But this “spare tire” is more than just unattractive and frustrating. Fat inside the belly area, also termed visceral fat, is seriously harmful. This type of fat is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

There are some science-based diets, exercises, and supplementation strategies to beat stubborn fat for good. Read on for 10 proven methods for losing that stubborn belly fat – for good!

Why Is Belly Fat So Stubborn?
So why are some areas of the body receptive to fat-burning and some are not? Why do we see quick results in our chest and arms but very little in our stomach, hips, and thighs?

1Fat cells contain two types of receptors:

Alpha-receptors
Beta-receptors
Alpha-receptors hinder lipolysis (fat-burning) and beta-receptors trigger it. Fat cells contain more alpha-receptors, which work against lipolysis.

Before getting into ways of getting rid of that stubborn fat, let’s establish a few facts.
You cannot “spot reduce” belly fat.
There are no good versus bad foods in the fight against belly fat.
Don’t blame stress.
Don’t blame when you eat.
How often you eat isn’t your problem either.

Simply put, to lose fat you must reduce your overall fat percentage. Reduce your body fat percentage to 10% (men) or 20% (women) and the bulk of your belly fat will be gone.

Anything you do to cause fat loss, in general, is going to also accelerate the loss of the belly fat.
Implementing diet, exercise, and supplementation strategies to help you burn fat faster will mobilize belly fat better.
10 Proven Ways to Lose Stubborn Belly Fat
2Move it! Don’t stop moving throughout your day – biking, running, walking, swimming, it’s all good. Visceral fat responds well to aerobic exercise.

Pucker up for vinegar. A 2009 Japanese study found that obese people who consumed 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar daily for 8 weeks showed significant reductions in visceral fat. 3According to Pamela Peeke, Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland and author of Fight Fat After 40, one theory is that vinegar’s acetic acid produces proteins that burn fat.

Drink green tea. The antioxidants found in green tea, catechins, are thought to help burn belly fat during exercise. One study put the daily dose at 625 mg, the equivalent of two or three eight-ounce cups of green tea.

Eat your protein. 4As Louis Aronne, MD, explains, the body starts to produce more insulin as it ages, since muscle and fat cells aren’t responding to it properly. And insulin promotes fat storage, especially around your belly.

5Get your fiber! Fiber, specifically soluble fiber, acts to absorb water, forming a gel that helps slow down food as it passes through your digestive system. Excellent sources of soluble fiber include flax seeds, shiitake noodles, Brussels sprouts, avocados, legumes and blackberries.
Lay off the alcohol. Cutting back on alcohol may help reduce your waist size. Observational studies link heavy alcohol consumption with significantly increased risk of excess fat storage around the waist.

Spare the sugar. Studies have shown a correlation between high sugar intake and increased abdominal fat. And sorry, but this includes “healthy” sugars, such as honey.
6Supplements: Fish oil. Fish oil naturally increases testosterone levels and increases fat loss. 6g omega-3 per day is a good start.
Get strong! Strength training helps in fat burning by building muscle mass. Moves like the Squat & Deadlift work best to build strength.
Eat MORE fat. Your body will not feel the need to hoard up fat if you’re providing an adequate amount of fat in your diet. Not eating fat will not prevent you from gaining belly fat, and eating fat will not cause belly fat.
To summarize…

Focus on the right exercises:

Strength training with aerobic exercise will help with cardio, which helps in fat burning and building muscle mass, which also helps with fat burning. Your lower back keeps you upright from the back. Your abs from the front. Both muscles will work hard during strength moves like Squats & Deadlifts.

Supplements:

Fish oil has been found to be the best source of fat to help in losing stubborn visceral fat.

Eat right:

Proteins: Meat, poultry, fish, whey, eggs, cottage cheese
Veggies: Spinach, broccoli, salad, kale, cabbage
Fruits: Banana, orange, apple, pineapple, pears
Fats: Olive oil, fish oil, real butter, nuts, flax seeds
Carbs: Brown rice, oats, whole grain pasta, quinoa

Fight fat using common sense patience, dedication, and science.

But all of this is just advise. You can do whatever the f**k you wanna do.

Your friend and coach,

Crystal AKA Barbell_Barbie.NY IG

NASM CPT/NTRN

Sources
1”Why Belly Fat Is So Stubborn (and How to Lose It),” Mike Matthews, https://legionathletics.com/how-to-lose-belly-fat/

2”9 Proven Ways To Lose Stubborn Belly Fat,” Hallie Levine, https://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/new-research-on-how-to-lose-belly-fat

3”Fight Fat After 40,” Pamela Peeke, Professor of Medicine, University of Maryland

4Louis Aronne, MD, Director of the Obesity Clinic at Cornell University

5”20 Effective Ways to Lose Belly Fat,” Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/20-tips-to-lose-belly-fat

6 “How to Lose Your Belly Fat Quickly and Naturally,” Mehdi, https://stronglifts.com/how-to-lose-belly-fat-fast-naturally/

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What keeps people motivated in the gym year after year? Spoiler: It ain’t wishful thinking or magical pixie dust.

I’ve been lifting weights for over half my life, but it’s also a hobby that’s made me next to no money while costing thousands in man-hours. So while it would look all hardcore for me to put on my tightest T-shirt and sneer, “I do this shit because it’s hard!” the truth is that there are many times my own motivational fire needs a little stoking.

So how does a hard-training guy or girl like you stay motivated to hit the gym day after day, year after year? Look up your favorite fitness celebrities, and their posts may offer questionable and interesting advice that work for the short term, at best.

Truthfully, for motivational techniques to work, they must be both intrinsic (from within) and sustainable. You need concrete, no-nonsense ways to set you on the path toward a lifetime of hard, focused training.

So while having the gym staff call you Mr. Olympia may fire you right up for the upcoming leg workout, it probably loses its edge once the novelty wears off and they resume saying, “Hey, your membership is three months past due.”

1 BE GOAL-DRIVEN

“I want a big bench press” is a lousy goal.

“I want to bench press 315 pounds” is better, but “I want to bench press 315 pounds in 16 weeks” is best of all.

See, for a goal to be effective, it must be specific, and more important, have a deadline.

SEE, FOR A GOAL TO BE EFFECTIVE, IT MUST BE SPECIFIC, AND MORE IMPORTANT, HAVE A DEADLINE.
I regret not setting more goals early in my training career. Of course, I always had “aspirations”—a look I wanted to achieve, strength levels I wanted to reach—but they were too “loosey goosey,” and were seldom accompanied by a hard deadline. For example, “Get a big bench press” was in the back of my mind throughout high school. But because it was just a vague marker instead of a decisive goal, it took me forever to develop even a mediocre bench press.

Goals are important, but at the same time it’s crucial not to become goal-obsessed. You simply will not reach every goal you set for yourself. I don’t care how much of a machine you are; at some point, you’ll fall short. The trick is to not get too down on yourself when it happens.

Remember that every failure also presents an opportunity to learn. Dust yourself off, reassess, and start anew.

2 REVIEW YOUR GOALS WEEKLY, EVEN DAILY

Think of how many goals are made in a drunken haze every December 31. Now think how many of these goals are abandoned by mid-January.

I get it, life is busy. It’s easy to be distracted by the sheer force of immediate survival—work, family, paying the cable bill, domestic duty—so that our less pressing—yet-more impactful—goals get swept aside.

Time management guru Stephen Covey based a whole system around this, noting how we tend to focus on unimportant and urgent things (like email) while important yet non-urgent tasks (like goal-setting) fall by the wayside. The result is a life spent putting out fires without accomplishing anything meaningful.

Break the cycle: Make reviewing your goals a priority. Some experts say setting aside time once each week is sufficient. I say if you want something badly—such as a new strength achievement—you should review your goals daily.

Just spend five minutes every morning reminding yourself how important your goal is to you, and how you’ll eventually reach it, no matter what trivial challenges life might throw your way.

3 DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE GYMS

Some gyms just suck.

Not just in available equipment; what most gyms lack is a winning atmosphere. I’d bet my last dollar that you’d set personal record after personal record if you actually found a place in which you felt comfortable, and where everyone seemed to “have your back.”

The latest, fanciest gym equipment don’t mean squat if your gym makes you feel like just “another member.” Quit paying them. Instead, go find a community that places your goals above your membership fee, where you feel “just right.” Call me old-school, but I like places that are full of chalk, bent barbells, and a noticeable lack of air freshener.

FIND A COMMUNITY THAT PLACES YOUR GOALS ABOVE YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEE, WHERE YOU FEEL “JUST RIGHT.”

The kind of place where the third toilet from the end always has a “Do Not Use EVER” sign attached to it. These gyms are often full of strong, serious people who are also generous. That’s my kind of place. What’s yours?

4 MAKE IT BIGGER THAN YOU

On the surface, working out is shallow.

A fitness lifestyle seems all about you and your goals, not to mention the requisite social media updates and pre- and post-workout selfies. These all eventually ring a little hollow, especially if you start to see it as “four hours a week of time that I could be spending with my kids.”

Remove yourself from the equation and reframe your mindset. Change “I’m lifting for myself” to “I’m lifting to better provide for my family and live long enough to see my kids get married.” What a powerful difference this makes.

It still boils down to you busting your ass and making a commitment. For some, this subtle switch of perspective is all it takes.

5 GROW A SET

At a certain point, you need to find your own motivation. Certain mind games and articles like this one can help reset your focus and maybe offer a little perspective, but at the end of the day you have gotta want it.

AT A CERTAIN POINT, YOU NEED TO FIND YOUR OWN MOTIVATION.

If following a sensible diet and working out most days of the week is too much of a chore, then do something else. Do anything! Collect stamps. Carve ducks out of balsa wood. Become a beekeeper (bees are in decline, you know) or just spend more time whining on the Internet.

Here’s the deal: Like it or not, being able to improve the health, function, and aesthetics of your physique is one of life’s great privileges, and it’s something that many people only dream of doing.

There’s your motivation. Now don’t waste it. Get up, Go Out and Get What is yours.

Stay Motivated, Stay Driven and Reaching for the stars,

Crystal aka Barbell Barbie. NY

References:

http://fortune.com/2015/09/30/successful-people-motivation-tips/

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/5-motivation-tricks-of-successful-people.html

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Find out why the under-the-radar vitamins riboflavin and niacin are crucial for optimal energy production—and which foods you can seek out to meet your daily goal!

Riboflavin and niacin may sound like words from another language, but they’re actually vitamins B-2 and B-3, two essential vitamins that play a major role in your ability to exercise. In fact, they are major driving forces for converting carbohydrates into usable energy!

Take a few minutes to learn more about these water-soluble vitamins so that you can be sure you’re getting enough in order to dominate your workouts!

Riboflavin

Why you need it Without riboflavin (vitamin B-2), your body wouldn’t be able to properly release energy from carbohydrates. That is significant beyond high-intensity exercise; energy from carbs is the major fuel for our brains. So come up short in riboflavin, and expect a case of brain fog.

Riboflavin can also help neutralize free radicals.

The B vitamins—or B-complex, as they’re often referred to—work together to enhanced energy production, but also to help each other. Riboflavin is also needed to convert vitamin B-6, which helps the body make hormones like serotonin, into a usable form.[1]

How much you need: Men need 1.3 milligrams of riboflavin daily, while women require 1.1 milligrams.

Riboflavin-Packed Foods

Milk: 27% Per Cup

In addition to being high in protein and calcium, moo juice is a good source of riboflavin.

In addition to being high in protein and calcium, moo juice is a good source of riboflavin, too, which helps your mind and body to continue working hard. This gives you even more of an excuse to wear that white moustache with pride. You can up the nutritional ante further by splurging for milk from cattle that actually had a chance to nibble in apasture, which increases levels of good stuff like omega-3 fats.[2]

Almonds: 17% RDA Per Ounce

A healthy dose of riboflavin is yet another reason to go nuts for almonds. In fact, a New England Journal of Medicine study reported that eat nuts like almonds frequently may help support overall health.[3] The nutrient payload nuts provide may help support many of the body’s functions.

Eggs: 15% RDA Per Egg

The humble egg’s riboflavin load should cement it as a breakfast staple.

It’s already a near-perfect protein, so the humble egg’s riboflavin load should cement it as a breakfast staple. As with most of the nutrients present in the white orb, B-2 is housed in the yolk. So don’t even consider making another tasteless egg-white-only omelet.

Other good sources include liver, goat cheese, cheddar cheese, salmon, mackerel, chicken, ground beef, tahini, wheat bran, and broccoli.

Niacin

Why you need it: Otherwise known as vitamin B-3, niacin is called upon by the human body to make the coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP). Wishing you hadn’t sleep through chemistry class? No worries—just know that numerous enzymes require NAD and NADP to properly break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into energy.

How much you need: Adult men require 16 milligrams of niacin each day, and women should consume 14 milligrams.

Niacin-Packed Foods

Chicken breast is also one of the best sources of niacin in the grocery store.

Always there when you need a reliable source of protein, chicken breast is also one of the best sources of niacin in the grocery store. It’s also rich in phosphorus, a mineral vital to bone growth and maintenance.

Canned Light Tuna: 56% RDA Per 3 Ounces

Long a staple protein among bodybuilders, budget-friendly canned tuna can help stock your diet with energy-generating niacin. You’ll additionally benefit from good amounts of vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and the antioxidant selenium. You can also use tuna stuffed into pouches as a convenient way to give your sandwiches and salads a shot of niacin and top-notch protein.

Peanuts: 19% RDA Per Ounce

While not as sexy as pistachios, almonds, and other nuts, peanuts pack the most niacin. And not to be overlooked is that this nut—well, technically a legume—also has the most protein: 7 grams per ounce, which is about 25 peanuts. So consider a handful of peanuts the next time a snack attack strikes. To keep them healthier, look for dry-roasted and unsalted varieties.

Other good sources include peanut flour, anchovies, fresh skipjack tuna, salmon, swordfish, sunflower seeds, turkey, and beef sirloin.

So stick with the best lean sources to get that lean Muscular look. You are what you eat. So eat well and TRAIN LIKE A BEAST!!!!!!!!!!

Your Friend and Coach,

Crystal aka Barbell Barbie. NY

References

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin). (2015, August 5). Retrieved from https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/vitamin-b2-riboflavin
Daley, C.A., Abbot, A., Doyle, P.S., Nader, G.A. & Larson, S. (2010). A review of fatty acid profiles and antioxidant content in grass-fed and grain-fed beef. Nutrition Journal, 9(10), 1-12.
Bao, Y., Han, J., Hu, F.B., Giovanucci, E.L., Stampfer, M.J., Willett, W.C. & Fuchs, C.S. (2013). Association of nut consumption with total and cause-specific mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(21), 2001-2011.

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From teens to people in their 80s, improving one’s physique is a truly “ageless” pastime. Sure, not all of these people call themselves bodybuilders, but more of them in all age groups are eating and training with the pursuit of more muscle in mind. And with good reason! The further on we get in age, the more pronounced the benefits of a little more muscle mass become in terms of quality of life and longevity.

In short, you’re never too old to see the benefits of getting stronger. But while training plays a major part in giving your body the stimulus to change, there’s plenty you can do with your diet, as well. In fact, structuring your diet around your age and goals is essential to great results.

Of course, I’m not going to hit you over the head with some “one magic food” baloney here. Just the opposite. I’m going to help you utilize the classic way bodybuilders balance the three macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fats—to ramp up muscle growth and fat loss. The only difference: You’re going to optimize them for your age!

It turns out there’s been an extensive amount of research into how people at different ages respond to different levels of the macronutrients, and it’s not hard to make some recommendations that could pay off big-time for you. Let’s chow down!

PROTEIN ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH?
You are probably aware that dietary protein is important for stimulating muscle growth (through muscle protein synthesis, or MPS) and optimal recovery from training. But how does age affect this anabolic (muscle-building) response to protein?

AS YOU AGE, A DIET RICH IN PROTEIN CAN HELP PREVENT AGE-RELATED DECLINE IN MUSCLE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS.

Research suggests that younger individuals are very sensitive to the anabolic effects of amino acids.1-3 The old cliché of a young man who can seemingly put on muscle just by looking at a steak? Yeah, there’s probably something to it. The opposite might also be true, as several researchers have shown that comparatively large doses of amino acids are required to maximize the anabolic response in older individuals.1,2,4-8

Why is this? It appears the decreased response may be explained by a decrease in the activity of the protein mTOR and the enzyme p70S6K, both of which are involved in initiating protein synthesis.2,4 Furthermore, it appears that the decreased anabolic response in the elderly may be due, at least in part, to the natural increase in oxidative stress that accompanies aging. Oxidative stress is the type of damage that all those antioxidants are meant to mitigate. As levels of certain molecules known as “reactive oxygen species” go up, levels of protein synthesis go down.9

There is hope, however. Consuming a diet rich in protein—specifically, the amino acid leucine—can help prevent the age-related decline in muscle protein synthesis.

Muscle-building protein recommendations by age:

65 years: 1.3-1.5 grams per pound of body weight

Even if you don’t measure out your protein to the gram, the lesson here is that as you age, you need more protein. If you can have it with antioxidant-rich foods, all the better. You can’t go wrong with a diet rich in meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds here.

compared to their younger counterparts, older adults may need fewer carbs to experience muscle growth.

CARBOHYDRATES EAT LESS OVER TIME
Like protein, adequate intake of carbohydrates can positively affect muscle protein synthesis rates.

The primary way carbohydrates influence muscle growth is by increasing insulin secretion. Insulin helps shuttle available amino acids to cells to jump-start the muscle growth and repair process. In this sense, a fair amount of carbohydrates are still needed even in your later decades of life to help maintain and grow muscle.

Carbohydrates consumed together with protein appear to have a greater anabolic effect in adults than simply consuming protein alone.10 It also appears that insulin can still guard against protein breakdown in adults, meaning it could have a “muscle-sparing” effect. Additionally, there is some evidence that eating carbs can prolong the body’s muscle-building response to amino acids.11

COMPARED TO THEIR YOUNGER COUNTERPARTS, OLDER ADULTS MAY NEED FEWER CARBS TO EXPERIENCE MUSCLE GROWTH.
In short, you can still benefit from carbs as you get older. But because physical activity and metabolic rate tend to decline as you age, you probably don’t need nearly as many of them. As your protein intake goes up with age, your carbohydrate intake can comparatively go down.

Muscle-building carbohydrate recommendations by age:

65 years: 0.8-1.7 grams per pound of body weight

It’s worth repeating here that these recommendations are for maximizing muscle gain, so they will need to be adjusted for individuals wanting to lose body fat. Additionally, as I mentioned in my PH3 Power and Hypertrophy Trainer, individuals vary wildly in their ability to “tolerate” carbs—that is, eat them without turning them into body fat.

So consider these numbers simply to be a start to the conversation. While I think the protein numbers are more or less solid, these carb recommendations definitely aren’t set in stone.

FAT GO UP AS CARBS GO DOWN

PROTEIN FIRST, AND THEN TINKER WITH THE BALANCE BETWEEN CARBS AND FATS UNTIL YOU FIND THE SWEET SPOT THAT WORKS FOR YOU.

The classic way for bodybuilders to construct their diet plan is like this: Protein first, and then tinker with the balance between carbs and fats until you find the sweet spot that works for you. Often, the protein stays consistent, regardless of whether the goal is muscle gain or fat loss.

This approach works wonders because it prioritizes the nutrient most people neglect most—protein—and gives endless room for customization in the other two macronutrients. Appropriately, I advise that, as you age, your fat intake should largely be determined by your carb intake.

In other words, while someone who is younger and still sensitive to the anabolic effects of carbohydrates may be better off consuming lower fat (never lower than 0.2 grams per pound of body weight) with more carbohydrates, an older individual may want to consume fewer of their calories from carbohydrates, and more from protein and fat.

Muscle growth fat recommendations by age:

65 years: 0.55-0.75 grams per pound of body weight

NEVER STOP GROWING

As they age, far too many people in their middle years and older take what is effectively a haphazard approach to their diet. If they want to lose weight, they keep eating the same things in the same balance, but simply cut serving size. If they want to gain muscle, they eat their normal diet, plus a protein shake or bar every now and then.

That can work to a limited degree for certain people, but it’s far from ideal. You deserve better—and getting your macros in the right ballpark is the best place to start! Get just a little more systematic about what you’re eating to go along with your training, and you can amaze yourself with what you’re able to achieve at any age!

But all of this is just advice. You can do whatever the fudge you wanna do

Your friend and coach,

Crystal aka Barbell Barbie. NY

REFERENCES
Paddon-Jones, D., Sheffield-Moore, M., Zhang, X. J., Volpi, E., Wolf, S. E., Aarsland, A., … & Wolfe, R. R. (2004). Amino acid ingestion improves muscle protein synthesis in the young and elderly. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology And Metabolism, 286(3), E321-E328.
Cuthbertson, D., Smith, K., Babraj, J., Leese, G., Waddell, T., Atherton, P., … & Rennie, M. J. (2005). Anabolic signaling deficits underlie amino acid resistance of wasting, aging muscle. The FASEB Journal, 19(3), 422-424.
Drummond, M. J., Miyazaki, M., Dreyer, H. C., Pennings, B., Dhanani, S., Volpi, E., … & Rasmussen, B. B. (2009). Expression of growth-related genes in young and older human skeletal muscle following an acute stimulation of protein synthesis. Journal of Applied Physiology, 106(4), 1403-1411.
Guillet, C., Prod’homme, M., Balage, M., Gachon, P., Giraudet, C., Morin, L., … & Boirie, Y. (2004). Impaired anabolic response of muscle protein synthesis is associated with S6K1 dysregulation in elderly humans. The FASEB Journal, 18(13), 1586-1587.
Katsanos, C. S., Kobayashi, H., Sheffield-Moore, M., Aarsland, A., & Wolfe, R. R. (2006). A high proportion of leucine is required for optimal stimulation of the rate of muscle protein synthesis by essential amino acids in the elderly. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology And Metabolism, 291(2), E381-E387.
Katsanos, C. S., Kobayashi, H., Sheffield-Moore, M., Aarsland, A., & Wolfe, R. R. (2006). A high proportion of leucine is required for optimal stimulation of the rate of muscle protein synthesis by essential amino acids in the elderly. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology And Metabolism, 291(2), E381-E387.
Dardevet, D., Sornet, C., Bayle, G., Prugnaud, J., Pouyet, C., & Grizard, J. (2002). Postprandial stimulation of muscle protein synthesis in old rats can be restored by a leucine-supplemented meal. The Journal of Nutrition, 132(1), 95-100.
Rieu, I., Balage, M., Sornet, C., Debras, E., Ripes, S., Rochon-Bonhomme, C., … & Dardevet, D. (2007). Increased availability of leucine with leucine-rich whey proteins improves postprandial muscle protein synthesis in aging rats. Nutrition, 23(4), 323-331.
Patel, J., McLeod, L. E., Vries, R. G., Flynn, A., Wang, X., & Proud, C. G. (2002). Cellular stresses profoundly inhibit protein synthesis and modulate the states of phosphorylation of multiple translation factors. European Journal of Biochemistry, 269(12), 3076-3085.
Volpi, E., Mittendorfer, B., Rasmussen, B. B., & Wolfe, R. R. (2000). The response of muscle protein anabolism to combined hyperaminoacidemia and glucose-induced hyperinsulinemia is impaired in the elderly. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 85(12), 4481-4490.
Wilson, G. J., Layman, D. K., Moulton, C. J., Norton, L. E., Anthony, T. G., Proud, C. G., … & Garlick, P. J. (2011). Leucine or carbohydrate supplementation reduces AMPK and eEF2 phosphorylation and extends postprandial muscle protein synthesis in rats. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology And Metabolism, 301(6), E1236-E1242

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