Having a toned and trim waistline has always been a goal for most men and women of just about any age. At the health club you find all kinds of people signing up for classes designed for reducing their waist and promising to do it fast. The fact of the matter is that making changes to your body takes time and there is no quick fix but with a little patience you can begin to see results in a couple of weeks.

For the most part people want to reduce their waistline for cosmetic reasons but you should really be concerned about reducing it for health reasons. Many medical studies have demonstrated that a waist measurement of over forty inches for men and of over thirty five inches for women puts you at a highly increased risk for stroke and heart disease. This gives you a reason much more important than appearance to slim up.

The reduction of your waist should be done by employing diet and exercise at the same time. It doesn't do you a whole lot of good if you go to the one hour abdominal aerobic class and then follow it up with a Big Mac and fries. If you want to be successful you need to include both a regular exercise regimen and a reduced caloric intake.

Contrary to all the late night infomercials and fad diet advertisements there is not a specific type of diet that you need to follow, just reduce calories and fats, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables along with adequate protein for your lean body mass and drink plenty of water. Keeping a journal or diary of everything you eat can help you stick to it and keep you from cheating. If you want a super slim waistline, avoid eating too much fiber as well which leads to bloating.

Next on the agenda is some good old fashioned cardio. Some aerobic exercises are better than others but any exercise is better than nothing! Some of the better fat burning exercises include swimming, interval training, speed walking, and low impact aerobics. Swimming is a great calorie burner and doesn't put any stress on your joints. Speed walking is something that just about anyone of any fitness level can get into and increase the duration and intensity over time.

Interval training and low impact aerobics are easiest to employ if you have access to a gym. With interval training you will burn a significant amount of calories and aerobics are a super quick way to get in good cardiovascular shape and lose weight and inches all at the same time.

You don't have to do sit-ups and thousands of crunches for a lean waistline; as a matter of fact these things will make your waist thicker. Try an abdominals class at your gym instead that focuses more on aerobics.