The Flat Abs Diet When Exercise Alone Isn’t Working

The Flat Abs Diet has six core principles that will help you to lose belly fat and have a sleeker body all around. Even if you can’t get rid of your gut through endless crunches, you should see success with this Flat Abs Diet. That is because new research has show that what you eat may be just as important as how much you exercise.

The first important step is to eat more fiber. You should eat at least 25 grams of fiber a day. The reason is that bulk fiber is like a sponge which, when combined with water, moves the fat through your body more quickly.

The best high fiber foods are fruits and vegetables. In addition to having a lot of fiber naturally, fruits and vegetables are very low in calories. Whole grains are preferable to processed flours for the same reason.

Part of what makes natural food so good for you is the “chew” factor. It takes longer to eat these foods, so your brain has time to get the signals that your stomach is sending that it is full. Researchers have found that eating high fiber plant food with any meal reduces the average amount of calories by 100.

The next step is to opt for a sensible amount of high quality carbs. The Flat Abs Diet does not require that you dramatically limit your carbohydrates the way the Adkins or South Beach plans do. However, if you want to lose your belly fat, you will have to control your carb intake.

Again, fruits and vegetables provide the highest quality carbs available. They are the foods least likely to promote bloat. Because they are composed of a lot of water, they have fewer calories and carbs for their volume.

You should have no more than 65 percent of your diet as carbs. That means that on an 1800 calorie diet, you may have between 200 and 300 grams of carbs. On the Adkins diet, you can have no more than 35 grams of carbs, so as you can see the Flat Abs Diet is more generous.

Next, you want to drink lots of water – at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day.

Many people think that drinking water will make them bloat when the opposite is actually true. Water washes away the sodium in the body and thus reduces bloat.

If you are having trouble consuming that much water, try these variations:

  • Drink 2 glasses of lukewarm water twice a day. It is easier to consume lots of water in a single setting if it is not ice cold.

  • If you like cold water, freeze fruit or small pieces of fruit and float it in your water. It will keep the water cold and add a nice flavor to it.

  • Use small amounts of fruit juice or other extracts such as mint to flavor the water.

Along those lines, tip number 4 on the Flat Abs Diet is to avoid sodium wherever possible. A woman needs 500 mg. of sodium to keep her body functioning regularly but the average American woman gets between 3000 and 6000 mg. daily. If you eat a typical meal at a Chinese restaurant, you will get about 3000 mg. of sodium. The body responds to this sodium intake by retaining water. The next day, you will see the result on the scale and in the mirror. It’s not that the Chinese food added too many calories – it’s that it has so much sodium.

The next bit of advice is to not eat too much at night. When you put food in your body less than three hours before going to sleep, it causes you to bloat. Plan to shut down the kitchen after a light to moderate dinner. If you must eat, consider limiting it to a snack of 100 calories or less. A cup of tea can often satisfy your need for food after dinner.

Finally, the last bit of advice on our Flat Abs Diet has nothing to do with food at all. Instead, you will want to work on reducing stress.

Stress triggers the hormone cortisol, which turns up your appetite and directs your body to deposit fat around your abdomen. One way to eliminate stress (and lose weight) is to exercise. You should also practice ways of relaxing when you get into a stressful situation.

So, there you have it. When exercise alone isn’t working to remove your belly fat, try the Flat Abs Diet.

Comments (0) 30.10.2009. 19:09

The Daniel Diet – Biblical Fasting As Described in the Bible

The Daniel Diet is not simply a fad diet to lose weight. Instead, it is a spiritual commitment that may result in a drop in pounds. But, first and foremost, it is designed to improve your relationship with God.

Israel had been overthrown by the invading army from Babylon. A man named Daniel and some other Israeli young men were captured and put on a regimen to eventually be personal servants to the king. The Daniel diet is based on a verse from the Bible. Daniel 1:18 says, “Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.” The Babylonian king ate all kinds of foods that were religiously restricted to Jews. This included nonkosher foods, wine, and foods and drinks that had been offered to idols. Daniel asked for and got permission to eat only vegetables and drink only water, which were both allowed by his religion. The result was that Daniel and his friends were the healthiest by the end of the training period.

But the modern day Daniel Diet popularized by author and pastor Rev. Elmer Townes does not require that you follow exactly the same program that the Biblical Daniel did.

The Daniel fast is not a full fast. You are allowed to eat whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and water, fruit juices and vegetable juices.

You must specifically avoid all meat, white flour or white rice, fried foods, caffeine, carbonated beverages (including diet soda), alcohol, foods with any preservatives or additives, refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, chemical sugar substitutes like equal, and margarine, shortening or any product with animal fats.

Before you begin the diet part of the Daniel fast, you need to prepare spiritually through prayer. Make a commitment to stay on the diet for a specified period and publicize it by writing it down and telling your family, friends and faith partners what you have promised God you will do.

You will also need to prepare yourself physically for the diet. If you are addicted to caffeine, it is a good idea to wean yourself off of coffee or soda for two weeks before starting the Daniel diet. Also, begin reducing meat consumption ahead of time so that this is not a shock to your system.

The length of time you stay on the Daniel Diet depends on you. Remember, this is not primarily a weight loss plan but a spiritual experience. The people of many churches do a church-wide Daniel fast for 21 days, encompassing four Sundays. This stems from the twenty-one day fast that Daniel recounted in Daniel chapter 10. Other people fast for the entire 40 days of Lent. However, you can do the Daniel fast for as little as 7 days and see results.

Some people report that they do a one day a week complete fast as a sacrifice to God.

Here are some tips to help you be successful on the Daniel Diet:

  • Be specific about the amount of time you will spend on the diet before you start.
  • Use the fasting as a spiritual commitment to better physical, emotional and spiritual health, not just a weight loss plan.
  • Use your external discipline to reflect your internal desire.
  • Pray and ask God to show you what behaviors you need to change in order to live as you wish to do.
  • Use your fast to learn the effects on your body of the food you choose to eat.
  • Give praise to God for whatever successes you have on the Daniel Diet.

Comments (0) 30.10.2009. 18:44

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