Belly getting in the way??? take a read!

Hello guys and girls...this is Jaemi..mikey's sidekick....

Ok here we go..I have met most of you, but still have a hard time remembering everyone's

name...but I have been put in charge of the blogging from now on. So this is my first one...

if anyone has any "constructive critisism" please let me know...feedback is good...lol

Why It's So Hard to Lose Belly Fat

The majority of people who set out to lose belly fat never reach their goal, and those who do, only keep it off for a short amount of time.

If this describes you, let's explore the reasons why you are struggling with weight loss and/or flattening your stomach...

Lack of Understanding of How Your Body Works

A lot of people assume they can just do crunches or buy an ab machine to flatten their stomach.

When you have stomach flab, you actually have extra flab all over your body. It just may look worse in the mid section.

Or maybe you have the type of body frame that gains a disproportionate amount in your stomach area. So it's understandable why you may think you only need to exercise that one area to achieve results.

It's important you understand that you will never lose your stomach fat until you get your entire body into shape.

Our bodies don't know how to eliminate fat in one area so in order to burn the fat in the tummy, you have to burn it all over. Cardio exercises are the best way to accomplishing this.

Even if you love the rest of your body and you just want to lose your stomach fat, understand you will lose some weight in all areas of your body in order to achieve that flat stomach.

That's why you have to think about overall weight loss and not just flattening the stomach. It's important that you understand the two are directly related.

Unrealistic Expectations

If you have bad eating habits and you're not used to exercising, don't expect yourself to get on course just because you want to lose the weight so badly.

It takes time to get into a new rhythm, so make sure you set small goals and reward yourself for accomplishing them.

Instead of trying to cut all bad foods cold turkey, make a list of foods you will eliminate for the first couple of weeks and continue to add new items to your list as time goes on.

When you start to see results from your small goals, it will motivate you to set larger goals and give you a sense of accomplishment.

That's why so many people fail with weight loss. They set unrealistic expectations and when they fail, they give up or look for the next fad diet.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Realize this may be tough in the beginning so set goals you know you can reach.

Overeating Isn't The Issue. It's a Symptom.

I've talked about this with tons of people before, but they still think they can cure their weight problem if they can just stop overeating.....WRONG!!!!!!!

Sure, that sounds like a solution! but the issue is often much deeper than that.

So what you need to figure out is why you overeat. Are you depressed because of a situation in your life? Overeating is only a symptom of a larger problem.

So until you get to the root of that issue, overeating will continue to be your enemy and so will your weight.

No Strength Training

If you are looking for that perfectly toned belly, strength training is how you achieve that "cut look". Usually crunches aren't enough to accomplish this.

So in addition to your crunches and cardio exercise, make sure you do some abdominal strengthening exercises.

Pilates and Yoga are two great ways to do this. Not only do they focus on breathing and relaxation, but they focus on strengthening your core muscles (a.k.a. your belly!).