Physical Fitness: Shedding Fat

Crunches are a good start to getting in shape, but there are other factor to getting the body that you want. You can set the record for crunches in a day, but still have a big waste. The reason is that crunches builds muscle, but the fat on your stomach will still be there. The fat around the midsection will your hard work.

The two factors that you must pay close attention to are diet and cardiovascular exercise. When I say diet, I do not mean a temporary change in the way you eat. You need to have a permanent lifestyle change to the way you eat. What is important is that this change is gradual. You have to be able to live with eating healthy. Gradual changes can have big effects, such as drinking more water instead of soda. I wrote an entry that gives you general guidelines on balancing carbs and protein:
http://2cool4reality.blogspot.com/2007/07/nutrition-protein-and-carbohydrates.html

The final step to shedding fat is raising your heart rate for long periods of time. We achieve this through cardiovascular exercise. The American Heart Association recommends raising your heart rate to 50%-85% of your maximum heart rate. Here is a chart from their website to help you figure out your target heart rate when you exercise: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4736

Cardiovascular exercise helps the body convert fat, which is stored energy, into usable energy. The trouble is that you cannot lose fat from one isolated area. Your entire body will lose fat simultaneous. Therefore, if you want to maintain a good size, you need to pay attention to the protein and carbohydrates that you take in. It is difficult to put on muscle weight once it is lost, so be warned.