Reasons Why You're Not Losing Belly Fat .

What Types of Fat Are Easier to Lose?

The human body has essentially two types of fat: subcutaneous and visceral. Subcutaneous fat is found beneath the outermost layer of skin. This type of fat is highlighted most often because it is the most visible. Visceral fat is located deep inside the abdomen and surrounds major organs. The more visceral fat you have, the higher your risk for developing health conditions such as metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and heart disease.

1- Subcutaneous Fat Vs. Visceral Fat:

In a 1997 “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise” study cited frequently in medical journals, researchers divided a group of sedentary, overweight women into three groups. The control group did not exercise or restrict calorie intake. The second group exercised two to three days a week with some calorie restriction and the third group exercised three to four days a week with no calorie restriction. After 13 weeks, volunteers who worked out three or four days a week lost significantly more subcutaneous fat compared to those who exercised less frequently. Visceral fat decreased significantly in the volunteers in both exercise groups. The data showed that while any amount of exercise could reduce the deep abdominal fat, individuals must work out more often to reduce the outermost fat that’s responsible for your cellulite and spare tire.

2- Gender Differences:

Your ability to lose subcutaneous fat and visceral fat may be predetermined based on your gender. In a 1998 study published in the journal “Obesity Research,” obese volunteers went on a severe calorie restricted diet. Men consumed 1,500 calories a day while the women consumed 1,200 calories. After 15 weeks, the men saw a greater reduction in intra-abdominal fat and a more pronounced improvement in risk for metabolic disorders. The women saw a greater reduction in subcutaneous fat.

3- High-Intensity Exercise:

“Visceral fat yields fairly easily to exercise and diet,” reports Harvard Medical School, and “subcutaneous fat can be frustratingly difficult to budge.” However, dedicating yourself to a vigorous exercise regimen could reduce subcutaneous fat at a slightly greater rate than intra-abdominal fat. In the study, 175 overweight, sedentary men and women were divided into four groups that varied from no exercise to high-intensity exercise. While even the lowest dose of exercise resulted in no weight gained for the volunteers, those who exercised at a level comparable to 17 miles of jogging a week saw a significant reduction in subcutaneous and visceral fat. Overall, the volunteers saw a 6.9 percent decrease in intra-abdominal fat and a 7 percent decrease in subcutaneous fat.

4- Keeping Off Visceral Fat:

Visceral fat is by far more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. According to the Harvard Family Health Guide, intra-abdominal fat is a key player in cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes in men and women and breast cancer and the need for gallbladder surgery in women. Instead of focusing on how to lose visceral fat, doctors would much rather work on prevention. In 2005, Duke University researchers found that people who are sedentary increase visceral fat by about 8.6 percent in six months, or four pounds a year. Walking briskly for 30 minutes a day, six days a week, which is considered a modest exercise program, can prevent accumulation of visceral fat and, for some, reverse accumulation.

how to prevent diabetes in men.

Aside from heart disease, diabetes is one of the most common diseases to affect men.. Not only does diabetes reduce one’s quality of life, it puts one at risk for developing a host of other issues. There are many common sense things men can do to reduce their risk for developing diabetes. Most of these are things you already know, but they really are worth their weight in gold as they have and will continue to work. What follows is just a short list of tips and hints on how to keep yourself healthy and reduce your risk of diabetes.

Be Active:

It’s vital that you keep moving. It’s been shown that even modest physical activity can reduce one’s risk for many diseases including diabetes. There are also links between mental health and physical health. You don’t have to hit the gym: a 30-minute walk a couple of days a week will help keep you healthy and fit.

The important thing is to get moving. To maximize your workout performance and results, you may want to consider taking exercise supplements such as creatine and whey; both these supplements can help you achieve a lean, muscular figure.

Get Your Weight in Check:

Type 2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes in adult men, is mainly – but not entirely — the result of lifestyle choices. Most people who have this type of diabetes tend to follow a diet that is rich in sugar, which can elevate blood sugar levels; elevated levels of glucose in the blood are contributing factors of diabetes.

Reduce your intake of refined sugars and get comfortable with the glycemic index (GI). This shows you how certain foods can affect your blood sugar – for better or worse. And don’t forget to take a multivitamin supplement to fill in gaps in your nutrition plan.

Keep Track of What You Eat and Do:

This might sound boring or unnecessary, but it is actually very helpful and can be very enlightening for men who are trying to get in better shape and reduce their risk for developing diabetes. Most of us do not realize how much we eat and drink.

Logging what you eat and do as you do it, and making sure to be honest, can show you where you need to put extra effort towards. We might think we are getting more exercise than we are, or forget to account for liquid calories. Keeping a log of what you consume and do makes it much easier to keep on track and assess your progress. “How to Make a Food Journal” can help you get started on your own food log.

Diabetes is a very real and scary disease that affects men of all ages. These are some common sense things that men can do to reduce their risk of developing this often debilitating disease, and they also go a long way toward improving overall health and wellness.

Fitness : How to Get Big Forearms Fast.

The muscles that run along your forearms control movement at the wrist and they’re recruited during most upper body strength training exercises. For example, during biceps curl, they prevent your wrists from collapsing backwards and during bench press they hold your wrists steady while you grip the bar. More isolated exercises are needed if you’re interested in building size in your forearms, however. Apply muscle-building principles to maximize your workouts and gain size in your forearms as quickly as possible.

1- Multiple Sets:

To thoroughly overload the muscles in your forearms, do three to four sets of each exercise. Each set should include 12 to 20 reps. Your muscles respond to high-volume workouts that consist of multiple sets of higher repetitions by increasing in size. Select a weight for each exercise that causes your muscles to reach fatigue before they come to the 20th rep. If you can do more than 20 reps of any exercise, it’s time to kick up the weight. Otherwise, you won’t be breaking down the muscles adequately to stimulate muscle growth.

2- Little Rest Between Sets:

After a couple sets, your forearms will become tired and swollen as fluid rushes to the area and you may be tempted to rest for longer periods in between sets. You want to keep the rest periods short, as this helps promote muscle-building. Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Jim Smith recommends waiting just 90 seconds before jumping into the next set.

3- Exercises:

Select a wrist curl, reverse wrist curl and hammer curl exercise to include in your forearm workout. Wrist curling involves bending your palm towards the inside of your forearm against resistance and curl exercises include seated barbell wrist curl, standing cable wrist curl and dumbbell wrist curl. Reverse wrist curl, or wrist extension, involves bending the wrist so that the back of the hand moves towards the forearm. Exercises for extension include standing reverse wrist curl with an ez-curl bar, dumbbell reverse curl and the wrist roller. Hammer curl is done by holding a pair of dumbbells down by your sides with your palms facing the sides of your thighs. Bend your elbows to bring the weights up to your shoulders.

4- Workout Frequency:

Incorporate your forearm circuit into your schedule three days per week and on nonconsecutive days. If you’re working the forearms on the same day you’re doing other upper body exercises, fit them in at the end of your workouts. The circuit will leave your forearm muscles fatigued and you don’t want that to limit your performance during other upper body exercises like biceps curls or lying triceps extensions. Avoid working your forearms multiple days in a row, because it’s during the recovery days that the forearm muscles will heal and grow.

Weight Loss : Best Foods That Keep You Slim.

Being on a diet doesn't have to mean being hangry. The key? Tasty eats (like popcorn!) that are shown to stave off hunger. "Certain foods have just the right combination of nutrients, volume, flavor and even texture to help control your appetite.

1- Popcorn:

If you need to nosh, pick popcorn. It's loaded with fiber, which leaves you feeling satisfied for hours by slowing digestion. And that's not all. When researchers in a Nutrition Journal study fed people either popcorn or potato chips, they found that 15 calories' worth of low-fat popcorn was as satisfying as 150 calories' worth of chips, thanks to the superior snack's combo of being low in calories and high in volume. "Popcorn also has more crunch and texture, so it takes longer to eat," Nolan Cohn says. "That gives your brain the time it needs to register that you've had enough food."

÷ Popcorn Ideas

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• •Prep better-for-you Cracker Jacks: Toss one cup of air-popped popcorn with one tablespoon each of peanuts and maple syrup.
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• •Top corn chowder or tomato soup with a heaping handful of popcorn.
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• •Swap popcorn for puffed rice cereal in marshmallow crispy treats.

2- Rye Crisps:

Trade in your toast. When volunteers in a Nutrition Journal study ate a breakfast containing either wheat bread or rye crisps, those who consumed the latter felt 21 percent less hungry four hours later. They also downed 8 percent fewer calories at lunch. Researchers suspect that rye contains a special kind of fiber, known as viscous fiber, that expands in your gut to slow digestion and the release of carbs into your bloodstream. The result: lower blood sugar and stabilized insulin levels, so you're less hungry. Look for brands like Wasa or Ryvita rye crisps in the cracker aisle of your supermarket.

÷ Rye Crisp Ideas

• •Have a couple of rye crisps with hummus and smoked salmon for breakfast.
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• •Make croutons for salad: Break rye crisps into chunks, spray with olive oil cooking spray and season with sea salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake in a 375° oven for 10 minutes.
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• •Upgrade bruschetta by topping rye crisps with chopped fresh tomatoes, kalamata olives, basil and a little balsamic vinegar.

3- Sriracha:

It's made with chili peppers, which are rich in the appetite suppressant capsaicin. An analysis of 20 studies in the journal Appetite revealed that this compound has multiple weight-loss benefits, such as increasing body temperature, which ups your calorie burn, and helping you feel fuller. "Our taste buds have receptors that are directly linked to our brains," explains Amy Myrdal Miller, R.D., a culinary nutrition expert in Carmichael, California. "When capsaicin hits those receptors, they fire neurons that trigger the release of gut hormones that kick off the satiety response."

÷ Sriracha Ideas

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• •Give your usual PB & honey sandwich a Southeast Asian spin by drizzling it with sriracha.
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• •Add sriracha to mac and cheese. The heat will slow you down so you'll savor the comfort food instead of inhaling it.
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• •For a salad with extra kick, whisk sriracha into ranch dressing.

4- Dark Chocolate:

It sounds almost too good to be true: When researchers at the University of Copenhagen fed volunteers a morning meal of either dark or milk chocolate, the dark chocolate eaters reported less hunger after­ward. Even better, they consumed 17 percent fewer calories at lunch. We're not suggesting that you start your day with a chocolate bar, but when a craving strikes, reach for the dark stuff. "It's higher in protein and fat but lower in sugar than milk chocolate, which causes a slower release of sugars into your bloodstream," Myrdal Miller says.

÷ Chocolate Ideas

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• •Toss dark chocolate chips and chopped tart dried cherries into low-fat plain Greek yogurt.
• 
  
• •For a dessert quesadilla, spread one tablespoon of almond butter on half of an eight-inch whole-wheat tortilla. Top with sliced banana and one tablespoon of chopped dark chocolate. Fold in half; heat in a nonstick pan.
• 
  
• •Swirl a few tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder into your favorite chili recipe.

How Orange Juice Can Help You Lose Weight?

Although a glass of orange juice may count as a serving of fruit and is more nutritious than soda, it isn't necessarily your best choice if you're trying to lose weight. OJ is relatively high in calories per serving, and it won't keep you full as long as solid food will. You'd be better off eating a fresh orange and drinking a glass of water or other no-calorie beverage. But this doesn't mean you can't include it in a weight-loss diet on occasion.

• Calorie And Micronutrient Content:

A 1-cup serving of orange juice has about 122 calories, almost all of which come from the 28.7 grams of carbohydrates it contains. A medium orange has only 62 calories, so you could eat two of them for about the same number of calories in one glass of orange juice. The cup of orange juice contains a little more vitamin C, folate and potassium than a single orange, but per-calorie, the orange provides more micronutrients.

•Energy Density:

Fruits are typically recommended for people trying to lose weight because most are low in energy density, or calories per gram. Low-energy-density foods help fill you up with fewer calories, making it easier to stay within your daily calorie limit without feeling hungry. Orange juice and oranges both have an energy density of 0.5 calories per gram, which is considered very low. A 1-cup serving of orange juice weighs about 249 grams, while an orange weighs about 131 grams, which accounts for the higher calories in a serving of orange juice. A smaller serving will allow you to drink orange juice without getting more calories than you would from an orange.

•Fiber Considerations:

People who eat more fiber tend to weigh less, and diets higher in fiber may help with weight loss by increasing feelings of fullness and slightly decreasing the absorption of calories from the food you eat, according to an article published in "Nutrition" in March 2005. Orange juice has very little fiber, especially if you prefer the pulp-free version. A glass has only 0.7 gram of fiber, compared with 3.1 grams, or 12 percent of the daily value, in a medium orange.

•Considerations and Serving Tips:

You'll need to replace another higher-calorie food with orange juice if you're using it as part of a weight-loss diet, because you need to create a 3,500-calorie energy deficit to lose just one pound. Exercising more can also help you create this energy deficit. If you like the flavor of orange juice but want to cut the calories a bit, dilute it with either sparkling or plain water.

How To Get Six Pack Abs and a Flat Belly.

Six pack abs are the symbol of fitness for many people, and just like all fitness indicators, they are obtainable for anyone who is willing to put in the effort. All of the abdominal muscles are there; they just aren’t developed enough to pop, and are often hidden under a layer of fat. So, in order to have defined muscular abs, you need to drop fat and gain muscle. Here are a few ways to get the waist you want:

1) Eat Right :

Eating the right foods is crucial to building muscle and dropping the shroud of fat covering it. When you reduce the processed foods, sugar, soda, sodium, and carbs, and increase eating whole foods, fruits, and vegetables, you allow your body to drop water weight and adipose (fat) tissue covering your definition.

2) Reduce Body Fat:

You can do a million sit-ups a day, but if you don’t take off the wrapping, people will never see the work. Fat is the enemy when your goal is muscle definition. Eating clean, reducing calories, not eating late at night, and drinking enough water are all ways to reduce your body’s hold on fat. Also, adequate sleep and removing stress from your life helps to reduce the hormone cortisol.
Remember, there is no way to spot train to reduce fat from just your stomach area—any weight-loss tool that makes this claim should be viewed with skepticism. Your body will drop weight from every area simultaneously, not just your abs.

3) Increase Abdominal Muscle Through Weights and Core Work:

Increasing the size of your abdominal muscles through anaerobic weight training while decreasing fat will produce the six pack of your dreams. Anaerobic means “without oxygen,” and is generally an exercise with enough intensity to cause lactic acid fermentation, which helps build muscle. There are many core exercises  that will help you achieve this: You will see results from incorporating hand weights, gym equipment, or simply body-weight exercises. While sit-ups are the go-to exercise, you can also do planks, push-ups, leg lifts, and pull-ups, which work your entire core. Also, increasing muscle in your back to match your abs will ensure that you maintain proper posture.

4) Utilize Cardio:

A great way to drop weight so you can see those strong stomach muscles is through cardiovascular training. When you invest in cardio, you burn calories, strengthen your circulatory system, increase your endurance, and kick-start your metabolism. Cardio is just another way to say aerobic training; meaning “living in air.” It refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism. Cardio can include bike riding, dancing, running, rowing, or climbing stairs. One of my favorite cardio exercises to increase abdominal strength is swimming, which works the entire body.


5) Invest in Circuit and Interval Training:


The most effective training program utilizes both endurance cardio with interval and circuit training. Interval training involves periods of high-intensity exercise with rest periods. Think of a sprint workout where you run 400 meters at an intense pace, then rest for two minutes before doing it again. Interval training straddles both sides of cardio endurance work. While with cardio, you may perform at 60% effort for an hour, in interval training you perform at 95% effort for a few minutes before allowing yourself a recovery rest period. Interval training is thought to be even more effective than sustained cardio for fat loss, as its intensity spikes your body’s fat-burning activity to a higher level.

How To keep Your Prostate Healthy.

Men’s health…it tends to be a topic that scares a lot of men, but we all know it is so utterly important. A general healthy lifestyle is of course key, but for men, prostate health is something they should really start to pay attention to around the age of 40. So I have compiled a list of important nutritional tips for the men in all of our lives. We want them healthy and hardy for years and years to come…hopefully some of these tips will ensure just that.

The following foods are helpful to keep your prostate healthy:

•Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables – broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower—they contain isothiocyanates, which are protective phytochemicals, while at the same time are high in antioxidants.

•Fish oil that is high in omega-3 fats seem to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

•Vitamin E is known to reduce prostate inflammation and may protect against cancer. This can be found  in nuts and seeds, wheat germ and whole grains.

•Whole grains offer fiber, selenium, vitamin E and phytochemicals, all of which play a role in the prevention of cancer.

•Increase your lycopene! This is in tomatoes, tomato products, red grapefruits and watermelons. This appears to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Cooking appears to release more of the lycopene in tomatoes; so tomato-based pasta sauces and soups may be especially beneficial. Lycopene is fat soluble so is better absorbed when eaten with a little fat.

•Selenium is another mineral that may offer protection. This antioxidant is found in nuts—especially Brazil nuts—seafood, some meats, fish, wheat bran, wheat germ, oats and brown rice.

•Soy products can help prevent prostate enlargement and may slow tumor growth. I always really caution people with soy though when buying them. So many of them are genetically modified and can therefore can cause numerous issues in other departments including your reproductive system.

•Cut back on red meat. It is high in saturated animal fats and has been linked to an increased incidence of prostate problems.

A few other great tips? Drink plenty of water and green tea every day. Take a Vitamin C supplement, a quality fish oil supplement, and a Vitamin B liquid supplement. Add the three wonder spices of garlic, turmeric and ginger to your daily diet.

I know when started any lifestyle change it can be overwhelming in the beginning. So start slowly. Pick a few things from the above tips list and work them into your life. I promise your body will thank you for it!

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