Hidden Danger of Belly Fat

Below is an article contributed by Mike Geary, the founder of TruthAboutAbs.com. I thought this was an important topic to share with you because the reality is that most people simply don't realize how dangerous their excess abdominal fat really is to their health.

The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat - It's More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don't realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that "beer belly" appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There's just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for "miracle" fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can't spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn't work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I've actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I've spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it "in the trenches" with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

The entire solution... all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.
Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork... it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It's really that simple.

The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.

Don't waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem at...

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/

Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

The Biggest Loser - Sticking With the Program

Last night on Larry King they had some of the contestants and trainers from the TV program the Biggest Loser. There were some amazing transformations, as far as fat loss and physiques. They showed video clips of contestants going through their workouts.

These people put in a lot of time and hard work over a four month period, if I remember correctly. One of the questions asked them was how would they keep the weight from coming back.

Two of the participants answered that they would work out for about 90 minutes, 5 or 6 days a week. That's quite a commitment! I wonder if they will be able to follow such a time consuming program or if they will gradually slip back to being over weight.

They obviously put in a lot of hard work, but also had the benefit of a professional trainer to push them. How many people however, never start an exercise routine because they don't have the time they think is required? What if there were a more time efficient way?

There is.... it's called Turbulence Training. It gives you fat loss results in three workouts a week, while only needing about 50-60 minutes per session.

I don't know about you, but if I can get the same results in half the time, sign me up. How can I be so confident these short workouts are effective? Simple, I've done them. I've read Craig Ballantyne's articles for a long time and recently attended a three day seminar with him.

I can definitely say that he knows what he is talking about. His workout programs are backed up by science and real world results. Looking at him, you can see that not only does he talk the talk, but he walks the walk, as well.

I have been getting great results myself with short training sessions by combining Power Plate exercises with bodyweight and flex band exercises. Doing interval training in only 20-25 minutes, with little to no rest between exercises.

Don't get me wrong, these shorter sessions are intense, requiring a lot of hard work, but they deliver results - without spending hours and hours to do so.

So if lack of time has been your excuse, that is no longer valid. Try Craig's program, you won't be sorry. Click here for Turbulence Training.

Fat Loss in No Time!

Have you been avoiding exercise because you don't think that you have enough time to work out? That's no excuse! In fact, that should be the reason to do shorter, more efficient workouts.

If you go to the typical healthclub they will tell you that you have to lift weights to build lean muscle and spend 30 minutes or more on the cardio machines to burn fat.

Well, that means 90 minutes or more of exercise when you do both of them on the same day, or it means going to the gym for separate sessions, 5 days a week or more. Again, who past the age of 25 has that kind of time.

So most people just don't do anything, especially if they are under the impression that they have to put so much time into something they hate. I mean, doing 30 minutes or more while walking on a treadmill to nowhere or riding a stationary bike is so incredibly boring, that they have to put TV's in front of you to ease the pain.

If fat loss is your primary goal then you don't need all that time. Instead of doing separate strength and cardio workouts, combine them! Increase your metabolism and burn more fat with interval workouts. By doing strength workouts that combine two different exercises, with little or no rest in between, you burn more calories.

Several research studies done in the last few years have shown that interval training is very effective at burning fat and increasing your metabolism.

More importantly, your metabolism remains elevated for several hours afterwards, burning fat after you are done with your workout. Throw in some interval cardio at the end of your strength training and you have a recipe for success.

With these short, but intense workouts you will see results without taking hours to do so. One tip I will share for those who combine resistance training with cardio in the same session, always do your cardio after your strength work.

During the strength portion, you will use stored carbohydrates for fuel, ensuring that you will burn stored fat as fuel when you do the cardio portion.

Finally, don't just copy the routine of an endurance athlete if you're not intending to train for an endurance event such as running or triathlons. To participate in an event that lasts an hour or more, you need to train for greater periods of time. But if fat loss and general fitness is your primary goal, you don't need to spend more than 3-4 hours a week exercising.

And if you are exercising intensely enough you can see results in less time, or maintain your results if you are at or near your desired weight. Bottom line, your workouts need to create some "turbulence" in your metabolism to burn more fat and get lean. Pick a program and just do it!

Politically Incorrect Holiday Fat LossTips

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

I was at a big event last week and was reminded how
important it is to have strategies for this season of high-calorie
parties and busy schedules. But I get ticked off by the tired old
suggestions you find on the Internet or in magazines like Woman's World.

Often the suggestions are lack any substance, because the writers don't want to imply you actually have to make a sacrifice to succeed. They make fat loss sound easy, as if all you had to do was park at the far end of the parking lot and you'd burn all the
calories from 5 shortbread cookies.

Well it doesn't work that way...So here are my politically
incorrect, unique Turbulence Training strategies to help you keep off the holiday pounds.

By the way, I "borrowed" a few ideas from contestants in my
Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. The Transformation is rocking with social support and success stories right now, even while the rest of the world struggles with weight gain, these TT users are losing fat over the holidays.

Click here to get started with Turbulence Training for Fat Loss:
==> http://www.turbulencetraining.com

Strategy #1 - Green Tea & Almonds

One of the most common tips you'll hear is to "fill up" before you
go to a party where there will be lots of goodies.

Unfortunately, most people I talk to have no luck with this tip.
Most people still go to a party and eat everything in sight.

But recently TT users have told me that having a cup of Green Tea and one ounce of almonds has helped them avoid holiday cravings better than anything ever before.

The fiber from the almonds reduces appetite while the small amount of caffeine from the Green Tea seems to increase mental alertness and keep you "energized" at the party.

Hopefully that might work for you...

Strategy #2 - Don't waste your time on any fancy cardio programs

Listen, the bottom line over the holiday season is that your success depends almost entirely on your nutrition.

You can't expect to hit the cardio confessional and burn off last
night's 2000 calorie smorgasboard. That's a 4-hour workout. Instead, don't get into that situation in the first place.

Here are more nutrition tips:

- Focus on portion control (and if you have no discipline, forget
even trying to eat just one)
- Nix all drinks mixed with calorie-containing beverages, or better yet, just stop getting drunk. Period.
- Write down everything you eat to identify your problem spots. Then do whatever you need to do to eliminate your weaknesses. If you don't record your nutrition, chances are you'll miss big
opportunities to change your diet and lose fat.

Strategy #3 - Take care of yourself first.

My friend Holly Rigsby (of http://www.fityummymummy.com) is always reminding busy moms to take care of themselves first, and I think that suggestion applies at this time of year to everyone.

So take a deep breath. Ask yourself as you're running around to
please everyone else, "Have you set aside time for yourself"

Be selfish. Make sure you have had some exercise time, some good nutrition, and some rest before overextending yourself and doing too much for other people when you haven't taken care of yourself and your goals first.

Strategy #4 - Get on a roll

This one comes from a TT Transformation contestant who is too busy losing fat to get off track over the holidays.

Don't procrastinate till January 1st. Get started now. Dozens of
men and women are doing their Turbulence Training Transformations right now - through the heart of the holiday season.

They aren't waiting for Jan. 1st to show up. They are taking
control now, and getting on a roll, and not letting anything (from
work parties to peer pressure) get in their way.

Strategy #5 - Exercise in short bursts whenever you can

Don't be afraid to dance at your Christmas party. Don't worry, there is bound to be at least one worse dancer than you out on the floor. Have fun and get down!

On a more serious note, here's how to avoid falling off the fitness
program during the busy holiday season.

Get your butt out of bed 15 minutes early so you can have 3 minutes to wake up and 12 minutes to do the December 2007 Turbulence Training 12-Minute Workouts.

Get this workout as part of your bonuses when you start using
Turbulence Training today: http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Stay healthy and fit over the holidays,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Learn about the "Dark Side of Cardio" in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

If you're looking for home fat loss programs, you can't go wrong with Craig. The large number of results he's gotten with his clients speak for themselves. Give him a try.

What Makes a Good Fat Loss Program?

How about good results, right? After all, its all about the results in the end.

Let's get a little more specific. You want the fastest results while spending the least amount of time to lose fat. If you could get results by exercising only three days a week, why would you do more.

Many people don't exercise because they think that it takes several hours and they just don't have this much time. You will hear many in gyms and healthclubs say that you need to put your time in on the bike or treadmill to burn off extra fat.

Well, when you combine this with weight training, it can easily add up to an hour and a half or two hours. Again, who past the age of 25 has this much time.

I don't know about you, but I've seen lots of people who put their time on the cardio machines in their "fat burning zone" without much to show for it.

My studio uses a whole body vibration platform called a Power Plate. I combine it with bodyweight exercises and flexbands for a non-stop 20 minute workout. One of my clients has started seeing results after only six sessions.

Her friends are jealous because they are doing traditional workouts without the same results. She talked about the hour and a half workouts she and her boyfriend were doing after joining a gym.

Well, for a part time student with three kids, who's past 25, she was too worn out after those typical sessions. Again, we all have limited time in our lives.

Since this blog is on home fat loss workouts, I won't go on about the effectiveness of my studio's workouts. But if you want results, whether at home or the gym, you need to make sure of one thing....

Your workouts involve several muscles and not isolation work and you need to keep the rest periods brief. When you do exercises that involve large muscles and several joints, with very short rest periods, you elevate your metabolism for several hours afterwards.

These fat loss workouts can involve bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, flexbands or even sandbags, as long as you are using a lot of different muscles to do a lot of work in a short amount of time.

Lack of time is just an excuse. Pick a proven program that uses these principles and just do it!

Can Diet Soda Make You Fatter?

I got this email that I just had to share with you, because I felt it's that important to achieving your fat loss goals and overall health. So here it is.

Hey, it's Mike Geary with another Lean-Body Secrets Ezine from http://TruthAboutAbs.com

We all know by now that soda (aka "pop" in some areas) is one of the most evil things you can put in your body... the nasty chemicals, the gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup, and a myriad of health problems caused by this carbonated cocktail worshipped by those that don't care about their health or body.

Since you're one of my subscribers, I know that you actually do care about your health and the appearance of your body.

Surprisingly, many people falsely believe that "diet" soda is in some way a good thing for losing body fat. In fact, I hear people all the time proudly state that they eat so healthy and only drink diet soda.

So let's set the record straight...

There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet soda. In fact, I've even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.

Here's some findings from an 8-year University of Texas study that I had read...

An excerpt from the study author:

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."

"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

Ok, as if we didn't already know how bad regular soda was for us, and now they're showing us studies that diet soda makes us even fatter than the already bad stuff!

There's a lot of complicating factors as to why this occurs...

One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.

Another reason is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.

I've said this all along, but the bottom line is that if you're serious about your health and body, soda of any kind (and artificial sweeteners in anything for that matter!) should be avoided at all times, except for very rare occasions when you can't avoid them.

Another article I did about artificial sweeteners explains more of the problems with them and good substitutes...

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/artificial-sweeteners-natural-stevia.html

So what is a good alternative to diet sodas?

The best alternatives are good old water with lemon or unsweetened iced teas... you have plenty of options with teas - green, white, black, oolong, red... be creative in making your iced teas and you'll enjoy it more. Plus, you get a greater array of anti-aging antioxidants.

I just add a little of the natural non-caloric sweetener stevia to my iced teas and I love them. I get my stevia here...

http://www.steviva.com/cgi-bin/cp-app.pl?rrc=N&pg=store&affl=m231g

**Recent TruthAboutAbs Reader Review**

"Hi Mike,

A few months ago I bought your Truth about abs book with my wedding in mind. Anyway, I was procrastinating getting started and kept putting it off. Then, a few weeks ago I finally got started on your program. I had previously been going to the gym doing the boring machines and the tedious running etc etc.

After reading your book, one day, I picked up a pair of free weights, a medicine ball and got to work... I'm amazed, I'm more than amazed, I'm totally blown away!! I now refuse to work out on machines anymore; I do HIIT on the rowing machine instead of running (I HATE RUNNING).

I work out 4 times a week for 30-45 minutes and I have seen the biggest results EVER! I feel fantastic, I'm starting to lose this ugly big belly, I'm developing and defining my arms, shoulders and back and butt! And all of this, really after only a few weeks of your method of training. I haven't even worked through the whole book yet, or all the exercises yet and as I discover them I work them into my routine!

Thank you for a wonderful book and product. People are still a bit skeptical when I tell them about the weight training and other workout methods you use, but I know I'll win them over when they see my results!

Regards from South Africa,

-Libby

Don't be lazy... be like Libby, and get results!

If you are unsure if the Truth about Abs program is right for you, this page can help answer your questions...

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/abdominal-fat-loss-program-questions.html


Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://TruthAboutAbs.com



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Fat Loss, One A Day At A Time

In today's blog entry, Holly Rigsby is going to share her ideas on how to lose fat, one day at a time.

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
www.FitYummyMummy.com

Rome wasn't built in a day and your fat loss won't happen that way either. Don't expect to start eating perfectly and exercising religiously tomorrow. Instead set yourself up for success by implementing at least one supportive habit per week.

Make an effort to adopt the premise of "progress, not perfection." By developing awareness that improvement is measured by your daily progress, you can save yourself a lot of grief and frustration from the beginning.

Focusing on small, positive steps in everything you do is a vital component to change. It starts you moving in the right direction and the momentum of your amazing, transforming results will soon follow. With time, commitment and a willingness to continue to take those small steps, failure is not an option.

How to do it: Be mindful of the fact that you didn't gain it overnight so you're not going to lose it overnight. A safe and effective fat loss program will yield 1 to 2 pounds of fat loss a week, not 10. As you begin your weight loss journey, aim for 2-3 small improvements each week. Build up to eating more supportively and moving a little more than yesterday. These small changes will add up to big improvements over time.

Beware of supplements and "quick fixes" that promise accelerated fat loss. Instead, plan on losing fat weight slowly. Sure we all want instant results, but it's impossible to undo a years of inactivity and poor nutrition overnight.

Instead of only looking at the big picture, try to break it down into smaller bites. Set one-month goals, three-month goals, six-month goals and even yearly goals. Carry over each previous goal to make sure that you aren't stopping one to achieve another. Make sure goals are achievable and realistic and what you truly want. A half-hearted desire will produce half-hearted results.

Remember, life happens and we must face the challenges. Sometimes that means not getting to exercise or eat properly. The difference is we get it. We make it a point to view each situation, each setback as an opportunity to LEARN and ASK, "What could I do differently next time?"

Then it becomes a matter of getting back on track as soon as possible. Leave the excuses and blame behind and forget about beating ourselves up – we're only human. Strive to do a little better today than you did the day before. The key is to stay consistent, focused and take daily action. Make goals meaningful.

Our minds cannot differentiate between achieving an enormous goal or a miniscule goal it only perceives success or failure. If you set a goal that is impossible to fail you'll only be setting yourself up for tremendous victory.

Don't be too rigid. Telling your self that you HAVE to workout for a set time to feel a sense of completion is ill fated. If you set out to workout for 30 minutes and you only get in 20, you'll more apt to be disappointed regardless of how hard you worked. If you simply set a goal to go to the gym at least 2-3 days a week and complete your resistance training and cardio you'll perceive yourself as a winner.

An additional goal idea: Have you ever wanted to participate in a race or sport that you've never had the endurance for? Then use that as a goal! When the end justifies the means it's easier to make it through the rough spots. It's a win-win situation if you are able to achieve a want and a need simultaneously!

About the Author

Holly Rigsby is a nationally recognized women’s fitness coach, certified personal trainer (CPT) and the author of the internationally popular e-book – Fit Yummy Mummy - Burn Your Baby Fat & Get Your Body Back. Go to http://www.fityummymummy.com to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."