Posts Tagged ‘ Stomach ’

Enlarge Image

Achieving a flat stomach, or six pack abs, is one of the most common diet and fitness goals people have. We all want to look good, and most of us tend to accumulate most of our weight gain right in the midsection.

Getting the weight off, and developing a flat stomach, is also heavily marketed within the diet and fitness industry. Much of what is being peddled is misleading, and some of it is flat out wrong. To achieve those slim, sexy abdominal muscles you desire, use a common sense approach, and avoid these diet and fitness industry lies.

Lie #1 – Spot Reduction: The marketers of abdominal machines on late night TV want you to believe that they have this revolutionary machine that will melt away the fat from your belly. Giving you that coveted flat stomach. Nothing could be further from the truth. While their abdominal machine may in fact strengthen your abs, spot reduction (or removal of fat from one specific area) is a myth. Reducing your body fat percentage from abdominal exercises alone is nearly impossible, and the minuscule amount of fat that you might lose will come off throughout your body, not just from your midsection.

Lie #2 – Abdominal Machine Magic: Their abdominal machine is easy, not like sit-ups or crunches, which are hard. If it’s easy, you’re probably not working your muscles very hard. Not working hard equates to not seeing positive results. A crunch done correctly has been scientifically tested by the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University to be the most effective exercise for your abdominal muscles. Quit looking for an easy exercise that requires no effort on your part. No effort equals no gain.

To really lose the fat, strengthen the abs, and develop real six pack abs, follow these five easy steps.

1. Write down in a notebook everything you eat for three days, be sure to estimate the quantity as closely as you can.

2. Do a search on the internet for calorie counters to find out the calorie content of the foods you’ve listed. Then list the calories for each item on your list.

3. Add up your total calories for the three days, and then divide by three. This is your average daily calorie consumption.

4. Determine where you can cut 250 calories per day by analyzing where you are consuming excessive calories, or calories with little nutritional value. Don’t forget to include what you drink. Most of us could eliminate 250 calories or more per day by switching to low cal or no cal drinks.

5. Begin some type of exercise to burn 250 additional calories per day. These can include your abdominal exercises of course, but if you want to supercharge your calorie burn, try and incorporate some aerobic training. It doesn’t take much exercise to burn 250 calories. Walking just 2-3 miles will accomplish this for most people.

Weight loss should average one pound per week. Don’t get discouraged if some weeks you don’t achieve your goal, but if you consistently aren’t dropping any weight, or removing any fat from your midsection, time to reevaluate – go back to step one. The reason most people fail to lose the gut comes down to their diet, not the exercise routine.

To supercharge this routine, you can of course reduce even further your calorie consumption. As stated before, the REAL reason people fail to lose weight is because of their diet, not the amount of exercise.

Stick with this method, and over the weeks and months you will see the weight gradually come off, revealing your beautifully sculpted flat stomach, and possible those six pack abs you’re after.