I know you have been told this a million times but if you want to lose belly fat you must lose weight all over. You cannot just spot reduce. There are quite a few core body exercises that you can do to tone and strengthen your abdominal muscles but you just can’t do one without losing weight all over. Losing weight is a package deal.

The bigger the package the longer your journey will take so the sooner you get started the better. Before you even start to worry about one specific area the best thing you can do is learn to strengthen your core.

Your core is just that, the middle of your body, abs, ribcage, and lower back. These muscles are what hold you upright and help keep you balanced. When they get weak, you will find you lose your balance more often than not and may even start falling because of it.

Weakened muscles in your core can lead to instability in your lower back and cause you to have pain, or worse yet, a herniated disc. If you have ever had a herniated disc you know that it is extremely painful. They take forever to heal and will flare up at any time. Usually when you least expect it.

When you belly fat lose you will decrease the pressure on your joints and back and decrease the level of pain you feel. In fact, if you were to lose just 10% of your total body fat you could increase your mobility and decrease your pain by about 30%. Every ten percent body fat lost takes approximately 100 pounds of pressure off your lower back and legs. Save those knees and that lower back. Lose the weight.

Do yourself a favor too, while losing the weight, find a good chiropractor. They can adjust your spine and make everything start flowing (your chi) better while you are in transition from being fat to becoming fit and thin.

If the chiropractor you find is also a slash physical therapist, you can even have them show you exercises to begin your work outs with and progress into more intense strengthening exercises.

Do you have kids? Can you get outside to play with them? If you can, then do. It will be good for them and good for you. If you play with your kids it will not seem like a work out but you will be surprised how children’s games can be an excellent source of exercise for all concerned.

Run, jump rope, play tag, hide and seek, any of those games we all used to play with our brothers and sisters and all the neighbor kids out in the front yard when we were young. Some friends of mine and I were just talking about those games we used to play and I had to do a search to relearn how to play Ghost in the Graveyard.

Who says you have to stop playing just because you get older? Find that inner child again and let them help you belly fat lose.

Being overweight is a growing epidemic. That’s why there are so many people looking for various ways of losing weight. It also explains why fad diets are so popular. After all, they promise to help people shed those extra pounds, and to do it in a way that’s supposed to be easy and effective. Unfortunately, the reality rarely holds up to the bold claims made by the sellers of such diets.

Of course it only makes sense that you would want to lose weight quickly, but you have to be careful. That’s because those who lose weight fast tend to be the ones who go off their diets and regain all of the pounds that they lost–sometimes more. However, those who are more methodical in their approach, and lose weight in a more reasonable manner not only reach their target weight, but are more likely to stay there. It can be done. Here are a few tips about diets and weight loss that will help you lose weight and keep it off.

Weight Loss Tip #1 – Set a goal for how much weight you want to lose and when you want to lose it by. The more weight you wish to get rid of, the longer it should take. The most important thing is to be specific, otherwise you won’t lose nearly as much weight. For example, it’s much better to have a goal to lose 20 pounds in the next 3 months than to simply say you want to lose some weight. Your goal could be a number of pounds to lose, a target weight to hit, or even a clothing size you would like to fit into.

Weight Loss Tip #2 – Get rid of the idea of instant results. It’s not just that it’s unhealthy to diet this way, it’s also that you are likely to stop trying if your expectations aren’t met. Losing 1 to 3 pounds a week is attainable for most people. Anything more than that will be harder to achieve. You can still have a big goal, you just need to be realistic about how long it will take.

Weight Loss Tip #3 – Be prepared. Whenever possible, you should geared up to on a diet. The more ready you are, emotionally and mentally, the better you’ll be able to handle any problems when you encounter them. Also, you should get rid of the junk food in your house and stock up on the foods that your diet calls for. This will get you started on the right foot and help you build momentum toward your diets and weight loss goals.

Weight Loss Tip #4 – Get support. Trying to lose weight is hard enough; trying to do it alone is next to impossible. You can get help from a counselor, your doctor, or family and friends. Each will be able to help in their own way. However, they can’t lose your weight for you, so any failures and successes along the way are your responsibility. But having help will greatly increase your chances of losing weight.

Weight Loss And Better Clothing Options Go Hand In Hand

Anyone who has ever been overweight, whether it’s a few extra pounds post pregnancy or injury or morbidly obese, knows the challenge associated with trying to find flattering clothing styles for their body type and size. To get the most choices in the styles you can wear well, never underestimate weight loss and better clothing options.

I have a friend who was overweight, about 100lbs overweight. She had a great marriage to a loving guy and when she finally got serious about losing weight she asked him a very loaded question (she knew it was a loaded question but was curious about how he would respond).

She asked her husband if he would still find her attractive physically when she lost her weight. I mean he obviously found her attractive when she was heavy but would he still when she was thinner? Of course, he said yes so she questioned him further: “how can you find me attractive when I’m thin and when I’m fat, it should be one or the other, shouldn’t it”?

I thought his answer was perfect. He said “honey, I love the way you look now, but weight loss and better clothing options go hand in hand so you will be able to wear some styles that may be a little sexier, and I will like that too” Wow, the guy got himself out of a pickle with that answer!

But it is true, when you are overweight and you have rolls no clothes fit you the way they are supposed to. You don’t have to be a stick figure but whenever you have excess fat and skin it just throws off the line of your clothes.

I’m not even talking about some of the ‘fashions’ that people will wear in a misguided attempt to camouflage their rolls. I’m just talking about the way clothes were made to fit and hang on the body can get completely distorted when that body has a lot of excess rolls and skin.

Until you get to the point where you have lost all your weight, there are some choices you can make that will help you look better during the process. Gone are the days of the muumuu and stretch pants, thank goodness. Today there are fashionable styles for anyone who has extra body fat.

The biggest rule to follow is to find clothes that are well fitted without being too baggy or too tight. A good fit is the most important thing to strive for. Don’t try to camouflage your rolls, you really won’t be fooling anyone. If you wear clothes that are too tight it will be like shining a spotlight on your least desirable features.

So, you know that the better shape you’re in the better you will look (not only in clothes but out of them as well) and that weight loss and better clothing options go hand in hand, but make sure that you also find clothes that are as flattering as possible to your shape while you are in the process of losing weight.