Good DVD that concentrates on tummy and waist?

you cant spot reduce fat i'm afraid OP.

best to lose the body fat through exercise and a calorie deficit diet.
use resistance exercise to increase you metabolic rate.

the stickes should have all the info you need.

ncmc wrote: »

Thanks for that, I have been reading through the stickies but I am experiencing a bit of 'info overload'!

I am not overweight at all and am pretty trim everywhere else, I would just like to get rid of that band of fat round my middle and also the dreaded 'muffin top'!

dunno what a muffin top is

high instensity cardio and good compound resistance exercises.

interval training is a great way to get your metabolism up.

jogging for a min then sprint for 30 secs, then jog for a min, repeat.

it also means you wont be jogging at a light pace for an hour if you are stuck for time.

with weights, got for 10 to 12 reps at a weight that is a challenge to get the reps out.
compound exercises like the squat, deadlift, lunge, bench press, and seated row would help.

if you can find some classes locally they would help.
circuits are my preference cos they are tough.

ncmc wrote: »

I hear people talk about giving up carbs to get a flat stomach, is this something I should be doing?:(

You don't necessarily need to give up carbs entirely, but most people could do well to reduce the carb content of their diet.

Carbohydrates are very easily stored as fat in your body - there's minimal processing involved and so the excess just gets tucked away and stored as blubber. Protein on the other hand is difficult for your body to convert into fat and the excess tends to be just as easily excreted.

As well as this, processed carbohydrates cause an insulin spike in your body which causes the extra fat to be stored more prominently around the belly. Excess carbs and a lack will also lead to water retention increasing the size of your waistline.

Finally, belly fat is often the most stubborn fat on our body, so even when we look slim everywhere else, we can have a rounded belly - girls in particular as they are naturally more predisposed to carrying bodyfat.

Porridge in the morning is fine for breakfast, but don't add sugar or sweetened yoghurt to it, instead stick to dried berries or fresh fruit to increase your fibre levels.

Snack on nuts and seeds (which will increase the good fats in your diet), natural yoghurt and other minimally processed dairy (cottage cheese is ideal).

Make your meals high in vegetables and salads, lean meats and fish; the former provides plenty of roughage to encourage easy movement of foods through your bowel preventing bloating and water retention, the latter gives you lots of protein.

ncmc wrote: »

One other question, I take honey in my porridge, thought this was a good alternative to sugar, is this something I should be avoiding?

Honey in porridge is yum, and although it's quite a simple sugar (and therefore easily processed in your body), oats are complex carbs and much more difficult to break down, so the oats will slow down the honey from being digested.

Don't be afraid of other complex carbs like bran, wheat, buckwheat, brown rice and nutty brown bread. These carbs are also much slower to digest but they still need to be eaten in moderation.

It takes some getting used to but what you're really looking out for is added sugar in foods - if you see ingredients like sugar, dextrose, glucose syrup or fructose syrup in the first 5 ingredients, the chances are it's a high sugar product, and you'd be amazes how many foods have sugar added to them!

The best way to get around this of course is to stop buying and eating processed foods, but for now I think increasing your vegetable, fruit and protein intake would be a big step!