My epic search to rid my belly fat with as little effort as possible. Tried and tested methods.

 

I do eat well, I workout 4-5 times a week, I wear my fitness tracker and my OCD is not satisfied until I clock up 10,000 steps. I also like a drink (or two), I smoke (when drinking) and appreciate my excellent cooking as well as 'supporting' many restauranteurs.

 

There is always the latest wonder supplement and quite frankly I tried the Raspberry Ketone in the jelly form, which didn't make any noted difference other than the sweets were quite tasty and I probably had too many. I've also been informed by someone in the know that the majority of Raspberry Ketones on the market are so diluted and poorly manufactured that there is little to no effect-ability in them.

 

I've also tried the Stomach Sweat System, don't laugh, it was cheap, I was distracted while watching The Good Wife. It's basically a neoprene strap which you velcro around your wobbly bits, that holds you in and coupled with the fabric type, makes you sweat. Ergo, lose weight. First of all, it was stupidly cheap and I actually liked it. I'm not sure it did anything, but it kept my stomach strapped in and made me feel more trim while I was wearing it, while supposedly being productive. When you take it off though it's like watching one of those episodes of the Simpson's when Homer lobs his fat out on his work desk.

 

I'm a huge fan of hints and tips from the pro's, like James Duigan, little changes to introduce in to your diet and routine, in theory they are great;

- 'Avoid alcohol like the plagues, it bloats you and effects your ability to burn fat' at a push I can do the Gin & Slimline Tonic diet for a week or two. But it is summer..

- 'Try eat 5 meals a day (2 more of a snack) to avoid overeating at main meal times'. I always just get too excited. But I'm trying.

- 'Do 20-40 squats before a meal to fire up your metabolism'. Again, this is a great idea, I try and eat after a workout, but you can look like a crazy spud at work doing this or remembering and finding the time in our ever increasingly busy lives makes this more unlikely.

 

I do eat lots of greens and my water intake is as recommended, I am getting better at shoving lemon in on a morning too. This one, I mainly do stick to. If there is only one thing you can fit in to your routine, this one is easy and cheap.

 

Now, we do have a science bit. Tummy fat is predominantly a female concern and there are reasons for this other than Fizz Friday and attaining a supposed bikini body. Stress, there are more stressed women out there for all matter of reasons, work/life balance, money worries, needy spouses, peer pressure; I saw a great spoof picture the other day saying 'I wish my life was as a good as I make it out to be on Facebook'. Pressures to be this or that, unconventional families, health threats. Men also, suffer with similar pressures but is realised in ways that we are not going to address here. So this stress results in Cortisol, a bugger of a hormone that floods the body when stressed, it is commonly termed the 'fight or flight' hormone and very kindly makes its home in your gut. Slightly on a tangent, the body also gets flooded with adrenalin in such circumstances as mentioned, which contributes to why we're seeing more anger in women too. It's a shame that wine can calm us down, were damned if we do and damned if we don't!

You know when you have that stressy tight feeling in your stomach? It's all related. When something feels off, you feel it in your gut. It's not just a saying, it's biology. Along with eat yourself happy. Your ENS (Endocrine Nervous System - obvs) which sits in you gut is responsible for 95% of your body's serotonin production, the happy hormone. But it needs to be healthy to do its job properly.

I guess a great partnership here is to learn how to work out these stresses, target the energy towards exercises. Clear your head and put the hormones to good use.

 

I'm yet to try the metabolising toe ring... I'm saving this one for one of the iPad web surfing nights when I've had a few red wines and can't even be bothered to peel my bum off the sofa to top up my cheeseboard.

 

Half the time I wonder why I bother, as I either emerge from the sea painfully trying to emanate Ursula Andress while in fact looking like I have 1 leg shorter than the other and a boob misplaced or look like I'm being abused due to all the bruises on my thighs from being unable to pass a table corner without making contact. But still... It's great to have a goal all the same!