This seems to be the biggest request of people who want to lose weight. There are three components to effectively reducing your waistline:
- Diet
- Strength Training
- Cardiovascular Training
A healthy diet consists of a proper balance of protein, carbohydrates and fiber. One must also pay close attention to portion control. The diet should consist of small meals every three to four hours as this will aid in speeding up the metabolism. The carbohydrates should consist of slow moving, whole grain carbohydrates such as: rolled oats, sweet potatoes, brown rice, and whole wheat breads. Protein sources should consist of: chicken, turkey, eggs, fish, lean beef. Fiber sources should consist of green leafy vegetables, carrots, beets, green beans, and of course every diet should contain an array of fruits.
Strength training should be done in a supervised environment with proper body mechanics and form being taught and implemented. Strength training should be performed three days a week and circuit training with light to moderately heavy weights will aid in weight loss and toning of the muscles.
Cardiovascular training may consist of power walking on a treadmill first thing in the morning. More of the energy burned during moderate treadmill workout in a fasted state, comes from fat, compared to energy from a meal. Choosing to eat before a cardio session is equivalent to saying, you want to preserve your fat stores and reduce the amount of sugar that can replenish your muscle glycogen stores after a night's sleep.
Cardiovascular training can also be done on an elliptical machine, upright bike, recumbent bike, jumping rope, aerobics classes, and cardio classes. There are others to choose from - these are just a few.
Recommended heart rate is 65% MHR (maximum heart rate) reliably predicted to occur at a pulse rate 25 beats per minute above your heart rate during a light warm up.
Slow and steady, low intensity, longer duration (45 – 60 minutes) on an empty stomach burns (melts) body fat more efficiently than high intensity.
Thus, the key ingredients in a trim waist is to eat a well balanced, healthy, controlled-portion diet, to strength train at least three days per week, and to perform cardiovascular training at a slow pace for 45-60 minute duration at least three days per week. The combination of these three components will effectively reduce your waistline and overall body weight/ body fat, and will also be the three key components of living a healthy lifestyle. In order to achieve real results that will last one has to apply each of these components to one's everyday life and consistency is key!
