The belly is one of the first places the body will store fat when it’s starved or under stress. In fact a hormone called Cortisol is released by our bodies telling it to store fat in the belly.  This is why most diets can actually cause an increase in belly fat.  Even certain types of aerobic exercise can trigger the bodies system to release cortisol in an effort to store energy and fight stress.

So this being said are you asking me to eat more and do less exercise in order to flatten my stomach? Well yes, sort of.

A new fascinating program has been created by  Shannon Clark targeted at burning fat and tightening up your tummy.  She has used this method herself for years and is now getting great testimonials from her clients.

The combination of short bursts of exercise and eating the right foods at the right time has shown to “melt the fat” off your stomach.

Take a quick tour of Shannon’s site and sign up for her free newsletter which can help you get started.

http://loseyourbellyfat.com

Getting into shape whether you have never really worked out much or lost stopped your routine can be difficult to overcome. It can be compared to breaking a bad habit like smoking only you are trying to create a habit/routine not stop one. It’s so easy to say “I’ll start tommorrow or maybe next week”. You feel since you have been “off the wagon” for so long it is exceptable to continue delaying your routine and only once you have started would it be disatrous to stop.

Gimmee a break. Get and get off your ass and start doing something or this will never happen in case you haven’t already figure this out.

You will need to ease into your workout even if you think you can push harder. Save your self for another day or you will be to sore to move for the rest of the week. You may want to workout at home or jog around your community to start. Some people may be embarassed by their size and be turned off by going to the gym. You can work your way towards this.

Your routine can start of running up and down the stairs in your house, carrying around a full laundry basket, pushup, situps, jumping jacks. It may sou d and look dumb but this is cheap and a great starting point.

As you progress start jogging then proceed with a quick few sets of push ups ans situps at home. As you get more comfortable start spinting up and down hills. Maybe start incorporating some chin ups into your post jog workout.

Try to keep your routine even if you feel tired. A quick jog or run can wake you up and give you a boost of energy. If you have to cut your work out short that fine, just try to do something.

The way Apple figures out where you reside is by looking at the address you provide for your credit card or paypal account.

The simplest way to gain access to the US store is to buy a US Itunes gift card somewhere (gas station, Apple Store, Walgreens, 7Eleven, Walmart, etc) in the US. You can also purchase these on eBay and the buyer will email you the redemption code. This can be expensive and you have ensure you don’t get ripped off.

The last way is to purchase a Mastercard gift card from the various retail outlets like 7 Eleven, Shoppers Drugmart or Safeway. The Visa gift cards may also work but I have not confirmed this.

Now that you have your iTunes or Mastercard gift card you must now create a US iTunes account. Open the iTunes application and select the iTunes store. Navigate to the bottom of the page and select “United States” from the drop down box.

If you have an iTunes gift card click the “redeem” link and create an account with a fake name and a real US address (just pick a random US address from google maps).

If you have a Mastercard giftcard click the “create account” link on the sign in button and create a fake name and a real US address as mentioned in the previous paragraph. Then add your Mastercard number and expiry date to your profile.

I have used each of these methods successfully so choose what works best for you.

You should now be able to purchase movies and tv shows from the vast library of content in the US iTunes store for your computer, apple tv or ipod.

Another great site which aggregates most of the major networks content is Hulu.com.  This site has become very popular as of late and is a free alternative to paid cable or satellite subscriptions.

I know many of you are asking “How can I watch Hulu on my bigscreen tv instaed of sitting in front of my computer monitor or laptop?”  The answer can be simple if you have the correct hardware and a bit of patience.  A new startup company called boxee has built a “media center” like application which pulls in the content from the various network websites and Hulu.  Their program will also scan a directory of your media files and add the appropriate movie art along with the synopsis and cast.  Currently it only runs on MAC or Ubuntu operating systems.  If your laptop or computer is connected to your tv you now have a very capable media center with lots of free content to choose from.  If you do not own a MAC or do not run linux you can purchase an Apple TV instead.  A company called ATVFlash sells an easy to use software hack which will install boxee along with many other apps onto  your Apple TV while still maintaining the original Apple features.

Another benefit of replacing your cable subscription with an Apple TV is that you get access to the entire Itunes library of Movies, Tv shows, podcasts and You Tube.  This would allow you to purchase only the shows you want to see which may work out to being much cheaper than paying for the full cable or satellite service.  This could also save you from purchasing a DVR or paying your monthly Tivo subsciption since the content on the Apple Tv is always sitting there waiting for you.

If you are outside of the US you can download a free program called Hotspot Shield which will make your ip address appear as a valid US ip.  Since you are essentially proxying your internet traffic through Hotspot Shield you may see some lag or buffering problems on video from time to time.

These are a few ways to save money on your tv bill while still enjoying the content you love.  I have included some links at the bottom of the article regarding the methods I just covered along with a few others.

http://satellitetvtopc.com

http://boxee.tv

http://hulu.com

http://southparkstudios.com

http://atvflash.com