Fat Free

Sambabida, love handles, spare tire, belly fat or 'bilbil' whatever name you call it, it is the stubborn fat around your lower back, sides and around the belly. Sadly, it is the first to appear whenever you lose track of your diet and exercise, and worst it is the last part to disappear. Some people accumulate them through the years, usually after college when one start to work and just sit behind the desk, and talk for most of the day or night. Activity is less and the intake of unhealthy foods increase, such as deep fried and processed foods, which is usually high in sugar, preservatives and additives. Stay away from sweetened drinks, junk foods, cookies, cakes and pastries, which are packed with calories even on a small amount of serving size, because their high amount of sugar is stored directly on the area we call “bilbil”. Choose the natural food that is rich in carbs but is non-starchy such as broccoli, cauliflower, corn, tomatoes and 'kang kong'. Again, the way your food is cooked is also important.

Having a healthy and nutritional meal though is easier said the done. In order to lose weight, it is a combination of 70 percent food and 30 percent exercise. You may exercise for 4 to 8 hours, but it will be totally useless if you binge on food after each exercise. But one must also eat to lose weight. Your body needs the necessary protein to repair or feed your muscles. Skipping meals is bad because your body's metabolism when fired needs fuel to burn. And once it can sense that there is not enough fuel to burn, the metabolism slows down which in turns makes it hard to lose weight then your body shifts in survival mode. It holds on the fuel your body intakes and make sure it last the whole day.

For me, it is still best to follow the basic rules of 3 complete meals a day plus 3 snacks - morning, afternoon and evening. Do it in moderate quantity, at least every 2 hours. In this way, your metabolism will continue to fire knowing that there is an available fuel. But again, remember my advice regarding the quality of food you take.

Although exercise contributes only 30 percent but exercise makes you stronger, increases your muscle and makes you healthier. There is no such thing as spot reduction where exercise can shed those unwanted belly fat. But with exercise, one can guarantee that your metabolism is firing the whole day, which in turn helps burn calories and melt those unwanted fats away.

Here are some exercises one can do at home that will have an after burn effect. All you need is 5 minutes, 4, or even just 2 minutes.

For starters, one must know the basic exercise. Focus exercise that fires the big muscle group such as chest and legs. Range motion is also important because the bigger your movements, the more muscles are involved. The more muscles you use, the faster your metabolism is.

I will not be explaining on how to do each of the exercise as you can search them on your own on how to properly execute each. Here are some workout you can do at home.

5-minute workout:Jog in place, squat, mountain climbers, alternate lunges, bicycle crunches.

Do 15 repetitions each, rest 20 to 30 seconds after completing one round then repeat until 5 minutes end. When you get stronger, you may shorten each rest and push harder. Record the number of rounds you are able to complete to monitor your progress. For beginners, try to make rest longer at least 40 go 60 seconds after doing 1 round.

4-minute workout: This has been my gold standard for workout and warm-up given to our boot camp, athletes and students in Ateneo de Cebu. 10 jumping jacks, 10 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 lunges left and 10 lunges right. Repeat until 4 minute ends. For beginners and sedentary individuals, please search for easier option on each exercise regression. For top athletes, check for progression to make each workout harder and push to accomplish at least 4 rounds.

2-minute Killer B:It is the workout I formulated and is my personal favorite. B stands for Burpee. For starters, go on an easy 20 seconds burpee and 10 seconds rest. As you get stronger, target a number of repetition. If you can accomplish it in 20 seconds, try to beat it each time you do it. For example during the first week you were able to do 4 burpees in 20 second, try to finish 5 the next week, 6 on the next, so on and so forth. As you get stronger, try extending it to 30 seconds with a 10-second rest. Most importantly, please listen to your body. Don't compare notes with others on the number of rounds you've done.

Fat is always free, but to burn or shed it off takes a ton of hardwork, sacrifice and motivation. Eat healthy and choose wisely!

You can email me at [email protected] for comments.