2. LOSING ABDOMINAL FAT
The best way to burn fat off your abs is not to do more ab workouts, but to do
more cardiovascular exercise, such as riding a bike, stair climber, treadmill, el-
liptical machine or rower. They are all great fat burners, your target heart rate
should be at about 70% to 85% of your age predicted maximal heart rate (220-
your age) and maintain it for about 30-45 minutes 5 to 6 days a week for the
fastest results. Train your abs muscles about twice a week, just as you would
any other muscle group in your body. Once you are satisfied with your level of
body fat and your abdominal definition you can cut back to 3-4 days per week
for 20-30 minutes for maintenance. If you do not have the time maintain a 5
to 6 days a week work out just remember 3 to 4 days a week is just as effec-
tive. By reducing your workout time, it just takes longer for you to see results
so please do not get discouraged.
Seeing your abs or any other muscle group for that matters is strictly the re-
sults of having low body fat levels. You get low body fat from proper diet, cardi-
ovascular exercise, and resistance training, not from doing hundreds of ab exer-
cises every day. Nutrition is half the battle when it comes to fat loss. It is rec-
ommended to eat 6 smaller meals a day and eat a meal every 2 1/2 to 3 hours
and never, ever, ever miss a meal.
If you are unable to follow such a suggestion consider the following:
We all know how much we serve ourselves during each meal. Serve yourself
the same amount as usual, then split your plate into four sections and only eat
¾ of your plate (do not finish your plate).
If you must eat something sweet only eat ¼ of it instead of the whole thing.
Sweets such as candy, cake, chocolate are empty calories and they will store in
the most undesirable locations in your body. Please stay away from soft drinks.
If you do not enjoy water with your meal try adding a bit of apple, grape, pom-
egranate, raspberry juice to your water in order to change the taste. At first it
may seem too watered down because you are used to consuming in average of
$150 lbs of sugar every year. Your body is not going to like the changes but
you will once you look better, leaner and healthier.
All Around Fitness
Produced by
Dietary and Physical Activity Recommendations
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that to build a healthy
base, persons aged 2 years and older choose a healthful assortment of
foods that includes vegetables; fruits; grains (especially whole grains); fat
-free or low-fat milk products; and fish, lean meat, poultry, or beans. The
guidelines further emphasize the importance of choosing foods that are low
in saturated fat and added sugars most of the time and, whatever the food,
eating a sensible portion size. It is recognized, however, that this guidance
may be particularly challenging when eating out because the consumer may
be offered large portion sizes with unknown amounts of saturated fat and
added sugars.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that all adults be more
active throughout the day and get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical
activity most, or preferably all, days of the week. Adults who are trying to
maintain healthy weight after weight loss are advised to get even more
physical activity. The guidelines also recommend that children get at least
60 minutes of physical activity daily and limit inactive forms of play such as
television watching and computer games.
For more information on Healthy People 2010 objectives or on overweight
and obesity, visit http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/ or call 1-800-367-
4725.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diag-
nosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis
and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other
sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites.
