Getting Rid of Belly Fat - Part 1

Many people feel self conscious because of the overhang on their jeans or trousers. Is this you? You are not alone. Belly fat, sometimes referred to as "muffin top" is a very common problem. As well as the issues to your self esteem it also poses some health issues.

One way that this problem can be tackled is to combine a diet that targets the problem belly fat with exercises that also focus on the problem area of the stomach. We will look at each of these in turn over the coming series of articles and also explore the ever increasing belief that unless the underlying issues that cause you to put on weight in the first place are resolved no amount of dieting will help you keep any weight lost off.

Today we will start by exploring the types of diets and foods that are available to help this problem.

Foods that can significantly help reduce belly fat: such foods are ones that are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids like peanut butter, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds and almonds. So lets have a look in more detail at the types of diets available to help you.

There are a number of different diets considered as the best diet to lose belly fat. As with everything fads come. Here are the ones that are generally considered amongst the best in removing the dreaded muffin top or overhanging belly.

Basically, there are three types of diets that are seen as the most effective. Namely, these are: the high protein diet, the low carbohydrate diet, and the low calorie diet.

The high protein diet is by far the oldest type of belly fat reducing diet because it has existed for years. In fact, if you think about it, this is exactly the kind of diet our ancestors had back in the days of cave dwelling. Have you ever seen images of fat cavemen? What did their diet mostly consist of? High protein meats and vegetables. In this diet, people are asked to consume foods that are high in protein, but low in carbohydrates. An example of this is the 'Atkins diet.'

The low carbohydrate diet, is similar to the high protein diet because it limits the intake of carbohydrates that a person can eat, though it doesn't have a nutrient requirement to fulfill like the high protein diet. This is usually a very difficult diet to follow because most people have high cravings for carbohydrates. It is also not a good idea, in my opinion, as lowering your carbohydrate intake will also reduce your metabolic rate over time. It is your metabolic rate that burns your fat so it is a good idea to keep this high.

One mistake of both the above types of diet are that they are too predictive and do not take account of the normal rhythms of the body. Carbohydrates aren't bad on their own - indeed the body needs them to survive. It is the amount of Carobohydrates you consume that will do the damage and when you eat them.

My best advice is to eat Carobohydrates early in the day - focus on the morning only so that your body has the rest of the day to burn them off. And no I am not suggesting you eat chocolate bars every day for breakfast and morning snacks, but I am suggesting that the best time to eat carbohydrates is in the morning. Also before exercise. Carbohydrates are the body's fuel and if you are about to expend a lot of energy exercising then you need to stock up on fuel to sustain you through your exercise. I talk from personal experience here having nearly fainted in the gym from lack of energy through only having a bowl of cereal for breakfast before exercising. After exercise eat high protein to help build your muscles. Did you know that even sitting down and doing nothing muscle burns more energy than fat? So convert your fat to muscle through structured exercise. The scales may show an increase to start with but ultimately the weight will start to drop off if you are consistent.

So two key points here:

Eat Carbohydrates earlier in your day to give your body time to burn them off and fuel your activities through the day

Before exercise eat carbohydrates and after exercise eat high protein

We will look at the last type of diet - the low calorie diet and exercises that target the stomach area next time….

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