My 3 Top Belly Blasters

I can always tell when I've been eating too much crapola. My belly expands and my jeans get tighter! Since I have chicken sticks for legs, any weight gain goes straight to my middle. I hate that! And honestly, if I were to just keep eating junk, my legs would stay skinny and my tummy would just get bigger and bigger. I'd literally look like a chicken lady. Not good. Especially since diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, and hypertension run in my family. I really have to watch it.

So here's MY list of top 3 belly fat blasters. They REALLY do work. No magic pills or formulas. Sorry. There is no magic when it comes to your health. The reality is, you have to do some work. Sometimes it's easy. But, often it's not. However, the rewards far outweigh any momentary discomfort. Of course, you won't know for yourself unless you try. Honestly, don't just read the list, DO the list. Apply these principles and I promise you will see results. 

1. Sleep
Lack of sleep contributes to stress and vice versa. Most of my clients who battle the bulge usually aren't getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep can alter hormone production, affecting your cortisol levels. As a result, this causes insulin sensitivity which promotes belly fat big time! Also, when your body lacks sleep your biorhythms are thrown off, which triggers cravings for sugary and fatty foods. So please think again when you want to work late or have a movie marathon night. Getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night is one of the best things you can do to reset your body. For me? No problem. Sleeping is something I have down man! I love my sleepy time.

2. Interval Training
I had a client years ago who worked out two hours a day, 6 days a week. Funny thing though...he was toned everywhere on his body except for his belly. He was so frustrated and felt like he was banging his head against the wall trying to get results. First of all I told him to eliminate 2 of his workout days and cut his other workouts down to 1 hour. His body was obviously stressed and overworked, and he wasn't giving it a chance to recover. When your body is stressed, again cortisol comes into play, which translated to what? A fit man who looks 5 months pregnant. He was very doubtful about trimming down his workout regiment, but I urged him to take a leap of faith with me. In addition, I added training sessions that included interval training type workouts (short bursts of energy followed by rest). We did these twice a week, alternating days. As a result, he lost 20 pounds and 10% body fat. And after a couple months he found his 6 pack again, which he hadn't seen since high school!

3. Sugar
I have this love/hate relationship with sugar. I love it cause it tastes soooooooo good! And I hate it because it wreaks havoc on my body, not to mention my waistline. Honestly, if you truly want to fight belly fat, you have to eat 80% clean. And sugar is one of the worst diet sabatogers because it  increases appetite and fat storage along with reducing energy levels. Even consuming a teaspon a day of sugar can cause metabolic imbalance. Sugar consumption is a hard one to beat. The RDA doesn't recommend a daily allowance of added sugar, because frankly, none is best. However, they suggest 26 grams or less is acceptable. And even that is a toughie! So go purge your kitchen. Get rid of the semi-sweet chocolate chips! I did! I'm strong and I can do it! haha!