How to Get a Firm Belly – Part 1

It seems that we place a lot 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 tell us is that belly fat isn’t just unattractive, it’s hazardous to your health. 

Numerous 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 a dangerous 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 some proven techniques to help you get a firm belly and reduce dangerous abdominal fat:

Move More, Eat Right

Exercise doesn’t have to be done at a gym. You can burn calories while you participate in activities that you consider fun or fulfilling. For example, gardening burns several hundred calories per hour. Team sports, like flag football, burn even more. Swimming is also a great fat-burner, and fun to boot. You could also do volunteer work, or just take long walks down nature trails.

Cardio exercise will kick your fat-burning metabolism into overdrive. All it requires is persistence; if you can find an activity you like, and stick with it, the pounds will melt away. It’s also important to vary your routine for maximum calorie burning, and to ward off boredom.

There are several exercises you can do to get a firm belly. The American Council on Exercise did a study to find out which exercises targeted the abs most effectively. Their findings? Supine bicycle, captain’s chair leg lifts, and vertical leg crunches work the abs harder than any other exercise. Twisting crunches and exercise ball crunches were other good ones. Try doing those exercises several times a week to get a firm belly and whittle your waistline. An Internet search will turn up detailed step-by-step tutorials for each exercise.

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. Look for a diet plan comprised mostly of complex carbs, lean protein sources, and unsaturated fats. South Beach is a classic example, and similar diets have come on the market in recent years.

I recommend The Diet Solution to many people. Click here to find out more about this great program.

Click here to sign up for my twice-weekly newsletter that’s full of weight loss tips, programs and product reviews to help keep you healthy and looking good! New subscribers receive a great e-book “45 Fantastic Ways to Burn Calories”.

Robert Taylor

Ways to Reduce Thigh Fat – Part 3

Strengthen Your Thighs and Lose Fat

Use Strength Training to Help You Lose Thigh Fat. Dense muscle mass is not only better looking, it also burns away fat faster. Strong leg muscles work to burn calories faster than fat all day no matter what you are doing.

Consider these types of leg-strengthening exercises: leg curls, leg presses and lunges. Using dumbbells when you do your lunges will have a positive effect on your leg strengthening results.

So what if you don't want to hit the gym to do your exercises? Yoga is only one form of leg strengthening exercise of many that you can do at home. You can easily do leg lifts and wall-sits in the privacy of your home. Do them until your thigh muscles start to feel weak and trembly. So as not to overtax your body, limit your leg strengthening exercises every second day and rest your legs on the off days.

You are worth it so stay with your goal, write it down, share it with family and friends, do your exercises faithfully, eat small wholesome meals and before you know it you will lose thigh fat and achieve the results you are looking for!

Click here to sign up for my twice-weekly newsletter that’s full of weight loss tips, programs and product reviews to help keep you healthy and looking good! New subscribers receive a great e-book “45 Fantastic Ways to Burn Calories”.

Robert Taylor

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Ways to Reduce Thigh Fat – Part 2

A proper diet will help

It takes more than cardio exercise to lose fat. You need to include diet. Too much sugar, salt and saturated fat and your body will bloat with fat and fluid you don't need. If fat thighs run in your family, these foods can be a big problem.

Help your body's metabolism along by switching from three large meals a day to five to six smaller one. This helps you avoid the "stop-and-start" effect that you get by eating 3 large meals daily. Smoothing out the way your body functions is the reason for doing this.

Base your meals around lean meat, poultry, fish and fresh vegetables. Snacking is dangerous so stick to [1]bananas, apples, nuts, skim milk or soymilk to keep the wolf from the door between meals. Every three hours, you should be having either a small meal or high fiber, low-fat snack. If you're planning to do a heavy workout, eat good carbs, like whole grain pasta, for quick energy.

Another important factor in fat loss is adequate hydration. Plan to drink lots of water from morning to night. You'll need at least 64 ounces to keep your metabolism as fast as possible.

Click here to sign up for my twice-weekly newsletter that’s full of weight loss tips, programs and product reviews to help keep you healthy and looking good! New subscribers receive a great e-book “45 Fantastic Ways to Burn Calories”.

Robert Taylor

Ways to Reduce Thigh Fat - Part 1

Of all the places fat seems to choose, thighs are very noticeable. Aging doesn't have to mean more fat on our thighs but unfortunately it often does. I am going to show you ways to lose thigh fat. Let's learn how to lose thighs through a combination of cardio, diet, and strength training.

Exercise away the fat

Without cardio exercises, strength training will only do part of the job. Who wants strong but fatty legs! You need cardio, too. Make cardio exercise a part of your day!

There's nothing like a cardio workout to invigorate your heart and boost your metabolism. There's no better way to lose that ugly than with a revved up metabolism and heart rate.

Cardio exercise of not much more than three to five hours a week ought to do the trick. You might start off with three to five hours a week and then gradually increase that if you can fit it in. The extra time will make it happen faster.

Additional leg exercises will make it happen quicker - climbing stairs instead of taking the elevator; a brisk walk, a morning jog or an after work run. Get your buddies involved. You may be able to find a local gym that even offers kick-boxing exercises if you really want to crank it up.

A good daily exercise is a brisk walk or short jog and the great thing is that you can opt for how long or how fast you go. Ease the pressure on your joints by doing your walking or jogging on the bottom a neighborhood pool. Walk in the sand on a beach for added training value without added impact.

Something fishy about Tilapia?

I was reading up on Tilapia and I wanted to tell you about it. Tilapia have very low levels of mercury as they are fast-growing and short-lived with a primarily herbivorous diet, and thus do not accumulate mercury found in prey. Tilapia is a low saturated fat, low calorie, low carbohydrate and low sodium protein source. It is a source of phosphorus, niacin, selenium, vitamin B12 and potassium.

However, farm raised tilapia (the least expensive and most popular) has a high fat content (though low in saturated fats). According to recent research, farm raised tilapia may be worse for the heart than eating bacon or a hamburger. The research suggests the nutritional value of farm raised tilapia may be compromised by the amount of corn included in the feed. The corn contains omega-6s that contribute to the build-up of these materials in the fish. "Ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 in tilapia averaged about 11:1 compared to much less than 1:1 in both salmon and trout."

Wide spread publicity encouraging people to eat more fish has seen tilapia being purchased by those with lower incomes who are trying to eat a well balanced diet. The lower amounts of omega-3 and the higher ratios of omega-6 compounds in US farmed tilapia raise questions of the health benefits of consuming this fish. What that all means is that Tilapia has too much Omega-6 ad that can be bad for your health. Salmon is more expensive but much better for you.

Here’s a tasty recipe for Tilapia Chowder. Of course, you can substitute any other whitefish.


1 lb tilapia fillets
2.5 oz. bacon, diced
1 large onion, diced
9 oz potatoes, cubed
1tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp curry powder
9 oz. fresh cream
2 oz flour
2 oz butter
1 qt. fish stock (or water)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tilapia fillets in 1 oz squares
Sauté the onions, garlic and bacon in a large pan for 2-3 minutes.
Add the stock and cook 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add tilapia and potatoes. Cook 5 minutes.
Melt the butter and slowly mix it with the curry powder and flour.
Add the mixture slowly into the pan. Cook 2 more minutes.
Add the fresh cream and serve.
Makes 4 servings.

For a Thai twist on this recipe, instead of fresh cream, use coconut milk and go very easy on the curry powder. Like I said, you can substitute any other fish for Tilapia and it should taste just as good.

Gone fishin…

Bob


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