Fat Loss Tips for Busy Dads

Copyright (c) 2008 Ed Scow

Ahh, the modern day dad.

You work your tail off. You go to all your kids' school and extracurricular activities. You help with the housework and maybe even cook a little (God bless ya).

And let's not forget that your belly keeps growing and growing. Year by year, month by month, that gut just keeps getting bigger.

You may not even drink beer, but you've got a beer belly and don't know how to get rid of it.

You don't have any free time, so how are you going to fit in a decent workout. And even if you had the time, you wouldn't know what to do other than what you read in a magazine article written by some bodybuilder or fitness model who doesn't understand what it's like to be a busy dad these days.

Your idea of healthy eating is one less burger or cutting back on the bagels in the break room.

So how does a busy dad lose fat? How does a dad who's got little free time to workout lose stomach fat? How do you get rid of that gut and maybe even get some good looking muscles in the right places?

1. You have to do resistance training

OK, that one's obvious, but are you doing it correctly? Do you wander into the gym not knowing what the heck to do so you pick the nearest machine or head straight for the dumbbell rack and proceed to do bicep curls or bench press, or maybe you want to work on that stomach fat and do a few hundred sets of crunches or other abs exercises?

That is not how you do resistance training if you want to lose stomach fat and get in better shape. You've got to head in to the gym with a plan. On second thought, you don't even have to go to the gym. You can get an awesome workout from home using nothing but your own bodyweight and some dumbbells. So let's just take the gym out of the equation totally.

You can get an effective, intense fat burning workout in from home in as little as 15 minutes, which is great for you because you don't think you have time to devote to a longer workout.

When coming up with your workout program you need to throw out all those crunches, the bicep curls and the endless amounts of chest presses and focus on a fat loss workout that will work your entire body and work it hard. You also need to incorporate supersets and mini-circuits to help you get done in as little time possible.

Here's an example of a full body fat loss workout, after you've warmed up:

1A) Push-up - 15 reps 1B) DB Lunge - 10 reps per leg, rest 30 seconds them repeat 2x

2A) DB Row - 8 reps 2B) DB Overhead Squat - 10 reps, rest 30 seconds them repeat 2x

3A) DB Incline Chest Press - 8 reps 3B) Mt. Climber - 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds them repeat 2x

That workout should only take you around 15 minutes to complete and will have you burning fat like crazy. It worked your entire body, including your beach muscles.

2. Nutrition

Another obvious one, but you're probably not even doing the simplest things right. You've got to cut out all the liquid calories from pop/soda, coffee drinks, alcohol, sweetened teas, etc. and replace them with zero calorie drinks like green tea or water. That alone can have you losing upwards of 5-8 pounds in 1 week.

You also need to minimize your portion sizes. If you're like most guys you were trained from a young age to clean your plate. Stop doing that! Cut your portions down by half and you'll see dramatic results. Yes I said half. Most guys eat way, way too much at one time...that's why they've got the belly and want to lose stomach fat.

You should also increase your fiber intake from foods like fruits, vegetables, and almonds. Eat lots of lettuce salads with steak or chicken breast on them, but don't ruin it with lots of dressing. Eat almonds as snacks.

3. Interval training

I don't know too many guys who enjoy doing cardio. Most guys think that cardio is what their wives do for hours upon hours everyday on the treadmill, or see all the ladies doing at the gym.

I want you to get that thought out of your head and instead focus on doing interval training. All interval training involves is mixing bouts of higher intensity exercise with bouts of lower intensity exercise. Take the stationary bike for example. After you warm-up, mix bouts of high intensity cycling for 30 seconds, with bouts of lower intensity cycling for 60 seconds. Repeat that 5 or 6 more times, cool down and you're done.

If it's done right, you will be huffing and puffing when it's done and you'll also be burning fat for hours after you're done.

So there you go busy dad. That's how you lose stomach fat in as little time possible. That's how you get rid of the belly and still have time to spend with your family or hang out with your friends. Follow those 3 tips consistently and you will lose stomach fat, and you'll lose it fast.