How to Get a Smaller Waist

People often look to magical fad diets or impossibly effective exercise accessories in search for a quick and easy way to personal fitness. But the fact is that getting into shape takes hard work. It's not easy to shed those hard-to-lose pounds around the waist and it takes even more hard work to keep that weight gone. The key isn't in any one particular health-product, diet type or self-help book. The key is in setting your mind to the task by being consistent and making wise, long-term lifestyle choices.

Instructions

• 1

  Set personal fitness goals for yourself. If you don't have some kind of concrete idea of what you want to accomplish fitness-wise, you will likely fizzle out in the process. As with anything that requires a lot of undertaking, you need a plan. A great way to go about mapping out your personal fitness goals is to use the SMART acronym. For example:

  Specific - I want to lose 5 inches off my waistline.

  Measurable - Weigh yourself before and after meeting your goal.

  Attainable - Is losing 5 inches a realistic fitness goal?

  Relevant: Do you truly need to lose those 5 inches?

  Time-Oriented: Give yourself a deadline by which to meet your fitness goal.

• 2

  Develop healthy eating habits. A well-balanced diet can go a long way toward helping you tighten that waistline. Of course, old habits die hard, and it's easy to slip back into junk-food mode, or get unhealthy fast-food simply because you're in a hurry. The trick isn't about instantly quitting all the unhealthy foods you love to eat all at once - that leaves room for feeling guilty if you slip up and guilt only works against you. The key lies in slowly easing yourself into good eating habits so that they become a part part of your lifestyle.

• 3

  Get enough exercise. There are specific exercises that focus on the abdomen exclusively, however, it takes a consistent whole body work-out routine to lower your body's overall percentage of fat. Combine cardiovascular exercises with resistance-training and you will see a big difference. Some exercises that get the heart-rate going and help trim the waistline include jogging, jumping-jacks, jump-roping, crunches, yoga, and light weight training. Make a daily or weekly work-out schedule to keep yourself accountable and consistent.