Here’s a secret that we would like to tell anyone who wants to get rid of belly fat and get abs – “abs are made in the kitchen, you get them defined in the gym” since what you eat today will determine whether you would have abs tomorrow. More than doing intense ab exercises, you need to be mindful of your diet because certain foods continue to contribute layers of fat around the belly even if you’re exercising 3-5 times a week. It’s a fact that spot reduction of belly fat is a myth, and if you can’t lose overall body fat, the extra layers would just sit there unmoved over the ab muscles. Nutrition and calories play a larger role in melting away excess fat than exercise and gymming. Do you know, without adequate protein and whole grains, the body composition will hardly change and the muscles will hardly take shape. That’s why it’s important to be on a nutrient-dense diet like Rati Beauty which gives importance to nutrition with adequate protein, vitamins, minerals, that are essential for fat burning and muscle building to take place. So, in this post, with total emphasis on your diet and dietary habits, we list down 11 ways to get a flat stomach without exercise.
1. Totally Get Rid of Transfat: Stop grocery shopping for microwaveable popcorn, white bread, hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarine, fried foods, cakes, pastries, etc. that may have transfat content in them because it’s a weird ingredient that mobilizes fat from other areas of the body and encourages them to be stored around the tummy area!
2. Keep yourself Hydrated: This life-sustaining elixir does more than to just quench your thirst. Keeping yourself adequately hydrated not only helps curb appetite, it flushes out toxins and obesogens from the body, reducing inflammation, and helping the body to burn stored fat. Remind yourself to drink at least 2 liters of water every single day.
3. Cut Out Sugar Completely: Food with high amount of sugar, like candies, cakes, pastries, cookies, spike up blood sugar and in response, the body releases insulin to regulate blood sugar. Insulin, is not only a blood sugar regulating hormone, it also encourages storage of extra glucose as fat, particularly around the belly area. Every time you indulge in candies, sweets, doughnuts, chocolates or sugary drinks, remind yourself that it is increasing your waist circumference. It may be sweet on your tongue, but it has detrimental effects on overall health, increasing the risk for development of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other diseases.
4. Make a Conscious Effort To Consume Antioxidant-Rich Food To Reduce Chronic Inflammation: Antioxidants neutralize the harmful effect of free radicals and is a good way to lower chronic inflammation in the body, and that way to fight belly fat. Foods that are rich in antioxidants are colorful fruits and vegetables (orange, green, yellow, red, purple) like carrots, bell peppers, spinach, tomatoes, pumpkin, broccoli, papaya, strawberries, mangoes, nuts, onions, eggplants, etc.
5. Practice Portion Control: Many of us do not actually realize this – we are eating from large meal plates with oversized portions. All the extra calories from such heavy meals are then stored up as body fat, particularly around the belly area. One easy way to promote smaller meals is by using smaller plates or bowls. Eating from small plates and bowls will trick your body into feeling fuller with smaller quantity of food.
6. Avoid Soft Drinks/Aerated Beverages: Do you find chilled soft drinks and sugary beverages irresistible, these beverages are loaded with sugar and empty calories that can ruin your weight loss goals and make it extremely difficult to burn tummy fat. Likewise, say “no” to packaged and fruit juices that have loads of empty calories and sugar, along with artificial flavours, preservatives and it is a misconception that they can replace raw and fresh fruits. Regular consumption of such fruit juices would increase the waist circumference rather quickly.
7. No White Bread or Refined Carbs Either: White bread as breakfast is a bad option because it has empty calories that has no fiber content and raises blood sugar rapidly, releasing insulin that is also a fat-storage hormone. All those extra calories are then directed to the most preferred area – belly! Other foods made with refined carbs like buns, pasta, pizza, waffles, muffins, cakes, pastries, desserts do the same thing. Though bread isn’t good for weight loss, you can have ones made out of whole wheat or whole grains. Also, breads made with 100% whole grain, 100% whole wheat breads, with fiber content intact are better options.
8. Increase Protein Intake: Research has shown that with increase in protein, metabolism improves. Since protein is also thermogenic in nature, it burns more calories and stored fat. Fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, paneer, tofu, chicken, cheese, milk, beans, yogurt are all good sources of protein. Also read: “20 Foods That Burn Fat While you Sleep.”
9. Here’s a list of 20 Foods Will Help Sculpt your Abs.
10. Fight Stress: If you have been unable to lose belly fat even with exercise and dieting, blame it on chronic stress with elevated levels of cortisol, which studies have directly link to increased belly fat.
11. Sleep Like a Baby: Just like chronic stress, sleep deprivation has also been strongly linked to increase in abdominal fat and the inability to lose overall weight even with strict dieting and exercise. We have to give the body enough rest, at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night so that it becomes more efficient to perform its normal functions smoothly and burns up extra calories instead of storing them away.
These are some amazing ways to reduce tummy without exercise. Try them out and see yourself to lose that stubborn belly fat.
Are Abs Really Made in the Kitchen?
20 Foods To Sculpt your Abs
