Kick That Pot Belly to the Curb

     Baby Boomer men and women entering the autumn - of their lives are encountering a number of health issues, and keeping their weight stable can be a major problem. Experts point out the link between the balance of hormones and weight loss is one that can't be ignored as if your bodies hormones are not balanced you will gain weight.

Around two thirds of the world's population is exercise deficient and overweight. People who have gained fat around their waistline with a waist measurement of more than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women are at risk of serious disease that can sneak up on them somewhere down the track.

You see, an expanding waistline is not just something that looks bad. The fat stored in this area is a very dangerous type of fat that gets into the blood stream easily. It can then inflict havoc causing accelerated and premature aging and increasing the risk of the 'big three' heart disease, cancer and diabetes among other illnesses and conditions.

Having a big tummy causes no real problems for its owner except for getting in the way sometimes. But the real dangers are there under the surface initiating a process that can develop slowly, often over a course of 20-40 years or more remaining undetected until symptoms of ill health appear.

The good news is you can deal to this pot belly with a serious exercise program and the first fat to go is this dangerous type of fat. The program has to be made up of at least 60% strength training exercise to get the most 'bang for your buck'. This will tone up and rebuild unused muscle tissue increasing the rate your body burns fuel.

Muscle tissue is where fat is burned for energy so having more of it means more fuel burned. In other words it will increase your body's engine size from a family saloon to a turbo charged sports car.

This means that you will be able to increase your fat burning mechanism so you can burn more calories every minute of the day even when you are sleeping or resting. Even without dieting of any sort this will give you greater fat burning power. Gradually the waistline will reduce taking with it the health risks.

It is important not to go on a restrictive diet of any kind but it would be to your advantage to increase the quality of your nutrition. Try to eat between 4-6 small meals every 2-3 hours with 20-30 grams of protein at each one. Add lots of vegetables for a perfect meal of between 250 and 300 calories. Focus on what you should be eating and what you shouldn't be eating won't even be a factor.

These small meals will further increase your metabolism and the rate you burn fuel. They will also give you lots of energy so you can put more effort into your exercise program for even faster results. Both your exercise program and your improved eating will work together to whittle that waistline back down to its right size.

Forget all you know about old fashioned exercise methods that are misleading and out of date such as walking, jogging or cycling. Anything long, slow, repetitive and hugely boring, just forget it. Concentrate your energy on your strength training and add an interval training session each week as well. Build up to two sessions per week when you have one firmly established in your weekly routine.

Interval training involves short intense bursts of activity alternated with slower activity to recover that will sky rocket your metabolic fitness. An example of this would be 10 seconds of sprinting then 30 seconds to one minute of walking. Repeat 8-12 times. This type of exercise can be done on a stationary cycle or any other cardio equipment for more comfort if one is overweight and cannot run easily.

Don't let your health and wellbeing spin out of control just because you have gained some weight. Take responsibility and kick it to the curb before it kicks you to the curb!

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