Burn Belly Fat

Do you need to Lose Weight and Build Muscle?

Losing weight and burning belly fat can be one of the hardest things you ever attempt to do in your life. Most people have tried and failed so many times that they just give up. They get ideas stuck in their head like they have a slow metabolism, they are just big boned, or their genetics are responsible for the weight. Television and the media don’t help either by telling people that they need a special pill, the newest ab exercise machine, a special fat loss workout program or some special diet. The big trends now are lap band surgeries and gastric bypass. Makes since right? If you have tried and failed just have a doctor perform major surgery to tie off your stomach so you have no choice but to eat smaller meals. Perhaps there is a pill I can take that will make it okay for me to eat fast food, not workout, and watch TV all day long?

The reality is if you want to lose weight you don’t need to have gastric bypass surgery, have a lap band installed, purchase a special pill or program, or buy any special exercise equipment. If you purchase any weight loss book you will see these exact same concepts wrapped up with a clever marketing angle so just save your money and make the decision to get healthy.

I guarantee you that if you use the information on this site you will lose weight. In the last year I have lost over 100 pounds with no pills, ab machines, crash diets, starving, etc… I stuck to the basics and kept with it and the weight came off. In the end you will always see the best results come from programs that include making a lifestyle change as opposed to those who have you do something unnatural for you to try and achieve some goal or some date.

So if you are willing to work hard, eat right, and get some exercise then I am willing to share everything I know about losing weight, building muscle and changing your life for the better.

I am not a nutrition expert, a certified health expert, or a doctor. I am simply a man that was tipping the scales at 315 pounds at about 40% body fat and decided that I hated being fat and didn't want to die young.

One day I decided that enough was enough and I started searching the internet for the pill, machine, book, plan, or secret that would make me thin and healthy. I spent from January through March of 2007 searching for an answer, eating almost nothing and doing my best to exercise with very minimal results. I lost a few pounds but nothing special.

After months of searching and searching I finally found out the secret weight loss plan that so many others have used to lose tremendous amounts of weight with astonishing results. You see the secret applied on Oprah, Dr. Phil, The Biggest Loser, I wanna Look Like a High School Cheerleader, etc…

You ready?

You Sure?

Okay…

Eat Less and Exercise More

That is basically the secret but not quite that simple. You can eat less and exercise more up to a point but eventually you will be eating almost nothing and exercising all the time which is not good. So then you ask, is there an easier way? Yes there is. It all boils down to these basic lifestyle changes

1. The most important thing you can do in order to start losing weight is to define your goals and put them in writing. You want to clearly define how much weight you want to lose and more importantly why you want to lose that weight. This step cannot be skipped because without it you are flying blind. Now most people will glaze right over this and say I want to lose weight to look good or be healthy and move on. That is not good enough because without a strong reason for change you will quickly lose focus abandon this goal at the first obstacle.

   Goal writing is a science in itself. In order for a goal to be effective it must meet certain characteristics.

   • The goals must be clear. Lose weight is not clear. You can lose 10 pounds right now by chopping off your head but that would be a pretty foolish thing to do. What you really want to do is lose fat. Losing weight doesn't do a bit of good unless you stand on a scale everywhere you go, nobody will notice. So a better goal would be "I want to lose fat".
   • The goals must be measurable. "I want to lose some fat" is not measurable. We haven't said how much fat we want to lose. So if we refine this example further we can get to "I want to lose 5% body fat". That is much better. The goal is now measurable and clear.
   • The goal must be actionable and attainable. . So can I lose fat? Yes. Are there certain actions I can take to lose the fat? Yes, we are getting to those.
   • The goal must be time driven. Okay so we need to refine it a little further. If we are going to lose fat and keep it off we can expect to lose about 1-2 pounds a week and drop about .5% body fat a week. So with a goal of losing 5% body fat we are looking at a 10 week timeline. So if we refine the goal we can say "I want to lose 5% body fat by 1/1/XX.
   • The goal should be stated in the present tense. Okay this one is going to seem a little weird at first but trust me it works. If you do any research on NLP and how the mind works you will find that the brain interrupts everything as presence tense anyways. By phrasing our goals as if they are already achieved we implant that message and use the law of attraction to help achieve them. So if we rephrase the goal again we get "It is 1/1/XX and I have lost 5% body fat".
   • The goal should tied to an emotional reason for achieving it. By associating an emotional attachment to your goal you make it feel more real and help yourself stay motivated to achieving it. So we can say something like I want to wear a certain size jeans (again something measurable). So if we rephrase the goal again we would end up with "It is 1/1/XX and I have lost 5% body fat and can now wear my size X jeans and I feel great!"
   • The goal has to written down and reviewed regularly. It doesn't do you a bit of good to define a goal like this and then forget about it. That is what happens when people make New Year's Resolutions. Write you goal down on an index card and stick it in your purse or wallet. Read the goal everyday and make sure you keep it alive.

2. Just like you balance your check book every month and watch the gas mileage on your car you need to keep track of everything you do toward your weight loss goals. I hear the groans but it is a necessary step to achieve your goals. If you don't know what you are putting in your body there is no way you can successfully make progress. Don't worry this is not something you have to do for the rest of your life, just need to get a good understanding of what calories are in the foods you eat and the proper portion sizes.

   The key here is to track everything you put in your mouth whether it is food or liquid. You would be surprised how many calories are in some of the beverages you drink if you haven't switched to pure water yet.

   The absolute best way to do this is to prepare all your food in advance and then just eat it so you don't have to write it all down as you go. The next best way and probably the most practical for most people is to get a little pocket sized notebook with a pen and write it down as you go. If you are high tech you can use an online food counter. The one I use is Nutri-Diary because it is free.

3. Eat small frequent meals. Every 2 ½ to 3 hours you should be eating so that you consume all your daily calorie requirements over 5-6 sittings instead of the standard 3 meals a day. You can figure out your daily calorie requirements in a thousand different ways but here is an online calorie calculator that is free and easy.

   This is the real magic behind the gastric bypass and lap band surgeries. When you get those kinds of things done you have no choice but to eat like this. The weight loss behind eating small frequent meals is due to:

   • Eating frequently speeds up your metabolism by constantly supplying your body with food it sees no reason to store any.
   • When you eat frequently you tend to eat less because you are not as hungry.
   • You almost never overeat when you just ate a few hours ago.
   • You can make healthier food choices when you are not hungry

   The plan here is to cause you to naturally consume less (or more) and speed up your metabolism. By eating in this manner you will reap all the benefits of healthy eating whether you are eating healthy or not. Now this is not to say it is okay to eat candy bars all day, it's not. As you adjust to the 5-6 meals a day program you should also strive to make healthier food choices. At this point don't do anything dramatic just make some smart choices.

   For example. If you currently drink regular soda, drink diet or water instead. If you are eating fast food, order the small sizes instead of medium or large. If you eat chips with your meal opt for the baked versions. Basically just make small changes and eat a little better. The changes will add up and make a big difference.

4. Be more active than you currently are. Nothing big. Don't go out and try to run 2 miles if you haven't broken a sweat in years that would be crazy. Just do more than you are doing now. Start by parking in the spots furthest away from the building you are going into, taking the stairs instead of elevator, get you one of those pedometer things and count your daily steps and strive to beat you number each day, whatever just get active.

5. Drink more water. Most people don’t drink nearly enough water and walk around all day in a state of dehydration. The old rule of thumb is 8 – 8 oz glasses a day. The reality is you need about 1 oz per 2 pounds of body weight.

   The human body is between 55-78% water, about 70% of the earth is covered in water, and water falls from the sky and water runs in almost every home. It is apparent that water is an important part of life, but how important is water to weight loss? Drinking water is important in your weight loss plan for several reasons.

• Water helps to regulate your appetite - When you drink water it fills you up temporarily. This helps you to eat less and understand the difference between thirst and hunger.
• Releases toxins from your body - Since majority of your body is water, guess what the body uses to flush out the junk? Yep, water.
• Improves skin elasticity - When you gained weight you stretched out your skin. Now that you are trying to lose the weight you want your skin to tighten back up so you are not left with ugly stretch marks and sagging skin. Water helps to tighten the skin and reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
• Increases your metabolism - Some studies have shown that by drinking the appropriate amount of water you can increase your metabolism by up to 3%. Might not sound like a lot but every bit helps and increasing your metabolism is the key to weight loss success.

Work Hard and Never Quit!

So if you want to lose weight that is how it is done. Once you start seeing the positive changes and you get to a point where you can actually go out and do some serious exercise then you might want to step things up a notch. I recommend choosing some activity you enjoy that burns a bunch of calories. Could be weight lifting, running, basketball, yoga, etc… Just whatever you choose make sure you have fun doing it and it is not a constant struggle to do your routine. If you try and force yourself to do an exercise you don’t like it will be hard to give it 100% and it will be dropped quickly.

So get started today and check back for all kinds of free weight loss advice, weight loss tips, and healthy diet tips to help you with your weight loss once and for all.

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