5 Mistakes You Need To Avoid To Lose Belly Fat and Get Six Pack Abs. Discover The Truth Today.

So you want to lose and get rid of your stubborn belly fat? You might have heard of a magic solution which can trim off your belly fat fast but to be frank, you don't know if it's really safe or can have side effects. Anything which gives results fast might have some downsides to it. On the other hand, anything which produces results with time is more likely to last. Getting rid of your stubborn belly fat is all within your own reach as it's achievable in your own lifestyle. You can safely lose your stubborn belly fat if you only pay strict attention to exercising and healthy nutrition. There is no shortcut. Lose your belly fat the natural way and be sure that your health will remain intact. If you eat properly and exercise regularly, not only will you achieve your goals after some time but you will develop a new lifestyle which can only be a healthy one. Excess belly fat can be proned to health problems like diabetes, heart diseases and some types of cancer.

If you've heard you have to pay attention to your nutrition only, this is false because nutrition and exercising go hand in hand. You absolutely need to exercise as well or else you won't attain your objective. It's fundamental that you exercise because building muscles puts your body more in a fat burning mode rather than a fat storing mode. When you sweat profusely, you burn the excess calories and fat in your entire body and as a result, you'll be able to get rid of that belly fat with time. You don't have fats only in a specific part of your body although some parts of your body are proned to storing more fats like your belly for instance. So when your overall body fat decreases, your belly fat will reduce as well and your abdominals will start to appear automatically over time. Sit ups will only firm up your abs but will not remove the layer of fat covering your belly. What you need to do is perspire by doing cardio training like running, swimming, cycling, aerobic dancing and even brisk walking.

So doing muscle building exercises like lifting light weights for a start, body weight exercises like push ups, pull ups, dips, squats, sit ups plus performing cardio exercises will make you reach your goals. If you have difficulty doing sit ups or other body weight exercises, do it gradually. Today do 2 repeats, another day do 4, you get the idea. Also your cardio training will help you in your muscle building exercises since it builds your endurance and stamina.

And of course, you need to follow a diet which is a specific way of eating. If not, all your exercising efforts will be impeded. Since your goal is to lose fat, you will lose weight and get a slimmer body.

If your goal is to gain muscle mass and more weight, you have to eat more protein, carbs and do more muscle building exercises at least three times per week but since your goal is to lose weight, you can eat moderate protein, fewer carbs and focus more on cardio training instead of muscle building.

Here is what your training plan will look like:

You can do cardio three times per week for 1 hour per session. As for muscle building, twice per week is sufficient. At least 30 minutes. You are not looking for muscle mass here but rather to tone and firm up the muscles.

Monday: Cardio
Tuesday: Muscle Building
Wednesday: Cardio
Thursday: Muscle Building
Friday: Cardio

Here is an example of a nutrition plan for losing belly fat:

Eat 4-6 small meals per day every 2-3 hours. To burn fat, it's important to eat smaller meals regularly instead of the 3 big typical meals that is breakfast, lunch and dinner. Eating large meals in a single sitting makes your body more proned to fat storage since your body can only assimilate a specific number of calories per meal. The rest will be stored as fats. When you eat regularly in small quantities, your metabolism elevates and is more active thus enhancing the fat burning process.

The cooking methods are important as well, prefer grilling, boiling, steaming, baking over deep frying for instance. Stay away from animal fats or products rich in animal fats like butter, lard. These are saturated fats and are not healthy for the heart and can raise cholesterol levels in the blood. Opt for healthy fats like olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil, avocados, cashew nuts and walnuts which contain monounsaturated fats and are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and can lower bad cholesterol in the blood. According to research, monounsaturated fats like olive oil contains antioxidants which are chemicals that can prevent cancer like breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer and prostate cancer. Also, don't forget to get your intake of polyunsaturated fats. Some good sources come from oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, anchovies, herring, trout, halibut, tuna and also from plant sources like soybeans and corn oil. Polyunsaturated fats notably derived from fish sources can reduce the amount of fat in the blood, lower blood pressure and making you less at risk in getting cardiovascular diseases.

Remember, when you are following a healthy diet, you still have to burn more calories than you consume to get rid of the excess calories and fat and as a result trimming off the belly fat eventually. This diet will help you achieve your goals much more easier than a diet rich in saturated fats, empty calories, refined sugars and salt. Empty calories are foods which have good calories(some mostly with fat and excess sugars and salts) but have low nutritional value and should be avoided or strictly limited. These type of foods are usually classified as "junk" foods. Some examples include candies, gums, chocolate bars, french fries, fried chicken, chips, burgers, pizzas, icecream, butter, margarine, mayonnaise, mustard, white rice, white bread and for drinks, you have alcoholic beverages like beer, wine and others and soft drinks like sodas, flavored drinks(some have high percentage of sugars as opposed to juice content). These foods and drinks will make your body gain more fat since they are high in calories. Did you know that calories from beer are more proned to be stored as fats in the belly? Well it's true. Heard of a beer belly before?

Below, I take an example of a 5 meal daily plan for 5 consecutive days from Monday to Friday. You can change your eating routine during weekend that is eating less meals maybe 4 but still, stick to eating healthy foods. Sometimes you want to break the routine. Or if you prefer to do it 7/7, better for you.

7 am

Meal 1

3-4 slices of wholemeal bread with 2 egg whites(hard boil 2 eggs and eat the whites only) and a fruit eg 1 orange and 1 glass of water / An alternative to wholemeal bread for breakfast is oatmeal with skim milk and some brown sugar.

10 am

Meal 2

3-4 slices of wholemeal bread, 100 g skinless chicken breast, some veggies like green beans, broccoli, cauliflower or asparagus and 1 glass of water.

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Training

Special Tip: Sip some water in between exercises or repetitions and cardio training to keep your body hydrated.

13:00 pm

Meal 3

1 small sweet potato, 100 g of white fish or oily fish like salmon, herring, trout, halibut, tuna, some veggies like green beans, broccoli, cauliflower or asparagus and 1 glass of water. For a 5-day nutrition, you can include 3 white fish(Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and 2 oily fish(Tuesday and Thursday).

16:00 pm

Meal 4

1 small potato and 1 glass of water

19:00 pm

Meal 5

100 g skinless turkey breast with large salad including lettuce, tomatoes, onions with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and 1 glass of water.

22:00 pm

Sleep

It's important to get adequate amount of sleep everyday so that you are in shape for your training. At least 8 hours of quality sleep.

You get the idea. Meals, training and times can always be adjusted according to your needs and schedule and you can also add variety. You can get protein from plant and grain sources like bean curd(tofu), kidney beans and red lentils instead of meat and fish. Apart complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, wholemeal bread, sweet potato, potato, you have brown rice, wholewheat pasta, yam and taro. If you are away from home, tupperware will be your best friend.

It's a good idea to plan in advance what you gonna eat so that you can prepare several meals at the same time. For eg, if you are baking the sweet potato, bake the potato at the same time. And if you are cooking your meats and vegetables, cook all at the same time. I mean save time. But if you want to eat your meals fresh, you can prepare it only when you eat it provided you are at home. Depends on you and your specific needs.

Of course, preparing your meals everyday requires discipline but is worth it if you want to attain your goals. Also eating like that is healthy. If you take it as a lifestyle and not as a chore, you won't see it difficult. You will get used to it with time.

Ok here you go, I have designed this training and nutrition plan for you, follow it for at least 4 weeks and start seeing some progress. Might even be earlier. And don't forget maintenance is also crucial after getting results that is still paying attention to proper nutrition and still exercising and not neglecting completely your workouts and diet. If you stop exercising and start eating poorly, your belly fat will reappear again with time. The initial work to trim off the belly fat is much more but after that maintenance would mean less cardio maybe once or twice per week instead of three times. Toning muscles is fine, 2-3 times per week is good. Like I said a bit earlier, paying attention to nutrition and exercising should not be treated as a chore but as a way of life. You are doing this for your own health and benefit. Good luck.

If you are really serious about getting rid of your belly fat for a solid six pack abs and want more detailed information and instructions to achieve your goal, I highly recommend Mike Geary eBook, The Truth About Six Pack Abs. Well written and illustrated with great belly fat loss techniques, ab building strategies, this is simply a MUST read for anyone wanting to get a ripped stomach and lean muscular body. Go and pick up your own copy right away and you won't regret it.










About the author

Jean Lam is the webmaster of Body Building Resource which provides articles on weight training, nutrition and fitness, body building book and DVDs.