Six Tips on How to Start Losing Belly Fat
Posted by RightEatingHabits.com – If your waist is over 35 inches (for women) and over 40 inches (for men) – it is time you start losing belly fat before it leads to chronic diseases.
Why is this so?
Belly fat, also called visceral fat or intra-abdominal fat, tends to pump inflammatory substances and free fatty acids into your bloodstream which in turn, will travel to the liver, pancreas and other internal organs, and along the way, stimulate the accumulation of plaque inside the artery walls and make cells insulin-resistant.
Over time, arterial plaque will lead to high blood pressure and high blood sugars will lead to Diabetes Type II. People with large waists and deep belly fat are at higher risk of getting diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack – and a host of other chronic diseases.
Six tips on how to start losing belly fat
✔ Eat your greens and increase your intake of fruits and whole grain foods.
Aim for five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables every day, and three servings of whole grains. Here is a tip on how to be food-wise: choose low glycemic foods or a low GI diet.
✔ Get a brisk cardio workout three to five times a week
If that’s too much of a commitment, include brisk walking for 30 minutes every day. Tip: Walk to the grocery store. Walk to church. Get your body moving and soon, you will start losing belly fat once you have eased into a routine of regular exercise.
✔ Find ways to relieve stress
Tip: Try yoga, meditation or simply, enjoy a cup of green tea while reading your favorite magazine. Be sure you spend some time alone, away from the stress at work or home
✔ Skip the fast food
Although it may be tempting to grab a double cheese hamburger and upsize the curly fries, know that just two servings of red meat a week could increase your risk of metabolic syndrome by 26%, according to a 10-year study of over 9,500 people from ages 45 to 64 by the University of Minnesota. If you want to curb food cravings and start losing belly fat, healthy shakes and smoothies from Sunburst Superfoods are excellent alternatives. Save 10% for first-time customers.
✔ Eat more raw nuts
Not only can you lose weight with raw nuts, you can start losing belly fat too. Raw nuts contain polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats – healthy fats that make you feel full longer and therefore, have less cravings.
✔ Cut down on saturated fat
Cutting down on high-fat diary products, red meats and eliminating hydrogenated fats from your diet is important if you want to start losing belly fat.
If you are serious about finding out how to lose belly fat and how to eating healthily, buy this excellent reference book on Nutrition at Your Fingertips by Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN – a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “Nutrition at Your Fingertips is like having your own personal nutritionist teaching you about food”, says one reader.
P.S.
Bonus tip: Make it a morning ritual to drink matcha green tea to burn belly fat.
© Teresa Cheong, RightEatingHabits.com