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Do you know the simplest way to get rid of the fat on your mid section and get a chiseled mid section? With the goal of getting ripped abs awesome six pack abdominals at the top of nearly everybody’s list, it seems that everyone is dying to know the smartest way to go about uncovering their abs. While I can think of probably 5 things off of the top of my head that could be used to get you moving towards your goal of a firmer mid section, there is 1 big trick…

If you want to get an awesome six pack, you’re going to have to lose the fat on your mid section!

There is definitely a bunch of information available that shoots to teach you how to melt off midsection fat and expose your six pack abs, the truth of the matter is that most guys don’t want to put in the work that’s required to make it happen. Putting the tips together in order to lose mid section fat is not an easy thing to do. It requires a lot of planning, hard work and dedication.

In order to move you towards your goal of awesome six pack abs, I’ve put together a quick list of tips that will help you solve the problem and allow you to burn ab fat without resorting to unhealthy diets, fat burner pills or any sort of unsafe techniques. If you start out by implementing these tips today, you will melt abdominal fat. That's exactly how to get washboards abs quickly and naturally!

The Way To Burn Abdominal Fat

Here’s how to go about stripping off abdominal fat quickly and easily…

1.  Track what you eat every day for 7 days. If you want to lose abdominal fat, you’re going to have to pay close attention to what your eating so that you can create a calorie deficit. The only way to lose abdominal fat or body fat for that matter is to take in fewer calories than you expend each day. The only way to do this consistently is to keep a very careful eye on what you are eating.

2. Once you’ve tracked what you’re eating each day for some length of time, you need to total up the number of calories and cut back on your intake by about 300 calories per day (assuming you’re eating no less than 1200 calories at all times). This will start the fat burning process and help you instantly take charge of your calorie balance which will allow you to lose abdominal fat fast.

3. Next on the list if you’re serious about losing abdominal fat is to make it a habit to perform some form of free weight workout for 45 minutes 3 – 4 times each week, in conjunction with 3 – 5 sessions of cardiovascular exercises each week. Both weight training and cardiovascular exercise, burns calories and helps with the calorie deficit that you’re trying to create. As an added fat melting bonus, when you begin to pack on muscle mass to your body because of the weight training, your body begins to burn more calories at rest, this will allow you to lose abdominal fat faster than you otherwise would.

The bottom line is that in order to lose abdominal fat, you’ve got to learn how to create a calorie deficit through smart dieting and exercise. And you’ve got to make sure that you keep on top of all of your hard work. While it would be nice to think that it’s possible to get six pack abs in only a few weeks, it's just not realistic.

Building a six pack is a process that almost always involves consistent effort and attention for weeks at a time. So don’t make the mistake of getting upset after only a few days of work. Put your head down and get back to work and over time you will burn abdominal fat and unearth an eye catching set of six pack abs!

Are you looking for a a few good ab workouts to help jump-start your ab workouts over the edge? If so, you’re definitely not all by yourself.  While the desire to get six pack abs is shared by everyone, it’s definitely true that most people don't even know what's going on when it comes to designing an effective abdominal work out.

In order to help out, I’ve listed a few simple yet effective abdominal programs that target each of the muscles in your mid section, ensuring that you’ll actually move closer to getting ripped and shredded abs you’ve always desired.

Before we get into the good ab workouts, it’s very important that you figure out right up front that it really doesn’t matter how you train your ab muscles, if you’re not going to focus on what you're eating each day.  While you do need to work in a few abdominal workouts in order to build up your mid section, you’re just not going to be able to see them until you strip away the body fat that’s covering them up in the first place! The only way to make actually uncover your abdominal region is to get busy burning off body fat not just in your abs, but all over your entire body.

If you want to get rid of body fat, you’re going to need to pay close attention to what you’re taking in every day as well as performing free weights workouts that target the stronger muscle groups on your body. So definately be ready to swap around your diet a bit and focus on working on the most powerful muscle groups on your body like your; chest,shoulders, legs,back,etc. Focusing your workouts on the most powerful muscles burns more energy witch in turn allows you to melt off more body fat. The more fat you can get rid of, the more eye-catching your ripped abs will be!

The Good Ab Workouts

I really think that the ab workouts listed below are all you really need in order to build amazing six pack abs. If you focus the majority of your work on your dietary intake and total body workouts and you also make it a habit to fit in a few decent ab workouts each week, you will start to expose your abs and move towards your goal of a leaner and sexier waistline.

Don’t try and work your abdominals every day of the week! Not only is it a counter productive to your goals, but you’ll be negatively affecting the amount of body fat you’re able to burn – instead of focusing on the bigger muscles in your body, you’ll be training with exercises that don’t require nearly as much effort to get through.

Good Ab Workout #1

Hanging Knee Raises – 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Saxon Side Bends – 3 Sets x  8-12 reps
Weighted Crunches – 3 Sets x 8-12 reps

Good Ab Workout #2

Slant Board hip Thrusts - 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Russian Twists – 3 sets x 8-12 repetitions
Swiss Ball Crunches – 3 sets x 8-12 reps

Make sure and perform each of these "best ab exercises" with enough weight to give your ab muscles a reason to grow! Rest for 1 – 2 minutes between each set and try to focus on making sure the muscle contracts during each repetition. Perform each rep in complete control over the movement – do not use training weights that are overly heavy or use crappy form or you’ll eventually hurting yourself.

There you go…some really good ab workouts that are effective and simple. Pick one and find time for it in the beginning of the week, then move on to the next workout after some time to rest. Stick with the six pack abdominal workout tips listed above, (and make sure not to go crazy and work your abdominals each and every day!) and over time, you'll be able to build an impressive mid section.

Nearly everyone seems to be surfing the web for the ultimate bicep workout to help them increase the size of their arms fast.  Yes there are a lot of effective bicep routines available on the web, I really think that it's important to prioritize your biceps training appropriately.  While it's critical that you learn how to train your biceps in the right manner, you really shouldn't spend too much of your gym time focusing on such a small muscle group. Not only will your overall physique suffer if you spend all of your time training your biceps, but your biceps themselves will not respond to this type of onslaught for long.   Eventually the muscle group that is dominating your attention and time in the gym will begin to actually atrophy and get smaller!

photo credit: mateoutah

In comparison to many of the bigger muscle groups on your body, the muscles in your biceps are tiny. Just because there is no other muscle on your body that will grab the attention of the ladies quite like a a muscular pair of biceps, one of the biggest downfalls of most guys is that they spend too much time to training their biceps and too little time focusing on the bigger muscle groups on their bodies.

if you really want to build bigger arms, then you've got to prioritize your training in the following manner (or at least pretty close to this). First off target the bigger muscles on your body and work your way down the list.

Stat by training your…

1. Legs - (quads/glutes)
2. Chest - (pecs)
3. Back - (lats)
4. Shoulders - (delts)
5. Triceps
6. Biceps
7. Calves

You'll want to devote a bunch of energy to hitting the larger muscle groups heavy and hard.  If you do this, what you'll find is that your smaller muscles (like your triceps and biceps), will begin to get bigger incidentally without direct training due to the amount of muscle building hormones released by your body when you work your way through heavy sets for your bigger muscle groups. By focusing on the larger muscles first and making them the priority in your training program, you will begin to see an increase in the strength and size of your biceps.

Again keep in mind that when you perform many of the “pulling” exercises that are targeted to your back, you will be activating and incidentally training your arms (usually with a heavier weight than you usually would), so make sure to split up your back workouts and space them at least a day apart from your bicep workouts.

Now that you’ve got your muscle building program designed properly and everything is in check.  Then you’ll want to move forward and start working in a few basic bicep workouts.  Don't make the mistake that nearly 90% of all guys in the gym make and work your arms non stop – it’s a bad idea that is actually counterproductive to your goal of bigger biceps.

If you want to build bigger biceps, you need to pair down your training efforts to 1 bicep workout per week.  That's all you need to do to make your biceps grow!  If you work your biceps with intense workouts any more than this, they will begin to lose size – so try not to do it!

Now that you understand how to properly prioritize your workouts and how often you need to be hitting your biceps, here's a quick bicep workout that can help you build size on your arms quickly without taking up too much of your time in the gym.

Start out with a few minutes of moderate to light intensity cardio.  I usually do 5 -10 minutes of light jogging. Followed by a full body flexibility routine. A lot of guys only stretch out the muscle groups that they train each day – I just like to stretch out the all of my muscles each day so that I can prevent any type of tightening up or injury.  After you get your stretching and warm up in, it's time to jump into the weight lifting warm up sets below.

Killer Bicep Workout

Warm Up Set #1:

Exercise: Alternating Dumbbell Curl – 1 set x 10 reps

pick a training weight that allows you to move the weight quickly through a full range of motion.  I typically begin with 20 lb dumbbells.

Warm Up Set #2:

Exercise: Dumbbell Curl – 1 set x 8 reps

Again choose a weight that allows you to move the Dumbbells fairly quickly through a full range of motion, but make sure that it is heavier than what you started with. I like to jump up to 35 lb dumbbells here.

Rest for 1.5 minutes

Warm-Up Set 3:

Exercise: Alternating DB Curl – 1 set x 6 reps

*Perform this warm-up set with a weight that you can move though the full range of motion easily and under control, but this time begin to up the ante a bit. the goal is to complete 6 reps with a weight that is close to your workout weight, but light enough not to prematurely fatigue your biceps. I typically move up to 50 lb dumbbells for this set.

Take a 2 minute rest

Keep in mind the goal of the warm-up sets in this bicep workout is to simply get the blood pumping through your biceps and to warm up your tendons and ligaments.  That’s the only goal of the warm-up sets. Make sure that you do not prematurely fatigue your biceps muscles during the warm up sets by either using weights that are too heavy or by shortening the rest intervals. If you do this your arm workout will suffer and as a result you will not be able to stimulate as much bicep growth as You'd otherwise be able to!

Now we'll jump into the training sets for the bicep workout.

Exercise #1: DB Curl

After completing your bicep workout warm-up…

*Complete 2 sets x 6-8 repetitions

**Make sure to use a weight that allows you to complete the exercise with decent form, but a weight that is heavy enough that you can't perform more than 8 reps with!

*Rest for 2 - 3 minutes between sets

Bicep Exercise #2: – DB Incline Curls

*Complete 2 sets x 6-8 repetitions

Again make sure to use a weight that allows you to complete the exercise with decent form, but a weight that's heavy enough that you can't possibly perform more than 8 reps with.  that's exactly how to get your biceps to grow.  If you train with a weight that's too light, your biceps will not grow and if you train with a weight that's too heavy you're eventually going to hurt yourself.

When it comes to making your arms grow, that’s really all there is to it.  Learn how to prioritize your workouts to target the bigger muscle groups on your body first, and then move on to 1 solid bicep workout each week.  As long as your muscle building diet is set up appropriately and you get enough sleep each night, you will build muscle mass quickly and your biceps will increase in size!

By choosing the right pectoral exercises, you can throw together some extremely effective pectoral workouts that will ultimately force your chest to explode.  If your goal is to build a big muscular chest, then the upper body exercises that you choose are vital to the process.  If you piece together your chest workout with exercises that don’t fit certain criteria, then you really won't be able to build your chest up quickly. In this article, I’m going to uncover the specific criteria that your chest exercises need to meet in order for you to stimulate some serious upper body growth, as well as list a few of my favorite pectoral building exercises.

Lets get on to one of the first things that I like to teach people about building their chest muscles up.  In order to stimulate upper body muscle growth, you absolutely need to perform muscle building exercises that meet certain conditions. First, the chest exercises that you choose, need to allow you to actually target your pectoral muscles. If you choose upper body exercises that place most of the emphasis on your shoulders, then your shoulders will be doing most of the work and in turn achieving the benefits of doing that work (you’ll stimulate muscle growth in your shoulders instead of chest growth). So you want to focus on movements that specifically target your chest muscles.  It’s ok if the chest exercises also incorporate your shoulders or triceps, but the main muscle group in the movement should definitely be your pectoral muscles.

The next piece of criteria that the pectoral exercises that you choose for your upper body workouts need to meet is that each of the exercise that you select need to allow you to move a fairly heavy amount of weight.  Lifting incrementally heavier weights over a full range of motion is precisely how you stimulate muscle growth, so it only makes sense that if you’re wanting to add size to your upper body muscles,  then you need to be training with heavy weights.

The next piece of criteria is something that most people completely overlook.  You’ve got to actually enjoy performing the pec exercises that you pick!  If you hate the exercises that you put into your upper body workouts, you’re not going to be able to hit your upper body as hard as you’d be able to if you really enjoyed performing the upper body exercise in the first place, so make sure to stick with  a few of the chest exercises that you actually enjoy. Sometimes you’ve got no choice but to perform a few chest exercises that you don't really like, but try not to build your pectoral workouts around these pectoral exercises, instead find a few that you really like and slip them into the workout.

Listed below are a few of my favorite upper body exercises ( in no particular order). After looking over this list of exercises, I can honestly say that approximately 95% of all of my pectoral workouts are composed of these highly effective pectoral exercises. Once in a long while, I’ll work in a few sets of cable crossovers, but that really about it.

The Best Pectoral Exercises

1. DB Bench Press
2. Bench Press
3. Incline Press
4. DB Incline Press
5. Push Up
6. Chest Dips
7. Dumbbell Flyes
8. Decline Bench Press
9. DB Decline Bench Press

If you’re one of the hundreds of guys out there who really wants to build a bigger, more muscular chest, then make sure that your pec workouts are composed of the most effective pectoral exercises!  The majority of your chest  workouts should be created around the short list of chest exercises listed above.  If you follow no other advice than to simply make sure that your upper body  workouts are designed with exercises that fit the criteria outlined in this article, you'll begin to build a bigger chest in no time at all.

The bent over row is one of the basic bread and butter exercises for upper and middle back development. For some time now, power lifter and bodybuilders have been performing the bent over row as a way to increase the size and strength of the muscles in the middle to upper back. If you're looking to pack on some bulk and shape to your upper body, then the bent row is an important exercise that you must fit into your lat workouts.

Targeting the Latissimus Dorsi, the bent over row combines the potent muscle building benefits of allowing you to train through a complete range of motion with a  heavy weight and allowing you to target your latisimus dorsi with targeted accuracy and move closer to the classic V-shape taper that you really want! While most of the best best weight lifting exercises allow you to train multiple muscle groups at the same time, the bent row doesn't allow any other body parts to steal the show and cut into the amount of work that your lats do.  This is one of the big benefits to incorporating barbell rows into your back workouts. The heavy weights that you can perform this exercise with allow to to really hammer your lats.

Muscles Stimulated During The Bent Over Row

Aside from the Latissimus Dorsi, there are a few other muscles that carry a some of the load.  To complete this movement the Brachialis, Posterior Deltoid,Teres Major,Brachioradialis and Biceps Brachii all contribute, but the vast majority of the load is carried by the latissimus dorsi. When performed with decent form, the bent row uses very few of the muscles listed above, but when performed with poor form, it is one of those exercises that can start to push a lot of the load from the target muscle group to the secondary muscle groups.  that's just one of the reasons that it's so important to learn how to perform bent rows properly.

How To Perform The Bent Row

1. Grasp the Barbell with an overhand grip with your hands spaced slightly wider than shoulder width.  Spread your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly. Lean forward at the waist at approximately a 45° angle. Make sure to keep your back straight during the full range of the movement. If you're body is aligned properly, then the bar should be positioned just above your knee prior to beginning the exercise.

2. Pull the bar up to the lower portion of your chest, making sure to keep your core muscles contracted (in order to stabilize your spine). When properly performed, you will basically be lifting your elbows up towards the sky while holding your upper body in a stationary position.

While performing this exercise, you should feel the muscles in your upper back working. The lats are located along both sides of the spine along your back. In order to ensure that you are targeting the lats properly, it helps to think about the muscles that you are using (or supposed to be using) and to attempt to pull your shoulder blades up and back at the top of the exercise, this will force your latissimus dorsi to contract if it isn't already engaged.  Once you feel the muscles that are supposed to be performing the bulk of the work during bent over rows, then it becomes easier to make small adjustments to your form to ensure that the right muscles are being targeted.

3.  Allow the bar to move back down to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner, but still focus on using your lats to complete the eccentric portion of the lift.

As with all free weights exercises varying the position of your grip will allow you to target different parts of your middle and upper back. If you perform barbell rows with an overhand grip, you will place an emphasis on the lower part of the trapezius and your rhomboids. While performing the bent over row with an underhand grip will place most of the emphasis on the upper portion of the trapezius and the biceps brachii.

If you're looking to increase the size and strength of your middle and upper back, then bent over rows should be a major part of your back workouts.  Not only will you be able to target your lats with laser precision and take a step towards acquiring the v-taper upper body, but you'll be able to train with a heavy enough weight to make a noticeable difference quickly.

If you're trying to gain muscle mass naturally, then there is no doubt you understand the importance of eating enough high quality muscle building protein. If you're searching for a way to add additional sources of bodybuilding protein to your diet without having to choke down more chicken breast, ground beef or whey protein powder, then egg white protein may be a good choice.  While egg protein has been a staple of a well balanced bodybuilding diet for decades, for some strange reason, it seems that egg protein has fallen out of favor in the bodybuilding community over the past 2 - 3 years. Kind of strange when you begin to look at the benefits of consuming egg whites, whole eggs and egg protein powders.

Egg White Protein High Quality Or Not?

Egg whites are definitely one of the most (and quite possibly the most) complete sources of bodybuilding protein. Combining at least 8 types of protein, it would be virtually impossible to find any other naturally occurring form of protein that even comes close to the diverse protein arrangement of eggs. To give you an idea of just how high the quality of protein found in eggs is, when every other form of dietary protein is analyzed in a laboratory for protein quality, it's measured against the high quality protein profile found in eggs!

Aside from containing impressive doses of protein, whole eggs and egg whites are an amazing source of vitamins including: vitamin A vitamin E, and vitamin K. As well as various B vitamins such as vitamin B12, riboflavin and folic acid.

Whole eggs also contain all eight of the amino acids which are essential to the rest and recovery process following heavy duty body building workouts. With high doses of muscle building protein being a top priority for everyone who wants to pack on mass, egg whites protein and whole egg protein in general, may very well be one of the most complete and versatile foods around.

Why I Like Whole Egg And Egg White Protein

There are certainly a ton of options these days for both high quality whole food protein sources and supplemental proteins; I always recommend to at least try to include as many different types of protein into your diet as you can.  As far as whole eggs go, not only are they nutritious and easy to cook, but they taste great!  Even when I'm in a cutting phase of a bodybuilding program, I always try to mix in some eggs in the form of omelets, scrambled eggs or good old fashioned fried or poached eggs.

When it comes to egg white protein, I absolutely love them because they are an extremely low calorie source of protein that is versatile to cook with.  Egg whites can be whipped into oatmeal, added into omelets, or hard boiled and incorporated into thousands of dishes easily. If I'm ever in a situation where I need to increase my protein intake but also cut calories, egg whites are always my first choice.

What About Egg Protein Powders?

Egg protein powders are a great way incorporate the full spectrum of proteins found in eggs without the hassle of actually having to prepare them beyond mixing them into an omelet or shake.  It's also important to keep in mind that while food sources of protein are typically higher quality than supplemental powders due to the fact that the supplements have been refined and processed to some degree.

That said, it's awfully hard to find a more convenient way to get in some extra protein throughout the day. If you're one of those people who just doesn't like to eat eggs or mess around with the inconvenience of separating your egg whites each day, then egg white protein powders may be a good choice for you.  I personally like to use egg white powders whenever I'm on the road or get too busy to cook my meals. Whey protein and egg protein powders can be a real convenience whenever you start to slip off of your bodybuilding diet.

If you're trying to piece together an efficient muscle building nutrition plan and you understand the importance of incorporating different sources of whole food and supplemental protein into your diet, then whole eggs, egg whites and egg protein powders should get some serious consideration.  Not only are eggs delicious and easy to prepare and delicious, but they are affordable and contain the "gold standard" of naturally occurring protein quality!

As much as you've probably been trying to avoid it, the summer has slithered up to nip us in the bud yet again. If you're like most of us, in order to hit the beach (or pool) this summer feeling fit and confident, you'll definitely need to lose some weight.

In order to help you achieve your fitness related goals, I have outlined the process of creating an amazing, effective exercise workout plan. If followed, this process will certainly increase your chances of hitting the beach this summer feeling great about the way you look!

Clearly Define Your Goals

The first step, (and arguably most important), step in the process is simply taking the time to clearly identify your goals.

If you have no idea of where you are going, how can you possibly expect to get there?

Broad goals like, "I want to lose some weight" or "I want to finally get into shape", are not nearly as defined as they need to be. Take the time to think about what it is that you really want to accomplish. If you want to lose weight, define exactly how much. If you want to lose fat, define the exact amount that you would like to lose. As simple as this seems, you would be surprised at the amount of people who do not take the time to clearly think this through before jumping into the fire.

Choose Your Fitness Activity

After you have clearly defined your goals, you will need to decide upon the best method for you to accomplish them. This is not an easy task as everyone is different and has different preferences, tolerances and requirements. If your goal is fitness related, it usually goes without saying that you will need to add some sort of exercise or fitness related activity to your everyday life.

This is the time to explore different types of fitness activities. There are literally thousands of possibilities ranging from Pilates, Yoga and Spinning classes in a commercial gym, to simply jumping rope or lifting weights in your garage or basement. None of the options out there are completely worthless, just as none of the options out there are a do-all, be-all solution for everybody.

It is true that some types of exercises and activities are better suited for certain goals, but the focus should not only be on progress, but enjoyment and usability. In my opinion, the only totally worthless exercise workout plan on the face of the planet is an exercise plan that you do not follow!

Learn How To Prepare Your Mind For Your Exercise Workout Plan!

Plan Your Schedule

Now that you know exactly where you are going and what form of exercise you are going to use to get there, you will need to take the time to schedule your new fitness related activity.

Set aside time each day to perform a minimum of 20 minutes of physical activity. As your goals expand a bit, you will need to rearrange your schedule accordingly. Someone who desires to lose 2 lbs in 3 weeks can plan a fairly conservative approach to their exercise workout plan, while someone who desires to lose 25 lbs in 2 months; will need to take a more aggressive approach.

Some people prefer to exercise in the morning prior to starting their day while others enjoy sleeping in until they absolutely have to get up. Again, it simply does not matter when you perform your exercise. Running at high intensity in the morning will burn just as many calories as running at high intensity in the evening. The most important thing here is that you create a schedule that you will be able to stick with in the long run.

Put Your Plan Into Action

Put your new plan of attack into action. It does not matter how well you design an exercise workout plan, if you never follow it. The only way that you will see any results is by taking your exercise plan and following it religiously. Many of the results that you desire will not come until you have put in the time to perform your workouts on a consistent basis.

When it comes to losing weight quickly, easily and safely most people have no idea where to begin. Most start by committing to some sort of gimmicky weight loss diet. While eating healthy foods in moderation is certainly a great place to begin your weight loss efforts, the truth of the matter is that most fad diets simply don't promote healthy weight loss habits.

As with many of the fad diets on the market today, you will initially begin to see some exciting results as you begin any new weight loss plan. This initial weight loss can be attributed to a few factors such as excitement over starting a new diet, beginning to monitor your calorie or food intake, and increasing water consumption to name a few.

The majority of these diets implement principles that are proven to aid in weight loss, but lead you to believe that you will only lose weight due to their "revolutionary weight loss secrets".

If you truly want to lose some quick weight and keep it off for good, follow the tips outlined below!

Weight Loss Diet Tip #1 - Drink More Water

This is more of an overall health tip that will help your body feel better, recover quicker from exercise and stress, flush out toxins produced in your body and keep you from becoming dehydrated. Try to shoot for 1 gallon of water a day. Not only will you feel better, but this will also help you to feel fuller while restricting your calorie intake.

Weight Loss Diet Tip #2 - Monitor What You Currently Eat

In order to get where you want to go, you must first have a clear idea of where you are. Log everything that you eat throughout a 2 day period. Get a calorie counter at your local bookstore, or go online and visit : http://www.nutritiondata.com/.

Look up the calorie content, protein content, fat content, and carbohydrate content of each food that you eat on a daily basis. Total up the fat, carbohydrate, protein and calories that you are currently consuming each day and average the values.

Weight Loss Diet Tip #3 - Eliminate Unnecessary Junk Food and Other Empty Calories From Your Diet

For some people, this simple step is all that it will take to lose some quick weight. Look for anything that has minimal nutritional value and make the choice not to eat it on a daily basis anymore. In order to keep weight off long-term, adopt the motto: "eat to live, don't live to eat".

Make the commitment to yourself to eat only for nutritional value and energy, not to feel better emotionally.

Weight Loss Diet Tip #4 - Lower Your Daily Calorie Intake By 500 Calories

This should be enough of a reduction to allow for some immediate results in weight loss, but not so much that you throw your body into a state of shock. In order to lose weight and keep it off, the key is consistently and gradually lowering you calorie intake, while increasing your calorie expenditure.

Do not try to completely eliminate food from your life. If you take this approach, you will not lose weight! For some people, step #3 will eliminate enough calories that they will consume 500 calories less just by eliminating junk food from their diets.

"People who take a long term approach and focus on steady consistent progress, are the ones who will be able to permanently change their eating habits and consequently keep the lost weight off for good!"

Weight Loss Diet Tip # 5 - Eat Smaller More Frequent Meals Spread Out Every 2 - 3 Hours Throughout The Day

This will help to boost your metabolism while keeping you full of energy throughout the day. By eating smaller more frequent meals, you are forcing your body to process the foods that you eat when you eat them. This supplies a steady stream of energy throughout the day. As your body begins to process these more frequent meals, it also burns more calories adding to your calorie deficit.

Weight Loss Diet Tip # 6 - Perform Moderate Intensity Cardiovascular Exercise 4 Days Per Week For 20 -30 Minutes Per Session

This will cause your body to burn more calories, while increasing your cardiovascular (heart) and cardio pulmonary (heart and lung) health. By adding regular cardiovascular exercise to your regular routine, you will also improve your mood and sense of well being and take a huge step towards feeling better about yourself.

For More Great Fat Loss Tips Read The Body Fat Guide!

As you can see, permanent weight loss is not easy to achieve. It requires a consistent commitment to regular exercise, intelligent eating habits and determination to see your plan through to the end!

Put these weight loss diet tips to use and combine them with a fat loss workout program, you'll be amazed by how quickly the pounds begin to melt off!

As each new year begins, many people have diets and fat loss on their minds.  Hopefully, most people realize that in order to lose body fat the best approach is to incorporate fitness and sensible nutritional practices into their lives to create a fat burning lifestyle.

In order to help distinguish between all of the gimmicky aerobic exercise fads floating around, I have compiled  a list of aerobic activities that I personally feel are the absolute best for fat loss.

Before we dive into the list, I know that there are a few questions that my clients regularly ask regarding aerobic activity. I would like to take the time to provide answers to some of the more common questions.

What is the definition of aerobic exercise?

In order to define aerobic exercise, we will need to take a look at the meaning of the word aerobic.  In it's simplest form, the word aerobic means 'with oxygen".  So, aerobic exercise is simply exercise that requires the use of oxygen.  Think back to the last time you performed any type of aerobic workout, I would imagine that you were breathing heavily? right?  That is because during aerobic exercise, your body uses oxygen to create energy for you to complete the exercise session.  In essence, you are exercising "with oxygen".

What are the health benefits of aerobic exercise?

There are many reported health benefits associated with aerobic exercise. Some of the most common are:  Reduced blood pressure, increased HDL (good) cholesterol, decrease in total cholesterol, decrease in body fat, increased aerobic work capacity, decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety and increased heart function.

With those common questions answered, here is my short list of aerobic activities for fat loss…

Aerobic Activity #1 - Jogging

I know that this seems obvious and boring, but that is exactly why I believe that it is one of the best.

Many people simply ignore this type of exercise, thinking that a fancy elliptical trainer or exercise bike is better.  This is simply not true.  The other main benefit of walking or jogging, is that you can perform it anywhere in the world. There is no need for fancy equipment. Just buy some comfortable walking / running shoes and your off.

Aerobic Activity #2 - Swimming

Many people simply can not walk or jog without pain and discomfort due to joint troubles.  This is where the benefits of swimming as an aerobic exercise come in to focus.

Swimming is one of the only non weight bearing exercises that provides an adequate cardiovascular workout. Not only that, but sometimes it's just plain fun to swim on a hot summers day.

Aerobic Activity #3 - Walking

The benefits of walking at a brisk pace have recently come to light in the medical and fitness communities.  Studies suggest that you can get many of helath benefits associate with jogging by simply walking at brisk pace a few days a week.

The main benefit of this type of exercise, is that while it is still weight bearing.  The stress placed on the joints is not as intense as in jogging.  This opens the door to people who otherwise would not be able to participate in any kind of aerobic activity.

Aerobic Activity #4 - Biking

Whether mountain biking, street biking or simply riding an exercise bike in your local gym, biking can add variety and excitement to your aerobic fitness program.  As with some of the other aerobic activities listed above, while somewhat weight bearing, biking traditionally places less stress on the joints of the lower body.

Aerobic Activity #5 - Roller blading, roller skating or ice skating are all great aerobic activities that can add variety and fun to your exercise routine.

While thoughts of graceful figre skaters may not conjure up images of aerobic exercise, ice skating, roller blading and roller skating will not only get your heart pumping, but will make you work muscles that you never knew existed!

While this list will get you moving in the right direction, it is important to spice up your weight loss exercise programs by regularly performing a variety of new and more challenging cardiovascular activities!

When it comes to permanent or sustained weight loss, it is important to understand that no single factor will cause you to lose weight.

In order for a weight loss or fat loss program to be successful, you must implement a number of time-proven weight loss principles that include:

• Eating a well balanced diet,
• Performing some type of regular weight loss exercise program
• Paying attention to proper rest and recovery
• Drinking enough water each day…

…And maintaining an active lifestyle away from the gym!

All of these things in unison create the environment for permanent fat loss.

No principle alone will allow you to lose weight and keep it off!

So to answer the question: " How much water do I need to drink to lose weight ?"
My answer is somewhere between drinking as much as you can and 1 gallon a day.

If you can, drink 1 gallon a day. If 1 gallon is simply too much for your body, focus on consuming as much water as you can throughout the day.

If you are serious about weight loss, you should be eating 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Drink 1 glass/ bottle of water with every meal and 1 large glass/bottle in between every meal throughout the day.

If you are performing regular exercise, drink water before, during and immediately following any workout. This will help to ensure that you are replacing any water lost during exercise sessions.

As far as weight loss is concerned, drinking water alone will not cause fat to fall off of your body.

What consuming water will do is allow for proper hydration. You will be able to feel a difference in your skin, joints and overall level of health.

Water will allow you to replenish what you lose during exercise and day to day life. Water will also help your body rid itself of toxins and waste.

Hopefully you can see the importance of consuming adequate amounts of water throughout the day.

Not only will you feel better, but your body will be able to function more efficiently.

As far as weight loss is concerned, drinking water throughout the day will help you to feel fuller while on a restricted, balanced diet.