Diet, after exercise, is the next major trick to lose belly fat. It is important to review what you eat, how much you eat and how you eat it. The reason is because the right nutrition fulfills the body’s energy requirements without adding any new fatty deposits. Here are 6 major tips to lose belly fat by cleaning out your diet and reforming your diet patterns.
1. Maintain a Food Journal:
A food journal helps you adopt a disciplined approach to eating. It gives you what you eat and drink at a glance thereby allowing you to review it periodically. This food journal need not be very detailed. It should however list everything you eat and drink during the course of the day. It will also help you count calories effectively.
2. Read Ingredient Labels:
I always recommend eating fresh and home-cooked meals. However, there are a few food items that you might need to purchase readymade. In such cases, it is best to read the nutrient and ingredient labels printed on the packet or container. It will give you the exact amount of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, fats, sugar and sodium included in the food items and thus helps you make healthy food choices. When trying to lose belly fat, you should aim for the highest amount of proteins.
3. Opt for home-cooked meals:
Majority of the food on your platter should consist of fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead of visiting the section with the frozen and packaged foods, make a trip to the section that has the fresh produce on exhibit. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain nutrients and vitamins in their unprocessed forms.
Try to rearrange your schedule so that you get time to prepare your meals. This way you know what goes into your foods and you have a better control on your calorie intake. If you must buy canned foods, opt for the frozen foods.
4. Measure your food portions:
Eating the right portion sizes help trim belly fat by making sure you do not overeat. The first way to do so is by using a smaller plate for your meal. Besides this, you can use measuring cups, spoons and countertop food scales to measure solid and fluid food items.
5. Oils, condiments and seasoning:
Often people eat salads to trim their waistline. However, it doesn’t help much. The reason is because even though the fruits and vegetables tossed into the salad are nutritious and low-calorie, the condiments, seasonings and dressings are what add additional calories. For your sandwiches and burgers, you can mustard or low-fat mayonnaise. Try to reduce the amount of sauce you eat as the sauce varieties available in the market and high in sodium and sugar. Olive oil, canola oil and sunflower oil are healthy varieties as far as their fat content is concerned.
6. Drink plenty of water:
Dehydration is a major cause of belly fat. This is because lack of water decelerates the metabolic rate. It also causes unnecessary bloating creating a bulgy appearance. You should always carry a bottle of water with you. It might be hard to down 8-10 glasses of water in a day if you are not particularly fond of it. You can start with less and add an additional glass every day.
