuts, fresh fruits/veggies, yogurt, salad greens and smoothies.

Uncover those hard-earned abs by burning the fat covering them!

Be sure and download my FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program and get started changing your body!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Check out my other great blogs:

My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

Feb 1 2012

Slim Down Your Tummy for Health and Beauty

One important goal that you should always have is to slim down your tummy. Do it for beauty if you want. I want you to do it because its good for your health.

I know the size and shape of your abdominal area is important to you. Keep thinking that way…..

A fitness assessment is performed by a professional trainer before you start your exercise program. Body fat measurements will let you know where you are and how far you have to go to reach your goals.

You should focus not only on your belly fat…..focus on burning total body fat with full body circuit strength training and short, intense interval cardio sessions.

Your strength training sessions can be about 30-40 minutes (3 times a week) and your cardio sessions about 20 minutes (2-3 times a week). Your strength training workouts will include core exercises like planks, bridges, back extensions and mountain climbers to help burn your belly fat. If you want to do extra “belly fat burning” core exercises on off days, you can.

There is a correlation between chronic diseases, such as cancer, and abdominal fat.

Work to shrink your waist size and abdominal fat. Researchers from the American Cancer Society warns us about the deadly risks of having too much belly fat.

Eric J. Jacobs, PHD, American Cancer Society strategic director, and his colleagues found that people with very large waists (47 inches or larger in men, 42 inches or larger in women) had approximately twice the risk of death compared to those with the smallest waists (35 inches in men, 30 inches in women) during the study period.

It didn’t matter if the person was normal weight, overweight or obese (according to body mass index).

“We found a pattern showing that expanding waist size was linked to a greater risk of dying regardless of body weight,” said Jacobs. “Similarly, people with the smallest waist sizes had the lowest risk. The take home message here is watch your waist size regardless of your weight.”

Burn your post-baby fat as soon as you can. Don’t let post-baby fat follow you to subsequent baby births, if possible. Excess weight/fat gain and failure to lose this weight six months postpartum are predictors of long-term obesity, according to research.

Exercise plays a huge part in the fat-burning process. Many women continue to do strength and cardio training well into the third trimester of their pregnancies. Sometimes medical conditions don’t allow much exercise. After the birth of your baby, resume your regular workouts as soon as you can.

And, get a good fat loss meal plan that you can maintain. It obviously plays a huge part in the success of your fat loss and weight loss efforts.

Start slimming down your tummy region now (summer is coming)!

Be sure and download my FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program and torch body fat now!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Check out my other great blogs:

My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

Jan 9 2012

Fight Body Flab without Fad Diets

You can lean and tone your body no matter how much flab (fat) you have! Don’t ever rely on fad diets and quick weight loss programs again! Shape the body of your dreams by being consistent with your weight loss and fat loss program. This will give you the shapely body you need and want. You don’t have to settle for less.

Here are some tips to burn the flab and get and keep your dream body:

1. If you want fat loss, weight loss and a lean and toned body then you MUST eat for fat loss. Everyone needs a meal plan. You need to have some sort of idea of what you are going to eat for the day. If you don’t have a meal plan, you might eat anything at any time. If you have a plan, you are more likely to follow it or at least eat similar foods. And, record what you eat in a food journal to hold yourself accountable.

2. Burn more fat with full body strength workouts. Train large muscle groups, don’t workout longer. Maximize your time in the gym and get the results you want. The quality of your workouts are better than the quantity of your workouts.

Shorten your weight training workouts to 50 minutes (3 days a week) or less and ramp up the intensity! Doing this will give you more fat burn and calorie burn during and after your workout.

Compound strength exercises like squats, deadlift, lunges, standing bentover rows, squat-to curl-to press and bench press are great examples. Full-body core exercises like planks and side planks work well also.

3. Do short, intense cardio workouts (about 20 minutes, 3 days a week)! Sprint Intervals or similar cardio exercises activate and shape the bulkier, shapely fast-twitch muscle fibers. This type of cardio will also burn fat and calories like crazy and give you superior heart health.

4. Walk 30 minutes every day, especially on your non-workout days. Walking helps you to keep an active lifestyle.

You can also build muscle mass with bodyweight workouts and burn flab. Bodyweight workouts use natural body motions that don’t limit your natural range of motion like machine lifting does….and your body will look beautiful and not man-like!

Bodyweight workouts can also be strength and cardio workouts combined……so it will save you even more time during your busy day. If you have been doing regular weight training for a while, this workout can be a good change of pace for you.

Many bodyweight exercises are compound exercises. Do as many compound strength exercises standing up as possible to burn more calories.

Burn your body flab and keep it off!

Be sure and download your FREE eBook: “10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips,” Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Check out my other great blogs:

My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!