Extra weight linked to extra risk, even if blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol all normal
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Aug. 14, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- No amount of extra weight is good for your heart, no matter how fit you are by other measures, new British research shows. Extra fat is also a cause of cancer. There are 13 cancers that are caused by excess body fat.
"Our findings suggest that if a patient is overweight or obese, all efforts should be made to help them get back to a healthy weight, regardless of other factors," said study co-author Camille Lassale, from Imperial College London's School of Public Health.
"Even if their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol appear within the normal range, excess weight is still a risk factor," Lassale said in a university news release. In fact, the increased risk of developing heart disease was more than 25 percent, the study found.
The study used statistics about the health of people in 10 European countries. Researchers focused on weight and signs of heart disease, when blood vessels become clogged.
The authors looked at more than 7,600 people who had cardiovascular events such as death from heart attack, and compared them to 10,000 people who didn't have heart problems.
After adjusting their figures so they wouldn't be thrown off by other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that people with three or more heart risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol or large waist sizes (more than 37 inches for men and 31 inches for women) were more than twice as likely to have heart disease, regardless of whether their weight was normal or above normal.
But those who were considered overweight yet healthy were still 26 percent more likely to develop heart disease than their normal-weight peers. Those considered healthy but obese had a 28 percent higher risk, the study found.
The findings, which don't prove that extra weight causes heart risks to rise, were published Aug. 14 in the European Heart Journal.
"I think there is no longer this concept of healthy obese," said study co-author Ioanna Tzoulaki, a senior lecturer in epidemiology at the university.
"If anything, our study shows that people with excess weight who might be classed as 'healthy' haven't yet developed an unhealthy metabolic profile. That comes later in the timeline, then they have an event, such as a heart attack," she said.
I found this post on MedicalNet and I did try this and it did work for me. Eating several small meals helped me control the size of my meals. I don't know that I ate less, but I definitely wasn't hungry. You do have to eat quality food and control your calories. I kept my calories to 300 or less per meal and kept them all about the same size. Breakfast was my only exception if I had any larger meals it would be at breakfast. Breakfast is your first meal in 12 hours and I would be hungry, but if you eat a lot of protein your hunger will disappear. Read the following post and judge for yourself.
You’ve probably heard the advice that eating small meals throughout the day is how you win the battle of the bulge. The claim is that frequent snacking, as long as it’s healthy, keeps your metabolism humming, staves off hunger, and controls blood sugar. The end result: You eat less. Except it may not work that way.
A study from the University of Ottawa found that on a low-calorie diet, there was no weight loss advantage to splitting calories among six meals rather than three.
A second study found that switching from three daily meals to six did not boost calorie-burning or fat loss. In fact, the researchers concluded, eating six meals a day actually made people want to eat more.
And a research review reached no conclusions about whether meal frequency helps or hurts with weight loss.
So if the number of meals you eat doesn’t make a difference with weight loss, what does?
Calories, says Kristin Kirkpatrick, RD, a wellness manager at the Cleveland Clinic. Your best bet is to cut your daily calories, regardless of how often you nosh. If you want to eat more often, you can, as long as you keep your calories in check.
The Upside of More Than 3 Meals a Day
While eating many meals may not rev up your metabolism or make you burn fat, experts say it could help you in other ways.
The longer you wait between meals, the hungrier you get, and then you’re more likely to overeat.
“After about 3 hours without food, blood sugar begins to fall. And after 4 hours, your body has already digested whatever you sent down earlier,” says Cleveland dietitian Amy Jamieson-Petonic, RD. “Once you’ve crossed the 5-hour mark, your blood sugar begins to plummet, and you grab whatever you can to refuel.”
That’s why breakfast is so important. After 7-8 hours of sleep without food, you need energy to get moving, Jamieson-Petonic says.
People who regularly eat breakfast tend to weigh less than those who skip their morning meal. They also get more nutrients like vitamins D, B12, and A. They may even be more likely to resist food cravings and make better food choices, especially when protein is part of the meal.
If you start off your day with breakfast and then continue eating every 3 to 4 hours, you’ll provide your body and brain with a steady stream of nutrients so you don’t go overboard at mealtime.
How to Snack the Right Way
If you’re going to go the mini-meals route, your biggest danger is eating too much.
“As long as you choose good foods and keep portion sizes in check, frequent grazing can help you lose weight and keep cravings at bay,” Jamieson-Petonic says. The simplest strategy is mixing portion control with protein and fiber to fill you up. Plan nutrient-dense snacks like these:
Fresh fruit with low-fat cheese
Raw veggies with 1/4 cup hummus or tzatziki sauce for dipping
Whole-grain crackers with 1 ounce of low-fat cheese or one tablespoon of nut butter
1/4 cup trail mix with nuts, dried fruits, and whole-grain cereal
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt with fresh berries
Whether you’re grazing throughout the day or having the standard three meals, getting the most nutrient bang for your calorie buck is key. So avoid “junk” foods that are easy to overeat (processed foods, refined carbs, sugary drinks).
Instead, fuel up on protein and high-fiber carbohydrates. Both fill you up without weighing you down, Kirkpatrick says.
If you have trouble controlling portion sizes, or you don’t have time to prep healthy snacks, you may be better off with the old three-meal-a-day plan.
What Matters More
The number of meals you eat doesn’t matter as much as what you eat, Kirkpatrick says.
Fill your plate with plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean sources of protein.
Quality, calories, and portion sizes ultimately make the difference.
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I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight and exercise that will help you lose weight. I wrote an ebook that will give you all the info in one read. It's a how-to book that also tells you about the mistakes I made and how to avoid them. My ebook is available at www.amazon.com, www.B&N.com, iBooks (download the app), kobo.com, scribd.com and many more. Price $3.99
I'm not doing a commercial, but I look at the "myfitnesspal" website pretty often and saw this story and wanted to reblog it. Those of you that follow my blog know about my battle with weight loss and some of you don't think it's possible, so I found this story about real people and I want to tell you that this story is not unusual. Today more people than ever are trying to lose weight. This couple used the apps available on the MyFitnessPal website to help them drop a large amount of body fat. Yes, this guy still has a way to go, but you can tell by the photos that they lost a lot of weight already. I know anyone can do it because I went from 220 pounds to 160. And all I did was change the foods I was eating and started to exercise. The fat will melt away and I was over 50 years old. Don't tell me you can't lose weight.
Mandy and Conner Volpe not only created a healthier lifestyle for themselves but have lost a combined 176 lbs. — which is more than either of them weighs now! In December 2014, Mandy and Conner celebrated one-and-a-half years of healthy living — something they started working on as a married couple because they wanted to create a healthier lifestyle for their marriage.
To help them live that healthier lifestyle, they both started using MyFitnessPal. Said Mandy: “MyFitnessPal changed the way we think about food and exercise. It’s become a way for us to track our food and fitness and to visually chart everything — we can actually look at how we’re eating and exercising and use it as a way to correct ourselves if need be. It lets me see how eating a certain way — say a cupcake — how that would affect my weight if I were to eat one on a daily basis.”
In addition to tracking food and exercise, Mandy and Conner love the variety of the MFP database, “It’s great because you can track your food whether you eat out, eat pre-packaged foods, or make foods from your own personal recipes,” said Mandy. “It’s so easy to integrate into daily life. It’s free so you don’t have to spend money to make it happen like you would for a gym membership or at-home equipment.”
Probably the greatest challenge for them has been shifting how they celebrate things. They now eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and half marathons. Though it’s been tough, they’re committed to this lifestyle. For them, it’s no diet or fad — and because of the work they’ve done, they’re healthy, have newfound athleticism and look at themselves in a new light.
After you lose that first 10 pounds of body fat you won't want to quit. You'll feel younger and more energized. You'll be a happier person and your doctor will love the change.
I write several blogs, check out some of my other sites.
gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want. My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K. My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.
Running has been the oldest form of exercise for weight loss that I know of and anyone can do it. Okay, anyone can do it but some of us have to work up to running. I do a walk, run routine. About 100 yards of walking, 100 yards of running, than walking again, than running again, but not eveyone can do that much. It took my several months to be able to workout like I do today.
To avoid injury you have to start slow. If you do any Mall walking you have probably seen the dozens of seniors that pack the Malls in the morning walking for exercise and while some of them look like pros there are many more with a walker even a cane and they know if they quit, their health will suffer.
I don't want you to get turned off because you think there's no way you could ever do this. I subscribe to many newsletter and I get one from "Runner's World". Yes, I started running again and most people would think I'm just and old man. Even my relatives think I'm crazy for running again after 50 some years of not running. Back in the early 1970's, I was hit by a car and my left leg had severe damage. I had stopped running long before that but after the accident, I never thought I'd run again.
Just recently I read an article on "running for beginners" and how you can use a walk and run routine to interval train and even if you have knee pain, this type of exercise will strengthen the knee and reduce the knee pain. I've had knee pain for years and I even had a repair job on the left knee about 5 years ago, so I was "all in" if this can reduce knee pain and help me control my weight, I'm for it.
I started running a few months ago. I do the walk, run routine I read about and you really can lose fat. Most of the fat loss will be in the belly, hips, butt, and thighs. But don't think the fat will just falls off, You have to change the way you eat. That part was pretty easy for me, I already changed my diet and lost most of my body fat, but if you want to "Run To Lose", I suggest you look at the Runner's World website and consider investing in their new book "Run To Lose". It's not expensive, check it out.
Or you could read my blog and over the next few day's, I'll tell you what I did and how it worked for me and reading my blog is free. Or if you like to hold paper in your hand when you read, You can download my ebook from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or iBook, it's $3.99 and then you can print it.
Enough about books, I was a real skeptic when I first started to run. But I followed my tried and true methods for any exercise and I started slow. At the Park near my house, there's a 2-mile jogging track; when I jog at night I go to the High School and use the track. I start by walking 1/4 mile or one lap around the track just to warm up, then I start jogging for about 100 yards and then go back to walking slow, after I catch my breath I start jogging again and keep that up for 2 miles. At the High School, that's about 8 laps. I have a personal goal to run a 10K in the city marathon. I'm sure by January I'll be ready.
What you want to realize before you start any exercise program is that the pace I set for myself can be more than you can do and that's understandable. I workout more and I'm in very good physical condition for my age. Depending on your health and you can't be comparing yourself to other overweight, out-of-shape people you might know. Compare yourself to the way you were in High School. The age of your body has very little to do with time. Sure, we calculate age by calendar years, but your real age has very little to do with the calendar.
When you first start a walk, run routine you want to do mostly walking. Your body has to get use to exercise all over again and depending on the amount of weight you gained over the years, this may take you a few weeks. You want to do just plain walking for a few weeks, don't push it. If you're in middle age and are overweight, it's possible to do damage to your heart by intense exercise. If you get out-of-breath easily, talk to your doctor about exercise. There is a safe heart rate to achieve when exercising, and to exercise at a heart rate more than that can be dangerous. Building up your endurance for a heavier workout is called "conditioning". This is important if you want to achieve your goal. Running is by far the best way to condition your body, lose body fat and become a healthier person.
If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.
E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want.
My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.
My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.
If you pay attention to the weight loss industry, you've been told over and over how easy it is to lose weight—just take this pill, follow that diet, or buy this piece of equipment, and everything will melt away in a flash. In fact, we spend billions of dollars each year on weight loss products and services and yet we're still overweight.
If you struggle with weight loss, as most of us do, you've figured out just how hard it is to lose weight.
The question is, why is it so hard and is there anything you can do about it?
There's no shortcut to weight loss, but you can make the process easier with a few simple changes.
One big problem for most of us, is we wait until the Doctor gives you a couple of prescription, like something for blood pressure and another pill for cholesterol and then before you can get out the door, he says "don't forget to lose weight". Your thinking that he could have left that part out.
Your thinking the pill should be doing that, but the pills aren't for weight loss. The Doctor's nurse gave you this pre-printed diet as you were headed for the check-out but you were not fast enough.
What they didn't tell you is that now that you have to take pills it will be a little harder to lose that weight. And they probably didn't tell you that if you lost the weight before you came in you wouldn't be taking the prescriptions.
The post below from VeryWell.com will give you some good reason why it's hard for you to lose weight.
Complex Problems, Simple Solutions
The idea behind weight loss is simple: Burn more calories than you eat. This can be accomplished by changing just a few things in our diets—replacing soda with water, for example, or getting rid of processed foods.
We can increase weight loss results by adding at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. Sounds simple but, if it were that simple, why can't we do it consistently?
There are a number of factors that contribute to weight gain that you already know. But it's not just about finding time to exercise or choosing the salad over the burger. It's about a genuine commitment to making healthy decisions every day regardless of what's happening in your life.
If you're not ready to make some changes, losing weight will be hard.
Here are 10 things you'll need to look at in order to get yourself on a healthy track.
1. Your Attitude
If you're only on a health kick to lose weight or look a certain way, it will be hard to lose weight permanently. Why? Because, what happens if you don't see results quickly enough? You give up.
It takes time to lose weight. How will you motivate yourself in the meantime? One way is to find more reasons to be healthy. Remind yourself of all the benefits of exercise—having more energy, feeling good about yourself, getting a better night's sleep, just to name a few.
Keep an exercise journal and write down every single success, whether you're losing weight or not. What you think about yourself and exercise is the key to staying committed. No one wants to do something they see as miserable, so think of how you can turn it around and look at exercise in a different way.
2. Your Workouts
If you don't workout consistently enough, it's hard to lose weight. Yes, it's possible to lose weight through diet alone, but you'll likely hit a plateau at some point.
You don't need to spend hours in the gym; you only need to set up a reasonable workout schedule that you can follow each week. It's not about killing yourself with workouts—it's about finding something you like and that you'll continue with for the long-term.
That means getting rid of activities you hate and building a program around what you enjoy, even if it doesn't exactly follow the exercise guidelines.
You have to be willing to be more active on a regular basis—not just for a week here and there.
If you're confused about setting up a program, find out where to start.
3. Your Diet
Changing the way you eat is another thing you have to commit to for long-lasting weight loss. That means working to replace unhealthy foods with healthier choices and do that most of the time.
Making conscious choices about what you eat, rather than mindless eating.
For permanent weight loss, you need to pay attention to what you eat and make good choices more often than not.
Maybe a structured diet eventually ends, but healthy eating never stops. In other words, there will never be a time when you're done eating healthy, at least not if you want lasting weight loss.
You might feel you're sacrificing the good stuff (pizza, fast food, etc.) and your life won't be fun if you can't have those foods. However, you can still enjoy your favorite foods, just not every day.
It really comes down to being willing to take an honest look at your diet and, even if you just change one thing at a time, figuring out how you can reduce the calories you're eating.
You have to be ready to stop giving your body the most convenient thing available and, instead, spend time planning what and when you'll eat. That's what it takes to make real, lasting changes.
4.Your Lifestyle
If you want a healthy life, you have to be willing to change how you live. It doesn't mean changing everything overnight, but simply being open to new ways of doing things. Some things you might need to change for a healthy life are:
Daily routines. You may need to get up earlier to prepare your lunch or squeeze in a workout, use your lunch hour for exercise, or go for a walk after work instead of watching TV. Exercising on a daily basis changes your entire day, so sitting down with your schedule to see where those changes need to happen is your first step in establishing an exercise habit.
How you spend your time. You might need to set new rules for yourself limiting how much TV you watch or how long you sit at the computer. You'll need to pay attention to how you spend your time and where you're out of balance, so you can add more movement.
Your pantry. No matter how committed you are, having something unhealthy in front of your face is only going to make things harder. You have to set up your surroundings so they support your goals rather than sabotage them.
Your schedule. If you're not willing to sit down and change the way you live each day to include exercise, time to prepare meals, and time to nurture yourself with sleep, it's hard to lose weight. People use a busy schedule as an excuse not to be healthy. Could you be doing that too? If you're not ready to take responsibility for the schedule you've created, it will be hard to lose weight.
5. Your Surroundings
Sometimes, you can't control the things around you. At work, you may be surrounded by temptations—donuts, vending machines, coworkers bringing junk food and the like. That's just one thing you have to deal with, but what about your home?
Set up an environment that encourages those healthy choices and reminds you of them. Sometimes, just walking into your kitchen and seeing a bowl of fresh fruit may be enough to remind you of what you're trying to accomplish.
Similarly, walking in and seeing a bag of chips may do the opposite. Consider cleaning out your kitchen of things that tempt you. If it's not there, you won't eat it.
6. Your Support System
While getting healthy may be something you're doing on your own, it's a big help to have a support system.
At the very least, family members and friends who understand what you're doing and are either willing to participate or help. If you have a spouse who wants to continue eating the kinds of foods that tempt you, you need a plan to deal with that, so you can still reach your goals and keep your relationship together.
Try to surround yourself with people who support what you're doing and avoid those people (like that co-worker who always offers you a donut even though you refuse on a daily basis) who don't. A workout buddy is also an excellent idea for support. Learn more about how to get weight loss support from friends and family.
7. Your Mental Health
If you have other reasons for being overweight, maybe past hurts that you've used food to deal with, depression, or other problems, it's hard to lose weight.
For many of us, food is a comfort and something we've relied on all of our lives to help us deal with emotional problems. If that's the case for you, pinpointing those behaviors and what drives them is important for becoming aware of what you're doing and why. A counselor can help you with this or learn more about emotional eating and how you might be doing it without realizing it. Be willing to learn why you make the choices you make and to confront them.
8. Your Goals
If you've set impossible goals, you are guaranteed to fail. Weight loss becomes hard to achieve if you feel like a constant failure. No one is going to feel very motivated if he or she feels like a failure all the time.
If that's how your weight loss experience is, it's no wonder you keep quitting. The key is to set reasonable goals. So what is reasonable? That's going to be different for each person depending on your genetics, eating habits, exercise, and metabolism, to name a few. You're better off setting a long-term goal, like losing weight or competing in a race. Then focus your attention on daily or weekly goals. Your weekly goal might be to get in three cardio workouts, minimum. Pick things you know you'll achieve so you're always successful. It can be as small as you like, as long as it's reachable.
9. Your Flexibility
You hear a lot about lifestyle changes, but it's daily choices that really test you. What happens if you have to work late and you can't get to the gym? Or what if you get stuck in traffic and miss your fitness class? Any number of things can happen in a day that may throw you off track.
The trick is to be flexible. It helps if you're always prepared. Keep workout shoes in the car, so you can stop off at the park for a quick walk. Keep some food handy, so if you get stuck in traffic, you get a snack in before your workout. Often people skip workouts because something comes up and they simply aren't ready for it or they aren't willing to give themselves other options. For example, if you can't do 45 minutes, give yourself permission to do what you can, even if it's 10 minutes? Something is always better than nothing.
10. Your Willingness to Fail
You will not be perfect every day. If you're a perfectionist, this is a frustrating concept to accept, but we can't control every aspect of life.
On the good days, you'll eat all your fruits and veggies, say no to that pizza, and do your workout even though you're tired. On the bad days, you'll wake up late, forget to bring your lunch, have an extra piece of cake at your friend's birthday party, or skip your workout.
The bad days will happen if you're a human being. The trick is to never give up, even when you mess up. Work on overcoming your fear of failure and remember that you're not a loser just because you make some mistakes. You're simply a person trying his or her best to make good decisions.
If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.
E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want.
My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.
My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.
Did you know that when you eat may be just as important as what — and how much — you eat? Recent research suggests that the timing of your meals may play an important role in weight loss.
One study reported in the International Journal of Obesity found that people who ate their main meal earlier in the day (before 3:00 p.m.) lost about 5 pounds more than those who ate later (22 pounds lost versus 17 pounds for late day eaters), with the same diet and exercise program.
Another study in the journal Obesity revealed that people eating a large breakfast (and smaller lunch and dinner) lost nearly 19 pounds compared to just 8 pounds for small breakfast eaters who ate larger meals later in the day. In addition, hunger, blood sugar, insulin and blood fats were improved among the hearty breakfast eaters.
The role of meal timing may be why people who skip breakfast tend to be more likely to be overweight.
What’s more, restricting your “eating window” to about eight or nine hours a day may also influence weight loss. Researchers found that those who limited daily calories to an eight-hour window lost more weight and body fat and retained more muscle mass compared to people who ate the same calories over a longer period of time. And studies suggest that dieters who restricted their eating window were less likely to regain weight after losing weight.
While total calories are still very important for losing weight, studies suggest that timing of meals matters. Eating too many calories at night or later in the day may lead to weight gain and body fat storage and increased hunger. Although the reason for this is not yet fully understood, scientists theorize that our bodies have evolved to have a more efficient metabolic rate (the rate at which the body burns calories) during daylight hours.
Here are three ways you can ‘use the clock’ to help you lose weight and keep it off:
1. Aim to eat dinner by 6:30pm or earlier.
2. If you tend to spread out your meals from early morning until late at night, condense your eating hours until you get to an 8- or 9-hour eating period.
3. Eat most of your daily calories earlier in the day (before 3pm). It helps to have a substantial breakfast – a good mix of complex carbohydrates, healthy fat, and protein – as that may stave off hunger later in the day.
I'd like to comment on this post. Trying to eat all your meals between 7 and 4 may be a little difficult, what worked for me was to eat small meals every 3 hours. This will keep you from getting hungry. You will still want to finish eating by 6 pm and you will have to be careful not to overeat. I was eating about 300 calories, 5 times a day. 300 calories is all your food and drinks so I drank mostly water, coffee, and tea anything with zero calories so I could use the calories for food. 300 calories doesn't sound like much but if your eating whole foods and zero calorie drinks, you'll have plenty of food. The 5 meal-a-day plan, 3 hours apart takes 12 hours and you can shorten that up a little by squeezing the meals a little closer together. Personally, I think 2 1/2 hours apart is better, you never get hungry and you finish eating around 5:30.
If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want.
My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon, BN.com, iBook, Kobo, and Gardner books in the U.K.
My second e-book is available in the same stores and on Smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (PJ42H). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.
This post from StrongLift.com is the way I lost my belly fat. In about 2 months I went from a tight 36 inch jeans to a loose 34 inch jeans. I could believe it, I haven't bought 34's for 40 years. One of the biggest questions I get is “how do I lose my belly fat? I’ve tried several things but nothing worked”. When I ask what you tried I hear 100 daily sit-ups, cutting calories drastically, excess cardio, fat burners, etc. If you can’t lose your belly fat, you’re using the wrong approach. You don’t need endless sit-ups, supplements, starving yourself or worse surgery. Here are the 10 best ways to lose your belly fat – quickly and naturally. 1. Stop Doing Crunches. Crunches will strengthen your stomach muscles, but won’t burn the belly fat that covers your abs. Spot reduction is a myth. You’re wasting time & effort doing 200 daily crunches. Crunches can also cause lower back pain, slouching shoulders & forward head posture. The Reverse Crunch doesn’t cause these problems, but again: spot reduction is a myth. To lose your belly fat, you need more. Keep reading. 2. Get Stronger. Strength training builds muscle mass, prevents muscle loss and helps fat loss. The Squat & Deadlift work best to build strength. Your lower back keeps you upright from the back. Your abs from the front. Both muscles will work hard during heavy Squats & Deadlifts at keeping you from collapsing under the weight. Squats & Deadlifts allow you to stress your body with heavy weights, working all your muscles from head to toe. This helps getting stronger quickly and building muscle fast, including ab muscles. Spot reduction still doesn’t exist, so Squats & Deadlifts won’t burn your belly fat directly. However they’ll strengthen your abs and lower your waist size. If you never did both exercises, check StrongLifts 5×5. Only takes 3x45mins/week. 3. Eat Healthy. As the saying goes “abs are built in the kitchen”. You can train hard & build muscular abs, but if you eat junk food all day, you won’t lose your belly fat. Stop eating processed food. Eat whole, unprocessed foods. Proteins. Meat, poultry, fish, whey, eggs, cottage cheese, … Veggies. Spinach, broccoli, salad, kale, cabbage, … Fruits. Banana, orange, apple, pineapple, pears, … Fats. Olive oil, fish oil, real butter, nuts, flax seeds, … Carbs. Brown rice, oats, whole grain pasta, quinoa, … No need to be perfect. Eating junk food actually helps fat loss by keeping your hormones sharp. Don’t overdo it though. Eat junk food 10% of the time max. That’s 4 junk meals/week if you eat 6 meals/day. 4. Limit Alcohol Consumption. To lose your belly fat, what you drink is as important as what you eat. Alcohol from time to time is OK. But forget about losing your belly fat if you drink beer & sweet alcohols daily. Beer drinkers always have a pear shape: belly fat & man boobs – especially as they get older. Alcohol also stresses your liver which has to overwork to clear the toxins. This can get in the way of building muscles. Drink alcohol 10% of the time. Example Friday & Saturday night. Normal alcohol consumption, not the get drunk. Rest of the time: water, water with squeezed lemon, green tea, etc. Either that or forget about losing your belly fat. 5. Eat Less Carbs. You need carbs for energy. Problem is that most people eat way more carbs than they need. Your body will stock the carbs it doesn’t need as fat. And this is often how you get belly fat. Unless you’re a skinny guy who needs to gain weight, lower your carb intake. Keep eating fruits & veggies with each meal. But cut back on potatoes, pasta, rice, breads, … Eat these post workout only. 6. Eat More. Eating tons of healthy foods won’t make you fat. Especially not if you exercise 2-3x/week. Starving yourself is the number 1 nutritional mistakes. Healthy nutrition is important for 3 reasons: Energy. Food is energy. Your body uses food for weight lifting, working, digestion, etc. Lack of food means lack of energy, in all areas of life. Fat Loss. Eating the right foods helps fat loss: protein has the highest thermic effect and satiates, healthy fats promote fat loss, … Maintain Muscle. If you starve yourself, your body will burn muscle for energy – NOT fat. You’ll become skinny + fat. Hunger means you’re not eating enough. Don’t worry about calories. Just eat breakfast and eat every 3 hours from there on, including post workout. Eat healthy foods 90% of the time to lose your belly fat fast. 7. Eat More Protein. Protein has a higher thermic effect than other foods: your body burns more energy processing proteins than it does processing carbs and fat. That’s why high protein diets work great at burning your belly fat. How much protein do you need daily? Do like I do: eat whole protein with each meal without worrying about the numbers. Check the 10 cheapest sources of protein to keep it budget-friendly. 8. Eat More Fat. Fat doesn’t make you fat. Bad nutrition and lack of exercise do. Eating fat actually helps fat loss. Your body won’t stock fat as easily if your give it a constant intake of healthy fats. Fish oil is the best source of fat to lose your belly fat. Fish oil naturally increases testosterone levels and increases fat loss. 6g omega-3 per day is a good start. Check Carlson Fish Oil: 1600mg omega-3 per tbsp. Stay away from trans-fatty fats present in products like margarine. Trans-fatty fats are bad for your health. Eat whole unprocessed foods 90% of the time as I recommend in point 3 and you’ll avoid trans-fatty fats easily. 9. Lower Your Body Fat. As a man, your belly is the last place where you’ll get rid of fat. If you have man boobs and a double chin, you’ll have to lower your body fat to lose your belly fat. Here’s how: Get Stronger. Strength training builds & maintains muscle, increases fat loss, helps sticking to diet, … Check StrongLifts 5×5 if you don’t know where to start: it only takes 3x45mins/week. Eat Healthier. Apply the 8 nutrition rules. Eat breakfast. Eat every 3 hours. Proteins, veggies & fruits with each meal. Carbs post workout only. 2 cups of water with each meal. Whole foods 90% of the time. Add Cardio. 15mins post workout, build up to 3x45mins/week. If you have less than 15% body fat, just get stronger and eat healthier. That will lower your body fat and make you lose your belly fat. Check the fat loss guide for more info about how to lower your body fat. 10. Stay Motivated. Looking at your belly or in the mirror gives you inaccurate feedback. What you see is influenced by food intake, water retention, light and your own perception. Self-image issues can make the last one tricky. Measure Body Fat. Every 2 weeks using a fat caliper. It doesn’t need to be accurate. What matters is that the trend goes down. Measure Your Waist. Also every 2 weeks. If you get stronger and eat healthy, your waist will go down fast. Your pants will start to feel loose. Take Pictures. Shoot pictures of yourself every 2 weeks: front, back & side. The side pictures will show the most change. Success breeds success. Track progress accurately so you know where you are and stay motivated to keep working at losing your belly fat. Don’t just read this post and go back to what you were doing.
If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.
E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want.
My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.
My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.
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