Jelly Belly Be Gone

To lose and maintain weight you have to change your eating, activity and thinking habits. Basically you have to eat less, eat smarter, drink more water and move more. And you have to give yourself a break. In essence, you must adjust your attitude or relationship towards food.

So as you get ready to fulfill your New Years resolution, when it comes to losing weight, it is suggested that you make a resolution to also improve your attitude about yourself, to increase your activity or exercise through the year, and to work on changing your eating habits. Also, include in that resolution to get a good nights rest each and every night. But do not sabotage yourself by making a resolution to diet for three months to take off 50+ pounds with the idea that after you reach that goal, its over.

Weight maintenance is a way of life and it becomes more and more important the older you get. Just as you have to keep your mind active to maintain your mental abilities, so too you have to keep your body active to maintain your health, strength, movement, and weight. Remember, this is a process, be patient and enjoy the ride.

Nearly a month after the holidays, many people are still struggling to take off those extra pounds put on through holiday indulging. This has resulted in some well-known Gyms competing against each other - Which Gym Is The Biggest Loser.

On a personal note, individuals can do this at the Household level, by organizing their neighborhood with the goal of identifying the household that loses the most pounds. For convenience, a general workout plan can be decided on including routines like cardio, daily walks, cycling among others.

At this point individual households are left to execute the routines in a manner most comfortable for the group. The goal being to get rid of the belly fat accumulated over the holidays.

There is a greater chance of pursuing to the end when working with others, thereby holding each other accountable. Further, the thought of not losing to a neighbor is motivation enough to keep shedding those unwanted pounds.

Most men out there would like to have toned abdominal muscles, but are unwilling to put in the time and effort.  You can’t have six pack abs over night, it takes a lot of exercise, dieting, and working out.  But it is possible for men of all ages to tone their abdominals in just a few minutes per day.  The first thing to do is remove the stubborn fat from around your stomach; if you are overweight, even if you work out for hours each day, your six pack abdominals will be, so to speak ‘in the cooler’.  You won’t be able to view your abs because they’ll be concealed behind layers of fat.

Once you’ve gotten down to a healthy weight, the process of toning your abs is much easier.  You need to do abdominal exercises like sit-ups, crunches, and resisted crunches.  It’s best to consult a trainer or a fitness professional about methods to increase the rate at which you build muscle, and which exercises are best for you.  With a healthy weight and about six to eight months of effort, you’ll start to bring definition to your six pack abs.

It’s true that a lot of people have trouble removing fat in the most stubborn areas of their bodies, such as hips, stomach, and thighs.  But contrary to popular belief, whether you want to lose stomach fat, or tone your hips and thighs, it’s not possible unless you lose weight.  The key to removing stubborn fat is increasing your metabolism and reducing your calorie intake.  The only proven method to lose weight is to burn more calories than you eat.  What most people don’t know is you burn calories even when you’re not exercising, but at a much slower rate.

When you start to lose weight through diet, exercise, and supplemental practices, you’ll notice that the fat around your hips, stomach, and thighs also lessens.  Don’t get discouraged, because often the area of your body that stores the most fat cells will be the last to lose them.

Now that the holidays are over and it’s time to shed those pounds around the middle, we tend to look for simple, but effective exercises to achieve this goal.

An excellent lung-bursting exercise is jumping rope, which is a quick way to get the heart pumping blood and oxygen cells through the veins and arteries.

The up-and-down rhythmic bouncing from jumping rope promotes increased lymph flow by as much as fifteen times. A sure way to lose unwanted belly fat.

If the last time you jumped rope was back in elementary school, bring your jump rope out of mothballs. You’ll be surprised how winded you’ll get, but that’s a good thing.

You go to the gym to shape up and stay healthy, but your club may be undermining your efforts by sending you down the road to serious harm. Check for these five signs to make certain you’re getting the best (and safest!) workout possible while trying to lose unwanted fat.

Danger: Your Yoga Teacher Speaks Another Language. It’s not just frustrating when your yoga instructor uses terms you can’t understand, it could actually put you at risk for injury by causing you to perform an exercise incorrectly. Don’t be afraid to ask for more specific instructions.

Danger: Your Gym Isn’t Clean. Since fungi and bacteria thrive in warm, moist places, wear flip-flops in the locker room, in the shower stalls, and near the pool to avoid athlete’s foot, plantar warts, and other infections.

Danger: Your Trainer Isn’t Certified. Find out just who is training at your gym: At a minimum, trainers should be certified by a nationally recognized body. Always ask for credentials and references.

Danger: No One Asks About Injuries. The instructor should always ask whether you’re new to the activity or have any pain, since you could exacerbate an injury or risk a new one. For a pre-existing condition, the trainer should be able to modify the moves to suit your needs.

Danger: Your Trainer Stops Working Out Too Abruptly. Suddenly stopping a high-intensity activity can leave you lightheaded and dizzy; your teacher should wind things down during the last few minutes of the workout, slow to a jog or walk until you’re breathing normally.

On Jan. 1, you and about 250 million other people looked in the mirror and said to yourself, “This is the year I’m going to get in shape.” You said it last year too, but one thing led to another and on Feb. 1, you still hadn’t seen the inside of a gym, much less a lower number on the scale.

Losing weight is tough, but that obvious jelly-belly should be motivation enough to take action.

Eat what you love. If you cut out your favorite cookie dough ice cream completely, you won’t last more than two weeks without falling off the bandwagon and scrapping your diet altogether. But if you allow yourself a small scoop of the delicacy (or slice of pepperoni pizza or a small order of fries) every now and then, you won’t feel so deprived, and you’re more likely to stick with a healthy eating plan.

Make exercise fun. If you hate running, then why do you think buying a treadmill is the answer to your fitness plan? Try different classes around town until you find something that makes you smile (most places will let you try the first class for free).

Your final roadblock? You probably think you can’t afford a gym membership. But there are great, affordable deals that gyms are currently running for the New Year. But don’t forget: Running, walking, biking, hiking, roller-blading, and a million other activities are free. Make this the year of no excuses.

As we make plans to lose unwanted belly fat for this New Year it might help to take a look at the way athletes choose what they eat.

It’s important to balance macronutrients - get a fat, a protein and a carb in every single meal. The old philosophy of carb-loading before an event or exercise routine, is outdated because the body can only absorb so many carbs without turning them into fat. True, athletes may need more calories than some of us who are just trying to lose belly fat, but we all still need to consume them with the right ratio of protein, fats and carbs.

If you ate a little too much over the holidays or found yourself in a place where you weren’t that consistent with your diet, don’t starve yourself this month. Eat consistantly every three to four hours, get all those nutrients, and your body will naturally release the fat.

You can have anything you want if you will only take the time to plan for it. Dream big about what you want for your life and make small changes over time to help achieve those things. It’s not about a huge lifestyle change; it’s just little changes over time. Enjoy the process and above all stick out this month. Good luck all.

As resolutions are being made this month we are all encouraged to endure the rigors of losing unwanted belly fat after the hectic holidays. It’s important however, to include those close to you in your plans, even if only to cheer you on and hold you accountable to your set goal.

Research has consistently shown that when couples work toward achieving a healthy weight as a team, they’re more likely to lose pounds and keep them off longer. Their secret? A built-in support system. Having someone help you work through daily challenges, encourage your efforts and recognize your progress is priceless.

Indeed, good social support is one of 12 research-based factors that predicts successful weight loss, according to an Institute of Medicine report (Weighing the Options: Criteria for Evaluating Weight-Management Programs, 1995). And no worries if you don’t have a live-in partner who also wants to drop some pounds. Dieting with a close friend, child or coworker can have the same effect. Just keep in mind that the people you have the closest relationships with, will most likely have the greatest influence on you

One advantage to teaming up with a partner is that you’ll each bring different ideas to the dining table. When your weight-loss partner is of the opposite sex, the differences may be especially pronounced. For example, both men and women are often emotional eaters, but they tend to overeat in reaction to different emotions.

Women tend to overeat mostly when in a negative mood state—they’re stressed at work or upset about something. You get two stressed-out women together, and they’re going to pull out the Häagen-Dazs. In stark contrast, men are much more likely to overeat when they are happy. As opposites, men and women may find it easier to help each other stay on track

Want to lose that jelly-belly? Stand up straight. Sit up straight. See the difference? Standing and sitting up straight will affect you immediately.

First thing to remember, slouching does nothing for you except to draw attention to your belly fat. So just by sitting up straight, you will be seen a lot slimmer.

Secondly, having proper posture will improve the strength of your back, which in turn makes it a lot easier to maintain this proper posture for longer periods of time.

Thirdly, if you have poor posture, you will always experience back pain, and back pain makes stomach exercises all the more difficult for you. Practicing good posture will make it a lot easier for you to target that tummy and help you easily eliminate the unwanted belly fat.

And Finally, having good posture by standing and sitting up straight enhances your blood circulation. Your blood will flow properly throughout your body, especially to your legs and lower back, both important parts in your body when it comes to stomach exercises.