Summer is coming and we all want to look our best. Lowering the belly is something that both men and women seek to achieve.
Although it seems like a difficult task because the belly is usually one of the places that accumulates the most fat, the first step to losing it is to understand why it is formed in the first place.
Note: You are not alone. The truth is that 77% of women say they would like to lose abdominal fat.
And, after months of quarantine, processed snacks and reduced movement due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people report gaining weight.
Fortunately, today you will see the simple steps you can follow to start losing your belly, even during confinement.
Tips to lose belly
There are many tips and measures to take to lose fat, the important thing is to understand that you need two fundamental things: patience and perseverance.
To lower the belly you need two things: burn fat and tone the area. Unfortunately, we don’t get to choose where on the body we can burn fat. You just burn fat all over the body.
Note: What determines both where we burn fat more easily and where we store it, in large part, are genes. However, there are some tricks to accentuate or enhance the parts we want.
Here are some tips to lower your belly in a healthy and sustainable way over time:
Hydrate with water regularly
Drinking water not only keeps you hydrated and healthy, but it can also help boost your metabolism, the key to effective weight loss without following highly restrictive diets.
A faster metabolism helps us burn more calories throughout the day, making it one of the best ways to get better results.
Notable: A study published in 2013 in the Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research showed that drinking cold water causes a 30% increase in metabolic rate for 30 minutes (1) .
This effect may sound insignificant to some, but if you think about it carefully, a glass of cold water is equivalent to 1 minute of exercise.
Drink anti-inflammatory drinks
One of the great enemies of a flat abdomen is inflammation. Inflammation is nothing more than the accumulation of fluids or gases.
Note: This usually happens when the body is unbalanced, either because of something we have eaten or because of fluid retention.
There are many ways to avoid inflammation, among them you can choose to eat foods that do not ferment in your digestive tract and generate gases, such as ultra-processed foods such as sugars, pasta, pastries, cookies, and even artificial sweeteners.
You should also avoid excess sodium , which will cause you to retain fluid and bloat. You can consume foods rich in potassium such as avocado and banana, since potassium helps balance sodium levels in the body.
To highlight: A trick is to consume anti-inflammatory drinks, some of them are: Ginger tea, water with cranberry juice and cinnamon tea .
Regulate sugar intake
When you consume too many calories, your body uses many of these to keep you alive, calories are the fuel that allow your brain to carry out all its functions, you can think, sleep, speak, hear, see, walk, jump, move, regulate body temperature.
Your body also requires energy from calories for digestion, building and repairing tissue and muscle, and for your organs to function properly.
However, all the excess energy is used to replenish energy reserves, that is, to store fat. Any excess calories are stored in fat cells throughout the body, and sadly, for many it tends to be mainly those in the abdomen.
For this reason, regulating sugar consumption is one of the best tips when it comes to losing weight , since foods that contain a lot of sugar are usually foods of low nutritional quality, such as pastries and cakes that provide many calories and few nutrients. .
Note: If you’re craving something sweet, opt for a piece of fruit, or be encouraged to try new healthy, sugar-free recipes and replace white flour with better options like oatmeal or almond flour.
Moderate salt intake
Excess sodium makes us retain fluids, that is, if you consume too much salt or sodium in your diet you can end up with an inflated abdomen like a balloon.
Sodium is not only present in salt, it is hidden in most ultra-processed foods such as dressings, ketchup, soy sauce, sauces, sodas, packaged snacks, etc.
To lower the amount of sodium in your diet, choose to cook with healthy, whole ingredients. That is, real foods like eggs, milk, oats, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
A study from Harvard University showed that you can also help your body balance sodium if you eat potassium-rich foods like bananas, avocados, bell peppers, and dark chocolate (2) .
And finally, to reduce the amount of salt we use in cooking, opt for fresh herbs such as oregano, thyme, or rosemary, and spices such as turmeric, pepper, chili, or garlic powder to flavor your dishes. foods.
Reduce consumption of fats and carbohydrates
Without a doubt, this combo is a caloric bomb. If you think about it carefully, the tastiest and most addictive foods in the food industry are those that combine carbohydrates with fat, such as pizza, hamburgers, French fries, ice cream and cakes.
To highlight: A study published by Frontiers in Neuroscience ensures that this is because our brains evolved to detect and develop a taste for high-calorie foods, since our ancestors did not have food available at all times like us and had to survive the cold of the winter (3) .
Today we do not have the problems that our ancestors had, however our brain still desperately searches for those high-calorie foods to keep us alive, although unfortunately for us, these foods make us less healthy.
Note: Fats contain 9 calories per gram, being the macronutrient that provides the most calories, while carbohydrates and proteins provide only 4 per gram.
On the other hand, carbohydrates, unlike protein, do not keep us full for as long, since carbohydrates provide easy-to-use energy and our body can store it quickly.
That is why cutting back on these and opting for better sources of fat and carbohydrates is one of the best strategies for losing belly fat.
Try swapping out ultra-processed fats and carbs for healthy sources, like extra virgin olive oil, avocado, salmon, nuts, and seeds for fats.
And opt for high-fiber carbs like fibrous vegetables, such as broccoli and kale, oats , and quinoa.
Avoid foods that cause bloating
Abdominal distension can also inflame us, gas. To avoid this uncomfortable and also painful swelling, follow these steps:
Avoid carbonated drinks and alcohol as they release carbon dioxide and cause you to generate gas in your intestinal tract.
Avoid eating gum and candy, this makes you swallow air that will swell your belly.
Eat foods with fiber
Fiber seems to help you lose belly fat. A study published in October 2009 by The Journal of Nutrition found that those who ate more fiber and whole grains had less abdominal and overall body fat than those who did not consume much fiber (4) .
Also adding fiber to your diet along with water intake can reduce constipation. The daily fiber recommendations for women are 21 to 25 grams of fiber and 30 to 38 grams for men.
chew food well
Digestion begins in the mouth. Eating fast and not chewing properly can contribute to bloating. Chewing helps break down food and release digestive enzymes that aid digestion.
Bypassing this stage of digestion puts more strain on the rest of the digestive tract, meaning food can stay in the intestine longer, fermenting and producing gas.
Avoid going hours without eating
Going many hours without eating can be a double-edged sword. When you’re fasting, your blood sugar levels drop, which can lead to cravings for high-sugar (and calorie) foods. Experts recommend eating between 3 and 5 meals a day.
Perform cardiovascular and abdominal exercises
There is nothing better than exercise. Aerobic exercise is an excellent way to burn calories and improve your cardiovascular health.
Experts recommend doing between 2 to 5 hours of exercise per week, that is, between 20 to 40 minutes per day. Some exercises you can do are running, walking, biking, and dancing.
The ideal is to alternate between aerobic and resistance exercises, since the latter will help you strengthen the abdomen area, which will make it look flatter and more toned.
Some exercises you can do are classic crunches, leg lifts, and planks.
Key takeaways
- To lower the belly you need two things: burn fat and tone the area. However, we cannot choose where in the body we can burn fat. You just burn fat all over the body. What determines both where we burn fat more easily and where we store it, are genes.
- There are some tricks to accentuate or enhance the parts we want. They are: Moisturize with water regularly. Drinking water not only keeps you hydrated and healthy, but it can also help boost your metabolism. Also drink anti-inflammatory drinks such as ginger tea, cranberry juice and cinnamon tea.
- Another tip to lose belly is to regulate sugar consumption, since foods that contain a lot of sugar are usually foods of low nutritional quality. Therefore, they have excess calories that your body then uses to replenish energy reserves, that is, store fat.
- Moderating the consumption of salt is another tip to lower the belly, since excess sodium makes us retain liquid. Remember that sodium is not only present in salt, but also in most ultra-processed foods such as ketchup, soy sauce, sauces, sodas, packaged snacks, etc.
- Among other tips is to reduce the consumption of fats and carbohydrates, eat foods with fiber, chew food well, avoid spending hours without eating, avoid foods that cause abdominal distension, and perform cardiovascular and abdominal exercises for at least 20 to 40 minutes a day.
University Professional in the area of Human Resources, Postgraduate in Occupational Health and Hygiene of the Work Environment, 14 years of experience in the area of health. Interested in topics of Psychology, Occupational Health, and General Medicine.