One of the biggest myths around is that getting a flat stomach mainly involves lots of situps or other stomach exercises.
The TV is filled with infomercials on the latest gadgets and exercise machines that promise to give you six pack abs like a fitness model if you use them for 3 minutes a day. Well you cant blame them for trying to sell their product.
The simple truth is exercises alone are not enough.
Correct eating habits are the single most important thing for a flat stomach
Stomach Exercises are only a part of what it takes to get a flat stomach. Correct eating habits are the most important part. In fact this is the main reason many people fail to get that flat sexy stomach they want, they do lots of exercise but neglect to change their eating habits and their results remain hidden beneath a layer of fat.
Healthy eating habit tip : Eat more often to increase your metabolism
The following advice might come as a surprise to some of you - to increase your metabolism you should eat more often.
Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day or add healthy snacks between your existing meals.
Heres how it works. It all goes back to the days of our cave dwelling ancestors when food was scarce unless the hunt was successful.
When we eat, our bodies are designed to store fat for the future when we might have less food available. If our body is starving it does everything to store fat after every meal and your metabolism slows considerably.
On the other hand when your body feels you have plenty of food available your metabolism increases and you store a lot less fat.
This is why starving yourself (and diets that require you to eat less than 1500 calories a day) will never work in the long run as a way of losing fat. Your metabolism will slow down and when you go back to eating like you did before the crash diet you gain a lot more fat than you lost.
So increase the frequency of your meals and the amount of healthy food you eat and increase your metabolism to burn more calories after each meal and to store less fat.
There are other benefits to changing your eating habits to eat more meals a day. When your body digests food it burns scalories, so by dividing what you would eat in a day into smaller meals and eating more often will burn more calories. You will also feel full for longer periods and it will prevent you form feeling hungry during the day.
Healthy eating habit tip : Start eating early and dont eat late at night
You should eat breakfast as soon as possible when you wake up, this will start your metablolism that slowed during the night, if you don't eat breakfast your metabolism will slow even further as your body reacts to the hunger.
Stop eating at least two hours before you go to bed. This will allow your food to digest properly and help your body rest and recuperate better from the previous day.
Healthy eating habit tip : What you should and shouldn't eat
This is simple. Don't completely change your diet all at once. Start by eating the same foods you are used to only the healthier versions of those.
Eat wholemeal and wholegrain bread instead of regular white bread, when possible. Eat wholemeal pasta and brown rice, low fat milk products, egg whites as well as lean meat and tuna.
Counting calories each meal contains is tedious and is generally not necessary for the average person. Simply stay away from the foods you know are bad for you, cut down on sweets, cakes, pastries and soft drinks. Eat less saturated fat.
Aim to consistently give your body what it needs: fruits, whole grains, vegetables, nuts, and lean protein. Drink a lot of water.
Review your eating habits and make changes where changes are needed
Now is the time to review your eating habits and to start introducing small changes. Start by substituting unhealthy food with healthy variants, and eating more often.
The transition should be subtle, if you need to, you can have a treat, after a day of eating healthy. You can choose a day off, a day when you can eat anything you want (don't overdo it though) but for the rest of the week stick to your meal plan. If you do it for a while it will become a way of life and you won't need to visit this website again :)
The TV is filled with infomercials on the latest gadgets and exercise machines that promise to give you six pack abs like a fitness model if you use them for 3 minutes a day. Well you cant blame them for trying to sell their product.
The simple truth is exercises alone are not enough.
Correct eating habits are the single most important thing for a flat stomach
Stomach Exercises are only a part of what it takes to get a flat stomach. Correct eating habits are the most important part. In fact this is the main reason many people fail to get that flat sexy stomach they want, they do lots of exercise but neglect to change their eating habits and their results remain hidden beneath a layer of fat.
Healthy eating habit tip : Eat more often to increase your metabolism
The following advice might come as a surprise to some of you - to increase your metabolism you should eat more often.
Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day or add healthy snacks between your existing meals.
Heres how it works. It all goes back to the days of our cave dwelling ancestors when food was scarce unless the hunt was successful.
When we eat, our bodies are designed to store fat for the future when we might have less food available. If our body is starving it does everything to store fat after every meal and your metabolism slows considerably.
On the other hand when your body feels you have plenty of food available your metabolism increases and you store a lot less fat.
This is why starving yourself (and diets that require you to eat less than 1500 calories a day) will never work in the long run as a way of losing fat. Your metabolism will slow down and when you go back to eating like you did before the crash diet you gain a lot more fat than you lost.
So increase the frequency of your meals and the amount of healthy food you eat and increase your metabolism to burn more calories after each meal and to store less fat.
There are other benefits to changing your eating habits to eat more meals a day. When your body digests food it burns scalories, so by dividing what you would eat in a day into smaller meals and eating more often will burn more calories. You will also feel full for longer periods and it will prevent you form feeling hungry during the day.
Healthy eating habit tip : Start eating early and dont eat late at night
You should eat breakfast as soon as possible when you wake up, this will start your metablolism that slowed during the night, if you don't eat breakfast your metabolism will slow even further as your body reacts to the hunger.
Stop eating at least two hours before you go to bed. This will allow your food to digest properly and help your body rest and recuperate better from the previous day.
Healthy eating habit tip : What you should and shouldn't eat
This is simple. Don't completely change your diet all at once. Start by eating the same foods you are used to only the healthier versions of those.
Eat wholemeal and wholegrain bread instead of regular white bread, when possible. Eat wholemeal pasta and brown rice, low fat milk products, egg whites as well as lean meat and tuna.
Counting calories each meal contains is tedious and is generally not necessary for the average person. Simply stay away from the foods you know are bad for you, cut down on sweets, cakes, pastries and soft drinks. Eat less saturated fat.
Aim to consistently give your body what it needs: fruits, whole grains, vegetables, nuts, and lean protein. Drink a lot of water.
Review your eating habits and make changes where changes are needed
Now is the time to review your eating habits and to start introducing small changes. Start by substituting unhealthy food with healthy variants, and eating more often.
The transition should be subtle, if you need to, you can have a treat, after a day of eating healthy. You can choose a day off, a day when you can eat anything you want (don't overdo it though) but for the rest of the week stick to your meal plan. If you do it for a while it will become a way of life and you won't need to visit this website again :)
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