Most people realize that to lose weight they must take in fewer calories than they burn. If they are bringing in more calories than they burn those excess calories are being stored as fat.

To accomplish that goal many people will try to exercise harder. The more cardio they get, so goes the theory, the more weight they can lose. To a point that is true… only to a point though.

You see, you will still need to get enough of the right types of foods into your daily diet if you want to keep your body functioning at it’s optimal level.

Just trying to use exercises to lose weight fast while thinking you can still eat whatever you want is a recipe (pardon the pun) for disaster.

If you eat crappy low value food on a regular basis you aren’t providing your body with the nutrients it needs. That means you will only be working your body hard but not giving it adequate fuel.

Think of it like this: you wouldn’t want to take your car to the local race track without giving it enough oil, would you? Of course not. When it comes to our bodies we often treat them worse than we would our vehicles (which is kind of dumb when you think about it).

Along with the cardio, you should also implement some weight training. This will pay dividends in a few ways. For one thing, you will increase (I said increase, not bulk up) your lean muscle mass.

Lean muscle will increase your metabolism all day everyday. That means that no matter you are doing you will be burning more calories. That means even when you are sitting on your bottom in front of the t.v. or fast asleep in your bed your body will be burning more calories.

Another benefit of lean muscle mass is that it will make you look thinner. It kind of acts like a full body girdle. You will look tight and toned.

In order to gain lean muscle mass you will need to incorporate some light weight training into your fitness routine. It doesn’t have to be some extreme, intimidating workout. just a little bit of weights a few times a week (along with a good eating plan) can make a lot of difference.

So, the bottom line, is to get the most out of your weight loss efforts, for most people, you will need to combine the best of both worlds: eat right and get some exercise.

Of course, before you start any type of exercise program make sure your doctor is on board and gives you her ok. You don’t want to risk making your existing condition worse by overdoing the exercise side of things.

You will want to get plenty of exercise and there are many exercises to lose weight fast that you can use in conjunction with a good eating plan. Combining the two will help you get the most out of all your efforts.

Tags: Acts, Calories, Cardio, Diet, Disaster, Dividends, Eating Habits, Excess Calories, Exercises To Lose Weight, Fewer Calories, Fitness Routine, Full Body Girdle, Healthy Diet, Lean Muscle Mass, Little Bit, Losing Weight, Metabolism, Nutrients, Optimal Level, Pun, Value Food, Weight Training, Weights, Workout —

Loose belly skin has many causes: pregnancy and losing a significant amount of weight are probably the two most common. We all want to look our best and having loose skiin around our middle is unsightly and can make us feel bad about ourselves. Whatever the cause, you have several options to help tighten loose skin.

Before you jump right into thinking you need a surgical option try these less invasive options.

1. A simple daily exercise program may be just the thing for you. Get your body moving and include some specific core exercises like crunches and lunges. If you firm up and tone the muscles in your sides called your obliques, the skin should follow suit and tighten as well. Get some cardio in, too.

If you can’t stand running or walking on a treadmill then get out and go for a walk around the neighborhood or find a friend with some free time and go run around the tennis court for an hour three times a week. Running after all those mis-hit balls can be quite the awesome workout.

2. If you adjust your eating habits along with starting a simple daily exercise program you will find your loose belly skin tightening up even faster. A low-fat, low-carb, high protein diet will help whip you into shape in no time.

3. Stay away from sugary drinks and snacks. All they will do is add fat to the already loose skin and then you will have two problems to deal with instead of just one.

4. Stay hydrated. This is the most important thing for everyone. Your skin will love you for it and it will reward you with remaining elastic. Drink one-half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. If that seems like too much or you find you are spending an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom then back off to just 8-10 eight ounce glasses everyday.

5. Do some research about skin tightening creams. They are out there and you can buy them over the counter. They may have a skin firming compound in them and also a moisturizer to help increase your skin’s elasticity.

6. If you try everything I have suggested here and find it does not give you the results you want then talk to your personal physician about maybe making a referral to a plastic surgeon to discuss a tummy tuck. This should be your very last resort though. There are risks involved with every surgery and a tummy tuck is no exception.

Pain is one obvious side effect, the risk of infection is another, not to mention the recovery time of about six weeks. The results you get when the surgeon tightens up your loose belly skin may be absolutely amazing but you will not be able to even stand up straight afterward for about a week, so you will need someone with you for at least the first 24 hours until you recover from the anesthesia and get your bearings and learn how to move effectively.

Tags: Atkins, Cardio, Core Exercises, Crunches, Eating Habits, Elas, Exercise Program, Free Time, Healthy Diet, High Protein Diet, Loose Skin, Losing Weight, Low Carb High Protein Diet, Lunges, Moisturizer, Obliques, Ounce Glasses, Pillsbury Doe Boy, Skiin, Sugary Drinks, Surgical Option, Tennis Court, Treadmill —