Over the years, I’ve been asked how it is that I stay slim. And I have to admit, though I’ve tried to explain it properly, somehow I come across pretty lame.
Having come across Mike Geary’s advice… AND his being a Certified Nutrition Specialist as well as a Certified Personal Trainer, it’s my opinion that we could all benefit fully in his training. Therefore, below I offer you an article contributed by Mike Geary, the founder of TruthAboutAbs.com (using my affiliate link).
I felt this was an important enough of a topic to share with you because, the reality is, most people simply don’t realize how dangerous their excess abdominal fat really is to their health. And we can’t kid ourselves either ladies… this is NOT ‘an exclusive to men’ kinda’ problem. The very same advice is given us all… so do read on!
The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.
However, what most people don’t realize is that excess
abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.
There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.
The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.
Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.
Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.
If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.
So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat?
Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?
The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.
The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.
I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.
Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.
Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.
Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.
Learn the Truth about Losing Your Stomach Fat Permanently
The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.
Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.
If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork… it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It’s really that simple.
The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.
I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.
Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.
Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem by reading more details about this unique workout and diet program at the home page — Losing Dangerous Abdominal Fat.
Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth about Six Pack Abs
And, in case you are unaware that Soy is NOT all that healthy for human consumption, you may be interested in reading a more recent post of mine titled: Soy Consumption May Hasten Osteoporosis…
For a FREE eBook authored by Mike Geary, all you need to do is click the “I want my FREE ebook!” button below:
Please be sure to leave your comment below if this article helped you in any way.
Credit for Header: image by Szebas Dieting Weight Loss Concept | Dreamstime
Let me just clear the crunches myth up now. Ab crunches about the flooring do not perform. Avoid doing them at all costs I do not care who told you they work. You should be performing efficient ab workouts to replace them.
I don't do crunches… no way. Not since high school.
a really good way to lose weight without a diet is to drink 4 cups of water before every meal. this will fill you up, and you’ll eat less, plus water is really good for you. couple this with the weights at home, and you’ll be fine. oh, and by the way, Google power of ten Adam Zickerman and get the book its a workout that you do twice a week for 20 minutes, and its better than the 5 day a week, 1 hour each day routine my dad and i have both been doing this for 2 years, and it works really really well. so yeah, drink water before you eat to lose the extra fat, and use your weights for power of 10 to get muscle good luck!!!!! hope this helps!!!!!
Not really Jake, according to snopes.com "Doctors from a wide range of specialties agree: By all evidence, we are a well-hydrated nation. Furthermore, they say, the current infatuation with water as an all-purpose health potion – tonic for the skin, key to weight loss – is a blend of fashion and fiction and very little science " Learn more, go to: http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp
The very first week or two aren’t too bad. But then your favorite food starts haunting you, or you choose to rest for any day time or two. Then, the following point you know, you’ve lost your direction and fell back again into old habits. Old routines that got you to where you needed to lose weight in the first place.
Perhaps you need to create a more scheduled approach to your routine than Woodrow.
if you have not lost fat after 2 weeks your diet sucks. Endomorphs need to work harder it is true but its not like i go to the gym, run 5 mins and loose weight, Just eat 1 apple a day. Write out what you eat over a week and you will see it is what you are eating. Unless you do what i see a lot of people do in the gym; they go 6 times a week, or they walk slowly for about 5 mins and stop when it gets too hard to do.
Interesting… I think you've definitely got a good point here Bryan. Thanks!
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing through your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your RSS feed and I hope you write again soon!
Glad you're enjoying my blog posts Nick!
With a wholesome diet and solid washboard work out routine you’ll be unstoppable. Just be certain to actually take action. You might feel that you need some time to adjust to a new lifestyle and that’s fine. Take it a single day at a time. It doesn’t matter if it requires weeks to be loyal to your program, just keep on moving forward.
Good advice Andy!
Thanks for re-posting Mike Geary’s article Trish… great advise!
The truth is that there is no such thing as spot training. Spot training means that if you have fat somewhere, then by exercising that area should reduce the fat. Fat will not be significantly reduced by hundreds of sit-ups; your abs would just be very conditioned. Where fat accumulates is determined by your genes. For most people it would be the face first, and then on to the belly, thighs, and back of the arms. Genetics will also determine where the fat is burnt off first. When you burn the fat, the fat cells simply empty out but still remain intact which makes it easier to gain the weight back. Start a jogging or aerobic workouts in your leisure time. It’s the only way. Don’t listen to commercials about exercise machines. Diet and exercise is all you really need. Was this answer helpful?
You're very welcome Cheryl!
Instead do them on an exercise ball. By doing ab crunches on an exercise ball you’ll give your ab muscles a hard workout. Should you aren’t used to doing these then you can anticipate to become sore the next day. Not just do they target your abs directly but you remove the strain in your back and neck.
Hi Shane,
Wow… great advise… and here's a video for those who wish to know how to use an exercise ball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOv2TDLv8wU