What Really Gets Results

Okay, i know this is an age old question but:

whats the best way to get rid of a "Pot Belly"?
i get all this different advice from people and im still confused!
i already walk like a "Million" miles a day, ive started to eat healthy
Do "Sit-Ups" really work
One guys said they do, the other said they dont

My stomach isnt Huge, but its large enough to warrant something done about it LOL

What Bloody Works —
Any suggestions

Crunches with regular running helps. Mostly running. People fail to realize that you HAVE to do medium to high intensity cardiovascular training to lose fat. Just because you lie there doing crunches all day won't help. Getting rid of a pot belly is a combination of activities not just one activity. Add in a healthy diet and you can get as lean as you want. My advice would be to eat healthy restrict junk in your meals and run.

People are lazy and will always look for a single solution to a problem that can be solved with a multitude of solutions. I'm not singling you out, I'm just saying in general when it comes to exercise and dieting.

majorly, cut out bad fat/sugars/alcohol - beer in particular! sorry 🙂

then increase metabolic rate...

I heard Kanye West's workout plan does wonders 😛.

Well, after work, i get of the train 4 stops early and walk the rest of the way, thats a good 3miles, every evening.
Ive started eating rice dishes mixed with different things.
I snack on those rice crackers instead of a packet of potato chips or a bar of chocolate (that was hard, i Luuuurve Chocolate)
I take vitamins every morning, and ive drastically reduced the amount of coffee i drink. I love coffee and would usually have about 8 or 9 cups a day!! now i have two (the rest is tea)
I think the coffee was dehydrating me and making me feel tired all the time, i have noticed a change there :-)
Now i start the "sit ups" 😢

DK and Zen are on the right track. There are two key componets of weight loss: understanding your bodies relation to food intake and types of excercise.

Lets start out by understanding what fat is. Fat is not completely a bad thing it is what helps protect our organs that is why it is hardest and always the last place to loose is around our midsection. Fat does not start as fat, but rather unprocessed energy. Food=energy. So if your life style does not warrant for energy usuage it goes into stores saving for a rainy day. That is what causes the weight gain. So in a sense our bodies are like cars (food=fuel and active body=fuel use) Our metabolism is the engine what controls the thermogenics of our bodies. Some of us have economy metabolism=slow moving and some of us have ferrari metabolism=fast mean machine. Metabolism is based on genetics but more so lifestlye than anything. Understanding how you use food to control metabolism is important. It is important to eat 5-6 meals a day and not send your body into starvation mode. This is sad to say but if you ever see pictures of people in Africa they have these enlarged swollen bellies. This is not caused by over eating, but their bodies have stored fat around their bellies to protect their organs. Many people skip breakfast and this is a huge mistake. It is like running your car on empty. It is not really good for it and most likely will not get the pefromance you need. When I say to eat 5-6 small meals a day I am talking small. Don't mistake it for a value meal at a fast food joint for each meal. This will keep the engine in your body burning calroies through out the day for normal activity. Also a high protien diet is helpful to help repair muscle from work outs and supports muscle growth. More lean muscle in the body will burn more fat. I will cover this in next section.

Here is an example of small meals
Morning
226 calories 8 oz of orange juice
160 calories 1 serving of oatmeal
Mid Morning Snack
227 calories 2 cups of grapes
Lunch ? 1 Chicken wrap in wheat tortilla
132 calories 1/2 cup of chicken
40 calories 1/2 cup of grilled onions and green peppers
23 calories 2 Tbsp of sour cream
119 calories 1 wheat tortillas
5 calories 16 oz of iced tea
Mid day Snack
122 calories 1/4 cup of cheese cubes
Dinner
324 calories 6 oz boneless pork chop
88 calories 2 cups of snap green beans cook
Post Work out
190 Muscle milk protien shk

Total calorie intake is 1656. As you can see it is balanced with high fiber, high protien, balanced carbohydrates. This will keep the metabolism active through out the day and giving me the right variety of foods to give me energy, protien, and low in fat.

I know you asked about coffee. Coffee or caffine is not a bad thing used in moderation, however if you are having a starbucks carmel mochiato every day than yes this is a bad thing. That coffee drink is high in fat, high in sugar (simple carbohydrates don't give you the same energy like complex carbs do i.e. fruits) Simple carbs can make you crash and burn. I believe one grande machiato has 360 calories and than if I were to throw in a danish than I would consume my morning snack and breakfast calories in one shot and probablly have to watch my lunch calorie intake.

I hope this makes sense. It is like balancing a check book every day. I recommend planning meals in advance so you don't make impulsive choices. I always keep a box of protien energy bars at my desk to help with the 4 o'clock burn instead of running to a vending machine for a snickers and also I usually have a sweet craving around that time. You just have to be prepared to make the best choices.

I also want to let you know that 1656 calroie budget is not necessairly for everyone. It is based on three things, active life style , goals, current weight. You can go to Fitday.com to get that information based on your own personal profile. You can also keep on online journal and use it as a calorie counter.

Now for activity. DK touched on it and he is absolutely correct that high intensity is important. It is important to understand what is your maximum heart rate because that is when you are burning the most calories. That is wonderful that you are walking from the train station every day. My guess is that your body has grown accustomed to that distance and intensity. Our muscles have memory and when our bodies are doing the same thing over and over our bodies go into auto pilot and give us what is called a plateau. So your body makes no progressive changes it simply maintains. I am amazed on how many people go to the gym and that is all they do, they get on a treadmill or eliptical and go for an hour and that is all they do. Cardio is good and important but you don't have to run like a gerbil

The keys for excercise:
Cardio Intensity - Shocking muscle by mixing up resistance program (every 4-6 wks)
Large Muscle Recruitment builing core strength (Abs, Back, Chest, and Glut)

Cardio Intensity - If you are walking now, incorporate some running, maybe some sprints. Plyometric activity is my new favorite type of activity (i.e. jump roping, side to side ski drills, platform jumps) Hill climbing or hill running.

Shocking Muscles - Whatever your regiment is you should mix it up every 4-6 weeks at least. As I mentioned above your muscles get on auto pilot and don't challenge themselves and you can reach a plateau. My week looks like this (Mon - Abs, Back, Chest Tues - Legs, gluts Wed - biceps, triceps, and shoulders Fri - Abs Back and Chest) I like to work the large muscle groups 2 x a week.

Large Muscle Recruitment (Core)- Make sure your workouts include some of these: dead lifts, squats, pull-ups, dips, lunges, and anything that helps build core development. This is really key to midsection trimming, because all the excercises I mentioned above are recruiting abs. I even use a wobble board when I am doing bicep curls and squats.

One more key. Many people have the misconception that they have to pack on the weights for the most success. Mostly men do this and I have seen it over and over .....they injure themselves.

Here are the

Less weight and More reps = Toning and burning fat
More Weight and less reps = Bulk and definition

The goal is to simply tire your muscle out. What is also known as the burn. 😉

If you need help with your program send me a PM and I can e-mail you some excercise ideas. This is my passion and I love sharing.

P.S. As you can see from the above my suggestion does not say to do 100 crunches. Crunches are only effective if you are doing the combination of activity I mention above. I have to admit that most people are not even doing them right and half the time don't get the most benefit from crunches. When I do abs I also don't do traditional crunches. I use fitness ball, medicine ball, pilates moves, planks, leg lifts.

Anyway I have talked enough on this forum. I am exhausted and need to go to the gym to get my work out in. Good luck to you.

PD

Thanks Pisces, thats exactly what im looking for, ill send you my email addy :-)

Lose the carbs.. No bread, pasta, flour, cereals, potatoes, rice ect.. for about two weeks and then when u add then back in switch to all brown..Try to eat meat and salad, cheese, eggs for the two weeks..Comes right off your belly first..