Tops belong on muffins, not hanging over the waistline of your pants. But many women find that no matter how hard they work to lose weight and tone up, that extra bit around the middle feels impossible to melt away. Yes, fat stored around the belly is stubborn. Trust me, though, when I say that you can get rid of it. With a few diet and exercise adjustments, you’ll be sliding into those skinny jeans sans bumpy bulges in no time.
Reduce sugar intake
One of the top contributors to body fat is excess consumption of sugar. Even if you’ve already lowered your daily sugar intake, lower it more. Read labels carefully. There’s so much hidden sugar (including natural sugar) in the foods we eat today, it’s possible to reach your daily limit before lunchtime. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t consume more than 25 grams (or about 6 teaspoons, which amounts to 100 calories) daily. Also remember that sugar is sugar in the body, whether you’re getting it from a piece of fruit or a candy bar. Fruit, of course, will provide other nutrients, so it’s the better choice.
Move cardio to early mornings
If you’ve been doing cardio exercise in the afternoons or evenings, try moving your workout to early mornings, before you eat breakfast. This is called fasted cardio. The idea behind fasted cardio is that you can enhance fat burning and attack stubborn fat by burning stored fat for energy. You might also try adding some high-intensity sessions to your early morning cardio workout, along with a supplement such as Vitacost Tonalin XS-CLA to support healthy weight management.*
Eat clean
Eating clean on a consistent basis will bring results. What does eating clean mean? A clean diet consists of minimally processed foods, including whole grains (such as quinoa and oats), fibrous vegetables (spinach, kale or broccoli), lean protein (turkey or beef) and healthy fats (avocado or olive oil). I also recommend having a little coconut oil every day, for the medium-chain triglycerides and to support healthy metabolism. Try using it when cooking egg white omelets or stir some into your morning coffee.
Continue with ab exercises
Continue to do core-building exercises. As your muscles get stronger, they will tighten up your abs as you shed that top layer of fat. Planks, bicycle twists, crunches and V-seats are some standard core building-exercises you can do. I'm not a big fan of using weights with ab exercises. Using a 25-pound plate, for example, to do side bends may build up your obliques, not trim them down. Focus on doing a higher number of reps and several sets of ab exercises.
Stick with it
Don't give up just because you're not seeing results after a week or two! The first few weeks will be the hardest part. You’ll feel like you’re working hard, but nothing is happening. Keep at it! Battling back fat takes time, and patience. By combining all of these steps, and doing them on a consistent basis, the results will come.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
