The best way to lose fat in your body is by working out and following a healthy diet. However, certain body parts, like the belly, tend to store stubborn fat regardless of the measures you take to shed weight. Moreover, belly fat poses significant health risks besides not being aesthetically pleasing.
This article highlights several foods you must avoid if you are trying to lose that stubborn belly fat.
Unhealthy Foods that Promote Belly Fat
These include:
1. Soda
Many people drink a lot of soda. And if you aren’t careful, you will drink a can or even more daily. Yet, soda is filled with calories and sugar, easily stored as fat for future energy needs. So, it’s best to cut out soda or use healthy substitutes. It’s a decision that will contribute greatly to losing belly fat.
Contrary to popular opinion, diet sodas are not better than normal sodas. In fact, according to a recent study on 750 adults, researchers discovered that those people who drink diet sodas tend to have a wider waist circumference than those who stick to normal soda. The reasoning behind it being artificial sweeteners break down slower than natural sugar. So, avoid soda at all costs, for your belly and health’s sake.
2. Alcohol
While drinking occasionally doesn’t prevent losing belly fat, you should carefully moderate your intake. It’s common knowledge that drinking too much beer gives you a beer belly, but that also applies to other types of alcohol. For starters, alcohol contains lots of calories yet has negligible nutritional value.
Alcohol significantly slows down your metabolism rate. Because of how your digestive system is set up, it will need to pose on the digestion of any other food and prioritize or focus on digesting the alcohol. Thus, the body is likely to convert other foods into belly fat, and if you make it a habit, your waistline will keep increasing.
3. Packaged Pastries
As mentioned earlier, the best way to lose belly fat is by working out and maintaining a healthy diet. And while packaged pastries can appear like a filling snack, they are quite low in nutritional value and contribute little to your health goals.
Also, depending on the brand of pastry that you prefer, you could be consuming trans fats. Studies show that trans fats are detrimental to health and the greatest hindrance to your effort to lose belly fat. Lastly, most pastries contain preservatives and sugar, which are not a great addition for someone trying to lose weight.
4. Processed Meats
For the best results when losing belly fat, you must cut down on some of your favorite processed meat such as ham, sausage, boerewors, etc. It is because, aside from being low in nutritional value, they are also low in fiber, meaning they won’t keep you full for an extended period.
For processed meat to taste and appear as it does, it needs to be treated with chemicals and preservatives that are not only bad for your health but also contain unnecessary calories. Lastly, that delicious meat you like contains lots of sodium and fat, which isn’t doing you any good, considering that you are trying to eliminate belly fat.
5. Microwavable Popcorn
You might be wondering why microwavable popcorn made it to this list because, judging by how it is prepared, it contains lots of partially hydrogenated oils and sodium. These ingredients, as mentioned earlier, are some of the main culprits associated with weight gain. It is so bad that at some point, FDA ruled that processed foods shouldn’t contain trans fats such as hydrogenated oils, but the decision was short-lived.
Luckily, some microwavable popcorn brands don’t contain fattening ingredients. Thus, consider the ingredients list on the product label to ensure you get the right kind.
6. Carbohydrate-rich Foods
According to studies, one of the best ways to lose belly fat is following a low-carb diet, also known as a keto diet. But please note that such diets are only ideal for some, so consult a professional before you embark on one.
Most keto diets encourage you to eat lots of protein while eating fewer carbohydrates. Such diets work because, after digesting carbohydrates, some are stored as fat to serve as an energy reserve for future dates. Therefore, if you are on a keto diet, your body utilizes the previously stored fat to satisfy the body’s needs, which means you lose weight, especially in your waist area.
7. Fried Fast Foods
Fried fast food, especially deep-fried, tends to contain lots of oil, which isn’t good for someone trying to lose weight. Also, if you buy packaged fried foods such as crisps, there is a high chance that the manufacturer uses trans fats, a major cause of weight gain.
Also, most of us like to fry food until the surface is crunchy. For this to happen, the said food needs to absorb oil which is not the best idea for someone trying to lose belly fat.
8. Candy
We all love to indulge in good candy once in a while. Yet, that may explain why you can’t lose belly fat. The reason is that candy causes a surge in blood sugar levels, increasing hunger and cravings and the chances of you over-eating.
And since candy contains no nutritional value and has lots of calories and sugar, you will be doing yourself a disservice. Also, most candies contain many preservatives, which might contain additional calories.
Conclusion
Losing belly fat isn’t a dash or linear journey; it works differently for everyone. Therefore, talking to a professional is imperative to ensure you do what’s right for you. The foods mentioned in this article should be avoided or taken in moderation, regardless of the method you use to reach your weight goal.
