Do You Use A Food Diary?

In this article I will share with you the importance of writing down your weight loss goals to help you lose the belly fat. You will also discover the necessity of keeping a food diary, what a food diary is,  and how to use one to help you lose the belly fat.  With the following tips diarizing your food intake you will find that you will know exactly what is going into your body.

Let’s begin – why would you use a food diary?  The big reason is so we can make an impact to what changes we need to see in our food intake. Exercise alone will not give you the benefits of losing weight.  A food diary works hand in hand with your exercise routine. You need to make some changes to what foods you may be eating or you may not be eating enough meals to supplement the body for fat burning.  Understanding what we eat each and every day helps us modify our diet to lose the belly fat. 

A food diary can also help improve our nutrient intake, will help you understand what eating habits you are partaking in, plan for future menus, stay motivated, stop undesirable eating,  it also helps break down weigh loss goals into bite size goals. A food diary also helps with a record of success.

How to use a food diary.

When you start your day have your diary close by and every time you eat a meal and drink liquids write down the time and what you ate and where you ate it. An example can be, small bowl of cereal with skim milk, 7.30am, at the breakfast bar at home reading the morning paper.  You can then describe how you felt and what you were thinking at the time of eating.  This helps identify what type of thoughts you are thinking and what you are feeling. This will help identify if you are an emotional eater.  You may also want to get into detail about what you ate. Have fun with this.  

When starting your food diary do not make any changes to your eating habits just be really honest with yourself and keep your diary with you wherever you go.  At the end of the day review your diary . This will make you aware of what you are eating how you are eating and what changes you may wish to make. 

A simple way to record your intake is to have  four columns. One column labelled as time, another labelled as food another labelled as liquid another labelled as what am i feeling.

For those who want to lose weight and lose the belly fat. You will find that by writing in your food diary each and every day makes you responsible and honest about your food intake. You’re the only one who will see it so be as honest as possible. It is a great way to review your habits and make the necessary changes in your food intake.  By using a food diary not only will it help you lose the belly fat but it will help you with your targeted weight loss goal.  Start with keeping the diary just for 2 weeks. If you find it beneficial keep the diary for as long as possible.

Be brave and live a long and healthy life. 

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Adding strength training to your exercise program is easy, economical, and effective in losing weight, gaining strength, and of course toning your body. You don’t need a special belly fat exercise to get started. With strength training
it will be evident that the first signs of fat loss will be around the belly. The subjects above did not perform a specific belly fat exercise but rather participated in overall strength training.

 A program of strength training can be a simple, effective way to burn excess calories, increase metabolism for the long term, and see a satisfying change in your figure. I recommend starting slowly on any weight training program and gradually building up. You can simply purchase two hand held free weights at the local athletic store for a few dollars. Depending on your body size, fitness level, and strength you can opt for anywhere between 2 pound to 10 pound weights.

Begin by doing 2 or 3 sets of 8 -12 repetitions. To further explain repetitions, if you’re doing bicep curls, curl up and down to equal one repetition. Repeat 8 to 12 times. This is a set. Focus on keeping good form throughout the repetition. When you feel your form is shaky end that set.

Generally speaking you can incorporate the arm muscles including biceps, triceps, and shoulders. The chest and back muscles and legs into a weight training routine. There is no specific belly fat exercise that will help you lose the belly fat. When you take up strength training you will see immediate results around the belly as did the subjects in the above research have proved. 

If you are unsure – it makes good sense to purchase a simple beginners DVD or book to understand what exercises focus on which specific muscles, proper form, and analyzing your own fitness level so you have a good place to begin. Consider
renting one from the local library in order to determine your personal preference before you buy. If you can afford it hire a personal trainer to help you begin. Once you have a routine in place you can follow it without their assistance. As research and science proves that weight training helps lose the belly fat there is no reason why you need to keep searching for belly fat exercises. The key is to start make a commitment to yourself and just start. Start slow and as your confidence rises kick it up a notch. Get out there and lose the belly fat.

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Do you want to lose the belly fat? If so, your first step is to understand “belly fat” are NOT dirty words. We all have some belly fat. It’s a part of life. So you may as well accept it. 

Second, you must be conscious about the amount of calories you consume and concentrate on good sources of calories. Before you decide to lose the belly fat – and ban fats in general from your life – you need to realize you could be inviting potential health problems. Why? Because fat is an indispensable dietary component. Your body will not be able to burn those calories that you are consuming and your metabolic rate will also plummet.

The cells of your body and their tiny internal organs are built of essential fatty acids. In the absence of an adequate amount of essential dietary fats in your daily diet, the cells membrane and their component organs will face structural damage. It will have a detrimental effect on their functioning and result in reduced production of cellular energy.A slow metabolic rate will make you feel dizzy and fatigued. Later, when you lose the bellyand you revert to your normal, diet, you’ll gain weight.

The findings of a Californian endocrinologist, Dr. Diana Schwarzbein support this. According to her reports, a dieter on a low-fat diet is sure to fail in health. Not only does he face an eventual rise in body fat, he also suffers from hypertension. The same is true for yo-yo dieters. When they abandon their low-fat diets and return to their normal eating habits their metabolic systems find it difficult to accept the enhanced calorie intake. They eventually gain even more weight in comparison to what they had lost prior to starting the diet.

Secrets To Lose The Belly Fat

Your body does not actually require the saturated and the mono-unsaturated fats. Although your body uses them to produce energy, they do not belong to the category of essential nutrients. The poly-unsaturated fats and oils are extremely essential. You will find that every food product that has fat content houses all the three varieties in variable proportions. It is primarily the saturated and the unsaturated variety that you find in a piece of meat. Olive oil contains mono-unsaturated fat while the sunflower seed oils houses the poly-unsaturated variety.

To successfully lose the belly fat & weight lose maintenance, depends upon the proper selection of fats and eating the right amounts. This will insure ideal weight and optimal health. 

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Lose over 10 pounds in 12 weeks and perhaps prevent Hepatitis C according to the Journal of Medicinal Food and Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine.

Citrus oils, such as the grapefruit extract have a high content of vitamin C and bioflavonoids. These powerful antioxidants neutralize the highly unstable and extremely reactive molecules that attack your cells and contribute to skin aging. In addition, studies have shown that vitamin C helps build collagen in your skin, reducing wrinkles, and enhancing your skin’s natural strength and elasticity. Grapefruit is also high in limonene, a potent antioxidant that inhibits inflammatory activity to help your skin achieve a youthful, healthy glow.

Folklore regarding weight loss and grapefruit has been around for many years. But now a new study has found the simple act of adding this fruit to your diet can assist in weight loss.

Studies on grapefruit Reveals Startling Weight Loss Facts Previously Unknown

In a 12-week pilot study, 100 men and women ate half a serving of grapefruit and lost an average of 3.6 pounds. Many patients in the study, however, lost over 10 pounds. On average, participants who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost 3.6 pounds, while those who drank a serving of the juice from this fruit lost 3.3 pounds. However, many patients in the study lost more than 10 pounds.

Lead researcher Dr. Ken Fujioka states, “Our study participants maintained their daily eating habits and slightly enhanced their exercise routine. The only dietary change was the intake of grapefruit. Our study shows grapefruit can play a vital role in overall health and wellness… ”

This finding is supported by another study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food where participants were asked to eat half a serving of grapefruit three times a day for 12 weeks. By the end of the study this group lost 1.6kg in body weight – “significantly more weight than the placebo group.”

A team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine (MGH-CEM) are now looking into blocking the secretion of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from infected cells utilizing a compound found in grapefruit.

Precisely how this fruit aids in weight loss is not entirely known, but researchers speculate its chemical properties reduce insulin levels which assist with the regulation of fat metabolism. The smaller the insulin spike after a meal the more efficiently the body processes food for use as energy. And this means less is stored as fat in the body.

The potential health benefits of grapefruit are far reaching.  

Finding studies such as the one above helps gain trust in what we are eating, especially when we want to lose the belly fat. I have added grapefruit to my diet and have noticed a substantial amount of difference. It has helped me lose the belly fat. The reason I am providing all these studies is because after joining Combat The Fat program I needed some scientific proof behind the method that Jeff Anderson teaches.  After carefully reviewing and applying Jeff Anderson’s methods I found that the information he provides is highly valuable and useful. Jeff Anderson was a Soldier & Master Fitness Trainer for the Military. And if we carefully study the bodies of the soldiers in the military, it is easy to see how Jeff’s method works time and time again. He finally reveals this secret in his program.  His method is certainly working for me. To find out more information on Jeff Anderson’s product click here.

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There are significant amounts of clinical research that suggest overweight people who follow a weight loss program which involves exercise have better achievement of their overall blood sugar and controls levels when their diet involves fish that is rich in omega 3 fatty acids especially when it is a staple in their low fat diet.  The following article will give you a deeper understanding on the effects of how to lose the belly fat when you include salmon in your eating plan.

A variety of cold water fish can help you lose weight and trim the belly fat. The most preferred variety is the wild Alaskan salmon. Close to follow are sardines, anchovies, tuna, herring, trout and North Atlantic mackerel.

Wild salmon is the king of super foods. It can amazingly help you to shed your excess weight and sustain your lean self as well. With a host of benefits, it can be an effective meal in itself. It has a rich concentration of omega-3 fatty acids. This is the very attribute responsible for making it the king of super foods with regard to weight control.

The salmon that is readily available in the marketplace happens to be the cheaper farmed variety. The wild salmon is not very popular and this is the cause of its abundance. It is widely available in Canada and California but it is even more abundant in Alaska.

Salmon, Weight Loss, lose belly Fat, and You: Know the Facts

Both wild and farmed salmon have similar levels of omega-3 fatty acids, but the wild variety offers the ideal proportion (1:2 ratios) of the omega-3 and the omega-6 fatty acids. This is the proportion recommended by the health experts.

Wild salmon is better for cholesterol levels in comparison to farmed salmon. It also has a negligible amount of inflammation inducing saturated fat. The saturated fat and the omega-6 fat content in the farmed salmon, interferes with the advantages of the omega-3 fatty acids.

Truth is there is no one diet that help lose the belly fat instantly. If you are truly committed to successfully reducing your belly fat, start to include more omega 3’s in your diet.  You can safely losing 1-2lbs works if your about 200lbs or less. Good news is the heavier you are the more fat your body is storing and so what that means is that you can lose more body fat and that means you lose the belly fat first. Rule of thumb would be that you could realistically safely lose 3lbs per week if you were 300lbs.  

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Seeds and nuts can be vital in helping you burn fat & lose belly fat. They have good anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant attributes. And they also possess good levels of proteins, essential fats, fibers and lignans.

 The primary benefits that they provide are:

 Nuts are rich in healthy fats. This is why; even a handful of nuts can meet your nutrition and fulfillment quotient for quite some time. This results in a reduction of further food cravings, thus helping you to keep good check on your weight. When you work on weight loss, you resort to healthy snacks.

The sesame seed is a vital member in this family of healthy nuts. Its scientific name is ‘Sesamum Indicum and is the planet’s oldest cultivated food product. Sesame seed has a wide number of lignans. They are sesamin, sesamolin and sesamolinol. All of them are phyto-nutrients with a host of remarkable attributes. Sesames are anti-oxidant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral.

The health benefits obtained through consumption of this nut are:

 1.      It may greatly lower your cholesterol levels.

 2.      It acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.

 3.      It has a high level of anti-oxidants.

 4.      It may effectively counter high blood pressure.

 5.      It may increase the levels of vitamin E in your body.

 6.      It is a rich calcium source; its calcium content is thrice more in comparison to milk.

 7.      Rich in magnesium.

 8.      It may protect the liver from the damages entailing from the oxidation process.

 9.      It promotes fat burning.

 10.  It works in tandem with other important nutrients such as gamma tocopherol, CLA (conjugated linolenic acid) and fish oil. This eventually results in an increase in the power and effectiveness of these substances in your body.  

11.  It stimulates the process of fatty acid oxidation. 

12.  When you take sesame seeds in combination with fish oil, the anti-inflammatory property of the fish oil is enhanced. This actually protects it from the process of lipid peroxidation, where the fatty acid gets oxidized. 

Studies suggest that sesame lignans may aid in weight loss by enhancing fatty acid oxidation in liver tissues. The fat content of the nuts helps in the absorption of the essential phyto-nutrients, minerals, vitamins and the host of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties present in them. They can be enjoyed as a snack in itself, as additives on your salads or even stir-fried. But, one needs to take care regarding the amount of quantity consumed. The servings must be restricted only to a small handful. If this is not taken adequate care of, you might just end up undoing your good work.  Fat burning wasn’t meant to be boring and tedious. Adding the right nuts to your diet can not only help with fat burning and losing belly fat but they also taste so good.

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Not all fats are created equal and how to lose the belly fat.

The term ‘fat’ is used to describe any excess weight. While this is accurate to a degree there are different kinds of ‘fat.’ Throughout this book I’ll refer to different types of fat in your body. Let’s look at the terms often used to describe the fats in your body and gain a basic understanding of each.

1.      Adipose tissues sometimes called fat cells.

Adipose tissue or fat, are loose connective tissues that store fat primarily for energy. The fat stored in these tissues is usually triglycerides. This tissue is found under the skin and around organs.

2.      Belly fat.

Common in ‘apple shaped obesity’ this is visceral fat accumulated around the midsection that increases the waist line.

3.      Fatty acids.

Not a type of fat, fatty acids can accumulate in the liver causing a fatty liver which leads to liver dysfunction. Over consumption of energy producing foods and lack of energy exertion can lead to this serious problem.

4.      Subcutaneous fat.

This fat is adipose fat that is located directly under the skin.

5.      Visceral fat.

A dangerous type of fat also called organ fat or intra-abdominal fat lies close to the internal organs of the body. This fat is harder to lose. This can also be referred to as belly fat.  We all want to lose the belly fat.  In this article you will discover how dangerous belly fat actually is.

Dangerous Belly Fat: What You Must Know

Belly fat and visceral fat are the most dangerous of the fats. Obesity and its associated increased risk for diseases and health problems are a result of visceral fat. Since visceral fat lies close to your vital internal organs it is easily absorbed into the bloodstream transporting fat throughout the body, compromising essential metabolic functions, eventually clogging the arteries, and leading to hypertension. This also leads to diabetes.

A recent study published in Circulation by lead scientist Dr. Frank Hu (a leading expert on obesity research) sought to establish whether there is any connection between belly fat and premature death. The data obtained gave a clear indication an excess of adipose tissues in the abdominal area was directly related to a string of health problems such as cancer and cardiovascular problems.

Belly fat in women increases the risk of early death either due to heart disease or cancer. A waist measurement of more than 35 inches leads to a doubling of premature death caused by cancer or heart problems. In men, waist size over 40 inches is a serious cause of worry. 

A Washington University School of Medicine study showed that belly fat is associated with hypertension, heart ailments, and diabetes. One of the reasons for this is that belly fat is responsible for increasing inflammation in the body. In short, abdominal belly fat secretes certain molecules that exaggerate your body’s inflammation response.  Belly fat even promotes insulin resistance and explains severe diabetic symptoms.

Accumulation of belly fat increases the body’s visceral fat which is responsible for an increase in hyperglycemia (or high blood sugar), high cholesterol and triglyceride levels and, high blood pressure.

When all the three happen in unison (high blood sugar levels, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and high blood pressure) the condition is known as Metabolic Syndrome also sometimes referred to as Syndrome X. Numerous researches have revealed that belly fat is the principle factor behind this metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic Syndrome increases a person’s risk for heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other diseases and health problems.

The major threat of belly fat is due to its proximity to your liver and internal organs. The stage is set for Type 2 diabetes as fat increases within the liver and the body becomes insulin resistant.

Science and Research Supports Weight Training as a Method to Lose Weight and lose the belly fat

·         Researchers led by Richard Kreider Ph.D. and Professor and Chair of the Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation at Baylor University presented findings from 11 research abstracts on 2 clinical studies in regards to strength training and increasing resting metabolism. In a replicated study by Kreider, participants increased their metabolic rate by 265 calories a day. In phase II of the study researchers followed 120 sedentary and overweight women. It was found that when these women followed a plan of cardio and strength training they showed a 21% improvement in strength and 7% improvement in aerobic capacity. They also lost an average of 2 inches from their hips and 3 inches from their waists. Their resting blood cholesterol and blood pressure also improved.

·         In another study at The Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers followed a group of 15 post-menopausal women for a 16 week exercise program. During the study participants used resistance training exercises. Following the 16 week period, obese women experienced significant loss in body weight, fat mass, and percentage body fat. Additionally fat-free mass, and resting metabolism increased in both obese and non-obese women in the study.

Adding strength training to your exercise program is easy, economical, and effective in losing weight, belly fat, gaining strength, and of course toning your body.

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Strength training can involve using free weights, weight training machines, resistance bands, or even your own body weight. If you want to keep weight off, be more energetic, stronger, and improve your overall physique and health you must consider strength training.

Options for Getting Started in Strength Training

To add strength training to your daily routine and help assist you lose the belly fat, there are several methods to choose. You can join a gym and ask a personal trainer to help you begin a program, select a DVD, book, or audio program to get you started, tap into your own knowledge, or follow television guided programs on strength training. A program of strength training can be a simple, effective way to burn excess calories, increase metabolism for the long term, and see a satisfying change in your figure.

I recommend starting slowly on any weight training program and gradually building up. You can simply purchase two hand held free weights at the local athletic store for a few dollars. Depending on your body size, fitness level, and strength you can opt for anywhere between 2 pound to 10 pound weights. Begin by doing 2 or 3 sets of 8 -12 repetitions. To further explain repetitions, if you’re doing bicep curls, curl up and down to equal one repetition. Repeat 8 to 12 times. This is a set. Focus on keeping good form throughout the repetition. When you feel your form is shaky end that set.

Generally speaking you can incorporate the arm muscles including biceps, triceps, and shoulders. The chest and back muscles and legs into a weight training routine. You will notice by continuing to concentrate on strength training, soon you will reap the benefits of losing the belly fat. Belly fat is generally the first place weight falls off.

If you are unsure it makes good sense to purchase a simple beginners DVD or book to understand what exercises focus on which specific muscles, proper form, and analyzing your own fitness level so you have a good place to begin. Consider renting one from the local library in order to determine your personal preference before you buy. If you can afford it hire a personal trainer to help you begin. Once you have a routine in place you can follow it without their assistance.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just dedicate yourself to making this part of your life and get started. Not only do the results one gets from weight train prove its effectiveness, scientific studies do as well.

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