by Jon Kew
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 warn us is that belly fat isn\’t just unattractive, it\’s risky to your health.
A number of studies have discovered 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 a selection of interesting facts about weight loss:
1. The whole world needs to lose weight. According to the World Health Organization, 1 billion of the world\’s inhabitants are overweight. (That\’s almost equal to the number of people who are malnourished in the world.)
World-wide, over 22 million children under the age of 5 are considered overweight. This epidemic is largely due to increased intake of processed foods high in calories and saturated fat, and a reduction in physical activity.
2. Virtually 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 currently on a diet.
With numbers like the ones above, it\’s no wonder most Americans feel the need to count calories.
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 excess weight.
Move More, Eat Right
Cardio exercise will kick your fat-burning metabolism into overdrive. All it requires is perseverance; if you can discover an activity you like, and stick with it, the pounds will melt away. It\’s also imperative to adjust your routine for maximum calorie burning, and to ward off boredom.
During cardio exercise, your body works hard to burn fat.
When you train, don\’t focus on a single muscle group while you disregard 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.
Obtain or establish a routine that strengthens your upper body, arms, back, abs, core, glutes, and legs. Combine weight-lifting with calisthenics for an ultimate strengthening exercise. 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 rest, knitting themselves into something stronger than before. That\’s why sufficient rest is necessary for muscle building.
Don\’t train every day, especially 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 build.
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 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 satisfy 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 out your mind of the distractions that keep you from really 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 peaceful state. This decreases apprehension and can even cut your body\’s production of the stress hormone cortisol.
Power yoga improves strength 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 tips into practice. Try to make one minor change per week until you\’ve grown accustomed to your new lifestyle.