Abdominal obesity has been a growing concern for people all over the world today. Excess fat around the abdominal region has been implicated in the development of various chronic disease such as metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, diabetes, etc. It is challenging to lose this fat since it takes time to lose fat from this region. We need to pull up our socks and give it our concentrated efforts to finally battle this stubborn fat. There are 5 most simple and highly researched upon, effective ways to shed belly fat. They are as follows & can be employed to the best of our benefit.
Leaving the ‘White Culprit’ Out of our Diets
Yes, there is a widespread use of a most common white culprit which is practically a part of most of our diets sometimes, consciously in large amounts or sometimes, subconsciously in small amounts. Yes, you guessed it right if you were thinking about refined sugar as the ‘white culprit’. Almost all of the convenience foods which today comprises more than 50% of our diets have sugar as one of their main components. Foods such as breakfast cereals to aerated drinks, refined sugar finds mention in the food labels of all these products.
Since refined sugar comprises of fructose & glucose, large amounts of refined sugar can lead to accumulation of triglycerides in the liver, since fructose is converted to triglycerides after metabolism. Cut out the intake of such convenience food significantly, and choose homemade, organic foods which has minimum additives & added sugar.
Reducing Overall Carbohydrate Intake in Our Diet
Reducing carbohydrate rich foods helps to reduce insulin levels in blood. Insulin is an anabolic hormone which induces glucose from food to get converted to fat & leads to fat mass deposition. By reducing carbs from our diet, insulin secretion is decreased hence preventing glucose to get converted to fats. Carb restriction also enables to lose water weight from the body and helping to shed extra pounds.
Studies have shown that reducing carbs from foods particularly helps in shedding the abdominal fat. Avoiding foods made from refined carbs in the diet such as white bread, pasta, other refined flour products helps to accomplish this.
Fight ‘F’ for ‘Fat’ with ‘F’ for ‘Fibre’
Fibre has been found to help reduce weight. There is also specific kind of fibre which helps in reducing weight, i.e the soluble fibre. Soluble fibre absorbs water and swells in the gut, slowing the digestion process, and making one feel full for longer period of time.
Good sources of soluble fibre are oats, barley, psyllium husk, legumes such as kidney beans, black beans, navy beans, vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, turnips, asparagus, sweet potato, fruits such as oranges, apricots, mangoes.
Up Your Protein Intake
Increasing protein intake in the diet has shown to reduce hunger pangs & cravings, increase metabolism as well as contribute to decreased intake of calories. Including protein sources such as beans, pulses, milk, yoghurt, cottage cheese, tofu, soya, whey protein can also prevent weight re-gain later.
Complement Proper Diet with Appropriate Exercise
Engaging in aerobic kind of exercises such as running, jogging, cycling, swimming, brisk walking, etc. helps to lose belly fat effectively and also prevents their accumulation back around the waist region, during the weight maintenance phase.