Posts Tagged ‘belly’
It appears that we place a good deal of importance on taut, flat stomachs. Every day, advertisements promise to help us “Get a firm belly”, or “Get sculpted abs”. What they don’t inform us is that belly fat isn’t just unattractive, it’s hazardous to your health.
A number of studies have found a link between belly flab and high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Measure your waist to see if you have an unhealthy level of abdominal fat. For optimal health, men should have a waist circumference below 40 inches. Women should have a waist circumference below 35 inches.
Here are a selection of interesting facts about weight loss:
1. The whole world, it would appear, needs to lose weight. According to the World Health Organization, 1 billion of the world’s population are overweight. (That’s almost on a par with the number of people who are malnourished in the world.)
Worldwide, over 22 million children under the age of 5 are considered overweight. This epidemic is generally due to increased consumption of processed foods high in calories and saturated fat, and a reduction in physical exercise.
2. Practically two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese.
This is according to the World Health Organization. To add to this, the National Center for Health Statistics recently found that 34% of Americans are clinically obese.
3. 50% of American women and 25% of American men are presently on a diet of some kind.
With numbers like the ones above, it’s no wonder most Americans feel the need to calculate calorie consumption.
Nevertheless, society’s obsession with thinness comes at a price: Chronic dieting and emerging eating disorders are becoming more common among elementary school children.
4. America’s top three killers are linked to obesity.
National Geographic published some eye-opening facts about mortality in the USA.
They found that the top three most statistically likely causes of death were heart disease (with a 1 in 5 chance), cancer (with a 1 in 7 chance), and stroke (with a 1 in 24 chance). All of these have been linked to excessive weight.
Move More, Eat Right
Cardio exercise will kick your fat-burning metabolism into overdrive. All it requires is perseverance; if you can find an exercise you like, and stick with it, the pounds will melt away. It’s also important to adjust your routine for maximum calorie burning, and to ward off boredom.
Throughout cardio exercise, your body works hard to burn fat. You can get it to burn fat even while resting if you add some strength-training sessions to your workout routine.
When you train, don’t focus on one muscle group while you neglect others. It’s tempting to do exercises involving our stronger muscle groups, but the weaker ones are the ones that profit the most from working out.
Find or establish a routine that strengthens your upper torso, arms, back, abs, core, glutes, and legs. Mix weight-lifting with calisthenics for an ultimate strengthening workout. Remember: the more muscle you have, the stronger you will be.
When we train, we generate tiny tears in our muscle tissue. Our muscles mend themselves when we relax, allowing our body to become stronger than previously. That’s why sufficient rest is essential for muscle building.
Don’t train every day, particularly at first. Do an upper body workout, and then take a day off, doing only stretches and cardio. Then do your lower body workout, and take a further day off. Give yourself at least one day a week to do nothing but rest and recover.
Attempt to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep on the nights when you’ve worked out. Between the sleep and the nutrition, your body will have everything it needs to reconstruct itself into a stronger, more muscular physique.
There are foods that can help you get a firm belly, too. Sugary carbs contribute to belly fat build-up, but foods high in protein and fiber are slenderizing. Search for a diet plan comprised predominately of complex carbs, lean protein sources, and unsaturated fats.
Good substitutions include low-fat dairy products instead of whole milk products; lean cuts of meat instead of fattier cuts; air-popped popcorn or rice cakes instead of chips; trans-fat-free margarine instead of butter; and whole fruit instead of fruit juice.
Vegetarians can also meet their protein needs by consuming milk, whey, eggs, cheese, nuts, and soy products.
Learn to Relax
Yoga puts you in touch with your body. When you practice yoga, you learn to clear your mind of the distractions that prevent you from truly listening to your body. By getting back in touch with your needs, you can learn to differentiate between hunger and cravings.
The more you learn about your body and its amazing abilities, the more you will want to take care of it by avoiding junk food and radical diets.
Yoga is a real stress-buster. By practicing mindful breathing and quiet meditation, you can take your mind and body to a passive state. This decreases anxiety and can even reduce your body’s production of the stress hormone cortisol.
Power yoga improves muscle and flexibility. Power yoga is a westernized version of vinyasa yoga that combines sun salutations with stretching, strength training, and intense bursts of cardio.
Now that you’ve learned how to lose calories without depriving yourself, it’s time to put these pointers into use. Try to make one small change per week until you’ve grown accustomed to your new lifestyle.
If you require additional information on this topic try Take Care of Your Abs, or would like to read other reviews by the same author, make sure you take a look at Jon Kews’ website ‘healthtrainingandfitness.com’.
I usually do these exercies every nite along with my regular workout! i have noticed a big difference in my tummy area so they are working for me!
Follow me on:
datgirl25makeuponabudget.com
twitter.com/datgirl25
Duration : 0:4:25
From http://www.sparkpeople.com, ab exercises for pregnant women with BabyFit pre- and post-natal fitness specialists.
These exercises will safely keep your abs and core strong during pregnancy and will repair your stomach after the baby arrives once you’re cleared to exercise. You’ll need an exercise ball to do these exercises.
Find more info about pregnancy and exercise at the 100% free site http://www.BabyFit.com. Catherine Cram, author of “Fit Pregnancy for Dummies” and one of BabyFit’s Resident Maternal Fitness Experts, approved these videos and their content.
Duration : 0:10:33
Here is a more advanced home exercise program. BodyPerformanceTV.com
Duration : 0:3:49
http://www.bodyperformancetv.com/ Here’s how it’s possible to gain build muscle while losing fat. 2nd episode about eating protein to follow so hold off on the nasty e-mails!
Duration : 0:1:59