Monthly Archives: September 2011

Weight Loss Beats Crunches for a Flat Stomach

[hana-code-insert name=’NutriSystem2016′ /]

Whether you have been pregnant, find small amounts of weight creeping up on you as you get older, or sometimes overindulge in food or alcoholic beverages, you may have some excess weight around your midsection that you would like to get rid of. For many, having a flat stomach or “six-pack abs” is a dream that is seemingly just out of reach. Is there a way to get rid of your belly fat? Do you need to eat more or less of a certain food, or should you perform specific exercises to tone this area of your body?

Why Should I Lose Body Fat?

The visceral fat that sits around your midsection is more dangerous than the fat in your hips and thighs. It is also worse than the subcutaneous fat that nestles under your skin. Large amounts of excess belly fat can lead to inflammation, hardening of the arteries and a higher risk of developing serious health conditions including metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

How to Do it

The good news is that belly fat is the first type of body fat that you lose when you shed weight. However, there is no magic potion, pill, drink, food or exercise that is going to specifically target that area of your body. Regardless of your body type, whether you are an “apple” shape with body fat only around your middle or a “pear” shape with larger thighs and hips, most people lose the fat around their midsections first and more proportionately than anywhere else.

The type of fat that makes up larger bellies, visceral fat, is more active in terms of metabolism than the subcutaneous fat that is located under the skin around other areas of the body. Experts say that the more fat you have to lose, the faster you will lose it.

Eat More Grains

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study that showed when whole-grains were added to a calorie-controlled diet, obese individuals tended to lose weight faster from the abdominal area than those who consumed refined grains.[1] Consuming a similar diet, while reducing the amount of refined carbohydrates, changes the body’s response to glucose and insulin, making it easier to move the fat storage areas of the body. Whole-grains are also higher in fiber, which can leave people full for longer periods of time and decrease hunger levels.

Refined grains, on the other hand, elevate the body’s blood sugar levels and insulin response, causing the body to deposit fat more quickly.

What about Exercise?

It is a known fact for exercise enthusiasts but a source of frustration for those looking to trim certain body areas: you cannot spot reduce weight. While butterfly crunches do in fact target your lower abdominal muscles, you cannot perform hundreds of crunches with the hopes that you will see a flatter midsection. These exercises will not help you lose weight, although they may strengthen them and give a tighter and thinner appearance.

Along with a healthy, calorie-controlled diet, you must also get roughly 60 minutes of moderate exercise every day. The more intense your workouts, the more abdominal fat you may shed.

Citations:
  • [1]

LowFatDietPlan.org offers tips that can help you lose weight if your on a 17 day diet,low fat diet I or even a vegetarian diet plan,

The Benefits Of The Lemon Juice Diet

[hana-code-insert name=’NutriSystem2016′ /]

The popular lemon juice diet provides a diet that is easy and all natural. This program is suitable for just about anyone. People who swear by this diet plan give testimony to considerable weight loss in a very short amount of time. One of the best benefits of this juice diet plan lies in its simplicity. It is an easy program to follow and there are no expensive products to purchase or complicated recipes to follow.

The simple juice diet recipes provide an easy an effective way to lose weight. You will need filtered or natural spring water, cayenne pepper, maple syrup (B-grade) and lemons. You should try and find unwaxed or organic lemons as well as maple syrup that is organic. A homemade lemonade is made from the water, cayenne pepper, lemons and syrup. These items are all blended together and then drunk several times throughout the day. This process continues for the duration of the fast. In addition to this homemade lemonade, you can also have as much fresh water as you want. In addition to these liquids, many dieters also consume an herbal tea that has a laxative effect. Every day or two you can mix up some fresh lemonade to have available. There are easy recipes available online and in various books, although you can easily increase or decrease the amount of cayenne pepper or maple syrup you use depending on your personal preferences. Of course, you do not want to increase the syrup too much as it does add additional calories.

Most of the people who are trying the diet for the first time will begin with only a few days of this fast. People who have already been on the diet before will often choose to extend the fast for a period of a week or even up to 10 days. It is not a good idea to stay on this juice diet plan for more than about ten days to two weeks, but it certainly adds a great way to begin a weight loss program and give you a jump start on losing weight. Losing weight is only one of the many benefits that you can get from this type of diet. Other benefits often include increased energy and a sense of overall well-being and health, even after only a few days on this fast.

Following this lemon juice diet is also an excellent way to get started on a new and healthy living program. A short fast is often the best way to begin a natural lifestyle and a healthier way of eating.

Healthy Juice Drinks – Iron, Like a Lion in Zion

If you’ve been getting a bit anemic lately and are feeling a little run down then it’s possible you are lacking a bit of iron in your diet. That’s where the Iron, Lion Zion juice drink comes in handy. Whether you are not eating properly or you are a vegetarian and need a boost, if you get anemic then you can end up feeling depressed, tired or lethargic and leave yourself open to colds and flu. Get one of these iron rich juice drinks down you and you’ll soon feel a lot better:

Take the following ingredients:

250g (8 0z) of spinach

25g (1 oz) of parsley

250g (8 oz) of carrots

1 heaped teaspoon of spirulina
Chuck the carrot, parsley and spinach into a juicer and juice vigorously for a couple of minutes. Then stir in the spirulina. Pour it into a fat tumbler, add a bit of ice and if you’re feeling really fancy, decorate with a slice of cucumber of carrot.

Not only does this juice drink taste awesome, but it will also give you a grand old dose of folic acid to build up those red blood cells, some chlorophyll to help fight that fatigue and a massive dose of all-important vitamin B12 from the spirulina. All of that for just 229 calories!

Alex is a food writer and blogger. He loves writing about beautiful food and healthy living and currently writes for Coupon Croc .