Destroy Belly Fat: 6 Solutions
FOR THOSE OF YOU who’ve read my articles you’ve probably suspected that I’ve been battling a weight problem. And I’m winning the battle with proper, precise information, the desire for all-around good health, and the dogged determination to actively to something about it. Weight is the outward problem and one aspect of that is BELLY FAT. If you looked at me from the belly up, or the belly down, you probably wouldn’t think that I’m fat. However, all my fat appears to be concentrated around the belly. I’ve gone from 308 down to a refreshingly comfortable 278, a thirty-pound loss during the past five months. My belly is smaller, but it’s still a problem, and I will continue to strive for a healthy physique.
My main weight-loss successes have come from the following six solutions:
1. Exercise – I’ve discovered that early morning exercise is the most effective. I like to go for a ten to twenty-minute walk at least every other morning. Three or four times a week, I also do a five-minute workout of my arms with a ten-pound resistance loop band. This is the best time to exercise. On an empty stomach after the night-time fast, you burn three times as many calories as you would after breaking the fast. According to Bill Phillips and Michael D’Orso, Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength, New York: Harper Collins, 1999: “Exercising before you eat causes the body to dip right into stored fat.”
2. Water – I’m beginning to enjoy the exclusive drinking of water. Occasionally I drink fruit juice, but I’ve narrowed it down to those two liquids. The best thing to do is drink a large tumbler of water before each meal. For my weight, I now need to drink a total of 140 ounces of water per day, that’s one-half my body weight in ounces.
3. Fiber – This helps clean the system and reduce sugar and fats that go right to the belly. Whole grain products, lentils, seeds, nuts, garbanzo beans, fruits, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage are great sources of fiber.
4. Fats – If you eat the right fats you lose fat. Does that sound right? But it’s true. The right fats are the omega-3 and -6 fatty acids as found in nuts and seeds, avocadoes, and olives. And never eat hydrogenated fats as found in margarine or shortening.
5. Protein – Eat lean protein such as in skinless poultry and fish. Those help speed up your metabolism and that burns off the belly fat. Also, I sometimes eat a protein bar for lunch.
6. Enzymes – They break down the food so that it doesn’t stay in your system and turn to belly fat. The best source: raw vegetables. But if you must, just blanche or steam them for a few minutes.
If you have the will-power to follow these solutions you’ll lose belly fat too.