While it's important to take a holistic approach to your diet, there are some foods that will help you reach your goals faster than others, and some that may hinder you from achieving them.
What to eat and what not to eat if you want to lose a few inches around your waist or tighten your abdominal muscles, we'll tell you in this article.
Before you start adjusting your diet, you should get your thoughts in order. The way you look is largely a reflection of how you really feel.
So eating according to certain guidelines can be beneficial for your body, but how you approach your changes is very important.
Peace of mind is the best prerequisite for achieving the desired results.
Stress is one of the biggest enemies in weight loss and body mass.
In stressful situations, the body releases more of the hormone cortisol, which is one of the main culprits of high blood sugar levels and, consequently, obesity.
Therefore, it is very important to have a positive attitude towards weight loss from the very beginning and gradually make changes to your diet.
It's best to think of changing your diet not as a diet, but rather as an attempt to improve your lifestyle and invest in your health.
Make changes to your diet gradually. For example, you can gradually replace wheat-rye flour with healthier buckwheat or coconut or egg paste with whole grain flour.
If you want to lose a few inches around your waist, don't give up carbohydrates. However, choose foods with a low glycemic index. The body processes them gradually, so these carbohydrates will keep you full for much longer.
There are a number of particularly effective foods that you should include in your menu if you are primarily concerned about belly fat.
Grapefruit
This subtropical citrus fruit contains a huge amount of useful substances. From vitamin C to magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron and beta-carotene.
The antioxidant naringenin, a flavonoid that promotes weight loss and improves health, is responsible for the typically bitter taste of grapefruit.
In addition, grapefruit seeds act as an effective natural antibiotic that helps the body fight inflammation, rashes or even psoriasis.
By regularly eating grapefruit as a snack, you can significantly lower your blood sugar levels and reduce the release of insulin, thereby prompting your body to draw energy from stored fats.
Cucumber
Cucumber is one of the least caloric foods, as it consists of more than 90% water. One large cucumber contains only about 50 calories, but a fairly decent amount of vitamins A, C and minerals - potassium, silicon and iron.
Cucumber has a zero glycemic index, so it is also a suitable part of the diet for diabetics. Cucumber consumption has a positive effect on glycogen metabolism, so cucumbers help reduce blood sugar levels.
Cabbage
This vegetable is very low in calories, but rich in antioxidants and nutrients. You will find vitamins A, B1, B2, C and E, as well as a number of minerals, especially calcium, iron and potassium.
Cabbage has a positive effect on the digestive system. It relieves constipation, cleanses the intestines and helps relieve swelling, making you slimmer.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are another very low-calorie product. 100 grams of fresh tomatoes contain only 19 calories. The strong point of this vegetable is also a balanced combination of minerals and vitamins.
Tomatoes are rich in potassium, which is known to help the body cope with increased water retention. In addition, tomatoes contain zinc, selenium and other elements that can cause a premature feeling of satiety in the body. Another advantage of ripe tomatoes is a decent amount of fiber.
Bananas
Although it is a very sweet fruit, bananas can help you achieve a flat stomach. The sugar content of bananas increases as they ripen.
For example, green bananas contain sugar in a ratio of 1:20 to other nutrients. However, as the banana turns yellow, this ratio gradually changes until it becomes the exact opposite for an overripe fruit.
Therefore, if you are afraid of excess sugar, include an unripe banana in your diet. On the other hand, this yellow fruit is so useful for the body that its harm to the figure in its ripe form is somewhat exaggerated.
Banana is a great source of fiber. One medium banana contains about 5 grams of this element.
At the same time, bananas contain resistant starches, which give you a feeling of satiety immediately after eating them.
The high amount of pectin in bananas supports digestion and removes toxins and heavy metals from the body.
Last but not least, bananas are a wonderful source of potassium, which supports metabolism and thus has a positive effect on increasing your resting metabolic rate.
Yogurt
Yogurt contains live bacteria that support digestion. These bacteria soothe the intestinal microflora and thus eliminate bloating.
In addition, yogurt has a relatively low calorie content, so it will be an excellent aid in losing weight.
The body gets a lot of protein, calcium, phosphorus from it, and thanks to the content of probiotic cultures, yogurt will help to start the correct digestive function. Yogurt also helps to activate metabolism, slowed down by an unbalanced diet.
Chicken
White meat, both chicken and turkey, is very dietary and contains a significant amount of protein. Thus, chicken with vegetables is a very suitable dinner for weight loss.
However, choose your meat carefully. Chicken breasts are often soaked in water, so don't buy the cheapest chicken.
It is also important to pay attention to the thorough heat treatment of meat. It is chicken that can be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.
When cooking the meat itself, do not add too much salt; instead, you can use herbs for flavor.
For example, fennel is suitable, as it stimulates digestion, thereby helping to start the metabolism and speed up the burning of calories.
There are also a number of products that, on the contrary, contribute to the formation of fat on the waist. What kind of products are these, find out below and be sure to exclude them from your menu.
Flakes
Unfortunately, most breakfast cereals are a great marketing ploy rather than a good body shaping product.
The packaging of these products often features the words “fitness” or “light,” but in reality, these cereals contain a lot of refined sugar, which will significantly raise the level of insulin in the blood in the morning.
This is similar to instant oatmeal. Many of them also contain excessive amounts of sugar, around 20 grams or more. So before you buy cereal, check the ingredients.
Low fat yogurts
Low-fat yogurt is just a marketing ploy. Such yogurts have absolutely no distinct taste, so manufacturers flavor them with artificial sweeteners and corn syrup.
As a result, low-fat yogurt is a product from which the most useful thing - fat - has been removed during the production process, which manufacturers have replaced with harmful artificial sweeteners and colors.
Dried fruit mixes
Fruit mixes contain dried fruits, sometimes also nuts. They are usually salted, sprinkled with sugar or dipped in chocolate.
Thus, these mixtures contain a large amount of concentrated sugar, not to mention low-quality chocolate (low cocoa content).
Most of us are categorically contraindicated to eat such a calorie bomb if we lead a sedentary lifestyle.
After all, when using such mixtures, daily energy consumption will be incomparably higher than its expenditure.
Ketchup
Although ketchup looks like a mixture of pureed tomatoes, it contains a large amount of sugar and a number of unhealthy preservatives. So ketchup is definitely not included in a healthy diet and body shaping plan.
If you need a good dressing for meat and a side dish, prepare it at home.
Mix soft cottage cheese with white yogurt, thin the mixture with a little milk, season with a pinch of pepper and Himalayan salt, sprinkle with lemon and finally, chop up as many fresh herbs as you can and squeeze in garlic. You will love this sauce so much that next time you won’t even remember about ketchup.
Earlier we wrote about what is better for vision – carrots or blueberries.
Author: Valeria Kisternaya
