De-Jiggle Your Middle - 5 Ways To Help This

Don't you hate it when you jump up and down, and all you feel is "jiggle" in the middle? I hate that feeling. Yes, even I know that feeling. I used to know that feeling...up until I started doing these 5 things on a permanent basis.

1. Stop eating out. Limit it to once per week. This way YOU have control over what is in your foods. When you eat out, you never really know how it's cooked.

2. Eat every 3-4 hours no matter what. This will increase your mtabolic rate substancially! Any longer than that without eating automatically slows down the metabolism and makes you gain fat.

3. Start eating every meal/snack with both a protein and a complex carbohydrate. The protein will help make those muscles stronger so they will burn more fat at a higher rate. The complex carbohydrate will give your system and your muscles the energy it needs to keep your metabolism burning at a high rate.

4. Do at least 3 days of resistance training each week. Each time must include all the main muscles in the body.

5. Do cardiovascular activity (no, yard work does not count...I don't care what you say!) at least 3 days a week of at least 30 minutes. No Matter What!!! Get it in!

There you have it. Once I incorporated those 5 things, and started making it a part of my lifestyle on a consistant basis, there was no more jiggle in the middle. I'm not just saying this to try to convince you to do it. I actually did this. I made the concious decision to do these things and it has worked great.

P.S. Notice I didn't say anything about cutting out this or that in my diet. It's not about what you "cut out", but more about what is needed to be added.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC, and is known as the low country Fat Loss Expert. He can be reached at chad@shapingconcepts.com

Keep Track of Your Calorie Burn

I like to use the word "Burn" quite a lot when speaking to my clients about losing fat. What does "burn" mean? Well, it's simply the amount of calories burned during exercise.

There is an easy way to keep track of your burn compared to how much fat you want to lose. Of course losing fat has a lot to do with what and how much you eat, but as far as exercise is concerned these numbers are what you want to remember...

To lose 0 pounds or maintain the body fat that you have, your goal is to burn 100 calories each day through exercise or 700 calories each week.

To lose 1 pound per week you need to burn 250 calories through exercise each day or 1,750 calories each week.

To lose 2 pounds per week you need to burn 500 calories per day through exercise and 3,500 calories each week.

So always remember what your goal "Burn" number is according to how many pounds you prefer to lose each week. Again, I cannot stress enough how important your food intake is. If you are not eating the correct amount of calories for your body or not taking in the correct kind of calories, your burn numbers won't matter too much.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC, and is known as the low country Fat Loss Expert. He can be reached at chad@shapingconcepts.com

9 Ways To Help You Meet Your Fitness Goals

When starting a fitness program do it the right way. Don't waste your time just going through the motions. Do it right! Here are nine ways to help you get started, maintain and achieve your fitness goals.

1. Take before, during and after pictures of yourself. Front and side views.

2. Take before, during and after weight and body fat measurements.

3. Keep a nutrition log since eating is the hardest and most important part of weight loss.

4. Keep a daily weight loss journal of everything you are going through, or start a blog and put in a post each day to keep yourself accountable to others.

5. Write out a pledge to yourself to start, and follow through with all your goals. Make sure you sign it.

6. Find a weight loss buddy to go through the journey with.

7. Enter a local or national weight loss contest, or make up your own.

8. Make a goal to achieve something you don't think you can do every two months such as finish a 5k or 8k run/walk.

9. Before you do anything...get the guidence needed from a trainer or fitness professional with a consultation. Most consultations are free. Use professionals. They are called professionals for a reason.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC. Chad is known as the local fat loss expert. He can be reached at chad@shapingconcepts.com