By Abdominal fat is mostly a result of what you are eating than what you aren’t. The trick is to know what it is that’s triggering the fat storage. Sometimes it can be obvious, but it can also be a result of many guts or digestive issues for many people. We can be eating the right things, but something is happening inside our gut, causing bloating, inflammation and other symptoms that exacerbate abdominal size. I touch on the subject of digestion because it’s the one trigger for me, which cause a lot of discomforts and increases bloating and belly size. The foods which I highlight to avoid below may help you a lot. If you still experience abdominal fat, I can trust it’s an underlying factor regarding your digestion.
Let’s look at the 4 foods you should be avoided if you want to lose belly fat.
- The worst offender is sugar or sugar-sweetened drinks. You probably have a fair idea of how bad sugar is for your health in general. But sugar consumption can slowly creep into your diet through various poor food choices. That’s why I always recommend you read all the labels of any foods you purchase. Supermarkets are the worst offenders, and many labels hide the ingredients or make them so small you can’t read them! BE proactive and use your phone if you don’t know what an ingredient is. I do this all the time because I want to be an informed customer. It’s our ignorance of a particular ingredient that makes us more susceptible to making poorer food choices.
Glucose and fructose are your offending sugars, as the liver is forced to turn it into fat because of the excessive amounts. Many years ago, when my mother was diagnosed as a coeliac, she would buy the gluten-free bread from the supermarket- as well as treats to get her by. One thing we were both ignorant about was the high content of sugar all these ingredients contained. Because of this, she has diabetes, which adds to her health problems as an older woman. Please be aware of the dangers these items have. The best solution is to stop eating them or make your own healthier varieties.
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Choose natural over human-made. Although I do like protein powder for it’s convenient, I would rather eat a protein and veggie-filled meal at any time. These natural, wholesome and real sources are what makes the difference to your metabolism, your health and your fat loss goals. IT’s always nice to experience the quickest alternatives when we are short on time. If you aren’t, then stop to eat your meal more times than not. It makes a huge difference to your appetite and cravings. What we want to do is stop the hunger, and replace that with feeling full and satisfied,
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The wrong carbs can make you fatter. Avoid your refined carbs like pastries, white bread and anything that’s highly processed. For those like bread, you can get away with some small amounts of sourdough as it’s fermented and contain some form of protein. I would recommend you stick to those wholesome carbs like oats, sweet potato and quinoa. You can even try eating a lentil meal, which contains quite a lot of underlying nutrients and is lower in the carb rating index. The best way to still eat carbs but reduce your body fat quickly is to try carb cycling.
- Eating too much of a good thing. It is challenging to gauge how much you should be eating every day, to lose belly fat. Even eating too much of the good stuff can leave you susceptible to fat gain. To make the process a lot easier, I would use your hand to guide how much you should be eating. The great news is you should be eating as many veggies as possible. Use your palm to assess the size of your protein and a fist for carbs. The top part of your index finger is the amount of fat you can have in a meal. This is a rough guideline, and some people will probably need more. I find this helpful when I’m on holidays and still want to ensure that eating out doesn’t become an easy way to gain body fat. If you would like more detail regarding carb cycling, I have a comprehensive cheat sheet that outlines the phases in more detail, menu option, and structure with training and fat loss. You can also find me on social if you have any questions or would like to connect.
