While exercising is one of the best ways to reduce inches off your waistline, the fact is that it cannot be entirely achieved without a proper diet to complement the regimen. Diet does not mean eating less or simply losing weight. Diet means eating right whether to gain, lose or maintain the weight and health both. So while you are running on that treadmill or are exercising with great fervor, remember that you must also eat right if you are aiming to get a flat tummy.
After much research, here are some fun (and easily available) foods that you can add to your daily intake to lose a few extra pounds on that waist:
Green Tea:
If you are looking at curbing the little jiggle around your belly, green tea could help. It doesn’t magically melt the fat away but it’s a powerful metabolism stimulator. It is believed to accelerate weight loss and the anti-oxidants in it help absorb fat thus helping ‘enhance’ the results.
Water:
Drinking lots of water helps by flushing out toxins from your system as fairly obvious. Also, drinking cold water helps boost metabolism as your body burns calories trying to warm the cold water.. Hey! We don’t say it Live Strong does. Needless to say, replacing water with a whole lot of other sugary drinks will help you loose weight anyway 🙂
Cinnamon:
Cinnamon contains as much as 5 times the antioxidants compared to berries and pomegranate. It helps keep keep body sugar in check too, cinnamon is a carminative that prevents bloating, and it is rich with antioxidants. It is also believed that cinnamon makes fat cells more responsive to insulin which means fat is burnt quicker. Sprinkle cinnamon on your yougurt it consume it in the most healthy feel good way!
Beans:
Beans and legumes help fight fat ! Beans are a great source of protein (your heart will probably thank you for swapping animal protein for vegetable protein too) and help you feel full without all the additional fat. They’re packed with fiber too 🙂
Tomatoes:
Tomatoes contain water and potassium which are great for flushing excess sodium out of your system giving you a flat belly quickly. Packed with vitamin c and phytonutrients , tomatoes are surprisingly effective in fighting fat.
Mushrooms:
Mushrooms are packed with Vitamin D, in fact they are perhaps the only plant source of this critical vitamin. that are known to reduce belly fat.
Whole Grains:
High levels of insulin lead to your body storing fat and whole grains help burn fat by slowly releasing energy by maintaining insulin. Essentially, whole grains prevent your body from storing fat. Brown rice, brown bread, brown everything! Wuhu!!
Garlic:
Some people swear by eating three raw garlic cloves every morning followed by lemon water for cutting fat. We haven’t personally tried if but it seems to make sense becayse, garlic is a thermogenic (so is cinnamon) which means it aids in boosting metabolism and helps burn belly fat.
Olive Oil:
Oil is a surprising addition to our list for flat belly BUT, the body does need a bit of oil. The key is to avoid saturated fat and olive oil not only lowers ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and raises the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol.
Almonds:
Almonds may have the ability to BLOCK calories !! They have a unique composition that gives them an added advantage of helping reduce the absorption of fat making almonds a super lean nut.
Apples:
Apples are exceptionally healthy and contain antioxidants. Though famous for being a ‘negative calorie ‘ snack (it takes more calories to burn them than there actually is in them), Apples contain a substance called quercetin that aids in fighting cancer, reduces cholesterol damage and promotes healthy lungs.
Berries:
Fiber is the best for absorbing fat. The more you take fiber the less calories your absorb from other foods and most berries contain a very large quantity of fiber . Try a berry smoothie to have fun with this amazing fruit.
Salmon:
Salmon is a gold mine of Omega-3 fatty acids that help burn additional fat and boosting metabolism . Essentially this makes salmon great food if bloaty belly is something you struggle with regularly.
Dark Chocolate:
Who would have thought chocolate would help burn fat! But if you’re one of those who moan that nothing that tastes good is ever good for you, whine no more! Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants and has mono-saturated fats that help get rid of inches from the waist. Do bear in mind though, it is a treat best enjoyed in moderation.
Walnuts:
Walnuts like Salmon are rich with Omega-3 fatty acids and work miracles to burn off those extra pounds from the mid-section. (Nuts are a also “brain food” and provide protein & fiber necessary for satiety and make a great, filling snack).
Title Image: FoodnWhine.com – Where you can find the recipe for this amazing Salmon & Toast.
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