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 —

Trying to figure out how to lose weight can be a challenge for the best of us. If you need help losing weight then there are some tips that may help get you started in the right direction.

Losing weight is going to be different for each of us and we will all be presented with our own special challenges. But, everyone can start out with the same advice. Alter your diet, get enough water to drink every day and get some sort of daily exercise.

If you adhere to the following guidelines you should be able to get the help losing weight you need and shed at least a few pounds and start to look better in the mirror.

If you have a significant amount of weight to lose then break it up into smaller goals. Say you have 100 pounds to lose, break that down to losing ten pounds at a time and tell yourself you only have to lose ten pounds ten times. That sounds a lot better than telling yourself that you have 100 pounds to lose, doesn’t it?

Setting small realistic goals that are easier to reach will help keep your motivation high and you will be able to see small successes all along the way. Treat each one as a check in the win column and celebrate. Eventually you will only have the last ten pounds to lose and you will wonder at how easy it really was to accomplish.

Find an exercise routine that you think you can stick with and start doing it everyday. If walking on the treadmill is not your thing then find another way to get at least thirty minutes of exercise each day. Walk around your neighborhood or join the local pool and check out the times they let people come and do their lap swim.
Swimming is a great way to get your whole body into shape.

In addition to your regular exercise try to remember to park farther away from the door of the store and sneak in some extra exercise that way. If the parking lot is big enough then you could probably realistically add another quarter mile or so to your daily exercise routine. Walk the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Your diet is just as important as the exercise you get. Eat healthier by adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to each meal you eat. Nuts like pistachios and almonds are great ways to get a lot of the good fats that you have heard so much about these days. Change the oil you use to olive oil and eat lots of greens either as salads or sides and eat more whole grain, as well.

Stoke your metabolism by eating several small meals throughout your day. Your metabolism will begin to wake up and you will actually feel hungry again. Plan your day out so you can have what you need to eat right at your finger tips. If you need to cook a piece of chicken then cook several so they are right there for you and all you have to do is reheat them. Making things more convenient will be a great help losing weight.

Tags: Challenges, Daily Exercise Routine, Diet, Eating Habits, Elevator, Fruits And Vegetables, Healthy Diet, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Mirror, Motivation, Neighborhood, Parking Lot, Pool, Quarter Mile, Realistic Goals, Right Direction, Shape, Stairs, Successes, Treadmill, Weight Lose —

Many people have difficulty losing their fat belly, nothing is more frustrating than to get your motivation up, find the perfect diet and exercise program for you and then not lose and ounce. Some people may actually have a metabolic issue that makes it virtually impossible to lose weight, but not many.

For most of us the harsh reality is that we are just not being as good as we think we are. There are a few simple things you can do that will help keep you honest in your weight loss journey.

For one thing, it’s amazingly easy to lie about what we have eaten in any given day. There have been times when I would have sworn I was good, until my spouse will remind me of that pastry I had at lunch or all the cream and sugar I put in my coffee. We do not mean to lie to ourselves, we just are so busy we do not pay attention.

To keep yourself on track, simply keep a food journal. This is a very real way to keep tabs on yourself. For the next fourteen days, write down every single thing that you eat or drink. You have to be honest and you have to write down every last bit. Even that second glass of soda at lunch and the two pats of margarine you put on your toast.

If you do this for two weeks, you will quickly be able to spot the times of the day and the areas in your diet where you always screw up. Once you pinpoint the reasons you have difficulty losing your fat belly you can make changes that will help you achieve your goals much more quickly.

The same principle can apply to when you work out. Again, it is easy to think that you are working harder than you really are. Just like the food journal, keep a workout journal so it is harder to convince yourself that you have done something you really haven’t. Not only can you track the number of times you go to the gym but you can also track how long you spent on the treadmill or rode the stationary bike. Write down how many exercises you did for your upper body, how many you did for your lower body, etc.

You can also keep track of how much weight you used for each exercise. Ideally, you should increase your weight after every few workouts. It is important to challenge yourself so you do not get bored. By changing up the weights you lift as well as the exercises you do, you will keep your body guessing. This will help you get better results in a shorter time frame.

Working all of the major muscle groups with more than one exercise is ideal. By mixing up the exercises you do for each group you are keeping your toning efforts in high gear. Another benefit is that the different exercises will target each muscle group in a slightly different way which can also decrease many of the repetitive motion types of injuries to your body.

I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but usually when someone has difficulty losing their fat belly it really is more about what they are doing, or not doing, than about any metabolic issue with their body.

Tags: Cream And Sugar, Exercise Program, Exercises, Food Journal, Fourteen Days, Harsh Reality, Healthy Diet, Losing Weight, Lunch, Margarine, Motivation, Ounce, Pastry, Pats, Principle, Single Thing, Soda, Stationary Bike, Toast, Treadmill, Weight Loss Journey, Workout Journal —

Once your doctor gives you the all clear to start working out, losing weight after pregnancy is pretty much the same as losing weight at any other time. Get more exercise and eat a balanced diet and you will lose weight. I make it sound so easy, don’t I?

Many first time moms are astonished to go home and to take that first post baby look in a full length mirror. I know I thought that once I delivered my baby (all 10 lbs of her!) that the rest of the weight would be gone. Not so much, but it actually does go pretty quickly when you get home.

The fact is that after your baby is born, even before you are fully recuperated, your body will start to bounce back. Just the busy daily routine you are undertaking will start to make positive changes in your muscle tone.

Eventually, though, after you settle in to your new lifestyle, you will want to take your fitness and weight loss efforts up a notch. When that time comes, here is some good advice for you to follow:

1. Most women see the biggest difference in their stomachs and mistakenly think that doing thousands of crunches is where they should concentrate their efforts. Wrong. There is no such thing as ‘spot reducing’. If you want your waistline back you will have to lose weight and that happens with a balanced diet and a whole body exercise plan.

2. Stay away from quick fix cleanses and fad diets. You’re a mom and you have children depending on you. The last thing you need is anything that will make you feel tired and sluggish (after all, you just gave birth to something that can make you feel tired and sluggish, why add to it!).

3. With young children it can be a challenge to find the time to work out. Not to worry. You can make a huge positive impact on your body with 15 minute power workouts throughout your day.

If you don’t have time to spend 30 minutes straight on a treadmill, how about just 15 minutes of some form of activity? Something as simple as a few jumping jacks, a few minutes of jump roping, or even taking your newest addition for a walk in their stroller can be all you need.

4. Don’t forget to take care of yourself either. Get dad to take the baby at least for a few minutes every day to give you some much needed down time. Stress has a way of making you hang on to your excess body weight. Even a 15 minute soak in your tub, all by yourself, in peace and quiet can make a world of difference.

With some common sense, and realistic expectations, losing weight after pregnancy doesn’t have to be the daunting task it may seem. Just make sure to take good care of yourself and you will be better able to take care of your new (screaming and puking) bundle of joy!

Tags: Balanced Diet, Body Exercise, Daily Routine, Exercise Plan, Fad Diets, Full Length Mirror, Good Advice, Healthy Diet, Jumping Jacks, Losing Weight, Losing Weight After Pregnancy, Muscle Tone, Notch, Positive Changes, Power Workouts, Pregnancy Baby, Stomachs, Time Moms, Treadmill, Undertaking, Waistline, Weight Loss Efforts —