Getting that flat belly that you’ve always wanted and coveted for those little ittie bittie summer time bikinis that every girl wants to fit into come spring time, doesn’t just require ridiculous amount of crunches, situps and side bends, but it also unfortunately requires that you really focus on your diet and the things that you are putting into your body. After all, the fat that goes into the belly area is made up of extra calories, sugar, fats and other no nos, and it takes the time and energy to actually stop putting those types of foods into your mouth in order to get the results you want.

Well, my boyfriend and I just got done doing the first level (there are three levels total) of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred DVD. Jillian Michaels is of “Biggest Loser” fame, where she kicks people’s butts who want to lose weight and whips them into shape in record time. She’s actually a really petite little thing, and she’s got guns that I’d love to have, not an inch of fat to spare, and a great set of abdominal muscles. The best thing though is that she knows how to motivate people.

No matter how many times I tell myself that consistency is one of the most important aspects of working out is actually doing it on a consistent basis, I still get into those ruts for a week or so at a time, where I rarely visit the gym or pop in one of my workout dvd’s, simply because I feel like I’m too busy to even bother with it. This is of course almost never true, there is always time to squeeze in some sort of workout, even if it’s only a half hour or so, but once you get into a rut of inactivity, it sometimes becomes it’s own animal and grows it’s own legs.

I bet when you think of fitness, you think of running on a treadmill, or perhaps outside running, or lifting heavy weights. You may even conjure a picture in your mind of some buff bodybuilder types, or maybe the latest swimsuit model on Sports Illustrated if you’re a woman. However, what most people tend to forget in their pursuit for youth-restoring fitness is the fact that keeping and cultivating our sense of balance is also vital to maintaining a healthy posture, as well as stability and the ability to stay mobile well into your later golden years. We forget because we don’t think it’s important.

I have done the Crunch Pick Your Spot Pilates DVD 3 times now, and I must say I really like it. Not only does it offer a very challenging pilates workout, but I also like the leader of the video. She’s easy to understand, doesn’t pace the video too fast or too slow, and she has put together three different segments of pilates in 10 minute workout phases, one for each of the biggest problem spots on women (and men, but pilates is primarily a woman driven exercise so far). The first ten minute segment is for the belly (abs), the second segment is for the butt, and the third part is for the thighs.

Well, it may just be true that short, and I mean very short, bursts of physical activity throughout your day may help to ward off diabetes, and that’s a great benefit, showing that exercise can be truly beneficial even in ways that we never thought possible because we always tend to think in terms of killer workouts being beneficial. It reminds me of when I was talking to a good friend and she said that she just can’t get into yoga or other exercises that are nonaerobic in nature because she feels like if she’s not working up a big sweat and jumping around the floor, physcially stretching herself, it’s not “real exercise”.

I got this question after writing an article on exercises that can help that dreaded saddle bag area that hangs on the sides of the hips of so many women. It’s one of the toughest areas on a woman’s body to target and downsize, because this fat is purposefully stubborn to slim down. By the way, one of my favorite ways to help sculpt the thighs down without bulking up is the elliptical machine.

I’ve made a rather disturbing discovery lately. I recently have dieted, along with my boyfriend, to try to get rid of the effects of overeating around the holidays, where I put on weight to the tune of ten pounds – which I know is awful, but we got the most carried away we ever had with entertaining and going out to restaurants for about two months before the holidays, and then a few weeks after, so we both piled on more weight than we ever had during our almost seven month courtship.