10 Steps to Successful Fat Loss

1. Think Fit and Healthy: Change in any area of life has to first start in the mind. You have to change the mind in order to change the body. The mindset is responsible for our habits, emotions, what we think of our bodies and our relationship with food. Our habits and emotions are responsible for shaping our bodies and health.

2. Make Realistic Eating Plans: Since 70-80% of your health and fitness results come from nutrition, our daily eating has to be realistic. The reason "diets" never work is because they are based on short-term goals that are unrealistic to maintain. We see all sorts of diet gimmicks in the media cookies, smoothies, bars and more. Most of these gimmicks are forms of meal replacements which restrict calories. The calorie deficit will definitely cause one to lose weight but it will not stay off. It is unrealistic to maintain the weight eating weight loss cookies and shakes. Real foods that are nutritionally dense are the only way to maintain a healthy body and weight. Find a knowledgable professional or purchase fitness magazines to get meal planning ideas.

3. Schedule Appointments for Exercise: I always find that planning both my meals and exercise is the best way for me to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It helps me to make better use of my time. I have a very busy schedule. If I just try to wing it when it comes to exercise and meals, it will not work well. I schedule my workouts at 5:00am before work and after work it is all about homework and dinner. Without this schedule, workouts will likely never happen.

4. Write It Down: I am a huge advocate for food and workout journals. It not only documents your food, workouts and emotions but it is a great reference source. Health and fitness journals also help to keep you on track by pre planning meals and workouts. I always recommend putting both your meal and workout plan on paper for at least a week in advance. You have a better chance of staying on schedule and avoiding impulse eating when things are planned.

5. Keep a list of non-food activities: Emotional eating causes some to have the wrong relationship with foods. Although we should enjoy what we eat, the primary reason for eating should be as a fuel source. Eating when stressed, happy, depressed, anxiety or boredom is not the right relationship with food. Find ways to redirect these emotions with non-food activities such as reading, going for walks or discussing your emotions with someone you trust.

6. Front load your calories: Eating more calories early in the day verses later in the evening will help you maintain healthy weight. Many people think that skipping breakfast is a way to lose weight. They skip breakfast then skimp on lunch only to overload late in the day. By evening they are so famished that they eat impulsively on the first thing they can find. This choice is usually not the best food option. Breakfast is important mainly because 1/3 of your daily nutrients come from this meal and it helps to maintain glucose levels. You also have more opportunities during the day to burn it off unlike overloading late in the day a couple of hours before bed.

7. Eat your favorite foods: Eating your favorite foods is easy if you find healthier versions. Even the less healthy versions is ok in moderation. The only things that should never be consumed and even out right avoided are those that are toxic or cause allergic reactions. I have learned to bake sugar-free snacks, reduced sugar candy and bake gluten-free breads and cakes. I love pizza and bake my own gluten-free pizza crust. Experimenting with healthy and creative meals is a passion of mine. What are your favorite foods? Experiment with your favorite dishes using healthier ingredients.

8. Eat slowly: Let's face it our hectic lives usually has most of us eating on the run which means eating very fast. It takes the body 20 minutes just to register fullness. This can lead to over eating and simply being out right stuffed. By eating slowly you savor every bite and won't overeat before your body tells you it is full.

9. Avoid temptation: If it is overly tempting, don't buy it, bring it in the house or even bring it in the car. An alcoholic does not buy or bring alcohol in the house. Neither should a person who has a weakness for Twinkies. If you eat more in front of the TV, plan a non - food activity. Don't even tempt yourself by sitting in front of it for too long. Read a book instead.

10. Make sleep a priority: Rest is highly important. This is a time for the body to recover. Without enough of it you will experience fatigue which hinders workouts and day-to-day activities. You may also experience increased hunger. Lack of sleep is stress on the body. When the body is under stress, the stress hormone cortisol is secreted into the blood stream at a higher rate. This is a big reason individuals under excess stress (physical or mental) tend to battle the bulge.

Velvet is a certified personal trainer and health and fitness blogger. She will complete her B.S. in Exercise Science/Sports and Health Science summer 2013. She blogs at http://www.bodyblastTV.com and has a library of health and fitness videos at http://www.youtube.com/totalbodyblast.

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Get Ripped Six Pack Abs And Burn Fat With These 4 Easy Steps

For many years I spent time doing crunches. I was told that an ab workout was complete by simply doing crunches and chances are you have heard this advice as well. Despite what you may have heard you are about to learn more about getting ripped six pack abs and burn fat the best way.

Every time you look in the mirror and see less than awesome abs you figure you are doing something wrong. Maybe you think that you are not working out hard enough. Maybe you think that you are not targeting your abs the right way and that is why your stomach muscles do not look tight and ripped.

You Can Not Spot Reduce Your Abs

Even though you have been led to believe that the right number of crunches or sit ups will get you better abs this will not work. In order to get a flat stomach you can not do a long series of ab exercises in hopes that they will start looking better.

Imagine yourself trying to get skinnier arms, or you just want to burn fat on your upper arms. No matter how many biceps curls you do the fat will not decrease because fat can not be spot reduced. The same technique applies to ab exercises. Doing sit ups will not burn fat.

You Already Have Abs Beneath The Fat

Although you may think I am joking around or you find it hard to believe but you definitely have six pack abs. Everyone has six pack abs the problem is they are not always visible. Most people assume that some quick exercises will bring out definition when the truth is a layer of fat is what is coming in between abdominal muscle definition and sexy abs.

The Steps To Get Abs To Show

If fat is the primary reason for abs not showing then naturally what you need to do is burn fat around your midsection. If you are serious about losing the fat here are the steps to burn it off.

Eat fewer calories: I won't ask you to count calories because it really is annoying to do so. If you want to count calories this is fine but you can simply eat less than what you are eating now if you want to see a decrease in caloric intake. Look at your portions in your meal and decrease them or eliminate one item that is considered unhealthy.
Eat less fat or sugar: eating fat and sugar is unavoidable. Every other item of food you eat will be heavy with either one of these substances. The important thing to keep in mind is that high amounts of these unhealthy items are probably contributing to your high fat percentage. Look at what you are eating or drinking; is it soda, chips, junk food, high fat foods that are holding you back? Eliminate them altogether or greatly reduce them and you will see improvements.
Perform interval type cardio: if you hate doing cardio believe me, you are not alone. Nobody likes to do cardio but it is a great way to burn off those extra calories. However, doing long steady state cardio sessions like running for an hour on a treadmill or on the track is not the ideal way of doing this. If you want to make your cardio more effective do intervals for 15 to 30 minutes and you will burn more calories not just during a workout but even after your workout is done.
Do some form of strength training: when someone mentions the words strength and training they picture bodybuilders. Although this is one way of doing strength training, weights is not the only way. Any exercise that puts the muscle under constant tension is strength training. You can do bodyweight exercises, kettle bells, resistance bands or machines. Any of these types of exercises will help you burn more calories and will boost your metabolism.

The only way you will see your abs show is by burning excess fat, especially around the midsection. Put these tips in to practice and you will see that your midsection will begin to show definition. Remember that ab workouts are only a small part of achieving ripped six pack abs.

Learn free tips to get great abs and get an ab machine workout for free simply by simply visiting http://www.abmachineworkout.com.

Sam Munoz is a health and fitness aficionado in Los Angeles. He has helped others achieve their fitness goals and gives tips so others may reach their potential.

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