By Iain Reitze
If you are serious about ridding yourself of the beer belly before the summer then you need to take a little responsibility and make some changes. You cannot continue with the lifestyle that put it there and expect it to be gone in time for your summer holidays!
To help you get that beach body and make heads turn (for the right reasons), here are some subtle changes to your lifestyle that can help to shrink the belly and achieve weight loss for the summer:
Firstly, avoid alcohol Monday to Friday. Alcohol is known to have a lot of well hidden calories, and the body has no real use for them. These calories will need to be burned as energy, so the body will avoid using the stored energy (fat) already in the body. Because of the high sugar content in alcohol, this will increase blood sugar fluctuations, leading to hunger cravings - and we all know too well that drinking leads to nibbling more, which leads to more calories, which leads to making another hole in the wrong end of the belt!
Secondly, increase your activity! If you can reduce your alcohol and calorific intake, and combine it with an increase in activity, you will find the results in Beer Belly reduction will arrive much quicker. If you eat around 100 calories a day more than you expend in energy then in 5 years you will put on around 5 stone. So try and reduce the amount of calories you eat and increase the amount of calories you burn. An average guy has a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) of around 2500cals (This is the amount the body will burn to remain alive). So if you eat 2500 calories a day, you should maintain weight. If you eat less than 2500 a day, you should lose weight. If you then combine that with activity you will obtain quicker results and feel better.
Set yourself realistic goals. By setting some realistic goals you will give yourself something to aim for and have an end goal. Enter some walk, some short runs or go for a cycle ride. As you become fitter and slimmer, then you can then adapt these goals. Don't always think you need to be going to the gym to do activity - by putting the above 2 suggestions into your life and combining it with walking more in your daily tasks, taking more stairs (not escalators or lifts) or doing some light exercises at home in the evening, this will increase the calorie burn for each day.
Change your eating habits. Try and eat smaller portions, and eat more medium-low GI foods. Avoid sugary, fat based foods and avoid snacking between meals just for the sake of it.
Lastly, and most importantly - Believe and take Responsibility. You need to believe in what you are doing but also take responsibility for it. You must stop finding reasons why you cannot exercise, because ultimately they are not reasons, they are excuses! If you really want that belly to be gone then 'Man Up' and do something about it. If you need a kick start, sign yourself up to a military-style fitness camp or weight loss boot camps. Nobody is going to come and do this for you, you need to do it for yourself. Its not just the about the way you feel and look it is also the long term health benefits from it.
Iain Reitze
Head Physical Trainer at Prestige Boot Camp