How to Lose Weight in Stomach Area - Myths and Facts

It is certainly no secret that thousands of people struggle trying to lose stomach fat. Many of these people have fit areas on their bodies, however they still have that small or perhaps a not-so-small pooch that just won’t seem to go away. The good news is that losing fat anywhere on our body requires the same tried and tested formula - decrease food intake and increase physical activity. People who have excess fat in the stomach area often feel embarrassed by the condition, and have low self esteem. Stomach fat can often be quite difficult to lose because it is the primary storage area for adipose (fat) tissue and is one of the last places that the body will give up its fat stores.

There are many fat loss myths out there - some quite humorous and others just plain ridiculous. Below are two common myths that prevent people from reaching their weight-loss goals.

Myth #1: Abdominal and oblique exercises burn fat from the stomach and love handles. Since so many people believe this myth, most all of the abdominal gadget’s infomercials claim to help you burn fat. While some fitness equipment and abdominal exercises will help firm and tone our abdominal areas, they will not get rid of the underlying fat. Performing aerobic exercises such as running or swimming, five times per week, thirty minutes per session will produce tremendous benefits if one is following a healthy, low-calorie diet.

Myth #2: Skipping meals will result in fat loss.
Skipping meals usually means a reduction in caloric intake and may result in weight loss, however skipping meals will not result in fat loss. Why? Because skipping meals hinders the body’s fat-burning mechanism - the metabolism. You see our metabolisms work best when we are eating small, balanced meals often. This is why bodybuilders usually eat five to six small meals per day.

Anyone that is serious about losing stomach fat must know what works and what doesn’t. Below are a couple of tried and true weight loss facts.

Fact #1: Exercising in the morning on an empty stomach is the best time to exercise in order to burn fat. For example, if you jog before breakfast, your body will be burning stored fat (the carbohydrates) you left there during the night. A study conducted in Sweden a few years ago concluded that exercise in the morning before eating burns nearly three and a half times more fat than exercising in the evening! Obviously, exercising at any time during the day is better than not exercising at all.

Fact #2: Fat-loss programs should include aerobic and weight training activity. People who combine both weight training and aerobic exercise achieve faster results. The reason is quite simple. Aerobic activity increases the heart rate resulting in an expenditure of calories and weight training increases our metabolic rate, enabling our bodies can burn calories all the time.

If losing stomach fat is your primary goal, develop an obtainable plan on how you would like to get started on your fat loss program. Be sure that your plan includes a healthy eating plan, weight training and aerobic activity. You're not going to get rid of stomach fat in just a few days, so keep yourself motivated and you’ll find that it will get easier over time. Thousands of people have realized their fitness goals and you can too!

Can You Trust Slimming Salons?

Many dimming salons regularly compete for advertising space in leading dailies. They all promise excellent results with their sophisticated equipment and money back guarantee. To entice more customers, they offer big discounts and vow to transform even the ugliest, flabbiest duckling into a Slenderalla without the benefit of exercise or dieting.

Some commercial salons are legitimate and will really give you your money's worth. However, others are fronts for quackery which are only out to get your money. To avoid being taken for a ride, visit several facilities but don't sign anything until you're sure of what you're getting.

Many salons rely heavily on machines which supposedly melt or burn away fat even if you don't move an inch. These devices are known by many other fancy names in different health clubs but they all fall under the category of electrical muscle stimulators (EMS).

EMS are used in physical therapy to relax muscle spasms, prevent blood clots in leg muscles after surgery or stroke, and stop the muscles from wasting away after a long period of disuse.

But slimming salons promote them for body shaping, figure toning, cellulite removal, weight loss, and wrinkle removal. They say you can lose unwanted pounds just by lying down, reading or watching TV while the machine does all the work for you. To give credence to these unfounded claims, figure salons employ doctors or other medical personnel to operate these useless machines. While they may sound convincing, don't fall for this dirty trick.

"The US Food and Drug Administration considers the use or promotion of muscle stimulators for use in homes, beauty salons, and health spas for purposes of weight loss or body toning to be fraudulent, even if a physician or other licensed practitioner is using the device," said Kurt Butler and Dr. Lynne Rayner of the University of Hawaii in "The Best Medicine."

Not only are EMS useless for weight reduction, they are also dangerous. They can cause electrical shocks and burns. One such machine called the Relaxacisor was banned in the United States after it injured 40 people.

Pregnant women, those with heart problems or pacemakers, epilepsy or cancer should never use EMS while the machine's electrodes should never be placed near the heart, brain or spinal column where they can cause considerable harm.

Vibrators or machines that mimic a masseuse are equally worthless for melting away fat. They may make you feel good but it takes more than a good massage to reduce as many obese people will tell you.

Neither will slimming or sweat suits wrapped around the body battle bulges. The most they can do is to drive a little water out of the body temporarily, thereby making you think you've lost fat. But they can overheat the muscles and increase the risk of heart stroke, according to Rayner.

Cellulite, the oatmeal-like fat which hangs from the upper arms and is found in the stomach or thighs, is no exception to this rule. It cannot be removed by mere mechanical manipulations - the kind provided by EMS, vibrators, and other machines. That's because it is not just fat but a gel-like substance made of water and wastes trapped beneath the skin.

To lose weight, stick to a good diet and exercise program. To enhance your diet and exercise program, take Hoodia Diet Patch, the safe and natural way to remove those excess pounds. Hoodia Diet Patch will give you the body you want without harming your health.

Is Dieting Enough for Me to Lose Weight?

While some diet programs claim that, when it comes to losing weight, what you eat is more important than what you do, the truth is that losing weight is a two-fold
commitment. Exercise is an important part of health and wellness --and losing weight-- that can't be overlooked.

Everybody has different weight loss preferences and methods. I, for example, am the type of person who prefers to exercise rather than follow a restrictive diet. During a time when I wasn't careful about nutrition, but stuck with a good exercise routine, I was still able to continue losing inches. I had tons of energy and I felt great. But although I was buying smaller sized clothing, there was no evidence of real weight loss on the scale.

Through much trial and error, I've found that I can lose a small amount of weight by watching my diet carefully or exercising, but it is only when I combine both methods together that I see faster and longer-lasting results. Dieting alone is not enough for me to lose weight... and depending on your body and lifestyle, it may not be enough for you, either.

Balancing Calories

Some diets will have you believe that losing weight is all about "calories in" verses "calories out". In other words, you have to burn more calories than you eat in a day to create a calorie deficit. In theory, this makes sense. But I have discovered that my body doesn't really work that way. I have experienced plateaus and weight gain even when I do all the things I know I need to do to lose weight, including dieting and exercise to burn off more calories than I eat.

Losing weight is a complicated process that takes time and a real devotion to a healthy lifestyle. Water cycles, medication, salt intake, dehydration, adding muscle and other things beyond your control can interfere with your weight loss progress.

When Diets Fail

Even the best diets can lead you to a plateau where you are stuck at one weight for an extended period of time. Often this happens because your body adjusts to the food and exercise routine you've adapted. This is a good time to evaluate your weight loss plan to see what's working and what isn't. Mix up your routine to keep things fresh and keep your metabolism fired up.

Plateaus can also occur at your body's natural "set point". My set point, for example, is unnaturally high. Getting beyond a certain point seems nearly impossible. By keeping a positive attitude, staying motivated and pushing forward rather than giving up, I know I can push past my set point to reach a new low.

I know that dieting alone is not enough for me to lose weight. I need to workout, have the right support system in place, maintain a positive attitude, and stay motivated to keep reaching for success. Try to find out what helps and hinders your weight loss goals, and make changes in your life that will reflect in your body.

Lose Your Fat The Most Rapid Way

Sounds magic? But in fact it is science. It's simply the difference in how you look at the thing. Everyone wants to be fit and healthy. Again many are figure conscious. In every step what you need first is to have a balanced weight as per the mass-body index. You can best control your weight through some scientific practices instead of unnecessarily expending on gyms etc.

Understand the body's rhythm

By now you must know what is circadian rhythm. In your Biology text during your school days you have read about it but now it's off from your mind. Just try to recall it. The circadian rhythm in your body actually states that whatever you eat in your breakfast is the key source of energy your body gets throughout the day. Thus this can be a heavy diet because the chance of gathering fat through this diet is the least. On the other hand the food you have in the late hours of the day, especially your supper must hold the lowest amount of calories. Fat deposition is generated from here.

Hence this slight understanding and getting a rearrangement done in the same food you have been eating for all these days can help you lose weight quite easily. Carbohydrates in the morning and light fibers and fruits in the evenings should shape your diet. You will miraculously lose approximately 4lbs at the end of the first week itself if you can religiously carry this out.

Frame your morning with warm water

There is no substitute to water. This is truly the life-sustaining liquid and no living thing can do without it. The morning should be begun with three glasses of water slightly warmed to clear your digestive system. Sometimes direct drinking of water gives you a vomiting tendency. In that case you can squeeze limejuice to add its taste and to make your drinking habit an easier one.

Water is a great metabolizing factor. The more you drink water, the more you can remain refreshed. The skin will glow externally and from within you will enjoy the feel of remaining healthy. Drinking warm water is neither too tough to carry out and the benefits are immense. This is one of the most effective ways to get rid of calories and lose fat rapidly. From young to old, everyone can try out this process and shed off their unwanted pounds. Is that clear?

Some Healthy Tips To Lose Weight

Although some people find themselves dealing with more serious weight problems, most people who want to lose a little weight are relatively healthy. If you want to lose 10 pounds, there's a good chance that those pounds were gained very slowly of the course of many months - the weight doesn't represent a problem as much as a few times during the past year where you overindulged (usually the holidays) and failed to make up for it.

Here are some tips to lose those 10 pounds:

Pick Your Time
Weight loss involves very personal issues for most people, and is closely related to their self esteem. It is crucial that you attempt to lose 10 pounds at the appropriate time - at a time where you otherwise feel good and satisfied with your life. If you try and lose 10 pounds during a period of time in your life where you have a lot of stress or other distracting things going on, you drastically increase your chances of failure, which will only make things worse.

Change Your Diet
Try as much as possible to balance your diet. This doesn't mean that you have to starve yourself -- rather make a point of getting no more the 30% of your calories from fat. Eat more fruits and vegetables and try to add as much variety to your diet as possible. Try new things, and new meal ideas.

Keep Track Of Your Progress
The problem with dieting for many people, especially in the early stages, is that even if the diet is working they can't see any results. It's hard to really notice if you lose 1 pound. For this reason it's important that your track your progress, so you can have a good sense of the accomplishments you've made. By calculating how many calories you've eaten and how much you've burned through exercise each and every day, you can track how many calories (and ultimately how much weight) you are losing.

Do It With Friends
A great and fun way to help you stick with your plan is to undertake your project of losing 10 pounds with a friend. Not only will you be able to provide support for each other and track each other's progress, but you'll be able to engage in fun exercise activities together.

Make Your Plan Realistic
It's important that you set achievable goals for yourself. For example, with just some basic changes in your lifestyle and eating habits, you can lose 1 pound a week. There's no need to be in a huge rush to lose weight, and trying to lose weight quickly often requires a regimen that is difficult to keep up. For most people, it is healthier to lose weight slowly than with drastic dietary changes.

Many people would like to lose 10 pounds, and almost anyone can if they follow the advice above. By avoiding a "quick fix" and sticking with long term healthy choices, you'll find your project to lose 10 pounds will leave you not only thinner, but healthier and feeling better about yourself.

Think Positive; Keep Healthy

Positive thinking is never defeated. Do you believe in it? You must. Behind every success in your life it is somewhere your positive attitude that gives it an edge. Healthy living is at the same time very easy and very difficult. The problem lies in maintaining the healthy lifestyle. A slight difference in your habits brings a hell lot of changes. Putting on weight is a part of improper way of living.

Unhealthy lifestyle

Feeding on junk foods, lots of drinks and loads of burden on your small head disrupts the normal metabolic system in your body. Untimely waking up and going to bed and an unhealthy diet are enough to increase your pounds at any moment of life. If you think you are too young to go for a diet you are mistaken. On the other hand if a man at his 60 finds weight loss to be absurd because he doesn't need to become the Bond guy at this age, he too is mistaken.

Control over weight is a consistent process and needs a firm mind setup. This can only be brought through a positive attitude. Your attitude shapes your behavior into a definite practice.

Prepare a mental image

A clean and clear mind is the genesis of a real phenomenon. If you want to give a practical shape to anything you must first have a clear picture about it. You have always considered weight loss to be a diet control process and prolonged gym sessions.

The first impact of such ideas depresses you. Thus you step back from picking up any such decision and carry on with your habits. In fact weight loss is not unruly and not even anything so tedious that you can't do. The only preparation you need is a mental boost and belief in your own capacity.

Practical results strengthen will power

We all are result-oriented folk. Unless you are given a chalk out of beneficial results of anything, it becomes tough for you to believe that things have really taken place. On the other hand positive results also build in you self-confidence. Now why seek results from external sources? Won't it be better that you start practicing some regular course of exercises half an hour daily and maintain a balanced diet with lots of high fiber and low cal?

In a short frame of time, say for a fortnight you get hold of a record of your weight and also other aspects of health. This can include you heart, BP and sugar etc. You will surely notice a minimum change. In many, around 2-4 pounds are put off within this time period if these simple diet control practices and exercises at home are only followed. If you too are benefited, that will append to your positive attitude. Hence losing extra pounds won't remain a nightmare.

Exercise and Health

Exercising is a part of a healthy daily life yet so many find exercising completely boring. Although workout fanatics like to preach that others are simply too lethargic or too spoiled by the contemporary couch-bound standard of living to exercise regularly, this is not constantly the case. Some folks have far too busy daily schedules to squeeze in another thing that sucks up all the time and energy from the day. Not to mention that a significant number of guys and gals who find the continuous repetition of the identical motions unbelievably boring. The truth is that exercising can only be considered a time of happiness by those who adore such things, while other folks focus their whole consideration on the consequences and forget the tedious routine. If you can’t enjoy or forget the tedious part of exercise, then you will predictably find exercising as a weight.

However, this outlook is not very good for your physical condition. Here’s something to think about, you may guess that you have a great life, you are young and fit and you may think that you can get away without exercising but as age, guess what, it is not going to work. But this nice idea doesn’t always work out the way that you want it to. By the time you reach your forties you have to face the fact that your physical appearance is going to age and as you age things change. Here’s the problem with that incredibly stupid thinking and that is by the time you find yourself forty or older you may not be able to lay back and lighten up and your physical condition may not be in the best shape specifically because of overlooked exercising. Little activities like 30 minutes of dancing or aerobics every single day can go a long way toward getting to old age with a strong heart and a better shape than many others in the same age bracket.

It seems many people think very highly of wealth, but wealth cannot gain your healthy youth back, not to even point out the fact that often times they are also without direction when it comes to happiness. If your active manner of living has caused you to develop health maladies like hypertension and high cholesterol, then money is not going to unravel these health problems. Although just a little exercising everyday could make the difference in your aging body. It can also help keep you from securing a spare tire around your midsection. So getting older is no joking matter but aging and looking flabby and squishy is even less of a matter to laugh about.

So exercise can be no fun at all and suck up loads of your day and doesn’t always help you relax in any way, but it does help your body manage the demands of life and it does help your fortitude at all physical levels.

It is a known fact that most of the members of the opposite sex will also find a fine shape and one that is not overweight more attractive than someone who is a couch potato as evidenced by the condition of their body. So stop filling up your life with too many plans every single day and give up some of your busy work and make time for daily exercise.

Weight Loss - Reaching Your Goals

When you think about weight loss, what do you think of first? Which aspects of weight loss are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Are you thinking to loss your weight, now you can start your own . Just one thing you have to follow that you have to continue with your chart if you really serious in this matter because consistency on maintaining your diet chart can bring your fruitful result. But if you go with your chart once in a week, it will never be purposeful for you. Some people without knowing about their suitable diet items they make that by own and their diet formula makes no result at all. But if you go with the following tips, you can do stick to your diet chart to let the excess weight goes away.

If you have taken a resolution to maintain a good diet chart, but every time you lose your way rather than losing your weight and it will be suggested to you to make a promise to yourself first and then let your journey start. You have to take a strong resolution of making it purposeful as much as possible. If you want to loss you're a certain amount of weight, you need to include that very words in the contract to yourself. Then you just fix that contract somewhere you can see every time and you can always be in touch with your resolution to make your weight loss. That is very important to turn your dream in reality.

If your weight loss facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don't let important weight loss information slip by you.

You know it very well that when you plan for something you need to set your goals to make it successful. So this time also you have made it for your own benefit and you will definitely feel that your goals are not far away. It is very much controllable for you. Sometime you will get bored with your diet chart, in that case you have to keep patience and energize yourself just keeping your mind the exact goals you want to achieve by your plan. You can extend your resolution chart and your goals week by week if you want to get the best result very quickly. You can start with good exercise routine, then next week you can add something more like having plentiful water, next week you can add the resolution to take fast food less than before and so on.

One more important thing you need to have to follow with your diet chart is the support of your family and friends. Let them inform that you are following a diet chart and you need a continuous support from them so that it can become easier for you to follow up things just like your planning. Try to make them know that you are very much confident about your goals and planning so that they cannot make any type of negative interference in that. There is very important to have the people who can always help you to follow your track and make you more energetic and motivated.

After accomplishing your plan and reaching your desired destination you will find yourself rewarded and that is nothing but your long desired weight. It will make you confident more than before when most of times you back yourself for your excess weight. You will definitely enjoy reaching your weight loss goals and next time may be you will set someone on the track of successful weight loss process.

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took the time to learn more about weight loss.

How Water Can Help You Lose Weight Naturally

It may be surprising but water makes up 2/3 of your body mass. You need water to maintain an optimum level of hydration, flush away harmful toxins, cleanse the body, cool off, help joints work and to aid food digestion. You need 2 liters of water daily for all these bodily functions.

Wow, isn't that a whole mouthful? But wait, water is also important in helping you lose weight. Yes, drinking sufficient water can actually help you lose weight. On the contrary, not drinking enough water can make you put on weight, besides putting your health at risk.

But how does water help you lose weight? Here's how and why:-

1. Your body's metabolism depends on water to continue functioning properly. Not having enought water will significantly slow down the process of breaking food down and converting it into energy. This will lead to unnecessary weight gain for you.

So, if you are dieting and you seem to have hit the dreaded plateau, then you are probably not drinking enough water. Drink more water to correct the situaion.

2. Your body's process of digestion and elimination of residues is also dependent on water. Not drinking enough water? Get ready for an uncomfortable case of constipation and a host of other problems in the intestines.

Poor digestion leads the body to seek out more food since the body "thinks" that it is not eating enough. This is usually the first sign of trouble for you.. A dehydrated or water-deprived body feels hungry, thus tempting you to eat more food than you should.

3. Water also acts as a good food filler or substitute. A big cup or glass of water before a meal can fill your belly and reduce your hunger pangs. That's why dietitians and weight loss experts advise us to drink lots of water to fill up our tummy first. Now you know why!

You should drink water gradually and steady throughout the day. Never drink a larger gulp all at once because your body can only absorb so much at one time. It will discard the rest as waste so that that's bad for you. You can also take fruit juices, weak tea and coffee instead of plain water for hydration purposes. And for the ladies, drinking a lot of water will not make you retain it. Dehydration forces your body to hang on to what it has, not abundance of water.

If you need help losing weight, besides drinking lots of water, it may be a good idea to also look for some weight loss supplements.

Do You Make These 9 Mistakes While Trying To Lose Weight?

If you are on a fitness or dieting program, you know how hard it is NOT to drop out of it. In fact, most people drop out of it after a few sessions. Why is this so? There are a ton of excuses if you ask them.

While we are all human and given to laziness and temptations, there are certain things we can watch out for which will help us stay the course.

Here are 9 common mistakes people commit when trying to lose weight. Make sure you don't make the same mistakes...

1). Failure to plan ahead.

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Having no target or vague target in mind when going to the gym can only lead to failure. How can you know if you have reached your objectives if you only have a vague target? You can ask a doctor about your ideal weight and make that your goal or target. Or think of a specific, reasonable goal yourself.

2). Succumbing to distractions

There is always the TV & other "interesting" things to distract you so it is crucial to allocate the time for gym. When something crops up at the last moment you can reschedule your gym session into another time slot if you have a good planning schedule.

3). Working out too little

Some people lift two dumb-bells a couple of times a day and think they are done. You need way more that that. Do spend some time coming up with a sound training program. Get help from a gym trainer or a veteran bodybuilder to set up your program.

4). Working out too much

Your body needs enough time to burn off the fats and grow muscles in between your workouts. Training on rest days will simply make you more tired without any additional benefits.

5). Comparing yourself with others

There is always someone who is smarter or richer or slimmer that you. Everyone has his/her own unique genetic make-up which affects how we gain weight gain, lose weight, and respond to training etc. Comparing yourself to others is totally futile.

6). Not varying your routine

Doing the same exercises in the same order over and over again is not only boring but it causes you to lose motivation. Try to juggle around the exercises that form your routine and replace them with new ones every now and then. Find variations to each classic exercise and try them out to make your routine interesting all the time.

7). Wasting your gains

If you tend to go to the pub after the gym, then you are just negating what you have achieved. Note that alcohol contains a lot of calories that are metabolized as fat very fast. Don't waste all your hard work at the gym.

8). Not watching your food intake

Try to avoid fast food and snacks and forget about those soft drinks. On the other hand, don't starve yourself . Extremes are no good. Strike a balance and provide your body with the nourishment it needs.

9) Looking for a miracle cure

It takes some effort to lose weight. Going to the gym is not a one time affair. There is no miracle cure for weight loss (or for anything). You need to put in some time and effort but it need not be a chore. Enjoy it and stop thinking of a miracle cure somewhere. There just isn't any!

So that you have it. The 9 common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight and stay slim. Do keep this handy guide around you as a reminder.