It’s a pleasure to welcome Virginia Cunningham as a guest blogger and her article below:
We all have different reasons to want to lose the extra weight we carry in our mid-sections. Some of us want to be healthier for ourselves and our families while others wish to make wow statements in their new summer bikinis. If you want to see a difference in your middle, the first thing you need to do is make a change. Changes in diet, exercise and lifestyle can help with this and improve your overall health.
Introducing Exercise Routines
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Different types exercises will help in different ways – some focus on accelerating your heart rate to help burn excess calories and stored fat, while others help whittle the middle by strengthening your core muscles and create a slimmer look.
Try plyometrics and running if you are trying to burn calories quick. Yoga and pilates are great for strengthening muscles, especially your core or middle section. Moves borrowed from yoga and Pilates are excellent for tightening up the midsection and improving your overall posture and silhouette. And together these exercises can be alternated throughout the week for an overall wellness plan.
Most traditionalists say that to burn fat you need vigorous exercise, from a thirty minutes to a full hour at least five times a week. This can be jogging, running, biking, jumping rope, or using elliptical or rowing machines to get your heart rate up and burn that fat.
However, recent studies have shown that walking and other low-intensity aerobic exercises can burn a greater percentage of fat from the body than high-intensity workouts! This is because most peopleís endurance can last a lot larger if they are slowly letting it out in spurts rather than using it all in one quick shot. Choose whatever exercise you feel is right for you.
But while exercise is a great way to trim your belly, it isnít the only thing that can bring about change. Adjusting your diet will go along way to shedding that extra belly fat.
Tweaking Eating Habits
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While there is no magic combination of nutrients that blasts away excess fat, there are several tips for eating a healthier diet. Increasing your fiber intake can help keep you fuller longer and reaching for snacks a lot less often.
Quick tip: At least 10 grams of soluble fiber, which is about two apples or a half cup of beans, is recommended a day.
Other simple foods to incorporate into your diet include lean meats like chicken, ground turkey and fish whole grains. Brown rice is delicious, healthy and found in several other kind of products like pastas today. You may also consider baking with whole wheat flour instead of white.
Beyond that, it is smart to prepare your kitchen in a healthy way. Stock up on your favorite fruits and veggies. This means that when you look into your fridge, healthy fruits and vegetables will be directly at your eye-level. This aids in helping you make good choices when youíre famished instead of grabbing that quick bag of chips!
More healthy snack ideas to get you going:
- Almonds
- Granola bars
- Protein shakes
- Greek yogurt
- Popcorn
- Whole grain cereal
Don’t forget to make thighs fun. Just because youíre changing your eating habits doesnít mean your meals canít be exciting. Research recipe ideas that are quick and easy so you can execute them at any time of the day.
Adding in exercise and making minor changes to your diet will most definitely help you achieve your goal. Make changes slowly so that they become permanent habits; and this way, you wonít add to your stress of so many lifestyle changes. A flat belly is just a few lifestyle changes away.
Virginia Cunningham is a freelance health writer and mother of three in Southern California. She often shares her experience with weight management and nutrition. As a busy mom, she found these tips to be helpful for getting her figure back!
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