Being overweight and having belly fat are two very different things. Sometimes people can weigh a normal amount and still have a protruding muffin top abdomen. Belly fat is hazardous to your health. That spare tire or papa pooch is visceral fat and it is far more dangerous than just being overweight. Visceral fat is stored deep in the abdomen and it surrounds the organs of the body. The higher the quantity of visceral fat, the more your risk is for cardiovascular disease. You can reduce your health risk, feel better and look “hot” again with a few belly-busting tips.

Switch the burners in you digestive system. Most people burn carbohydrates since they make a huge portion of the average diet. You need to switch the fuel for the burners to fat. You do this by laying off the carbs or lowering them to less than 100 grams per day for starters and work to get below 60. This forces the body to change gears and start using fat in its burner. We all know where most of it is stored.

Start working out. There is documentation that Interval Training is one of the best methods to reduce body fat. Interval Training starts and stops. You vary the pace of the training. You might begin with simply a walk and move to a rapid tempo walk. When you’re ready for heavy-duty training, power walking is the final stage. Adjust the speed as you walk and periodically stop and do a few exercises.

Begin by stretching. Before you do any power walking, you need to warm up you muscles. Do a few stretches and then start at a low warm up pace. Do this level for a few minutes, 4 to 5 minutes is good. Spend half the amount of time with a rapid power walk. Make sure you move your arms to burn a few extra calories. Slow it down to a tempo walk for the same number of minutes as your power walk and then, drop back to a moderate walk like your initial walk, for the same number of minutes. Then increase your speed to a power walk for one additional minute.

Stop and do a few knee twists and punches to vary the moves and work other muscles. Continue the pattern of altering the speed of your walk and mixing in a few additional moves. Use a minute and a half to fill in with simple movements to stretch the abdominal muscles. The side twist, side lunge and standing scrunch are great exercises but you may have a few of your own that you’d love to add to the regimen.

In addition to the Interval Training, add abdominal exercises to strengthen the muscles on top of the abdomen. Exercises like crunches, leg lifts, cross crunches and sit ups all exercise the muscles of the abdomen. Once the muscles tone up, it doesn’t take long for the belly fat to burn. Walk every day but only do the abdominal exercises ever other day, at least until you begin to develop the abdominal muscles.

You’ll find that you’ll begin to notice the difference within three weeks, if not sooner. You’ll see results within six, after you add both the low carb diet and exercise regimen to your daily activities.