3 Secrets to A Flat Stomach

We Brits spend millions each year in the quest for a flat stomach. Right now there are about 200 or more ab exercise devices out there.

HOWEVER!
Most, if not all of these products, will do little or nothing to flatten your stomach. And that’s because these exercise contraptions cannot eliminate the layer of fat that lies on top of your abs.

In order to be successful at thinning your waistline you must have a basic understanding of how the abdominal muscles function and how your body burns fat. The first thing that needs to be understood is the difference between fat and muscle.

Fat is excess calories and is primarily stored in layers on top of muscle tissue. Muscle is made up of fibres that contract or shorten to produce movement. Fat cannot turn into muscle and muscle cannot turn into fat! However, you can lose muscle and you can gain fat. That’s what happens to most people.

So if your goal is to thin your waist line and have a nice flat stomach, the first thing you need to do is decrease / eliminate the layers of fat that are on top of your abs. We all have a flat stomach; it’s just some of it is covered by excess fat.

The most effective way of flattening your stomach is a combination of strength training (with a extra focus on mid-section), cardiovascular exercise (short, hard workouts), and stable blood sugar (keeps you from adding additional fat and makes it easier for the body to use body fat for fuel).

Step 1
You must do some form of progressive strength training

The primary function of the ab muscle is to flex your torso forward. However, there are also muscles that flex your torso to the side and muscles that rotate your torso. Often times you see people on their ab roller every day doing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups.
If you want to effectively strengthen your stomach you need to incorporate the following types of exercises:

* 1-2 forward flexion exercises (crunch, sit-up, etc.)
* 1-2 side flexion exercises (side bends, side crunches, etc.)
* 1-2 rotational exercises (trunk rotations, standing twists, etc.)

The abs, are muscles just like any other and should be worked at most 3 times per week. You also want to make sure you are training them progressively, working them harder each time.

Step 2
Use short, hard cardio workouts to increase metabolism

Cardio workouts are important because they can, if done correctly, increase your metabolism for 4-24 hours or more! This means you are less likely to store any excess calories as body fat because they are more likely to be used by your elevated metabolism. Plus, you are more likely to burn off some excess body fat.

Below is a sample interval workout that can be done with just about any activity (walking, bicycling, swimming, stepping).

Warm up at easy pace 2-5 minutes. Perform 30 seconds of hard work (almost as hard as possible). Perform 1 minute of moderate work (recovery time-catch breath). Repeat this process 6-10 times. Cool down at an easy pace for 2-5 minutes

Step 3
Stable blood sugar is the key.

And most importantly, you must stabilize your blood sugar! This is by far the most important factor when it comes to burning away that excess body fat and keeping it off! To effectively stabilize your blood sugar you must feed your body frequently; like every 2-3 hours. The key is to give your body only what it needs at that time. Your body burns calories 24 hours a day, so, why would you only feed it once or twice a day? Give your body the fuel it needs: vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, whole grains, and lean proteins (chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, etc.).

Many people are too hung up on how much fat is in food, or how healthy of a choice it is. Calories are calories and it doesn’t matter where they come from. If there’s extra?where’s it going? Yes, you guessed it?body fat!

This is not to say that what you eat is not important because it is, it just doesn’t have that much of an affect when it comes to fat loss. Try to make healthy choices whenever possible, but don’t feel like if you eat a cheeseburger it is guaranteed to be stored as fat.

10 Ways to speed up Weight Loss

Need some extra ideas on how to speed up weight loss? Follow our top 10 tips to help you on your way to quick weight loss. Each tip may seem simple – but combined and followed properly these 10 steps will help to significantly boost your weight loss!

STOP AT 7!

This is a fundamental rule of easy weight loss! Obviously the time you stop eating depends on your routine and lifestyle – but as a rule you should stop eating a good 3 to 4 hours before you plan on going to bed. You need to give your body time to work off your meals, and eating any later than this means that it will struggle to metabolise your meal. Your lunch should be the largest portion of food you eat in your day as your body has plenty of time and energy left to burn those calories off, helping you towards quick weight loss.

EAT MIRACLE FOODS!

Did you realise that there are certain things that you can eat that actually contain less calories than your body burns while you eat them?! To me, that is a small miracle! So if you want to snack – snack on those foods for easy weight loss. Choose from celery, cucumber, watermelon, blueberries, lettuce, green beans, grapes or pears .

DETOX

Detoxing is a great way to fast weight loss. The detox process flushes our system of toxins that build up and stop our bodies from functioning efficiently. There are various products to help you detox, depending on how you prefer to do it. But a simple way to start to cleanse your system is to start taking a detox supplement such as the Detox Tablet from Silver Slimming.

EXTRA ACTIVITY

Research has shown that getting several short bursts of activity into each day is just as effective in achieving easy weight loss as 1 hour long cardio session. And this is good news because there are ways of getting those bursts in to your day without having to make extra time and in ways that you will hardly notice! Starting today, if there are stairs climb them! Avoid the elevator when ever you possibly can. Park your car at the back of the car park and walk briskly. Get off the bus one or even two stops earlier than usual. Every time you are waiting for the kettle to boil or the microwave to ping, do squats or jog on the spot! By introducing these small things into every day you will be raising your heart rate and building your fitness levels. If those stairs leave you breathless today, wait until this time next week – you will see an improvement! And all of this will burn calories and keep your metabolism going throughout the day.

BREAKFAST

It really is the most important meal of the day. Eat a big breakfast that is sensible and low in saturated fat and your metabolism gets to work, burning off calories for the rest of the day. It is that simple!

GO GREEN

Green tea that is! Drinking green tea or taking it as a supplement has been proven to have huge health benefits. Not only does it reduce cholesterol and slow down the aging process but it also is known for its weight loss properties as It helps your body to digest fats and speed up metabolism.Pu-erh tea is a good tea to try after each meal to help with fast weight loss.

FIBRE

Make sure your diet is rich in fibre. Foods like figs, chickpeas, brown rice, beans, bran, nuts and strawberries are all a good source of fibre. It is so beneficial because it not only fills you up, but it powers through your system, flushing it out and taking fats and protein with it!

DRINK!

No not alcohol! Water. Making sure you stay hydrated is so important. Aim to drink at least a litre a day. Firstly, it fills your tummy making you feel full and so less likely to crave food. Secondly when you are dehydrated your brain will try to let your body know it needs water, but this often feels like hunger to us. And so we will eat instead of simply drinking some water. When your body is hydrated your metabolism keeps ticking along, burning fat! And lastly, it is worth remembering that drinking ice cold water actually burns calories! As much as 60 a day!

START EARLY

Well you know you have to start eating a good healthy breakfast to start off each day, but its also the best time of day to get moving! There is no getting away from it – Research has shown that we can burn 3 times as much fat in a morning work out than we can at any other time of the day. By kick starting your body like this every day it will keep on working at top speed for the rest of the day. And that means fat burning galore! You are feeling at your most energetic and more likely to give it your all, unlike at the end of a long day when the last thing you feel like is exercising. And the best thing is – if you do something the instant you get out of bed you are more likely just to do it – and not put it off!

CHOOSE WISELY

Finally, whenever you feel yourself lose motivation and are starting to give in to temptation, ask your self to make a choice. It’s a little psychological trick that I use and it works every time! Ask your self “which do I want more – this cake/pizza/burger or comfortable size 10 jeans”? Imagine both of these options are actually in front of you and all you have to do is take one and its yours. Which one would you choose? As silly as it sounds it is important to remember that it is actually that simple – it is a series of small choices like this that will eventually pay off! And sooner than you think if you start to implement these weight loss tips now!