Belly Fat! Grrrrrr.

This may be totally off but when I went dairy and gluten free my tummy totally shrank. I think it was because those foods were hard for my body to process so I was always bloated. I don't have a six pack by any means ( 2 kids and gaining 75 lbs both times!) but I can wear my pre pregnancy clothes and no muffin top!

I'm working on this too. Do you lift weights? Lifting weights along with cardio really helps tone. I've only been working out for 3 months (3 days a week) and have already lost 10 lbs and 1 1/2 inches around my waist. But my body is also more toned as well.

I do a few ab excersizes on machines. I was reading Women's Health magazine March 2011 issue today and there are tons of ideas to help with ab toning that can be done at home.

Also, some women's muscles actually rip apart, so it may not even be flab, it can be your loose muscles sticking out. That is one reason some women have surgery, to get those muscles back together.

You can download it here:

http://www.get-magazine.com/womens-health-march-2011

these were the best articles I read in the issue that I could find online:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/weight-exercises-w...
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/medicine-ball-workout

Also, I still eat sugar and carbs, but I home cook a lot more and don't eat prepacked foods or carbonated beverages hardly ever. This contributes to the tummy swelling going down as well.

All the ab exercises in the world won't help if you're not paying attention to nutrition (which it seems you are) and if you aren't strength training all over. Work on strength training exercises that target large muscle groups (chest, back, legs) so that you will build more muscle mass. Don't worry; you're not male and don't have enough testosterone to produce huge muscles but what you will do is increase your overall muscle mass. This increase requires more calories while at rest and you should see a boost in your metabolism and be a fat-burning machine all day long.

Also, don't do crunches every day. Like every muscles group, it needs at least 48 hours of rest.

If it's belly fat, you need to lay off the processed carbs. No white bread, white rice, pasta and potatoes and corn are no no's too. Sugar is bad too. If you keep these foods in small amounts and use wheat bread, brown rice and wheat pasta when you do you will be amazed how much belly fat you will lose.
Eat good proteins and all the veggies (but for the potatoes and corn) you want it will really help. I used to look pregnant before I started to lay off the sugar and processed carbs :)
Best Regards,
C.

Pilates! It did wonders for my belly after baby. I went to a class twice a week for about a year and couldn't believe the improvement. Now I use the P90X ab workout, which uses the same kind of exercises I was getting in the Pilates class. I was able to buy just the Ab DVD from Amazon (the whole P90X is expensive). It is killer.

you should enrolled in zumba

Here's the real truth, you cannot chose where to lose fat and inches =( If you want to lose your belly fat you just need to work on generally losing weight. you can have very toned abs or strong abs but still have them covered by a layer of fat. =( Everybody's body is different, Some of us if we gain weight it goes straight to belly or thighs or butt.. So first you need to know what your body does, then you need to work on losing weight but on top of that you can tone and strenghten the body if you like pilates awseome, if you like zumba or walking great. Find what you like and keep with it...

The best way to cope with extra weight and belly fat is mummy magic weight-loss tea. I have used this tea with great results.

Pilates is great. I would also recommend walking. Walking burns more calories than most people know, it is relaxing and if you keep your abs engaged as you walk it helps your abs, back and posture. Win win!