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So you want an EASY answer to a HARD question? I have that answer, just as you have the question: "What is the best exercise for blasting belly fat?"

Unfortunately, the answer is not one that most want to hear. Simply put, in order to earn a trim waistline, one must lose excess body fat through cardiovascular exercise and build muscle through weight training of some sort.

It is important to note that you cannot "spot reduce" fat. In other words, working your thighs will not sculpt them into fat-free thighs, just as endless crunches or sit ups will not melt away abdominal fat and guarantee a six-pack. This seems to be a commonly believed myth when it comes to working out. Here is an illustration to help you understand the concept of excess body fat: Picture a large transparent piggy bank as your body (no pun intended!) filled randomly with various coins, say, 250 pennies and 1000 nickels. These coins represent body fat throughout your body. Seeing as though there are more nickels than pennies (or that you seem to have more "nickels" in your abdominal area), naturally, you want to take out the nickels. However, you are physically UNABLE to reach inside the piggy bank and pluck the nickels from the sea of pennies. The best you can do is to open the bottom of the bank, and let the coins trickle out as they will. The same goes for exercising to lose body fat.

Sure, the body has its favorite places to store fat, but the body BURNS FAT WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION. It is for this reason that you usually notice weight loss in your face first-your body has burned a LITTLE fat from ALL over your body, but since the face is rarely a favorite place for the body to hoard excess fat, your face becomes "fat-free" at a seemingly quicker rate then does your bellyOr to return to the coin example: If you have five coins in your face and 500 coins in your belly area and the body ditches 50 coins total from all over the body, that deficit will more likely be noticed in the area that had the least amount of coins to begin with. Got it? Good.

Now, the BEST way to burn fat, in a nutshell is to undertake these three steps:
1. Control portions and eat more frequently: Instead of eating a whole pizza for lunch, have 1/3 for lunch, 1/3 for a snack in two hours, and the remaining 1/3 for dinner, possibly throwing in some apples or bananas here or there too. This steady intake of food will "teach" your body that it has no need to panic and store fat because you will be feeding it every couple of hours.
2. Build muscles through weighted or non-weighted full body workouts. A pound of muscle will burn up to fifty calories a day just to LIVE! How many calories does a pound of fat need every day in order to survive? About THREE! Thus, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn just by having those muscles. Where do the muscles get those needed calories? From fat stores throughout your body!
3. Burn excess fat off with cardiovascular exercise. Forget tracking your heart rate and attempts at entering the "fat burning zone". Just get moving. Fast, slow, moderatejust do it. ANY type of work burns calories, period. Obviously, the harder you work or longer you work, the more calories you will burn. And as is the case with the above recommendation, guess what substance in your body will be offset in an attempt to meet these caloric demands? Yup! Body fat.

In the end, becoming fit and ditching body fat is a challenge worth undertaking. Remember, if it were easy, everyone would have a six pack. The only two differences between those with abs and those without is 1. A desire for a goal and 2. A willingness to dedicate themselves to that goal consistently, until that goal is met.

You can do it!

Learn more about this author, Matt E. Clips.
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