The flat abs diet has six core principles that will help you to lose belly fat and have a sleeker body all around. Even if you cant get rid of your gut through endless crunches, you should see success with this flat abs diet. That is because new research has show that what you eat may be just as important as how much you exercise.

The first important step is to eat more fiber. You should eat at least 25 grams of fiber a day. The reason is that bulk fiber is like a sponge which, when combined with water, moves the fat through your body more quickly.

The best high fiber foods are fruits and vegetables. In addition to having a lot of fiber naturally, fruits and vegetables are very low in calories. Whole grains are preferable to processed flours for the same reason.

Part of what makes natural food so good for you is the chew factor. It takes longer to eat these foods, so your brain has time to get the signals that your stomach is sending that it is full. Researchers have found that eating high fiber plant food with any meal reduces the average amount of calories by 100.

The next step is to opt for a sensible amount of high quality carbs. The flat abs diet does not require that you dramatically limit your carbohydrates the way the Adkins or South Beach plans do. However, if you want to lose your belly fat, you will have to control your carb intake.

Again, fruits and vegetables provide the highest quality carbs available. They are the foods least likely to promote bloat. Because they are composed of a lot of water, they have fewer calories and carbs for their volume.

You should have no more than 65 percent of your diet in carbs. That means that on an 1800 calorie diet, you will have between 200 and 300 grams of carbs. On the Adkins diet, you can have no more than 35 grams of carbs, so as you can see the flat abs diet is more generous.

Next, you want to drink lots of water at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day.

Many people think that drinking water will make them bloat when the opposite is actually true. Water washes away the sodium in the body and thus reduces bloat.

If you are having trouble consuming that much water, try these variations:

Drink 2 glasses of lukewarm water twice a day. It is easier to consume lots of water in a single setting if it is not ice cold.
If you like cold water, freeze fruit or small pieces of fruit and float it in your water. It will keep the water cold and add a nice flavor to it.
Use small amounts of fruit juice or other extracts such as mint to flavor the water.

Along those lines, tip number 4 on the flat abs diet is to avoid sodium wherever possible. A woman needs 500 mg. of sodium to keep her body functioning regularly but the average American woman gets between 3000 and 6000 mg. daily. If you eat a typical meal at a Chinese restaurant, you will get about 3000 mg. of sodium. The body responds to this sodium intake by retaining water. The next day, you will see the result on the scale and in the mirror. Its not that the Chinese food added too many calories its that it has so much sodium.

The next bit of advice is to not eat too much at night. When you put food in your body less than three hours before going to sleep, it causes you to bloat. Plan to shut down the kitchen after a light to moderate dinner. If you must eat, consider limiting it to a snack of 100 calories or less. A cup of tea can often satisfy your need for food after dinner.

Finally, the last bit of advice on our flat abs diet has nothing to do with food at all. Instead, you will want to work on reducing stress.

Stress triggers the hormone cortisol which turns up your appetite and directs your body to deposit fat around your abdomen. One way to eliminate stress (and lose weight) is to exercise. You should also practice ways of relaxing when you get into a stressful situation.

So, there you have it. When exercise alone isnt working to remove your belly fat, try the flat abs diet.

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Recover Your Healthy Self
Jay Morganson (aSuperHealth.com)

Effective Stress Management:
A Must For Those With Busy Lives

What would you do with increased stamina, decreased anxiety, and solid peace of mind? You would probably get more done in less time–at the very least, each day would be more enjoyable. In the long term, you would certainly experience better physical health and a longer life span.

The only thing standing between you and a higher level of general well-being is the unpreventable occurrence of stress. Daily stress can rob us of our potential, weakening every aspect of our lives. Consider the following:

Stress breaks down the efficiency of the immune system leaving our bodies vulnerable to illness and disease.

Stress causes heart problems and high blood pressure.

Stress contributes to addictive behavior, causing alcoholism, eating disorders, nicotine addiction, and workaholic tendencies.

Stress causes social withdrawal, perpetuating symptoms and leading to destructive isolation.

To avoid stress and related symptoms you must be proactive, nurturing your body and mind through a balanced diet, exercise, and reserved time for relaxation.

A Balanced Diet – We know that a balanced diet can improve your health, but can it really do anything for your stress level? Experts say it can. Research has found that good nutrition has a tremendous impact on our ability to ward off the damage stress can do to our systems. Sure, you’ll still feel tense, but with your body nutritionally armed for battle, you’ll handle things better. There are many things you can do to maximize your body’s fighting power.

One of the most significant things you can do is to reduce the amounts sugar and white flour in your diet. Sugar and white flour cause a host of problems you could do without. By reducing these items in your diet, you will be able to maintain better weight control, reduce the risk of heart disease, and increase your energy level. Why? Because items made with these products metabolize too fast in your blood system. The result is unhealthy spikes in your blood sugar, rapid depletion of energy, and damaging stress symptoms.

Exercise – In addition to eating right, exercise can be a tremendous help in fighting stress. As you get moving, your circulation delivers oxygen and nutritional elements throughout your body. The result is muscle relaxation, the release of mood elevating chemicals, and a strengthened immune system. Studies show that those who exercise regularly are less likely to suffer from stress related illness.

Relaxation. When your body relaxes, it reverses stress symptoms. You experience a sense of control as you eliminate the feelings of helplessness that often accompany stress. Find that one thing that really helps you to kick back and forget about things for a while. Here are some suggestions:

– Catering to our senses, such as sight, smell, and sound can reduce anxiety. So put on some favorite music, keep fresh cut flowers in view, and sink into a warm bubble bath.

– Reduce the clutter in your life. Passing a stack of papers as you leave for work, tripping over boxes, or stuffing a breakfast plate into a sink of dirty dishes, creates underlying tension that acts as a fuse when something gets you fired up.

– Deal head-on with anything that has been bothering you. Ignoring problems won’t make them go away–resolving them will.

– Get a good night’s sleep. Your body needs this time to heal and “reboot” in preparation for the next day’s challenges. Deny this basic need and you drain all of your systems of their strength.

Good nutrition, exercise, and learning to enjoy life will help you ward off dangerous stress symptoms. It’s important that you take steps now to ensure a healthy future. That is why I dedicate several sections of my ebook series, Recover Your Healthy Self, to teaching you how to reduce the levels of stress in your life, instantly improving your quality of life. You’ll learn: How to cope rather than stress, 13 affirmations to move beyond stress and its impacts, how to become a relaxation guru, and much more.
About the Author

Jay Morganson from aSuperHealth.com

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How Heart-Healthy is Alcohol?
Dr. Joseph Mercola

Although past research suggests that drinking a glass or two of
wine a day may have some heart benefits, new findings suggest
that those studies were flawed.

Risks Outweigh the Benefits

There is some evidence that heavier drinking provides heart
protection — alcoholics have relatively ‘clean’ arteries — but
the other health risks of heavy drinking outweigh the benefits.

Early observations in the 1970s and 1980s seemed to indicate a
20 to 25 percent reduction in heart disease risk linked to light
drinking. However, the way those studies were carried out did
not allow researchers to say with certainty that the findings
could not be due to factors other than alcohol consumption.

Diet, Exercise, Quit Smoking

The British Heart Foundation responded to the new evidence by
saying that their advice remained the same: “… the best way to
reduce the risk of heart disease is to quit smoking if you
smoke, increase levels of physical activity and eat a healthy
balanced diet.”

BBC News December 2, 2005

Dr. Mercola’s Comment:Good advice from the British Heart
Foundation, so long as your balanced diet is nutritionally sound.

As I’ve said before about studies touting all the “benefits” of
drinking red wine, I personally do not advocate it. There are
many health experts that feel it is fine in moderation, but I am
still not convinced.

This is largely because I am convinced the alcohol itself is
actually a neurotoxin, which means it can poison your brain.
Additionally, it has the strong potential to seriously disrupt
your delicate hormone balance. Plus, drinking two or more
glasses (of wine or any alcoholic beverage for that matter) may
offset the benefit and increase your risk of certain cancers.

You also need to be aware that consuming large amounts of wine
will increase insulin levels and eventually have a negative
impact on your health that way as well.

If you absolutely insist on drinking red wine, check on the
growing conditions of the grapes used and how the wine is made.
And if you can, take a brisk walk to pick it up, as exercise is
your real ticket to preventing heart disease.

About the author:

This article is reprinted from Mercola.com, the world’s #1 most
visited and trusted natural/alternative health website. For a
limited time only, you can take the FREE “Metabolic Type Test”
to help you learn the right foods for your particular body type
so you can achieve optimal fitness & health. Just go to
http://www.mercola.com/forms/mt_test.htm right now to take this
quick test!

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Diet Pill That Works Is There Really Such A Thing

Do you wonder if there is any such thing as a diet pill that works? The short answer is yes, there is a weight loss tablet which works. In fact there is more than one, however finding a diet pill that works for you can present a challenge. In this discussion you will discover several things which will help your weight loss pill to work, more efficiently.

Weight loss pills, just as diets, cant work solely on their own; they require your co-operation. If you can eat relatively healthy and undertake a small amount of exercise each week then the chances will increase that your diet pill will work.

A word of caution and warning needs to be inserted here. You should always see your doctor to make sure you have no underlying health issues causing your weight gain. It is also important for the Doctor to determine you are physically healthy enough to pursue a weight loss diet and exercise program.

It is well known that the best way to stay fit and healthy is by eating well and exercising. However, some people still require a little more motivation. This is when a weight loss diet pill comes into play. Diet pills can increase the speed and kick start your weight loss. The initial weight loss becomes a huge motivator.

Most diet pills claim that they are the very best product on the market. Often times claiming you will lose weight instantly and without effort. In some cases this is an outright lie. In other cases its partially true.

There is no single “best” weight loss pill nor will any have you losing weight (safely) in just a few hours. The best weight loss pills dont make false claims; they just tell you the facts. Sure they may hype it up a bit, but leave the outrageous lies to the pills that do nothing for you. So how do you choose a good diet pill that works?

Natural and Herbal Products
These products are generally what most diet pills are. Natural diet pills also will not expose you to dangerous side effects that chemical based pills can. If a product is marketed as “all natural” or “herbal” then you can be sure it is based on natural ingredients such as plants and minerals.

Look at the Marketing
If the diet pill company website has unrealistic claims and downright sleazy marketing tactics then you can become a little suspect of the product. A good diet pill company will not try to gloss over their products, they will simply give you the facts.

Look for a Guarantee
If a company offers money back, no questions asked guarantee then it means they are confident that their product works. Its not a good idea to buy a diet pill which doesn’t provide a money back guarantee.

Find Reviews
Finding reviews on the internet from real customers is simply the best way to determine whether a diet pill works. There are many websites which publish customer feedback. Remember a diet pill company will only ever publish positive testimonials on their website so it is important to research a variety of sources before pulling out your credit card.

One of the great ways to find reviews, about which weight loss pill or diet works is to hit the online forums or bulletin boards. An additional source could be chat rooms dedicated to talking about weight loss.

With a good common sense approach and a little work on your part, you can find a diet pill that works for you.

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