Month: March 2015

Exercises for Washboard Abs

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Most of us are still wondering what the right exercises for washboard absare, much less how to do them. Find out the most effective exercises for toning, strengthening, and ripping your abs.

Before you begin exercising, make sure that you’ve got a diet and workout plan in place. Exercises are important, but getting washboard abs requires a healthy diet and cardio workout, as well.

The most effective exercises for a set of washboard abs are:

  • Weighted Sit Ups
  • Ball Crunches
  • Full Body Crunches
  • Bicycles

Begin with 5 repetitions of each exercise and gradually work up to 20, several times per week. To avoid injury, start out slowly and step up your workout at your own pace.

Weighted Sit Ups

Required: A small weight or similarly sized object(a hardcover book or bag of flour)

  1. Lie down on the floor with your feet flat on the ground and your knees bent.
  2. Place the weight on your chest and hold it in place with both hands.
  3. Contract your abdominal muscles.
  4. Slowly lift your head and back up from the floor, while keeping your feet on the ground.
  5. Go up as high as you can and hold it for a second.
  6. Then slowly return down and repeat.

Ball Crunches

Required: An exercise ball

  1. Place your feet flat on the floor and sit on the exercise ball.
  2. Lie back slowly, letting the ball gently roll until your thighs and torso are in a parallel line with the floor.
  3. Begin raising your torso halfway up, while contracting your abdominal muscles.
  4. When you reach a 45 degree incline, stop and lie back down slowly.

Full Body Crunches

  1. Lie down on the floor.
  2. Bend your knees and place your hands across your chest.
  3. Contract your abdominal muscles.
  4. Bring your shoulder blades up off of the floor several inches while bringing your knees up at the same time.
  5. Hold this position for a few seconds and then lower yourself.

Bicycle

  1. Lie flat on the floor.
  2. Rest your hands up next to your head and bring your knees halfway up.
  3. Begin a bicycling motion with your legs.
  4. Alternate between touching your left elbow to your right knee and your right elbow to your left knee. Repeat.

When exercising, common sense and safety should be observed. If possible, exercise on an exercise mat or carpeted floor in a room with a moderate temperature. Keep yourself well hydrated. If you feel burning or tingling, perform less repetitions at one time.

If you follow these exercises for washboard abs and maintain a sensible diet and workout plan, soon you’ll have that washboard look you’ve always wanted.

What other exercises for washboard abs can you think of? Add to the list by leaving your comments below.

The Truth about Diet Soda Weight Gain—Diet Soda Myth Debunked

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Fussing over the real deal about diet soda? Diet soda weight gain sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Everyone knows that when you are on low-calorie, fat-free diet, a regular soda just isn’t an option. But with a diet soda, this rule is bent a little bit. After all, “diet” beverages existed for a reason, right?

Indeed, with this in mind, it gives you the pleasure to eat burger and fries, instead of burger alone. Come on, low calorie soda means additional food is okay to offset the calorie intake! Drinking a diet soda lets you do a fantastic job while you are on weight reduction mission. Ah, life is good because you still get to enjoy this cold and bubbly drink even on a diet! Well, you better think twice because is exactly why diet soda weight gain occurs.

Diet Soda’s Dirty Little Secret

A diet soda is not the “weight-busting soda” you think it is. Let’s face it. It is an unnatural beverage packed with even more artificial ingredients! Here’s a fact for you. Previous research suggests that our brain is wired to anticipate a large amount of calories when eating fatty or sweet foods. But because diet foods, including diet soda fail to manifest this, it lobs the brain out of whack.

It appears this disconnection between taste of artificial sweeteners and low calories results to diet soda weight gain as the body stores calories as fat. Now, how can you say this “wonder” drink gives more healthy benefits to the body than a regular soda? Love-hate relationship with diet soda begins to stir your mind again? It should.

Nothing but Pure Facts!

A diet soda associated with weight gain? Mind boggling, isn’t it? Listen to this. Epidemiological research has supported diet soda weight gain connection in 2005. Let’s face another harsh reality that people usually start drinking diet soda when they feel they are starting to gain weight. However, a research study by the University of Texas Health Science Center has shown that with every diet soda a person consumes, there is a 41% possibility of becoming obese over the next 7-8 years. Can you imagine yourself gulping 3-4 cans of diet soda a day, thinking this is harmless?

In addition to this, recent data presented at the American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Sessions also suggest that drinking diet beverages may actually lead to weight gain. Yes, it is associated with a wider waist and flabby belly! As you probably know, excess weight especially belly fat is a risk factor to variety of illnesses such as cardiovascular disease. Moreover, common calorie-free artificial sweetener, particularly aspartame, could potentially contribute to Type 2 diabetes.

Want more proof? You don’t want to miss this one!  Did you know that a new study conducted by UK researchers proved that sweet, sugary drinks can dull taste buds, causing you to crave sweet foodstuff twice as much? Diet soda weight gain phenomenon does happen. Evidently, diet soda is not a silver bullet to weight reduction, and it is definitely not a health drink. A word of caution! Turning a blind eye to this fact won’t do you any good so better feed your mind with accurate information.

Healthier Choices Abound

You know, a diet soda has zero calories but it doesn’t mean you are spared from the consequences. People overate “diet”, “fat-free” and “calorie-free” products, thinking consuming limitless quantity won’t do any damage. Listen. Any diet product won’t really help you melt away excess pounds if you’re getting too many calories from other sources.

So how about taking control of your health? Don’t you think it’s time to switch to water? To put it briefly, diet soda weight gain phenomenon can be avoided by knowing the healthier choices. Jumpstart your day with a cup of green, herbal, oolong tea with a little of the herbal sweetener stevia! Keep in mind to drink 8 glasses of water throughout day. Have you tried adding a squirt of cranberry juice or lemon to your water to enhance the taste?  For variety, sparkling water is also a good choice. If you can save diet soda as a special treat, do it!

How about you? What’s your diet soda experience? Share it with us by entering your comments below!

top 3 biZaRRe diets

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Here’s something I think you will find interesting if not completely biZaRRe…

So after finally buying and reading over Isabel Del Rios’ popular eBook where she goes into great detail on how to eat real food AND still be lean…

I curiously did a couple of Google searches to see all the crazy diets that are out there.

Here is a list of the top 3 most ridiculous:

* The Air Diet (breathatarian) – this is where you literally suck air and pretend that you’re actually eating a delicious, tasty meal.

What?!

EVen if this worked, there are some parts of the country where the pollution is so bad, you’ll probably get fat from “eating” all the dirty-air calories!

* The Cotton Ball Diet – this is where you grab a handful of cotton balls and stuffed them in to your mouth until you’re full.

You may feel full and have almost no calories but wouldn’t this make you constipated?

* The Tapeworm Diet – this is where you intentionally ingest the eggs of tapeworms so that they grow and feed on the food inside your intestines.

Believe it or not, people are actually doing this and claimed to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.

Hello?! You just ingested a big, dangerous worm just to lose weight.

N-A-S-T-Y!!!

Okay, I know these were out there–even though true…

And you’re probably not doing anything like this in order to lose fat and get lean abs.

But, if you’re following the “common wisdom” on how to eat to lose weight, chances are extremely high that your eating strategy is not giving you the maximum fat burning results.

I mean, since you have to eat. Why not make eating real foods something that naturally and automatically torches your excess belly fat.

Find out which foods are extreme flat-belly foods and the 4 foods you should never eat…

 

To your success,

 

PS. Here’s what Cindy Standifer said about Isabel’s program:

“I’m Not Starving and I LOVE My Life!”

“Before I found Isabel’s nutrition tips online, I ate a diet consisting of a dangerously low amount of fat each day. I thought all fat was bad. Now I know Almonds, Flax seeds & Walnuts are good for me! At first I was scared to eat HEALTHY fats but once I did the pounds started coming off to my surprise! Calories used to be the first thing I looked at on a box, not caring what the ingredients were. Now Isabel has helped me train my mind differently. THE INGREDIENTS are the FIRST place you look! Her program broke my plateau. I’ve never been overweight but I felt like the scale was STUCK at 145 pounds no matter how much I worked out. Now I’m finally at my dream weight. I’m happy, I’m not starving, all of my co-workers and ex-boyfriends are jealous and I love my life!”

Start EATING and stripping off the belly fat fast…

Know of additional strange diets? Share them with us by sending your comments below.

Top 10 Best Fat Burning Foods!

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Food is NOT the Enemy…Make Friends with the Best Fat Burning Foods!

Who knew that some foods had the best fat burning characteristics? When I started to be more health-conscious I really didn’t know much about the fat burning properties of these foods. But all that’s changed now, thanks to published scientific studies and research.

By simply infusing these ingredients throughout your diet, you end up with highly nutritious and filling meals that keep unwanted fat at bay…and they work…to my surprise! Check out the best fat burning foods…

1. Tomatoes. We’ve all heard about cancer-fighting Lycopene in tomatoes. But did you know that they, too, help burn fat and lower cholesterol? On top of that, tomatoes also contain Vitamin A,C, potassium, fiber, folate, and beta-carotene.

2. Apples. You know what they say about having one a day. Apples are one of the best fat burning foods because they contain Pectin. It’s responsible for restricting the absorption of fat and allowing the absorption of water instead.

3. Oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits. Vitamin C is more than just for the immune system. It also functions as a fat-diluting agent during digestion.

4. Unsalted nuts, green beans, and other legumes. Have you ever felt “full” after snacking on nuts? According to a fairly recent study, nuts aren’t just one of the best fat burning foods out there, but they also enhance your body’s ability to burn fat while satisfying sudden pangs of hunger.

5. Cabbages, lettuce, and green leafy vegetables. Our mothers always made us eat them – and with good reason. Leafy veggies are also one of the best fat burning foods because they usually have very few calories but are packed with Vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, and other essential nutrients.

6. Apple cider vinegar. This is not something you’d typically find in any kitchen, but it’s good to have around. It’s loaded with beta-carotene, calcium, potassium, and a host of other minerals necessary to break down fat and decrease bad cholesterol.

7. Dairy products rich in calcium. A research from a university in Tennessee showed that those who consumed high-calcium dairy products had significant reduction of fat in their midsections.

8. Carrots, beets, ginger root, and radish. These are the best fat burning foods as far as root crops are concerned because they have very low calories, aid in easy digestion, and increase your metabolism.

9. Asparagus. Not only are they easy to incorporate into your meals, but they also help decrease bad cholesterol levels in your body.

10. Chili peppers. These hot, hot, hot spices contain capsaicin, a chemical known to help boost metabolism when digested. Although they don’t have any long-term effects, including some spice into your meals once in a while can still be beneficial.

Bottomline…There are certainly more fat-fighting foods out there, but these, I have to say, are your best fat burning foods. Mix them in salads, stews, soups, and other viands, or even snack on them. Adding these to your diet will not only move you to a healthier, sexier YOU…

Have a fat burning food not part of this list? Add your own and enter them through the comment box below.

Top 6 Foods That Will Burn Fat

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Are you tired of knowing what kinds food to eat and not sure of how many calories or fat you should consume everyday? Did you know that there are foods that will burn fat easier than others? Well, the following fat burning foods are listed that should be included in your daily diet. Eating fat burning foods should be combined with your daily regular exercise to complete and accelerate your efforts in getting rid of unwanted fat.

Foods that are high in protein, fiber, and vitamin C are the best kinds of food to eat if you want to burn fat in your body. Vitamin C enriched food has fat burning properties to reduce the effectiveness of fat. Actually, these foods can be found in our kitchen and refrigerator.

Top 6 foods that will burn fat:

1. Citrus Fruits. Orange, lemons, grapefruit, tangerines, and limes contain high concentrations of Vitamin C. It reduces the effectiveness of fat by diluting the fat so that it is easier to flush out of your system. It also helps in burning cholesterol. Vitamin C deprives the cholesterol to form into your blood vessels. Therefore, these are good foods that will burn fat.

2. Oatmeal. The benefits of oatmeal are due to the fact that it is made of oats, and oats are a good source of fiber. It’s also a good source of other nutrients like vitamin E, magnesium and manganese, iron, and zinc. Another benefit of oatmeal is that it is good in fighting colon cancer and heart disease.

It would be best to serve oatmeal in the morning. Eat it with banana and honey, an assortment of berries and nuts, or top it with dried mixed fruits.

3. Eggs. Eggs are very nutritious because they contain vitamins, proteins, and fat. One egg contains over six grams of protein and several important nutrients, which makes it one of the best foods that will burn fat.

However, if you are worried of high cholesterol intake, you may lessen the quantity of servings or you may remove the yoke and still benefit from the high protein contained in eggs.

4. Apples, Berries, and other Fresh Fruits. Apples contain a chemical called pectin. It is known to make you feel full. Pectin naturally limits the amount of fat your cells can absorb. Add apples and mixed berries to your diet because an apple a day certainly keeps that fat away.

5. Beans. Beans are a good source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and iron. When eaten with rice, they form a complete protein.  Avoid eating baked beans and refried beans because they are high in sugar.

6. Garlic. Either oil, juice, or anything that has garlic will help reduce fat. If you are interested in losing weight, include garlic to your diet.

It is necessary to choose the right kind of foods – foods that will burn fat to maintain a healthy and flat stomach. Eating the right foods together with your daily regular exercise will help you and your system to dispose unwanted fat faster. Fat burning foods will definitely help you lose fat easier.

What other known foods can help burn the fat? Share your own comments below.