If you have some excess fat around your tummy then you may be looking at natural ways to lose belly fat. Do you wish you had six pack abs or that pre-pregnancy flat stomach but you really don’t want to use those unnatural shakes or pills? Do you wish there was an exercise program that gave fast results without requiring you to be an athlete?

Well there is a natural way to lose belly fat and basically it involved a good, healthy diet and exercise.

The first thing you want to change is your diet to one that is low calorie. Try to eat as much natural food as possible and less processed foods. A good, healthy diet should include lots of fruit and vegetables and moderate amounts of low fat dairy products and lean meats. Whole grains and legumes are also great to include into your diet.

There are a lot of choices that you can make with your diet that can reduce the calories you eat. For example, eating 1/2 cup of fruit with 1/2 cup of fat free vanilla yogurt will be 105 calories less than eating a strawberry yogurt with pre-packaged fruit. Another example is eating 2 cups of air popped popcorn instead of 1 cup of potato chips will save you 95 calories.

Next you will want to start doing some exercise each day. If you can’t fit in some exercise every day then at least try to exercise five times a week. Cardio exercise is the best for burning off fat but you can burn off even more by combining it with some strength exercises. Studies have shown that people who walked for 50 minutes, 3 times a week lost almost twice as much belly fat as people who only reduced their calories but didn’t exercise.

Cardio exercises include brisk walking, jogging, running, cycling or there are many cardio machines that you can also use. You should try to get 45 minutes of cardio exercise with each workout which is a great natural way to lose belly fat.

Here is a great exercise routine that can have you burn up to 500 calories in one session. First do 3 minutes of warm up exercise. Next push up the intensity for 3 minutes, then push yourself as hard as you absolutely can for 2 minutes. Slow down a little for 3 minutes and then push yourself as hard as you can for 2 minutes. Repeat this 3 minutes regular intensity then 2 minutes high intensity combination for a total of 45 minutes ending with 2 minutes of cooling down exercises.

Working and building your muscles is also very beneficial when you are trying a natural way to lose belly fat. Muscle burns more energy than fat so the more muscle you build the more fat you will burn off when exercising. Try to combine your cardio exercises with some strength training to build up and tone your muscles.

A stability ball is also great for toning your tummy muscles and getting a flat stomach. You can get a stability ball for about $30 from most sporting goods stores. Lie on your back and hold the ball between your legs and lift into the air, hold this position for one minute. This is just one of the many exercises that you can do with the stability ball to help tone your stomach muscles. The ball should come with a manual that will include exercises.

A good diet and exercise that includes both cardio and strength training is the key to a natural way to lose belly fat.

Tags: Calories, Cardio Exercises, Cardio Machines, Diet And Exercise, Diet Exercise, Eating Habits, Exercise Program, Exercise Routine, Flat Stomach, Fruit And Vegetables, Fruits And Vegetables, Healthy Diet, Lean Meats, Moderate Amounts, Natural Food, Potato Chips, Pre Pregnancy, Processed Foods, Strawberry Yogurt, Strength Exercises, Warm Up Exercise, Ways To Lose Belly Fat, Whole Grains —

Have you been looking for the quickest way to lose belly fat? There is a program that can give you a flat stomach in just two weeks. This program doesn’t include shakes, pills or potions and the only cash outlay is $30 at your local sports store. This article isn’t about trying to sell you some magic pill; it’s simply showing you how you can lose that excess fat around the tummy.

This routine does require a stability ball that costs around $30 and you can get one from your local sporting store. These balls come in various sizes between 18 and 26 inch and you will need to choose the right size for your height. Studies have shown that people who work out with a stability ball build twice the muscle fibers as those who do regular crunches without a ball. Using a stability ball for your exercises will definitely help you to lose that excess belly fat much faster.

When you purchase a stability ball it will come with an instruction manual that will outline various exercises that you can do with the ball. The exercise instructions usually come with diagrams to illustrate how to do each exercise. In this article I will outline a couple of exercises that are great to do with the ball to help lose that fat around the stomach area.

The first exercise is called the Ball Curl. Sit on the stability ball with your hands behind your head. Next you want to roll your body down until your bottom is just off the ball and your lower back and middle are on the ball.

The next exercise is called the Pike and is a bit more complicated. Lie on the top of the ball with your legs together and the ball should be under your thighs. Keep your legs straight and then contract your abs and lift your hips up toward the ceiling, rolling the ball to the shins. Hold this for one second and then lower.

The ball is important in the plan to lose fat around the stomach but it isn’t the only tool that you need. If you really want to lose fat fast then you also want to do some cardio workouts at least three times a week. With a cardio workout you should warm up for three minutes, follow this with three minutes of regular paced exercise and then two minutes of high paced exercise. Repeat the three minutes regular and two minutes high exercises for a total of 45 minutes finishing with two minutes cooling down exercises. Cardio workouts might include running, brisk walking, cycling or a cardio machine.

Lastly, you need to reduce your intake of calories. You can exercise all you want but if you continue to eat too many calories then you’re not likely to lose any weight. You need to eat 500 fewer calories than you would to maintain your weight. So if the required calories to maintain your weight are 2700 then you should only eat 2200 to lose weight. The required amount of calories to maintain your weight will depend on your sex, height and age.

If you follow this program for two weeks you will see a remarkable difference in your stomach fat. You should lose at least an inch from your weight and lose around five pounds.

This really is the quickest way to lose belly fat!

Tags: Calories, Cardio Workouts, Cash Outlay, Crunches, Exercise Instructions, Fastest Way To Lose Belly Fat, Fat Stomach, Flat Stomach, Hips, Local Sports, Losing Weight, Magic Pill, Muscle Fibers, Potions, Quickest Way To Lose Belly Fat, Shakes, Shins, Sporting Store, Stability Ball, Stomach Area, Stomach Exercise, Thighs —

Obesity is on the rise and the number of people with too much body fat is higher than ever. A human body consists of fat, water, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals. When the amount of fat is too high then you are at higher risk of serious medical problems like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

When you have excess fat in your body it raises your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It can also raise your blood pressure and increase your risk of diabetes. The risk of heart disease is significantly higher when you are obese. In fact a person that is obese may have double the risk of having a major heart attack or a stroke.

When a person consumes more calories than they burn then those calories turn into stored fat. This causes a person to become overweight and may lead to obesity. When there is too many calories consumed that contain a lot of cholesterol and saturated fats the cholesterol levels in the blood increase. This increase of cholesterol will increase the risk of heart disease.

How do you know if you are obese?

Body fat is measure by both body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. If your waistline is more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches for men then you are at a high risk of becoming obese.

The BMI is the body weight in comparison to the persons height. This is calculated by taking the body weight (in pounds) and dividing it by the height (in inches) squared then multiply this by 703.

Here are the levels of body mass index calculations:

18.5 or less is considered as being underweight

18.5 to 24.9 is considered a healthy weight range

25.0 to 29.9 is considered as being overweight

30.0 or higher is considered as being obese

40.0 or higher is considered as extreme obesity.

How to reduce or prevent obesity:

1. Add some exercise into your daily routine, even if you start out with something simple such as walking for 30 minutes a day. If you can’t exercise every day then try to exercise at least three to four times a week.

2. Reduce the amount of time you spend doing activities sitting down, such as watching TV or time on the computer.

3. Make fitter choices, such as taking the stairs instead of the lift.

4. Eat a healthy, nutritious diet that is low in fat. Include lots of fruit and vegetables in your diet.

5. Reduce the amount of food consumed each day by making your proportions smaller.

It is easiest to prevent obesity but if you are already obese it isn’t too late to get back to a healthy weight range. To live longer and have a healthier and more active life, try the above tips to get yourself to a healthy weight and stay at a healthy weight. Having a healthy weight range is the best choice for avoiding those serious conditions, such as heart disease and stroke, which you are at higher risk at by being overweight.

Tags: Atkins, Body Fat, Body Mass Index, Body Mass Index Bmi, Body Mass Index Calculations, Calories, Cholesterol Levels, Daily Routine, Fruits And Vegetables, Healthy Diet, heart attack;, heart disease;, Heart Stroke, high blood pressure;, High Cholesterol, High Risk, Losing Weight, Medical Problems, Risk Of Heart Disease, Saturated Fats, Triglyceride Levels, Vitamins And Minerals, Vitamins Minerals, Waist Circumference, Waistline —

Perhaps you saw it coming for quite a while, and knew it would get to this point. Or, maybe you looked in the mirror one day and all of a sudden realized just how much weight you have put on over the years. Chances are good that the second scenario is more likely. Most of us don’t want to be overweight. And while we may have a few clues as to how we got here, it still comes as somewhat of a shock. Either way, you have finally made the decision to shed those extra pounds once and for all, and you want to lose weight fast.

Hold on! That is an admirable goal, but you need to step back for a moment and put things into perspective. To put it another way, you need to be realistic and specific. How much weight you want to lose and how quickly will play a bog role in which diet and exercise program you choose.

You still have to be realistic though. If you want to lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks, then you’re not going to have much luck. Not only that, but any diet that makes such promises is most likely lying at best, or bad for your health at worst. It simply isn’t safe to lose that much weight, except for a few rare exceptions, and only if you are doing so under the guidance of a qualified medical professional.

Most experts agree that losing 1 or 2 pounds per week is safe and effective. However, you may be able to bump that up to 5 pounds in the first week in some cases. For most people, 1 to 2 pounds is ideal. It’s not only relatively easy, but you will be more likely to stay on such a diet. If you have a choice between losing 20 pounds over two months, only to regain it; or losing 1 pound per week over the course of 6 months, but keeping it off forever, which one would you choose.

The good news is that you don’t really have to choose. You can still lose the 20 pounds, but if you take the right approach, you will be able to keep it off. It’s all about a simple formula: 3,500 calories is equivalent to 1 pound of body weight. That means if you take in 500 calories less per day for a week, you will lose 1 pound. Or, if you burn off an extra 500 calories per day, you will lose a pound.

So, here’s the real “secret” to lose weight fast: do both! Take in 500 calories less and burn off an extra 500 calories. That’s 1,000 calories per day in your favor. That’s a loss of 2 pounds per week, or just over 100 pounds in a year’s time. And the best part it is that it won’t be nearly as hard as if you were depriving yourself, and that means you will be able to keep the weight off for good.

Tags: Admirable Goal, Calories, Diet, Exercise Program, Formula 3, Guidance, Health, Healthy Diet, Lose 20 Pounds, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Mirror, Perspective, Promises, Rare Exceptions, Shock —