If you’re carrying a few extra pounds, you’re not alone. But this is one case where following the crowd isn’t a good idea. Carrying extra weight — especially belly fat — can be risky.

Michael Jensen, M.D., an endocrinology specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., answers common questions about belly fat in men.

Why is belly fat a concern for men?

People who gain belly fat are at greater risk of serious health problems than are people who accumulate fat in other areas — and men are more likely than women to gain weight around the waist. Having a large amount of belly fat increases your risk of:

* Heart disease
* Stroke
* Some types of cancer
* Type 2 diabetes
* Insulin resistance
* High triglycerides
* Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol
* Metabolic syndrome
* Sleep apnea

How can you tell if you have too much belly fat?

Your waist size is a good indicator of whether you have too much belly fat. Although measurements that compare your hip and waist circumference (waist-to-hip ratio) or compare your height and weight (body mass index) are more precise, your waist size alone can give you a good estimate. For most men, the risk factors for heart disease and other diseases increase with a waist size greater than 40 inches (102 centimeters).

To measure your waist:

* Place a tape measure around your bare abdomen just above your hipbone.
* Pull the tape measure until it fits snugly around you but doesn’t push into your skin.
* Make sure the tape measure is level all the way around.
* Relax, exhale and measure your waist — no sucking in your belly!

Does age play a role in gaining belly fat?

As you age, you lose muscle — especially if you’re not physically active. Muscle loss can slow the rate at which your body burns calories. In turn, if you don’t limit your calories or increase your physical activity, you may gain weight.

Is belly fat inherited?

Your genes can affect your chances of being overweight or obese, as well as where you carry extra fat on your body. For most men, however, the problem likely has more to do with lifestyle than inherited traits.

Can you really get a beer belly from drinking?

Drinking excess alcohol can cause you to gain belly fat — the “beer belly.” However, beer alone isn’t to blame. Drinking too much alcohol of any kind can increase belly fat, although some research suggests wine may be an exception. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Limiting yourself to two drinks a day will reduce the amount of calories you consume and help you avoid gaining belly fat. It’s also better for your overall health.

How do you get rid of belly fat?

Whether you’re trying to lose belly fat or trim fat from another part of your body, weight-loss basics remain the same:

* Reduce calories. Reduce your portion sizes. Replace your usual fare with healthy foods that contain fewer calories.
* Increase physical activity. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends adults get two hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, in addition to strength training. You may need to do more to lose weight and keep it off.

After you shed excess pounds, maintain your weight loss with a healthy diet and regular physical activity.

Can you reduce belly fat with sit-ups?

Sit-ups help make your abdominal muscles stronger, but spot exercises alone won’t specifically reduce belly fat. The best way to shrink your waist size is to lower your total body fat through healthy eating and exercise.

The bottom line

If you have a spare tire, don’t despair. You can lose belly fat — it just takes patience and effort. In fact, shedding even a few extra pounds can help you feel better and lower your risk of health problems.

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Article adapted by mayoclinic.com.
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The first thing you must know about how to effectively reduce belly fat is that there is no magic bullet when it comes to weight loss. Reducing body fat levels requires a three pronged approach that doesn’t come from popping diet pills or gulping down foul tasting drinks. Belly fat also won’t come off by trying to spot reduce only doing sit-ups or crunches. It’s just not possible to spot reduce, so don’t waste your time.

So, the question remains, how do you effectively reduce belly fat? Here is a safe, practical three pronged approach to get rid of belly fat.

1. Healthy Meals. Notice the word diet isn’t part of the equation. That’s because the word diet conjures up visions of carrots and celery and not much else. The word diet gives us nightmares of deprivation and hunger, and that’s not the image we’re looking for with permanent weight loss. Just because the word diet isn’t used does not mean you’re free to gorge on junk food at will. Healthy meals consist of lean protein, lots of vegetables, whole grains and some fruit. Your should consistantly choose foods that are as close as possible to their natural state.

2. Cardiovascular Exercise. Regular cardiovascular exercise will reduce body fat levels. Where should you start? Wallking is great cardio! Put your shoes on and get moving for at least 30 minutes per day. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far you walk in the beginning, the most important point is that you’re moving your body aerobically on a regular basis. If you don’t enjoy walking then ride a bike, rollerskate, jog, run. Participate in whatever aerobic activity you enjoy.

3. Lift Weights. Yes, you did read that correctly! If you’re wondering what lifting weights has to do with effectively reducing belly fat, then read on. Regular weight lifting has several beneficial effects for those folks trying to reduce their body fat levels. Muscles burn extra calories. The more muscle you carry on your frame, the more calories you burn in a 24 hour period which translates into extra fat burning power. Muscles take up about one third less space than fat. Muscles give you the power to carry on your daily activities more effectively and with energy to spare.

Learning how to effectively reduce belly fat isn’t a difficult task. The three principle keys to getting rid of your gut rely on diet, cardiovascular exercise and weight lifting on a regular basis. Remember, you didn’t sprout belly fat overnight and you can’t get rid of belly fat in a day, but you can reduce belly fat if you’re willing to put forth a bit of
effort.

Pressed for time? Combine two moves into one. For instance, do a squat with an overhead shoulder press, or a reverse lunge with a bicep curl. This is great for a more intense workout or if you’re really crunched for time.
Don’t do the same old thing week after week. Cut your chances of boredom and improve results with these six strategies.

Health Tips 2
If you exercise or engage in any activity that makes you sweat, you need to drink extra water to compensate for the fluid loss. Drink an extra 400 to 600 milliliters of water for short bouts of exercise. During long bouts of intense exercise, it’s best to use a sports drink that contains sodium, as this will help replace sodium lost in sweat. Continue to replace fluids after you’re finished exercising!
Read up on why you shouldn’t use thirst as a guide for how often you should be drinking water.

Health Tips  3
Log off to get a better night’s rest. The brightness of your computer screen stimulates the brain. Plus, it’s difficult for your mind to stop fretting about your digital to-do list, even once you’ve logged off. Avoid late-night surfing and shut down your computer. Give yourself time to wind down without any electronics.
An estimated 65% of Americans said they encounter sleep problems a few nights each week — keep reading for more tips on getting the most out of your beauty rest.

Health Tips 4
Slim and tone your thighs with the Power Plié: Start with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart and plié into a seated position, pulsing down 30 to 60 times. Next, take your arms above your head, shimmying your hips side to side, pressing down hard into your heel. Then put your hands on your hips and continue pulsing, staying down low while lifting your right heel and then your left.

Health Tips 5
Can stress make you fat? The link has been tough to prove, but after a recent study at Emory University involving the eating habits of female rhesus monkeys, Mark Wilson, Ph.D., concluded that chronic stress could wreak havoc on appetite-control systems, either by dampening levels of leptin, the satiety hormone, or upping levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone.

Health Tips 6
Take a rest from Facebook-stalking your ex, and try your hand at Bejeweled 2 instead: A recent survey by PopCap Games found that 90 percent of female gamers considered puzzles and online word games a stress-reliever.

Health Tips 7
Brown grain products aren’t necessarily whole grain products. Brown dyes and additives can give foods the deceiving appearance of whole grain. Read labels to be sure a food is whole grain, and try to get three-ounce equivalents of whole grains per day to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

Health Tips 8
Strength-train before doing any cardiovascular work, says Ken Fitzgerald, owner of Lift Gym in New York. Why? It takes the body about 15 minutes to warm up and start burning fat. So, a 30-minute bike ride is really only burning fat for the last 15 minutes of your workout. But, if you lift weights first, your body is warmed up by the time you hit the bike, and you’ll burn fat throughout the entire ride.

Health Tips 9
Marty Munson shows us how to build up to 20 “real” push-ups fast: Get into the plank position and lower yourself to the floor (keep head in line with spine). If you can’t push back up, stay an inch off the floor for as long as you can. Drop, get into plank again, and repeat eight times (three times a week). Once you can do one full push-up, add another every week.

Health Tips 10
Research has shown that people who eat nut butters often weigh less than those who shun them. It’s likely that the combination of protein, fat, and fiber keeps you full, so you’ll eat less overall. Whole nuts are effective, too: Purdue University researchers found that people who added peanuts to their diet for 19 weeks boosted the amount of calories they burned at rest by 11 percent. Why? The unsaturated fat in peanuts and nut butters burns faster than other fats.
The ideal amount of nut butters in your diet and how to incorporate them in your meals.

Health Tips 11
The rower isn’t a wimpy workout if you know how to use it right. Maximize the least-used machine at the gym and get sculpted arms, abs, and back muscles. The trick: After you pull the handle toward you, straighten your arms before you bend your knees.

Health Tips 12
“Vitamins, color, herbs, protein, and all the other additions to water — those are a marketing ploy,” says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition studies at New York University. Enhanced waters usually contain sugars and artificial flavorings to sweeten the deal and can pack more calories than diet soda. When it comes to providing fluoride, tap water usually wins, though that element is increasingly being added to bottled waters.

Health Tips 13
After the age of 30, your metabolic rate slows down and you lose bone density. This exercise can help reverse the effects of aging: Lay your forearm down on a countertop or other flat surface, and bring one leg up behind you, squeezing in your abdominals. Do 30 leg lifts to the side, and then 30 to the back.

Health Tips 14
Make the most of your workout: Have about 100 calories at least 15 minutes before your workout (try a banana or half of an energy bar). Then have a good breakfast afterward, making sure you get protein, carbs, and fat. (Good combos: fruit and cottage cheese; toast and peanut butter; protein-rich cereal with milk.) The key is not to eat more than usual, but to redistribute more calories to the early part of the day.

Health Tips 15
Aim for 4 to 6 ounces (about the size of your fist) of lean protein, such as chicken, fish, or egg whites, at every meal, says trainer David Kirsch. (He’s the one who whipped Heidi Klum back into shape within eight weeks of giving birth.) In one study, people who got 30 percent of their day’s calories from protein ate 441 fewer calories than people who ate a 15 percent protein diet.

Health Tips 16
If you can stand the outfit changes, divide exercise into two sessions: cardio in the morning and weights in the evening (or vice versa). You’re elevating your metabolism twice, which means you’re burning more calories than if you’d done both in the same session.

Health Tips 17
Pro athletes are using cherry juice to reduce muscle soreness and recovery time after exercise (it won’t get you into a steroid scandal, either). They’re swilling stuff from cherrypharm.com (132 calories per serving) that was found to be surprisingly effective in a 2006 study by Declan Connolly, Ph.D., at the University of Vermont.

Health Tips 18
A wobbly surface like a stability ball makes you recruit more muscle, so you get more from your crunches. With your back on the ball, keep feet flat on the floor, knees bent. Place your hands behind your head. Contract your abs, lifting your shoulder blades and upper back off the ball. DO: Two sets of 20 repetitions, two to three times a week.

Health Tips 19
Bacon won’t ever win any health prizes — in fact, nutritionists consider it a fat (and not a healthy fat!), as opposed to a meat. But it’s not as bad as you might think. One slice, about 1 1/2 tablespoons crumbled, has about the same amount of fat as two tablespoons of feta or shredded cheese or one tablespoon of sunflower seeds.

Health Tips 20
“Your body can interpret excessive exercise as stress, causing you to retain fluid and become constipated,” says Diana Taylor, R.N., Ph.D., at the University of California-San Francisco Center for Reproductive Health. But moderate exercise, such as yoga or walking, can speed things through your system and help nix the problem.

Health Tips 21
People who wear casual shoes burn more calories in a day than people who dress up, according to a recent study by the American Council on Exercise. Wearing comfortable shoes daily could burn an extra 6500 calories a year, thanks to the extra walking you’ll do, says study author Katie Zahour, M.S., a clinical exercise psychologist at the Southwest Florida Heart Group.

Health Tips 22
A heart-rate monitor eliminates “junk workouts,” as heart-rate guru Sally Edwards calls them. Once you know your own personal maximum heart rate (everyone’s is different; see “How Do I Use This Thing?”), you can give a purpose to every workout. Some workouts will be about teaching your body to burn fat (essential if you’re doing endurance events); others will be about teaching it to sustain a high heart rate for a few minutes (helpful for breaking away from the pack or running from a dog or bee in your neighborhood).

Health Tips 23
To firm up the muscles beneath your love handles — known as the external obliques — try the Pilates “100s.” This exercise was found to challenge more overall muscle in one shot (specifically, the muscles spanning the waist) than traditional crunches. To do the 100s, sit on a mat and make a V with your body (your butt forms the bottom of the V). Reach your hands past your knees, arms parallel to the floor. Pump your arms up and down 100 times, inhaling and exhaling every five counts.

Health Tips 24
Colorful, all-vegetable salads offer good-for-you phytonutrients that aren’t available in greens. For instance, powerful antioxidants (anthocyanins) in purplish vegetables such as eggplant help reduce heart-disease risk and improve brain function. Radishes offer cancer-fighting indoles; red tomatoes are the ultimate in lycopene, linked to lower risk of heart disease and cancer.

Health Tips 25
For strong biceps and a beautiful back, try this: Grab a pair of 5- or 8-pound weights. Start by standing with feet shoulder-width apart and your abs pulled in. Start bringing the weights up to your shoulder and then slowly lower them down. Do these biceps curls for 30 to 60 seconds, until you feel an intense burn. Then stand with feet a little wider apart than hips, bend your knees, and bring your torso down toward the floor about 45 degrees. Bring weights all the way to your rib cage, and then extend forward, for 30 to 60 reps.

Health Tips 26
Abs need rest and recovery: It’s only during rest that your muscles build. “Three to five days a week of consistent, dedicated abdominal training should get you strong, sleek abs,” says Kathy Kaehler, trainer and author of Kathy Kaehler’s Celebrity Workouts.

Health Tips 27
Slow down at dinner — the longer you take to eat, the sooner you’ll feel full. And focus on whole grains. It takes more white rice than brown to make you feel just as satisfied. That’s because white rice contains no fiber, a food component that helps you feel full.

Health Tips 28
On its own, your body is naturally conservative when you ask it to do something. If you lift a weight, your body recruits just enough muscle to do it safely, but not necessarily heroically. So when you want to outperform yourself, “you have to fool the body into recruiting more muscle,” says Bobby McGee, a sports psychologist and running coach, which you can do with your mind. If you think you can’t run a seven-minute mile, for instance, your body begins to switch off muscle, leaving you weak and fatigued. But if you think positively, your body will recruit more muscle to do it.

Health Tips 29
Get enough z’s: Too little sleep is bad for your health and your image; it can make you ineffective (it impairs performance, judgment, and the ability to pay attention), sick (it weakens your immune system), and overweight. In fact, women who slept five hours or less a night were a third more likely to gain 33 pounds or more over 16 years than women who slept seven hours, according to a Harvard Nurses’ Health Study.

Health Tips 30
All lettuce is not created equal. Arugula and watercress are superstars, loaded with cancer-fighting compounds. Spinach is another hero because of its cache of lutein, thought to protect against cancer and blindness. And baby versions of kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens are less sharp, tough, and bitter than the grown-ups but are outfitted with the same cancer-fighters. Dark-leaf, mild-tasting greens, including romaine, red-leaf lettuce, and many mesclun mixes, don’t have a wealth of phytonutrients but have respectable levels of beta-carotene. Light greens, like iceberg and endive, are pretty much nutrition duds.

Health Tips 31
To take yourself from 20 or 30 minutes on the treadmill to the finish line of a charity 5K (3.1 miles), follow this plan from running coach Jason Karp: Instead of running two miles three times a week, run different distances each day. Go two miles on Monday, one on Wednesday, and three on Friday. Each week, increase each run by five to 10 minutes (so a 2/1/3 pattern becomes 2.5/1.5/3.5 the next week, 3/2/4 the following week, etc.). Try to get your longer run up to at least five miles.

Health Tips 32
Drink less to eat less. People who quaff sugar-free soft drinks are 41 percent more likely to gain weight than people who drink regular sodas, according to a University of Texas study. Experts speculate the body isn’t fooled by zero-calorie sweets and that it actually searches for sugary foods to make up for calories it expected to get from a faux-sugar beverage.

Health Tips 33
Increase your flexibility faster: Hold your usual stretch for 15 seconds. Release it a bit and contract the muscle you’re working on for six seconds. Stretch for 15 seconds again. Activating the muscle before stretching short-circuits your body’s “not moving any farther” reflex and lets you go deeper. Flexibility is often overlooked, but it’s important to take time for a good stretch.

Health Tips 34
It may be the social lubricant of choice for awkward family or work events, but alcohol is rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Skip sweet cocktails and go for champagne, dry wine, or drinks straight up.

Health Tips 35
Sleep keeps important weight-loss hormones in balance (without it, ghrelin rises, so you’re hungrier, and leptin is suppressed, so you’re not as satisfied by what you do eat). If you don’t have enough time to sleep at night, try to schedule at least a short power nap during the day. If anxiety is keeping you up, practice relaxation techniques before bed: Organize a to-do list for the next day so you know you have everything covered. And don’t stay up watching back-to-back episodes of Entourage. Try getting calm by reading instead.

Health Tips 36
Both skinny and obese people have higher risks of premature death than people who are considered “overweight,” according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Overweight,” according to this study, means a body-mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9: For a 5’6″ woman, that’s between 155 and 185 pounds.

Health Tips 37
Stick your butt out on the elliptical machine. This shifts the focus to your butt, hamstrings, outer thighs, and quadriceps. (If you stand up too straight — a common mistake — you work only your quads.)

Health Tips 38
Foods with natural fat-burning properties, such as cayenne, ginger, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, green tea, hot peppers, citrus fruits (especially lemon), and apple cider vinegar, can really help take — and keep — those pounds off when eaten on a regular daily basis.

Health Tips 39
Get your digestive system going before you even start eating by giving your earlobes a quick 30-second rub. It will stimulate the brain, relieve stress, and lower your appetite, all while sitting at the table!

Health Tips 40
Looking for a full-body workout in one move? Try the curtsy: Start by standing with your feet together in a small V position, and then put one leg behind. Staying on the ball of your back foot, bend both knees, and take your hands and lace them behind your back. Then pulse both legs and pull your abs in. Do 30 to 60 repetitions on each leg.

Health Tips 41
For sexy, strong abs, try the Marine Crunch. Lie on your back with your legs raised straight above your hips and your arms reaching to the ceiling. Simultaneously reach your fingertips toward your toes and press your feet toward the ceiling to lift your tailbone off the floor. Beginner tip: Instead of lifting your feet and hands together, alternate between lifting the upper body and the hips.

Health Tips 42
Want Jennifer Aniston’s bod? Celeb trainer Kathy Kaehler says:
1. Eat! Severely cutting calories slows your metabolism and makes you feel deprived.
2. But, eat slowly. After each bite, put down your fork and count to 10. This allows your brain to tell your stomach, “Enough.”
3. Try this must-do move to target your thighs: Place 10 playing cards on the floor. Squat, pick up one card, and shuffle four paces to the right. Squat; put the card down. Shuffle back to the pile, pick another card, and repeat until all 10 cards have been moved to the right.

Health Tips 43
Want slimmer legs and a trimmer waist? Do the Rockette: Start by laying on your back with your hands laced behind your head and your legs straight up, perpendicular to your waist. Pull your abs down toward the floor and lift your head and shoulders up toward the ceiling. Then lower one leg down and bring your opposite shoulder toward that thigh. Alternate for 20 to 40 reps and you’ll slip right into your skinny jeans!

Health Tips 44
Want Jennifer Lopez’s hot body? Quit quick-stepping on the stairclimber! This works fewer muscles and burns fewer calories than long, deep steps. Also, sit still for no more than three minutes between weight-lifting sets. Waiting longer allows your muscles to cool down, weakening the benefits of the exercise.

Health Tips 45
You’ll get the body you want faster by doing 10 slow repetitions of crunches instead of 20 fast ones. Moving slowly — two counts up and two counts down — allows you to use more precise form, which can stimulate your muscles better and make them stronger, says Rodney Corn of the National Academy of Sports Medicine. (The faster you go, the more likely you are to use momentum instead of your abs.) Your muscles should feel tired in 15 reps.
marieclaire.com

1. TIME YOUR PREMEAL SNACK
Eating a low-carbohydrate protein bar 90 minutes before you work out will enable you to exercise longer and harder (and burn more calories) than you normally would, says Steve Zim, author of Hot Point Fitness. However, that 90-minute mark is crucial. Eat any closer to your workout, and blood will rush to your stomach, actually diminishing your performance.

2. BREATHE THROUGH YOUR NOSE
Inhaling and exhaling through your nose, rather than your mouth, helps stabilize your heart rate and (like the preworkout snack) increase your endurance. The result? You work out longer and burn more calories. But don’t get discouraged if it feels unnatural at first — it takes about six to eight workouts to perfect.

3. DO CARDIO LAST
Strength-train before doing any cardiovascular work, says Ken Fitzgerald, owner of Lift Gym in New York. Why? It takes the body about 15 minutes to warm up and start burning fat. So, a 30-minute bike ride is really only burning fat for the last 15 minutes of your workout. But, if you lift weights first, your body is warmed up by the time you hit the bike, and you’ll burn fat throughout the entire ride.

4. VALUE VARIETY
Do the exact same workout every time you hit the gym, and your body will start to adapt to it — and eventually stop burning as many calories, says Zim. So if you jog one day, try biking or swimming the next. Or, if you weight-train from the shoulders down one day, next time, begin with your legs and work up. The important thing, Zim says, is to keep your body guessing.

5. DON’T SLOUCH
Slumping over the handlebars on a stationary bike inhibits the amount of oxygen your body can take in — and slows your fat-burning process, says Fitzgerald. The bars and handles are there to help you balance, not to support you. If you can’t move without holding on, slow down.

6. TRAIN IN INTERVALS
The best way to burn fat is to work out as hard as you can for as long as you can, says Malick Diop, a trainer at Equinox Gyms in New York. But, if you’re just starting to exercise, interval training’s your ticket. Two minutes on the treadmill at, say, 7 mph, followed by two minutes at 5 mph, then back to 7 mph (and so on) for 20 to 45 minutes will whittle away pounds and build your endurance. Eventually, you’ll be able to extend the high-intensity periods (and decrease the low ones) until your whole workout is done at top speed.

7. ADD LIGHT WEIGHTS
It’s a fact: The more muscle tone you have, the more calories you burn — even when you’re sitting still. So, if you can’t seem to find time to weight-train and do your cardio, Zim suggests doing bicep curls and overhead presses holding two- to three-pound weights while you’re fast-walking or stair-climbing. This will build muscle tone, helping you shed more fat during your cardio workout than you would without the weights.
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Hoping to lose a few pounds in time for bathing suit season — and tired of all the hype about “miracle” weight loss cures? To help you get answers about what really works for weight loss, WebMD turned to eight noted diet and nutrition experts for their own favorite diet tips.

Here are their top 10 diet tips and tricks for weight loss success:

Expert Diet Tip No. 1: Never Go More Than 3-4 Hours Without Food.

Eating several times throughout the day helps keep hunger at bay while keeping your energy up, experts say.

“Fight the battle of the bulge by filling up with smaller meals featuring protein and fiber that are spaced evenly throughout the day,” says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, a nutrition consultant who has written several books on diet and nutrition.

If the mini-meal approach doesn’t appeal, plan a healthy snack between lunch and dinner so you don’t get too hungry at night. “A midday snack gives you energy to finish your work day and hit the gym on your way home,” says Pamela Peeke, MD, Discovery Health TV chief medical correspondent for nutrition and fitness.

And, what makes a healthy snack? “The key is to include protein and not rely on carbs alone, like pretzels and a piece of fruit,” Peeke says.

Some good choices:

* Half a turkey wrap.
* Low-fat peanut butter on a thick multigrain cracker.
* Non-fat Greek-style yogurt with a few ounces of nuts.
* Two pieces of low-fat string cheese with a piece of fruit

Expert Diet Tip No. 2: Eat More Whole Foods.

“In general, the less processed a food is, the slower it takes to digest, and the longer it keeps you feeling satisfied and full,” says pediatrician David Ludwig, MD, author of Ending the Food Fight.

For example, an apple is more filling than an equal amount of applesauce, and applesauce is more filling than apple juice…

Expert Diet Tip No. 3: Don’t Give Up Your Favorite Foods.

If you allow yourself occasional indulgences, you are less likely to feel deprived — and more likely to stick with your diet.

Studies show that people who eat the healthiest overall are those who allow themselves some indulgences, says Dean Ornish, MD, author of The Spectrum and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif.,

“What matters most is your overall way of eating and living,” Ornish says.

So go ahead and enjoy your favorite foods — but do it in moderation, keeping an eye on portion size. And if you overindulge one day, just eat more healthfully the next day.

Expert Diet Tip No. 4: Avoid Late-Night Feasting.

” Late-night feasting is the Achilles heel for dieters and it often happens because workouts push back mealtimes,” Peeke says.

So, 30-60 minutes before your early evening workout, have a healthy snack that will give you energy and keep you from being ravenous when you get home. Think fruit or veggies plus lean protein, like a fruit smoothie with protein powder

And, don’t overdo a late dinner. “The later the time, the lighter your meal needs to be, especially if you are over age 40,” says Peeke, author of Fight Fat After Forty. She suggests leaving an hour to an hour and a half after finishing your meal before going to bed to allow for proper digestion.

Successful losers check the scale regularly to stay focused on weight control, says, James Hill, PhD, director of the University of Colorado’s Center for Human Nutrition and co-founder of the National Weight Control Registry. Relying on the fit of your favorite jeans just isn’t as accurate.

“Most dieters have a range of acceptable weights, and by weighing in once a week or more often they can make adjustments to their food intake and/or physical activity to counter weight creep,” he says.

Weigh in first thing in the morning, after emptying your bladder, to help motivate yourself to stay on track

Expert Diet Tip No. 6: Layer Fruit on the Bottom.

A half-cup scoop of light ice cream, yogurt, or granola makes a healthy snack. But it can look puny in a bowl, and ultimately seem less satisfying. So switch things around and layer the bottom of the bowl with a cup of cut-up, unsweetened fruit and top it with your low-fat yogurt, granola, or light ice cream, suggests Karen Collins, MS, RD, nutrition advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research.

“If you switch from a cup and a half of ice cream to a half-cup ice cream and a cup of fruit, you can save from 150-300 calories,” she says. “And, you won’t feel deprived because your eyes see a large volume and it tastes delicious.”

Expert Diet Tip No. 7: Exercise for Health, Not So You Can Eat More.

Exercise makes some people hungry, and some people think they can eat all they want after a hard workout. But this isn’t a good idea, experts say.

“Research suggests you’ll eat back the calories you burn off and maybe more,” says Ward.

Instead, exercise at a moderate pace on most days of the week to avoid feeling like your workouts justify extra food. To prevent extreme hunger, eat a small snack or meal that combines protein and carbohydrate (like hard-cooked egg or yogurt and a slice of whole-grain bread) either before your workout or immediately after. Be sure to include at least 8 ounces of water for hydration and fullness.

Expert Diet Tip No. 8: Get Enough Rest.

Getting enough good-quality sleep can help diminish the urge to overeat throughout the day, says David Grotto, RD, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life.

Sleeping too little can also diminish your body’s ability to burn calories, he says. And, whenever you’re sleeping, you’re not eating. So aim for 8 hours a night, every night.

One pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories, so you need to be realistic about how long it takes to lose fat, experts say.

The best approach is a combination of consuming fewer calories while getting more exercise, Hill says. But keep in mind that it takes a lot longer to burn off calories through exercise than it does to eat fewer calories.

A weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week is a safe rate, and helps to ensure that you’re losing fat, not muscle or water weight, Grotto says.

Expert Diet Tip No. 10: Size Matters.

Experts agree that portion control is a critical strategy for weight control.

Use measuring equipment, like measuring cups and spoons or a food scale, at least once a week to keep you honest about how much you’re eating, suggests dietitian and diabetes educator Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE

She suggests eating from 9-inch plates to help control portions.

When dining out, ask a dining partner to share a large meal or ask for a to-go box and put away the second portion for tomorrow’s lunch before you dig in, says Warshaw, author of Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy.

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
WebMD Feature

Perhaps you have tried a few of the fad diets? Initially you lose some weight, but then you gain it back and find yourself heavier than before. This is the dreaded cycle of yo-yo dieting. Yes, in the short term you can lose the weight, but every time you do this you may be doing more damage than good because your body thinks it’s experiencing a “famine.” In response to that famine, your body goes into survival mode and conserves energy by slowing down your metabolism. You begin to get energy from the consumption of muscle. Your body does its best to hold on to the fat you have for as long as it can. So, with many diets the weight you initially lose is not from just fat, but muscle, too. And that loss of muscle slows down your metabolism even further because muscle burns calories.

Its simply science. Muscle = metabolism, and the less muscle the slower your metabolism.

The challenges with dieting are huge. Not only are you fighting the urge to eat all day, you must figure out a way to get active as well. No one likes to have that hungry feeling, without the results. Unfortunately, restrictive and monotonous dieting without changing your eating and exercise habits will almost always result in failure. The rebound is what hurts the most. When your body set its famine mode in place, muscle is the first to go, when you rebound what was once muscle is now fat. The cycle continues. Is there a solution?

How Leucine Eliminates the Diet Cycle for good. This one essential amino acid, Leucine will protect your muscles from disappearing during the dreaded diet cycle. Leucine cannot be manufactured in your body. For many years, supplements and protein powders that contain leucine have been used extensively by bodybuilders and other athletes to promote fast muscle and injury recovery. As a dietary supplement, leucine has been found to slow the degradation of muscle tissue by increasing the synthesis of muscle proteins. This fact is extremely important when considering any program leading to long term successful weight loss and the reason why many dieters who want to break with the Diet Cycle once and for all, have turned to Leucine.

A diet program that includes Leucine is a healthy alternative to yo-yo dieting. It addresses one of the primary reasons why other diets fail. A leucine supplemented diet provides you a plan to lose the right way. Instead of losing weight from fat and muscle, a Leucine Powered Plan helps preserve muscle while you lose weight from fat. Preserving muscle mass also maintains your metabolism and your health.

The real magic with a leucine powered diet is the fact that you lose inches fast, control your hunger, boosts your energy and helps keep you feeling satisfied.

Donald P Legere is a Corporate Sales Trainer and Distributor with Shaklee Corporation’s Weight Loss Plan. To find out how our Leucine Powered Inch Loss Plan will help you maintain muscle and melt the fat visit Cinch, Inch Loss Plan, and get your Free Profile Today.

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Talk with a gym trainer, or look at an exercise video/DVD, to check that you are doing your sit-ups correctly; a trainer friend tells me that incorrect technique will not work your abdominal muscles efficiently and will also put a worrying strain on your back and neck muscles.

The most efficient way to burn fat when exercising is to work within your aerobic zone. To establish this start with the number 210 and subtract your age. Next, work out what 65 to 75 per cent of this figure would be — for you, it is 113-130: if you exercise so that your heartbeats a minute fall between these two numbers then you will burn fat, which I suspect is around your middle. Keep your heart rate in this zone: go above it, and you will burn sugar, which is less efficient for weight loss; going below it is not useful, either. Check your pulse while you’re working out, and you’ll soon become familiar with how your body feels burning fat.
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Even though I know you’re within the healthy limits for alcohol, you may notice a difference if you halved your intake. One unit of alcohol means a very small pub measure of wine; the wineglasses we use at home are more like two units (the same applies in restaurants), and I wonder whether that means that your alcohol and calorie consumption is higher than you realise. Alcohol can give us an increased appetite (especially on an empty stomach), so it may be that if you cut down, you will eat less. I find that desperate as I am most nights for a glass of wine, I notice a huge difference in my energy level if I don’t drink during the week. I miss it, but the compensation is not in feeling so exhausted.

You may not be eating enough iron-rich foods, ie, lean red meat, green leafy vegetables, pulses and beans. Look for the seasonal iron-rich vegetables such as curly kale and cavolo nero that are in the shops — these are delicious steamed. If you’re low in iron, you may be anaemic, and it would be worth asking a GP for a blood test. I find that increasing my intake of lean protein (lean red meat, chicken, eggs, fish, beans, lentils) and reducing the carbs (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, cereals) — I don’t cut them out totally, I just have smaller portions and make up the difference with the lean protein — can make me feel more energised.

It’s possible that you’re eating too much cheese; cut the rind off soft cheeses such as brie, as this reduces the fat and hence the calorie content, and maybe use a cheese-slicer instead of cutting big chunks. Also look at the speed you eat — as a new parent, meals becomes more rushed and you could be eating too quickly to accept when you ought to stop, and portion sizes can creep up. A late afternoon snack just before the children’s bath time — say, a quick bowl of soup, or a few slices of prosciutto and a few cherry tomatoes, or a banana — should keep your energy levels high.
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Make sure that you have a large glass of water, or herbal tea. Though you say that you drink lots of water, you may be little dehydrated at this crucial parenting point.

timesonline.com

Researchers found that very low carbohydrate diets focused weight loss on the stomach and chest – and worked better for men than for women.

Fat loss in men was three-times greater from the trunk area when they were on an Atkins-style, as opposed to conventional, diet.

Nearly all the 28 men and women taking part in the study lost more from their upper bodies by cutting out the carbs.

Higher health risk

Pot bellies are not only unsightly but recognised as carrying more than a health risk than fat stored in other parts of the body.

Men are particularly prone to the problem in middle age, when stomachs start to bulge over belts.

The new study conducted at the University of Connecticut, USA compared the effects of very low carbohydrate ketogenic (VLCK) and low fat (LF) diets.

Fifteen overweight or obese men, and 13 women, were randomly assigned to one of the two regimes and later switched to the other diet.

Men consumed each diet for 50 days and women for 30 days, to account for menstrual effects.

Of the men, 11 did better on the low carbohydrate diet. Six men lost over 10 pounds more on the low carb diet, and one lost an extra 25 pounds.

Similar but less dramatic results were seen in women.
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Link to heart disease

The scientists, led by Dr Jeff Volek, wrote in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism: “A novel and potentially clinically significant finding was a preferential loss of fat in the trunk region with the VLCK diet, which was approximately three-fold greater during the VLCK than the LF diet.

“Upper body fat carries a greater health risk than fat stored in other regions of the body and thus an effective weight loss approach should consider the regional distribution of fat loss.”

Dr Volek’s team had previously found that low carbohydrate diets reduce heart disease risk factors.

Fat deposits around the middle of the body are especially associated with heart and artery disease.

However, although published in a peer reviewed journal, the work is controversial because it was partly funded by the Robert C. Atkins Foundation.

Low carbohydrate diets like those promoted by the Foundation have been criticised by many experts who say they are potentially harmful.

The Atkins diet follows four phases, each offering different levels of carbohydrate restriction. The first allows the dieter only 20 grams of carbs per day, which means eliminating bread, pasta and rice and increasing meat and cheese consumption.

Even in the final phase, the diet imposes a limit of about 40 grams of carbohydrates per day. In contrast, the average American eats 210 grams of carbs daily.

Critics argue that high fat, low fibre Atkins-style diets may pose risks for osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, kidney problems and liver disorders.

They also claim that long term weight loss is difficult to maintain with low carb diets.

However, there are other means of belly fat removal, some are fairly safe while others can potentially be fatal. You can look into undergoing an operation. Gastric banding is considered to be a fairly safe procedure and the outcomes can be pretty good. There are many downsides associated with this method though.

Stomach stapling or gastric bypass is another surgical option for removal of belly fat but unfortunately there is the inherent risk of death associated with it. Both the gastric bypass and the gastric banding procedures though require you to be excessively overweight and unfortunately will not really help you to loose just belly fat so your six pack can show through.

Liposuction can be performed though as a means of belly fat removal. Matter of fact, this procedure requires you to be healthy in order to undergo it which means that it is specifically suited for sculpting out the fat from your abdominal region.

Of course, the cheapest and best way to get rid of belly fat though is and always will be exercise and diet. Walking, swimming and biking are considered exercise to and diet refers to the type of foods that you eat, not how little you eat.

John Ku is a expert on losing tummy fat and currently is the author of reduce tummy site which mainly focus information on how to get rid of belly fat.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Ku

* The Benefits of losing weight: You will increase your longevity (thin people usually live longer than obese ones).
* You will decrease your cholesterol revels.
* You will reduce the risk of getting cancer (according to various clinical studies
, body fat is the storage place of cancer-causing chemicals in both men and women.)
* You will lower the probability of ever suffering of heart disease.
* You can cure your sleep disorders (overweight people often suffer from various sleep disorders, like apnea).

Most people who are obese got to where they are, because of practicing bad eating habits.

Here are 7 quick tips that can help you get back on the right track:

1. Drink more than 8 glasses of water every day. Large quantities of water can raise your metabolism and help your body get rid of toxins.
2. Use a smaller plate: using a smaller plate can make you think you are eating more food than you really are.
3. Eat slowly: the slower you eat, the less food it takes to get full, because it can take up to 20 minutes for the body’s signal to reach the brain.
4. Don’t skip breakfast: when you skip meals your body thinks it’s starving and slows down your metabolism.
5. Tone your muscles with weight training: muscle mass helps your body burn more calories.
6. Eat more eggs: a new study claims that eating eggs for breakfast can help you limit your daily calorie intake, by more than 400 calories.
7. Use Color Therapy: believe it or not, the color blue can act as an appetite suppressant. So you can cover your table with blue tablecloth or serve dinner on blue plates.

If you really want to Lose 30 Pounds in 30 days safely and easily just Click Here!

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