2 awys to burn off deep belly fat, controlling your craving

Two articles i came across and thought it would be useful to share, i have copied and pasted content and also added the links
Hope it provides some help and in sight into to of the most talked about subjects.

http://www.diet.com/dietblogs/read_blog.php?title=2+Ways+to+Burn+Off+Deep+Belly+Fat&blid=24157

Fit Life with Stephen Cabral
by Stephen Cabral, Fitness Professional

Did you know that there are only really 2 ways to burn off deep belly fat?

This deep belly fat that I'm talking about is the "fat beneath the fat," which is referred to as visceral body fat. It's actually intra-abdominal fat that surrounds your organs and is VERY dangerous for your health.

Keep in mind that belly fat increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke, coronary artery disease, and many other health related issues.

Not to mention most people don't exactly love the way it looks around their waist...

The good news is that there are 2 PROVEN ways to reduce this type of fat.

The first way is through a specific type of nutritional plan that reduces your carbohydrate intake. One study found that reducing your carbs to 43% of your overall caloric intake for 8 weeks showed a decrease in deep belly fat.

Not only did this reduction in carbohydrates burn body fat without additional exercise, but it helped the test subjects lose weight as well.

(Endocrine Society & University of Alabama at Birmingham)

The second proven way to burn off deep belly fat is through high intensity interval-based training. Regular steady state cardio did not work and is not particularly effective for burning belly fat or increasing long-term metabolism.

(Duke University Medical Center Study)

If you're still not familiar with what interval type training is, here is a method you can begin using:

Choose a cardio piece, outdoor hill, track, staircase, or resistance based exercise and complete an all out set (90-100% intensity) for 20-60 seconds.

Follow up that interval working set with a rest period that is approximately 2x as long as your interval working set.
let's say you complete a set of mountain climbers for 30 seconds, you would then rest for 60 seconds before completing your next round.

Here are few other tips when completing intervals:

1. Always warm-up for at least 5-10 minutes before going "all out"

2. Foam roll or stretch before hand if necessary to use a full range of motion during set

3. Aim for 3-10 total interval rounds

4. Complete a cool down that includes static stretching or other methods to help with recovery

5. Wear a heart rate monitor or go by your RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) to calculate your intensity level


One last point is that when the diet alone group was compared to the group that both exercised and dieted there was a clear winner.

The "diet + exercise group" blew away the "diet only group" in terms of long-term weight loss success!

So there you have it...

Confirmation that the 2 best ways to burn off belly fat are reducing your total carbohydrate intake to 43% (Approximation, since some people may need more or less depending on their individual constitution) and adding interval-based training into your exercise program.

The funny thing is that a few of my colleagues and I have been doing this for about 10 years now... I'm glad our clients didn't have to wait for this research to prove that what we've been doing works ; )

You have to love the delay between anecdotal evidence and the research studies finally giving the nod agreeing that it works... I hope all this proof now is enough for you to dig in and get started today on your own weight loss program!

Also, if you're not getting the body transformation results you want I highly recommend you look into the Fatlossity System I developed to help both my online and studio clients burn fat and transform their bodies in the fastest and safest way possible.

It simply isn't possible to burn fat faster and keep it off (safely & naturally).

http://www.diet.com/dietblogs/read_blog.php?title=Controlling+Your+Cravings+For+Carbs!&blid=11640

Controlling Your Cravings For Carbs!
Why do we crave sweets at 3 in the afternoon? Why is it that during my menstrual cycle, I crave bread? It's not in your head. Cravings are real and there's a logical explanation for them.
Let's take a look at carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates appear in nature, as whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as are complex. They are made up of long chains of sugar, bound up within the food's fiber.

The sugars inside must first be broken down from their chains and fiber to be released into the bloodstream. This process is slow and very methodical. The sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream at an even rate over a long period of time, in turn, they offer us long-lasting energy.

On the other hand, you have simple carbohydrates that are in most modern processed foods. Simple carbohydrates do not have the fiber intact to slow down the digestion, hence small "processed" molecules of sugar quickly stream into the cells, causing a rapid rise in glucose levels in the body; better know as the "sugar high." When our body experiences this high rise of sugar, it assumes "emergency" mode and works hard to burn it up quickly, and yes, you guessed it, your blood sugar THEN drops!

If you eat whole grains for breakfast (a complex carb), you'll have ample energy throughout the morning, and then as expected, you'll experience a drop around lunchtime. This is your body telling you to refuel. It's not a craving for carbs, rather a normal bodily response.
you choose a quick, simple carbohydrate to refuel your tank, you'll experience the drop as mentioned above. However, if you choose a lunch with fiber and complex carbohydrates, such as a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread, an apple and some carrots (good sugar), you'll avoid the rapid rise in blood sugar and will feel satisfied and won't overeat.

Your body naturally wants to maintain a balanced blood sugar, so it's telling you to eat something to bring your blood sugar levels up, so most people go for more processed sugar, instead of the complex carbs, fiber and protein.

For millions of years, humans have been genetically programmed to want sugar, long before food processing ever occurred. The only sources for sweet tastes were plant foods, such as squash, root vegetables, grains and fruit.

If you can deconstruct your cravings by journaling what you eat, when you're hungry and how you're feeling, you'll soon be able to sleuth out the reasons why you are binging on "empty" calories. Simple sugars lead to weight gain simply because our cells don't really require that much glucose at one time, so - you guessed it again - the extra sugar is often stored as fat.

The low carb diet should be renamed the Low or NO Processed Carb Diet!

Food cravings are a very useful way of monitoring if we are eating enough (good) fats, protein, complex carbohydrates and necessary minerals. So, take a look at what you're eating and craving, then connect the dots.

Beth Aldrich is the mother of three active sons and is an Integrative Health and Nutrition Counselor, writer and public speaker. She hosts the Seattle radio show, A Balanced Life with Beth Aldrich, and is the Editor in Chief of ForHerInformation.com. Her favorite treat is chocolate cream pie and her motto is "Live in the moment!"