9 flat-belly secrets you need to hear

HAVE you been dieting, doing sit-ups, shunning carbs, and chugging down water, but getting your belly to go down is proving to be difficult? The problem may be that you don’t know the real secrets to losing belly fat, personal trainer Demario Johns says.

“Losing fat from this area can be extremely difficult, and many people give up because, even with diet and exercise, some people still won’t see the results they want,” Johns said. “In fact, sometimes you will lose the weight in other areas, but your belly fat will be stubborn.”

He said diet also plays a huge role – the kind of foods you eliminate and add to your diet are important.

“So you want to be eating lots of fibre, avoiding alcohol, and cutting the white carbs, for example,” he said. “And you want to be consistent about it – no cheating!

Here are some of the other secrets to achieving that flat belly.

Reduce alcohol intake

We’ve all heard of beer belly, but other kinds of alcohol will give you that paunch. A 2017 study, Association of Alcohol Consumption With Fat Deposition in a Community-Based Sample… found that higher alcohol consumption was associated with higher areas of abdominal visceral fat ratio. So, if you’ve been drowning your sorrows, or your joys, in alcohol, you may want to put a pause on that.

Reduce your stress levels

When some people are stressed they eat more, others don’t eat, but either way, stress encourages your adrenal glands to produce cortisol – the stress hormone – and high cortisol levels will increase your appetite and encourage abdominal fat storage.

Also, if you already have a large tummy, stress will make you produce even more cortisol, which, you guessed it, leads to more belly fat from increased appetite.

Top up your fibre

Fibre will slow down digestion, meaning that you’ll feel full longer, and hence eat less. Soluble fibre can also help you to prevent and lose belly fat. A 2015 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine to evaluate a diet focused on increased fibre consumption found that simply aiming to eat 30 grams of fibre each day can help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and improve your body’s response to insulin. Fibre-rich foods to include in your diet include broccoli, avocados, black beans, spinach, bananas, and whole wheat bread.

Eat more protein

You’d think that eating more would be counterproductive to losing weight, but eating more protein actually improves body weight management – eating protein-rich foods can help you feel satisfied and therefore less hungry. High protein foods such as fish, lean meat, and beans are ideal if you’re trying to shed your belly fat.

Cut the sugar

We all know that eating lots of sweets leads to weight gain – it’s all simple sugars that get broken down into glucose and enter the bloodstream very quickly. Because this happens so quickly, after taking what it needs for energy, the body stores extra sugar in fat cells, leading to weight gain.

Avoid trans fats

Trans fats are said to be the worst kinds of fats for a reason – they raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol. A 2007 study by Kyle Kavanagh et al, found that a high trans-fat diet induced abdominal obesity and changes in insulin sensitivity in monkeys. It found that trans fats enhanced intra-abdominal deposition of fat, even in the absence of caloric excess. The manufactured form of trans fat, known as partially hydrogenated oil, can be found in a variety of food products, including commercial baked goods, such as cakes, cookies and pies; shortening; microwave popcorn; frozen pizza; refrigerated dough, such as biscuits and rolls; fried foods, including French fries, doughnuts, and fried chicken; non-dairy coffee creamer; and stick margarine.

Cut out carbs

This is usually the first thing dieters do away with – breads, flour, white rice and the like. And, indeed, these add to your fat stores, especially abdominal fat. Replace these with whole wheat products and you should see results.

Include ACV in your diet

It is not totally clear if apple cider vinegar (ACV) works in cutting fat, however, it is generally believed that it causes weight loss by acting as an appetite suppressant, increasing the body’s metabolic rate by reducing water retention, and generally helping to maintain a feeling of wellness.

In addition, apple cider vinegar is also helpful in slowing the rise of your sugar levels after a meal, therefore the body produces less insulin, resulting in weight loss. Apple cider vinegar is also good for diabetics.

Generally, one to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar is placed in water before meals. Supplements are also sold in stores.

Exercise

Exercise, especially cardio, will quickly burn calories and generally improve your health. Cardio is probably best for reducing belly fat, as it’s an all-body exercise.