You may think that you know what the best workout to lose abdominal fat is but I would wager that what you are thinking is incorrect. If you are thinking that doing a thousand crunches everyday or running on a treadmill or other cardio exercises will get rid of your belly then you need to keep reading to change your thinking.

Cardio exercises and crunches really have little to no effect on losing your flabby belly. Not for nothing though, cardio exercises and crunches can be an effective part of an overall strength training program.

Lean muscle burns more calories and fat than all the cardio and crunches you can do. Building lean muscle, or strength training, is the best workout to lose abdominal fat, not to mention fat all over the rest of your body.

I am not saying that you can’t incorporate some cardio into your workout but you do not have to spend mind-numbing hours on end on the treadmill. Use the treadmill as your warm up and then when your muscles are warm concentrate on resistance training and really work your muscles.

Test yourself first and figure out how much weight you can safely lift without causing yourself injury. When you have the heaviest weight then do one slow set of about 10-12 reps. You should be barely able to even lift the last two reps. If this is not the case then you should increase the weight you use.

If you are able to work your muscles to fatigue in one set then your muscle is working at it’s peak. You can significantly reduce the amount of time you spend working out with this system. One set, at maximum weight, for all the major muscles of the body is the best way to build the lean muscle you need to burn the excess fat you have.

With toned, lean muscle you will be able to better burn fat and calories even when you are resting you will burn more than you did without the lean muscle. Your metabolism will be stoked all the time, especially if you are eating healthier, too. Decreasing your carbohydrate intake and increasing your protein intake will help lose the weight quickly.

Now, ladies, building lean muscle does not mean you have to bulk up. You will get toned and look better than you have in years. Lean muscle just keeps burning calories and fat. In fact you may be surprised at how easily it will seem that not only your belly fat disappears but that you slim down all over.

Do not try to spot lose, this is impossible. You either have to lose weight all over or not at all. You can do individual resistance exercises that target each muscle system at different times in your workout, this is different than spot reducing. You are still getting the best workout to lose abdominal fat, you just are also including the rest of your body, as well.

Tags: Amount Of Time, Atkins, Burn Calories, Burn Fat, Calories, Calories Fat, Carbohydrate Intake, Cardio Exercises, Cardio Workout, Concentrate, Crunches, Eating Habits, Fat Calories, fatigue;, Flabby Belly, Lean Muscle, Losing Weight, Major Muscles Of The Body, Maximum Weight, Metabolism, Muscles Of The Body, Resistance Training, Running On A Treadmill, Strength Training Program —

There is no doubt that the market place is filled with countless programs that claim to be the last word in healthy eating diets. One plan may allow you to eat all of the whole grains and vegetables you want, while the next may all but eliminate them. The problem is that there is no way they can all be right, and not all of them can be wrong; this leads to confusion, and this confusion is often all the excuse people need to not try any healthy diet at all. How are you supposed to tell which ones are good or bad; and which ones should be avoided versus which ones are worth trying?

What may surprise you is that some of the most popular diets are not necessarily the most healthy. The truth is that a lot of them are based around a gimmick of some kind, and the rest of the diet relies on some basic principles found in all healthy eating diets. This creates the illusion that the gimmick makes it work, but the harsh reality is that the gimmick is often the least healthy aspect of such diets.

Still, it’s hard to convince people that a certain diet doesn’t work. There is a lot of psychology that goes along with it, but the simple explanation is that these people are invested in believing their diet of choice works, and that the gimmicky portion is the secret. However, there are many people who don’t resort to fad diets to get healthy. Instead, they develop a well-balanced plan of their own by taking the best elements from several healthy eating diets.

One of the fad diets to make a big splash recently was the low-carb diet. These diets really did work for a good number of people. How they worked, and whether they’re a good long-term option remains debatable, but they did work. The catch is that there are very few people that should b restricting carbohydrate intake to this degree. Sure, it’s a good idea to get rid of the “bad” carbs found in white flour, white rice and sugar, but it’s not a good idea to give up the “good” carbs which are high in fiber and loaded with nutrients that can’t be found anywhere else.

So, a low-carb diet may help somebody to lose weight, but it can’t really be counted among healthy eating diets because it falls short on fiber as well as various important nutrients. But, somebody can take a part of the typical low-carb diet and use it to create some of their own specific plan.

Of course there are tons of other diets that say you should do this or do that, or not to do it at all. But healthy eating plans don’t have to rely on gimmicks, they simply rely on common sense. Instead, it’s just a matter of eating a variety of wholesome foods and keeping them on balance, and in this day and age, that may be the biggest gimmick of all.

Tags: Atkins, Bad Carbs, Carb Diets, Carbohydrate Intake, Choice Works, Confusion, Eating Habits, Fad Diets, Fruits And Vegetables, Gimmick, Good Carbs, Harsh Reality, Healthy Diet, Healthy Diets, Illusion, Last Word, Losing Weight, Low Carb Diet, No Doubt, Popular Diets, Term Option, Vegetables, White Rice, Whole Grains —

Today, more and more people suffer from high cholesterol and obesity due to improper food intake, unbalanced diet, and unhealthy lifestyle. Whatever the reasons behind the certain condition such as having high blood cholesterol level, the first treatment any physician will recommend is a low cholesterol diet.

A Guide to Low Cholesterol and Cholesterol Diets

As defined, cholesterol is a complex alcohol constituent of all animals fats and oils. It is a sterol that is related to other sterols and is contained in many foods such as dairy products and meat fats. Other sources of cholesterol include eggs, poultry, fish, and shellfish.

Studies show that that people with high levels of cholesterol are more likely to develop heart attacks more specifically, atherosclerosis which is a disease involving blockage of certain arteries compared to those with lower levels.

Diet is indeed very significant in treating high blood cholesterol level. If you would want to lower your cholesterol levels, try eating foods that are less high-fat foodespecially those high in saturated fat while replacing part of the saturated fat in your diet with unsaturated fat. You should also eat less high-cholesterol foods.

Aside from veering away in eating high-fat foods, you should also learn how to choose foods that are high in complex carbohydrates like starches and fibers. By lowering your carbohydrate intake, you can also reduce your weight especially if you are overweight.

Although the basics of low cholesterol diet may seem easy to follow, more people who have high cholesterol are having a hard time sticking to a specific low cholesterol diet.

But, if the person is really determined to lower his/her cholesterol levels, a low cholesterol diet can be easy to follow given the wide variety of foods available. In fact, more and more food manufacturers come up with foods that have low cholesterol content so if you are out shopping grocery items, take the time off to look at the labels. Here are additional tips to make a low cholesterol diet successful:

1. Load on lots of fruits and vegetables because these are low in calories, cholesterol, and fat.

2. Lower your intake of saturated fatsor the foods that contain theseto lower the possibility of developing heart diseases.

3. Take note of trans-fatty elements that are usually found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils like margarines and shortenings because they increases blood cholesterol levels the way saturated fat does.

4. Consume foods that use whole grain foods instead of those that contain white flour.

5. Compared regular, full-fat dairy products, opt for low fat or skimmed ones. These are not only good for your cholesterol level but also for your weight as well.

6. Choose lean meats like turkey and chicken meats instead of red meat because it is closely-associated with decreasing cholesterol levels.

7. Use olive and canola oils when cooking instead of using cooking oils because these are lower in monounsaturated fats that help lower cholesterol levels.

Tags: atherosclerosis, Blood Cholesterol Level, Carbohydrate Intake, Cholesterol Content, Cholesterol Diets, Cholesterol Levels, Complex Carbohydrates, dairy products;, disease, Fats And Oils, Fish And Shellfish, food intake;, Food Manufacturers, Heart Attacks, Heart Diseases, High Blood Cholesterol, High Cholesterol, High Cholesterol Foods, Improper Food, improper food intake, Low Cholesterol Diet, Lowering Cholesterol, obesity;, physician, Sterol, Sterols, Unbalanced Diet, Unhealthy Lifestyle —

With the sudden boom of dieting in the country, different diet programs have been introduced in the country. Although many experts believe that proper exercise and not only diet can lose those pounds in a healthy way, many people still believe in the power of diet programs and diet plans. One of the most controversial kinds of diet plans is the low-carbohydrate diet program, which focuses on the reduction of carbohydrate consumption in the body.

According to the theory, when carbohydrates are no longer being taken in, the body will be forced to use fats and water as alternative sources of energy; thereby helping to shed off those unwanted pounds.

Fats, unbeknownst to many, can actually be converted to energy. The body just doesnt use it as the first priority because it is more complex in structure and therefore, harder to break down and convert into energy. Among the popular low carbohydrate diets in the country is the Atkins diet.

Despite arguments from its critics, low carbohydrate diet has proven its effectiveness in terms of losing that extra weight. To date, it counts millions of followers not only in the country but also outside America.

Actually, cutting down on carbohydrates in the diet is a practice that people have been doing for years. When people cut down on their rice or bread or do not eat rice at all, they are reducing their carbohydrate intake. Of course, because it is not an official diet plan they are not really restricting themselves completely. When you are under a diet plan, you are not allowed to eat any kind of carbohydrates.

One of the advantages of low carbohydrate diet is the fact that it can actually increase the levels of good cholesterol in the body. This is really good news to people who have a heart problem. This is perhaps the reason why Atkins diet was used for cardio patients. This diet plan can also reduce the amount of triglycerides in the body. Triglycerides can be dangerous when combined with a high level of LDL or bad cholesterol. Both can increase the risk for heart attack and heart disease.

Low carb diet plans are also found to be good in balancing mood swings. They will not be prone to extreme lows such as depression or extreme high. People who are under the program are found to have fairly stable energy levels unlike those with high carbo levels.

Tags: Alternative Sources Of Energy, America, Atkins Diet, Carbohydrate Intake, Carbohydrates Diet, Cardio, depression;, Diet Plan, Diet Plans, Diet Program, Diet Programs, energy;, Fats, Followers, Good Cholesterol, heart attack;, heart disease;, Heart Problem, Low Carb Diet, Low Carbohydrate Diet, Low Carbohydrate Diets, Popular Diets, Proper Exercise, Sources Of Energy, stable energy levels, Triglycerides, Unwanted Pounds —