The battle of the bulge is a long road filled with some victories and disappointments.  There are times in our lives when even though we are exercising and eating right we still have a very difficult time getting off that excess body-fat.  In the initial stages of exercise the weight is coming off so your very inspired to continue, but after a certain length of time you begin to plateau and thats when discouragement starts.  Since perception is our reality its important to have the proper expectations about dropping body-fat.

All dieters reach a roadblock at some point because after losing a certain amount of weight your body thinks your starving yourself so it purposely slows down your metabolism.  Plus there are different hormonal changes that occur with weight change so from that aspect you will be in a different hormonal state.  Remember that age plays an important part in your fat loss battle so the older you get the more care you must take in your exercising and nutrition plans.

Once you reach your 30’s your metabolism slows down by about 5% with each decade.  What that equates too is that at age 35 your burning 75 calories less per day than you did at age 25.  Annual that accounts for an extra 8 lbs that you will need to work off.  According to the American Institute for Cancer Research you should not gain more tan 11 pounds in your lifetime more than what your weight was at 18 years of age.

There are many things that you can do with your diet and exercise programs.  The first is to try and get more protein, because we lose an average of 5 pounds of muscle per year after the age of 30.  The protein will help you achieve muscle sparing so that when you exercise fat tissue will be attacked and the muscle will be spared.  Protein will also make you feel more full, give you brain energy from all of the amino acids that affect your neurotransmitters.  Another simple habit to acquire is to cut your daily portions by 25%.  So lets say you go out to eat a nice restaurant, just make sure you leave a quarter of what you started with on the plate when your finished.
While cardiovascular workouts are important for getting the heart rate up, weight training is much more important for long term fat-loss strategies.  Lifting weights builds muscle, the more muscle that you have on your body the more calories you will burn and the better your metabolism will become and stay.  Weight lifting will also keep your joints and bones healthy and strong.  Don’t always get discouraged by the scale, sometimes we gain a little but that could be muscle and muscle weights more than fat.  Take walks several times per week, and try to break yourself from a sedentary lifestyle.  The walks will not only help you with your battle against fat, but also help in dealing with stress and calm you down.
Another important thing which is so obvious, is to make sure that you eat your meals slowly.  Chew your foods well before swallowing.  We live in a fast paced world, and gastrointestinal disorders are on the rise, due to not only poor eating habits but in the manner that we eat.  By chewing our meals slow we allow all of the proper enzymes to come in and do the work necessary to break the food down and assimilate all of the nutrients properly.  Instead if we scarf down the food, we will feel bloated and gassy.  When your ready to apply these simple ideas to your fat burning strategy you will have an advantage in the battle of the bulge.