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The dreaded muffin top…the excess flesh that hangs over your waistband – it’s not a great look, so if you have one, it’s time to get rid of it, just in time for summer! But how?

GET MOVING!

As many of you will know, your muffin top is excess fat that sits around your middle. To reduce your muffin top, you have to get rid of the fat. One of the best ways to do that is cardio exercise. Anything that will get your heart rate up and challenge you, will help to burn fat – running/jogging, power walking, swimming, bike riding. Ideally you need to be doing some form of cardio exercise 3 times a week for 45-60mins. On top of that, you also need to do strength training, or strength exercises. The more toned you are (the more muscle you have), the faster you will burn energy, increase your metabolic rate which in turn will help to drop body fat.

BE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH

What you put in your mouth can contribute to approx 70-80% of your results, so its pretty important to watch what you eat. Doing a Food Diary can be very eye opening. Also, clients have said if they have to write it down, they are less likely to put it in their mouths! That also works 2 ways. If you eat it and don’t write it down, you are really only cheating yourself! Some other things to consider in relation to your nutrition:

Take Sugar out of  your diet

Reducing or taking sugar out of your lifestyle is one of the best ways to see results. It’s time to take out cakes, biscuits, lollies, chocolate, soft drinks, cordials, chips, sweeteners, milk products, breads, alcohol.

For more information on sugar cravings and taking sugar out of your life, click here.

Reduce the amount of toxins you put in your body

Toxins include:

  • Alcohol
  • Cigarettes
  • Drugs
  • Processed Foods
  • Chemicals in food – caffeine, e-numbers, additives, colours, preservatives etc
  • Soft drinks
  • Negative energy

When you put these toxins into your body, your body goes into protective mode. It needs to protect your vital organs, so in doing this it wraps these toxins in water, fat, self made cholesterol and sends it away from your organs, to your lymph glands – under your arms, inner thighs and in women, right around your middle! Reduce toxins, reduce tummy fat!   Drinking 2L or more of water a day, helps to flush toxins out of your system

Take out or reduce the amount of wheat & dairy you consume

I won’t go into too much detail here – but take it out for at least a week (2 is ideal) and see how much better you feel. There are loads of alternatives. For more info, click here. 

Fill your body with nutrients

You need to fill your body with nutrient rich food. That includes – Protein, Good Fats and Good carbs.

Proteins – fish, organic chicken, organic lean red meat( 1-2 times a week Max), eggs, legumes etc

Good carbs – all different types veggies – all different colours – sweet potato, carrots, zucchini, corn, brocoli, peas, beans, capsicums etc. Quiona, brown rice, rice noodles are also good carbs

Good fats – the type of fat found in nuts, seeds, avocado, oily fish, olive oil etc. You should be eating good fats every day. Good fats encourage your body to burn fat around your middle, helping you to achieve a flatter tummy. Don’t be afraid of good fats. Try and have a small amount of good fats at every meal. Add some nuts/seeds to your porridge, add olive oil or avocado to a salad.

REDUCE YOUR STRESS

Stress these days is chronic, we are experiencing stress on an hourly basis. We don’t just experience ‘stress’ once in a while and this is where the problem lies.

This stress response (fight or flight) can’t always be avoided (unfortunately), but you need to learn how to manage it. How:

  • Try and avoid the obvious stressors – work hours, commute, talk about issues, rather than yelling bla bla!
  • Get enough sleep
  • Eat the right foods
  • Workout – it can be an amazing stress reliever, pumping some of those feel good, stress relieving hormones around your body can do wonders for you!

For more info on stress and how it can affect weight loss and how to reduce it, click here.

THINK ABOUT YOUR CORE & YOUR POSTURE

How often do you think about your posture? Well now is a great time to start. There are 2 aspects that I get my clients to do.

  1. The first one is a good habit to get into, which you can do ALL THE TIME. Just suck your belly button in towards your spine. Your shoulders will automatically go back, your pelvis will tilt under and you will stand taller, all the while you have sucked your tummy in. Do this ALL THE TIME.
  2. Doing your Pelvic Floor exercises – you can do these at anytime and anywhere – sitting, standing, driving, walking. All you need to do is to imagine you are stopping yourself from peeing (but don’t do it while you are on the loo).

Now that you are aware of these muscles, tighten them around your front passage, vagina and back passage as strongly as possible and hold for 5 secs. As you lift, imagine these muscles are going up a lift – level 1, level 2, level 3 – go up a level each second, till you get to level 5. Hold there for a second, or another 5 seconds if you can, and then slowly release – try and control this release. Try and repeat for 5-10 times at least 3-5 times a day. The more you do, the stronger they will become.  Make sure you don’t hold your breath and build up the number you do slowly.  I have often had pregnant women ask me if it’s OK to do your pelvic floors while pregnant – the short answer – Yes, it’s very important! Do them!

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