5 Healthy Ways to Reduce Belly Fat

The hardest type of fat to lose is belly fat. But it's also the most important fat to lose. Belly fat can be a sign of poor cardiovascular health and can signify (years before it happens) potential onset of diabetes, heart attack and even colon cancer. Getting belly fat under control is of utmost importance. Thankfully, due to science we know more than ever about belly fat and why we have it.

The Cortisol Connection

Illustration of obesity and waist circumference. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In women and men there is thought to be a connection between cortisol levels and waist circumference. The stress many people have in their modern lives tends to make them produce more cortisol which tends to force them to store extra fat around their bellies. This is the “muffin top” that you often see in otherwise thin women.

1. Reduce Stress
It is critical that women with excess belly fat (compared to body fat) find ways to reduce their stress levels. One way to do that is to find ways to get some “me” time through exercise or other stress reducers. Some people have gotten some results by adding a resveratrol supplement, which is an ingredient found in red wine, grapes, cherries and cranberries. It helps reduce stress, increases motivation and sometimes gives a boost of energy not unlike caffeine.

2. Avoid Processed Foods

Whether it’s “diet food” or out and out “bad” food, it’s best to avoid processed food of all kinds. Sticking as close to nature as possible to get the nutrient-dense foods that your body needs will do a lot to help you because your body will be getting the vitamins and minerals it needs to repair itself. Think low calorie, high nutrition. You can eat a larger volume of food when you seek to limit processed foods and stick to whole foods.

3. Drink Plenty of Water

The truth is the only beverage that anyone should be drinking is water, and some green tea (assuming you can have the caffeine). Don’t drink fruit juice or soda (diet or not) and limit alcoholic beverages. Instead, drink fresh filtered water, about eight glasses per day. If you feel the need for something sweet, eat fruit - don’t drink it.

4. Do Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise will not only help you lose weight, combat stress, and burn calories, but it is also very good for your cardiovascular system. Since belly fat plays havoc on the cardiovascular system, it’s important to find a way to improve your heart health. The only way to truly burn fat is also through aerobic exercise.

5. Eat Regularly

Eat your largest meal in the morning and eat less as the day progresses. Your last meal of the day be your lightest. There are some theories about eating only during daylight but this is usually very hard to do in today’s busy life that women live with work, kids, family, volunteering and more.

6. Eat Anti-inflammatory Foods

Belly fat is often increased due to eating foods that cause can inflammation. These are some of the best anti-inflammatory foods to eat instead:

* Beets
* Berries
* Dark leafy greens
* Garlic
* Ginger
* Nuts
* Onions
* Peppers
* Salmon
* Tart cherries
* Tomatoes
* Turmeric
* Whole grains

7. Get Enough Sleep

There is a big connection between lack of sleep and being overweight, including having excess body fat around the belly. Most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. The best way to find out how much you need is to keep going to bed earlier and earlier until you can wake up naturally in the morning at the time you need to get up for work without an alarm.

Even women who are of normal weight but who have round bellies have higher death rates than women who are overweight but do not have excess belly fat. There is a test health care providers use to determine an issue with belly fat which is called the height to waist circumference ratio. This number turns out to be a more accurate indicator of health. You get the number by dividing your waist circumference by your height. Here is a link to a helpful calculator: http://www.health-calc.com/body-composition/waist-to-height-ratio

If you’re under 40 and your waist to height ratio is 0.5 or higher, you are considered to be very unhealthy and it is critical that you get help for your weight issue. If you’re 40 to 50 years old, then you should not be over 0.55 and if you’re over 50, then you should not be over 0.6. If you are above those ratios, seek immediate medical evaluation and start a plan to reduce your waist circumference.

Exercise & Type 2 Diabetes: Why You Should Care

One of the most logical and doable ways to lower blood sugar, eliminate the dangers of “cardiovascular disease,” and improve your health and welfare in general is exercise.

In spite of that, in today’s inactive world where almost every task can be carried out online, from the ergonomic chair in front of a computer, or even via text messaging, getting people to exercise more can be a hard argument to win.

The Weight of Exercise

Prevalence of diabetes worldwide in 2000 (per 1000 inhabitants). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Everyone should exercise, yet the health experts tell us that only 30% of the United States population gets the recommended thirty minutes of daily physical activity, and 25% are not active at all. In fact, inactivity is thought to be one of the key reasons for the surge of type 2 diabetes in the U.S., because inactivity and obesity promote insulin resistance.

The good news is that it is never too late to get moving, and exercise is one of the easiest ways to start controlling your diabetes. For people with type 2 diabetes in particular, exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, lower the risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss.

Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is on the rise. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes every year increased by 48% between 1980 and 1994. Nearly all the new cases are Type 2 Diabetes, or adult-onset, the kind that moves in around middle age. Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes include increased thirst, appetite, and need to urinate; feeling tired, edgy, or sick to the stomach; blurred vision; tingling or loss of feeling in the hands.

The causes of type 2 diabetes are complex and not completely understood, although research is uncovering new clues at a rapid pace.

However, it has already been proven that one of the reasons for the boom in type 2 diabetes is the widening of waistbands and the trend toward a more deskbound and inactive lifestyle in the United States and other developed countries. In America, the shift has been striking; in the 1990s alone, obesity increased by 61% and diagnosed diabetes by 49%.

For this reason, health experts encourage those who already have type 2 diabetes, or have precursors to diabetes, to start gaining the benefits of regular exercise and see what it can do for them. Without exercise, people have the tendency to become obese. Once they are obese, they have a much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that over 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are clinically overweight. Therefore, it is high time that people, whether inflicted with type 2 diabetes or not, should get started on a physical exercise routine as soon as possible.

Getting Started

The first order of business with any exercise plan, especially if you are a “dyed-in-the-wool” couch potato, is to consult with your health care provider. If you have cardiac risk factors, your health care provider may want to perform a stress test to establish a safe level of exercise for you.

Certain diabetic complications will also dictate what type of exercise program you can take on. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact aerobics can possibly pose a risk for people with diabetic retinopathy due to the risk for further blood vessel damage and possible retinal detachment.

If you are already active in sports or work out regularly, it will still benefit you to discuss your regular routine with your doctor. If you are taking insulin, you may need to take special precautions to prevent hypoglycemia during your workout.

Health (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

Start Slow

For those who have type 2 diabetes, your exercise routine can be as simple as a brisk nightly neighborhood walk. If you have not been very active before now, start slowly and work your way up. Walk the dog or get out in the yard and rake. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park in the back of the lot and walk. Every little bit does work, in fact, it really helps a lot.

As little as 15 to 30 minutes of daily, heart-pumping exercise can make a big difference in your blood glucose control and your risk of developing diabetic complications. One of the easiest and least expensive ways of getting moving is to start a walking program. All you need is a good pair of well-fitting, supportive shoes and a direction to head in.

Indeed, you do not have to waste too many expenses on costly “health club memberships,” or the most up-to-date health device to start pumping those fats out. What you need is the willingness and the determination to start exercising to a healthier, type 2 diabetes-free life.

The results will be the best reward possible - a longer, healthier, and happier life.

For ideas for fun ways to exercise that will keep you in shape with a minimal time commitment, be sure to keep an eye on this blog - or visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/exercise.html.

Keeping Your Kids Fit for Life

Have you ever heard a kid say that they were bored? In case you hadn't noticed, kids have shorter attention spans, and it takes constant stimulation to keep them motivated (which is why kids can become such TV and video game addicts). And, to keep them fit for life, it will take just that if you don’t want boredom to set in.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This nation is facing an epidemic. Obesity has not only taken over the lives of adults but children as well. Technology in part has helped us to become a society that sits rather than moves. This is good for the electronics industry but bad for a long healthy life.

And, if adults aren’t moving about, how are kids going to be expected to? They follow the example set for them. Let’s break the cycle of a sedentary lifestyle and teach our kids how to be fit for life.

Here are some ways that you can get your kids up off the couch and moving each and every day.

* Do something you love – For just about anyone this is the biggest boost to motivation. If you try an activity and it doesn’t work for you, then don’t be afraid to try something else. Kids will be quick to tell you that they don’t like something and probably won’t do it again. Ask them what activities they like to do and  choose one each day to participate in. When you like what you do, it feels natural to do it all the time.

* Don’t think of physical activity as exercise – Instead of saying "Let’s go exercise," say "Let’s go have fun." Exercise can sound like work. Make it fun and kids will forget to be bored and just enjoy themselves. It could be as simple as shooting hoops in the driveway after dinner or riding bikes in the park after school.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* Exercise WITH your kids – It’s easy to sit back and tell your kids what to do, but what kind of example would that be? Get going with them. Ride bikes together; hike in the woods; play kickball in the backyard. Before you know it, you’ll feel like a kid again. Not only is your child staying motivated but you are as well!

* Invite their friends along – Exercise is great when you have a partner. If you are getting up a pick-up game of basketball, invite your kids’ friends to participate. Activities like this are more fun when you have lots of people. Form a neighborhood team or get involved with a church team. This promotes competitiveness and keeps kids motivated to get moving.

* Set goals – If your child is a little bit heavier than others their age, the goal could be to slim down a bit. Goals give us something to work towards, a motivation for staying fit. Kids can often be motivated by the same types of things as adults.

Want to keep your kid fit and break the epidemic of obesity? Use these ideas to make it happen - and give them a healthier start to life.

One Man's Personal Fitness Story

Here is an article shared by a guy who has been working hard on his fitness for some time - he prefers not to share his name, but it's a great story, so check it out, and hopefully you'll find it helpful or even inspirational!

My Personal Fitness Journey 
-By Anonymous

More and more people are looking into ways of losing weight. Obesity is an ever increasing problem and being over-weight can cause many different health problems.

There are many different diets out there which try to help people to lose their excess fat, but  these can be very difficult to follow as the whole reason we are over weight is because we love our food! Many diets  normally recommend us to eat healthy but uninspiring foods. These diets have never really worked for me, partly because I have possibly not got the right attitude, but mainly just because I find it hard to stick to them. A month maybe, six months certainly not.

In my opinion exercise is the best way to lose weight. But going to a gym is certainly not for everyone and is somewhere I feel out of place and exposed. I always feel that people are looking, talking and laughing at me behind my back. Maybe I am just too paranoid!

I personally would recommend hiring a personal trainer. Now you might think that only the rich and famous could possibly do this but you would be wrong. There are many personal fitness trainers who are either connected to a gym or who advertise locally in newspapers or magazines.

Personal trainer assisting and correcting a client during a fitball stretching exercise (not an actual photo of the author) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)These are specially trained people who are willing to come to your house to show you how to correctly exercise and they do not cost an arm and a leg.

If you have attempted this route before but have had a negative experience do not despair. It may well be because you just did not hit it off with that specific person. I have been using a personal trainer for the last five months and only went for him after trying out four others first.

My personal trainer is very good for me. He keeps me on my toes, and is very good at making me continue to work hard even when I want to quit. He is also very fair and seems to understand just how far to push me. Together we have worked out and agreed on a program which includes various goals for the future. He also has a good understanding of the types of food which I should and should not be eating. I am happily still able to eat a lot of foods which I like and he has also introduced me to a number of other ideas which are healthy but also very tasty.

Hiring a personal trainer was the best thing I have ever done with regards to losing weight and I would recommend it to other people. I have now lost the beer belly and still continue working hard, though it is now more as a health and overall fitness thing rather than to lose even more weight.

The trainer has even stated that I am likely to actually gain weight in the future as certain muscles grow, since muscle weighs more than fat. I will not be fat though, I will be toned and even a little muscular. I look forward to the future and can also now for the first time in a number of years enjoy shopping for clothes.