We’re bombarded every day with supposed miracle solutions for eliminating stomach fat- coming in the form of ads, celebrity endorsements, and food segments on talk shows.
Regrettably, these heavily praised edibles and enhancements are no more effective than a supposed “miracle diet pill” taken in a single day.
There is no food that can directly melt away body fat in the abdominal area.
Nevertheless, there are various types of food with characteristics that can aid in the body’s natural power to get rid of fat, especially near the waist.
It’s not often discussed, but I wholeheartedly suggest that you add these fat-burning foods to your regular diet to promote weight loss.
Causes of Belly Fat
It is widely thought otherwise, but having a normal BMI and too much belly fat can also put someone in danger of developing the same health issues. Here are a few potential reasons for the accumulation of excessive belly fat:
- Research indicates that consuming large amounts of sugary items and drinks leads to increased abdominal fat. A large portion of this is because of the additional refined sugar that is put in while it is being prepared. Having too much sugar of any kind can cause health issues, but sugar-sweetened beverages are especially dangerous.
- Alcohol: Another possible cause for sudden belly fat gain is alcohol. Studies have linked the excessive consumption of alcohol to an increase in belly fat, with one study finding that men who consumed more than 3 drinks a day were 80% more likely to have excess body fat.
- Sedentary lifestyle: One’s activity levels also play a major role in the accumulation of belly fat. A study showed that people who performed resistance training or aerobic exercise for a year after losing weight were able to prevent abdominal fat gain, while those who did not exercise faced a 25-38% increase in belly fat.
- Stress: Cortisol, commonly called the ‘stress hormone’, is produced by the adrenal glands in stressful situations. While stress drives overeating, cortisol causes the excess calories to be stored as fat in the belly.
- Genetics: Similar to genes playing a major role in increased obesity risk, genetics may be partly responsible for the tendency of the body to store fat in the abdomen area.
Foods to Avoid if You Want to Burn Belly Fat
Knowing what it takes for food to assist in fat burning in the stomach area, let’s look at items that aren’t traditionally associated with speeding up metabolism, but may still be referred to that way.
There is a wide variety of unfounded beliefs that suggest foods such as cinnamon, apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper can help to reduce a person’s abdominal fat.
If you do some searching on the internet, you can find various recipes for food and drinks that are designed to help burn fat and include these ingredients. The consumption of some foods can create a rise in body temperature (thermogenesis), which is said to lead to more calorie burning during metabolism. However, it is not enough for these foods to spark any significant fat reduction in the abdomen region.
In order to receive any fat-burning benefits from thermogenic foods, one would have to be consuming a very large amount of them on a regular basis. What is the maximum amount of cinnamon or cayenne pepper a person can have in one day?
It is possible to still have these types of food included in your diet if it is beneficial for your health.
Certain spices and foods that promote heat production offer certain advantages to the body, like detoxifying. Don’t think of them as the magical solution to getting rid of abdominal fat. Incorporate meals with plenty of fiber, protein, or healthy fats that are beneficial for gut health.
Check Out These 9 Tummy-Fat-Burning Foods
The most effective foods to burn abdominal fat are going to cut down on the mechanisms that cause your body to store fat and provide beneficial bacteria in your gut with either fiber or probiotics.
Here is an inventory of nine infrequently mentioned edibles that will give your organism the necessary nutrients for more proficiently burning fat.
1. Papaya
Papaya is edible with strands inside that are known for having a great deal of papain, an enzyme that helps digest vegetation. The best way to take advantage of the benefits of papain is to consume papaya, as opposed to purchasing it in supplement form at a health food store.
Since papaya is fiber-rich, it also contains prebiotics.
Fiber contains a nutrient known as prebiotics, which is used to nourish the beneficial bacteria in one’s digestive system. Papaya’s dietary fiber can promote healthy digestion by flushing out toxins, waste, and another buildup that often occurs in the digestive system when someone regularly consumes sugar and processed foods. It helps clean the intestines so that these contaminants don’t remain in the body.
2. Blueberries
Blueberries are high-fiber fruit that can satisfy your hunger faster and for a longer period of time.
You can eat berries to your heart’s content without worrying about a spike in your blood sugar levels due to the fact that they are low in sugar and full of fiber. Fiber plays a part in maintaining balance in blood sugar, instead of causing fat to be stored.
3. Chlorella
Chlorella is a single-celled, green-colored algae that is packed with plant-based protein and dietary fiber. Chlorella’s protein helps to maintain equilibrium with regard to sugar levels in the blood, whereas its dietary fiber helps to nurture the good bacteria within the stomach.
Chlorella has particular abilities which help to cleanse the body, and it can help to remove unhealthy substances from the body through chelation. What’s chelation? There is a natural way of eliminating toxins from the body that involves binding them to a particular element (termed a chelate) and then extracting them.
Chlorella is a chelate, making it useful to bind to and rid the body of heavy metals. These toxins, which are fat-soluble, often get stored in fat cells, and the removal of them can be advantageous in burning body fat.
Chlorella can be purchased in pill or powder form in many health food outlets. If you are looking for a more enjoyable way to consume it, try a superfood greens powder drink mix.
4. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has many advantages which make it the perfect food for reducing fat around the mid-section.
Coconut oil is beneficial in the sense that it includes medium-chain triglycerides, which are considered a healthy type of fat.
Medium-chain triglycerides use a route within the body that allows them to be quickly used as energy rather than being stored as fat. A misconception that dietary fat leads to weight gain is based on the slow digestion of long-chain fatty acids. These take a longer route through the body during the breakdown, resulting in storage as body fat.
Coconut oil is considered to be the best for weight loss as it is quickly used for energy production and also digests slowly, which keeps your hunger levels in check. Hence, using it in meals and as a cooking oil can prove to be beneficial to lose belly fat.
5. Hemp Hearts
Hemp seeds include fiber, unsaturated omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, as well as protein derived from plants. Adding hemp hearts to any dish designed to burn belly fat can be beneficial, as they fill you up rapidly and help keep blood sugar even.
Hemp hearts contain omega 3s, which can work to lessen inflammation inside the body.
Long-term swelling (arising from eating an excessive amount of processed foods, stress, and taking antibiotics for an elongated period of time) can reduce the right functioning of your digestion, thus it is essential to include food with anti-inflammatory properties in your diet to promote fat burning in the abdominal area and your total health.
5 Tips to Reduce Belly Fat
In order to shrink one’s belly fat, a structured schedule needs to be implemented. Here are a few tips that can help one reduce the accumulation of fat in the abdominal region:
1. Getting Enough Sleep
The amount of rest one gets can have an impact on their health, including the amount of abdominal fat they retain. There is evidence that those who get insufficient rest tend to put on more pounds.
Insufficient sleep causes ghrelin levels to increase and leptin levels to go down, making the individual hungrier.
Insufficient sleep is responsible for changes in the metabolism and hormones, as well as a decrease in tolerance for glucose. When you’re worn out, your brain’s reward networks intensify, desiring something to make you feel content.
With enough rest, you can resist cravings for comfort food, but a lack of sleep makes it much more difficult to do so. This could result in an alteration of hormone levels within the body, thus potentially resulting in an increase in weight.
It is essential to have at least 7 hours of restful sleep per night in order to avoid weight gain. Getting good quality rest during your sleep is just as important as the amount of time spent in bed. Learn more about the link between inadequate sleep and putting on pounds here.
2. Drink Enough Water
A direct link exists between drinking water and shedding weight. Research indicates that the body is able to break down stored fat more efficiently when drinking water.
Consuming water throughout the course of the day gives you a sensation of being satisfied and aids in controlling your hunger. It is prudent to drink some water prior to snacking to ensure that your body is truly asking for food and not just thirsty. Oftentimes, our physicality is unable to differentiate between the two.
It is a given that water is the most effective drink to satisfy your thirst. It would be beneficial to pick water over any other beverage since juices and carbonated drinks contain sugars that can raise your calorie consumption.
Drinking a couple of glasses of lukewarm water in the morning can aid you in shedding weight and reducing your abdominal fat in addition to cleansing your body.
3. Workout Regularly
Daily exercise has been demonstrated to be effective in maintaining a healthy weight. It is not contested that there is a debate concerning the level of daily physical activity.
The intensity of your exercise program should be determined according to gender, age, and body mass index.
It is advantageous to seek advice from a personal fitness coach prior to commencing high-intensity strength training.
4. Track Your Calories
Additional energy in any shape gets held in the body as fat. It is beneficial to monitor the calories eaten and burned each day. This can help avoid fat accumulation in the body.
Calorie Deficit is a great way to burn calories. An individual may lose approximately 0.4 kg or 1 lb in a week by maintaining a reduction of 500 calories on a daily basis.
5. Never Skip Breakfast
They say breakfast is super important since it gives you the energy you need to start your day off right. Avoiding breakfast can disrupt your metabolic rate and slow down the rate at which fat is burned.
If you do not have breakfast on certain days, you are much more prone to having unhealthy food choices during the entire day. Having a nutritious morning meal can decrease desire for food and stop overwhelming hunger during the day. Be sure to put together a nutritious and beneficial breakfast by including items such as eggs, oats, fruits, and nuts.
Exercises to Reduce Belly Fat
Exercise is an essential element of nearly all weight reduction programs. Engaging in activities that focus on the stomach area could go a long way in assisting in the diminution of abdominal fat.
1. Vertical Leg Crunch
- Lie flat on the floor with legs extended upwards and then one knee that is crossed over the other.
- Breathe in and then lift the upper body towards the pelvis. Breathe out slowly.
- Do 12-16 crunches in two or three sets.
2. Bicycle exercise
- Lie on the mat, or on the floor and keep your hands either behind your head or by your side just like you would for crunches.
- Lift both your legs off the ground and bend them at the knees.
- Bring the right knee close to the chest while keeping the left leg down.
- Take the right leg down and bring the left leg towards the chest.
- Alternate bending the knees as if you are using a bicycle.
3. Crunches
- Start by lying down flat with your knees bent and your feet on the ground.
- Lift your hands and then place them behind the head or keep them crossed on the chest. Inhale deeply.
- As you lift the upper torso off the floor, you should exhale. Again inhale when you get back down and then exhale as you come up.
- If you are a beginner, start by doing 10 crunches in every set. Each day, aim to complete two to three sets of crunches.
Burning Belly Fat Isn’t Magic
It is quite easy to have a flat stomach if you make sure to get the necessary nutrients in your food. No miracle cures or extreme cleanses are necessary for a toned stomach that stays that way.
