The term “belly” really is only cute when you talk about A) a toddler running around in their diaper: “I see your belly!” or B) a pregnant woman: “Look at your cute lil belly!” Even then, you hope she doesn’t scratch your face off.
So you see, if you’re not 2 years old or pregnant, and are a part of the average American population, having a belly probably means it’s something you’d rather not have. Furthermore, you would l-o-v-e that belly to be flat, firm and toned. Am I right?
Today, I’m going to give you three simple tricks to incinerate that belly fat. Not only will you feel and look better, ridding yourself of belly fat will decrease your chances of getting heart disease and diabetes. In fact, with one of the largest and longest studies ever to be held, researchers found something pretty significant. Following more than 360,000 people, they discovered that increased belly fat doubled their risk of dying prematurely than those with less belly fat.
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The study provides some of the strongest evidence yet linking belly fat to early death, says lead author Tobias Pischon. It appears in the Nov. 12 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
That reason is good enough for me!
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THREE WAYS TO BLAST BELLY FAT
Blast in the morning! Before you eat breakfast, do a little workout in your house. Nothing fancy, just enough to get your heart pumping and calories burning. We live in Southern California, so you can almost always do this outside in the morning sun. I don’t recommend working out for an extended period of time on an empty stomach, but just a few minutes of work pre-breakfast will target existing fat stores and definitely melt some belly fat.
Every morning I do 20 burpees, 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, 20 mountain climbers and 20 squats. I repeat that three times. If you’re just starting, cut this in half or even pick and choose your own appropriate exercises. You’ll be more motivated to accomplish another workout later and even make better food choices throughout the day. It’s like magic.
Blast at the table! Speaking of food choices, 90 percent of how your body looks is what you feed it. You could have a six pack under that pony keg, but unless you burn the fat, you’ll never see it. A simple way to incorporate healthy foods is to pick three swaps for the week.
An example would be to swap your burger for a salad. Swap your fast-food breakfast sandwich for eggs and fruit. Swap your midday caramel latte for a plain iced tea. Start there and increase to four, five, six swaps each additional week. If you’re already a pretty good eater, load up on the veggies and fruits and decrease the grains and sugars. Eat lean protein and nuts. We're blessed in San Diego County with many local organic farms. Simple.
Blast at work! So many of us have jobs where we are forced to be at a desk for eight hours a day. Sitting, eating, sitting, gaining, sitting, growing. We are made to stand, so stand! You burn more calories, standing vs. sitting. It may seem insignificant, but if you kept all other habits the same (diet, exercise), the additional 50 calories (average) you burn per hour could result in 20 pounds of weight loss per year!
FIVE FAT-BLASTING FOODS
- Organic Berries
- Raw nuts
- Organic leafy greens
- Organic apples
- Green tea
Try eating these every day for four weeks and notice a big difference in your midsection.
