The Food Sabotaging Your Efforts to Lose Belly Fat: What Are a Few Easy Things We Should Avoid for Optimal Results
Carrying around stubborn belly fat is horrible, isn’t it? It’s not hard to figure out, the foods we eat are most likely the culprit! While losing belly fat and shedding unwanted pounds can be challenging for most people, it's still possible with exercise and a healthy diet. What’s less known is how certain foods that appear seemingly harmless can sabotage your efforts. Now, let’s talk about some foods to avoid to lose belly fat!
Processed Foods and Belly Fat: How to Cut Out This Hidden Contributor to Belly Fat and Weight Gain
It seems like it would be well known that processed foods are a leading factor in causing belly fat and weight gain. Surprisingly many don’t realize this due to all of the tricky labeling on packaging these days. These foods are often high in calories, added sugars, and unhealthy fats which can cause weight gain, especially in the abdominal area. Some well known examples of processed foods are sugary breakfast cereals, pre-packaged snacks, and of course fast food. Even prepackaged diet foods are a lesser known demon that should be avoided. While these prepackaged, so called diet foods promise low calories, low amounts of unhealthy fats, and low or no sugar, they're often full of toxins, another major contributor to belly fat. Instead, do your best to avoid packaged foods all together and opt for whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup and its Harmful Effects: How to Remove this Controversial and Unhealthy Sweetener From Your Diet.
Here comes the oh so controversial high-fructose corn syrup. As you probably already know, it’s a common sweetener found in most processed foods and drinks. High fructose corn syrup was first developed in the 1960s, and the food industry started making use of it in the 1970s. The use of high fructose corn syrup by the food industry skyrocketed in the 1980s and 90s. It comes as no surprise that the obesity epidemic soon followed. High fructose corn syrup is particularly harmful due to the fact that it’s metabolized differently than other types of unprocessed sugars. Some researchers even claim there is evidence high fructose corn syrup is even more addictive than white sugar! Soda, candy, and prepackaged baked goods are just a few of the low nutrient, high calorie foods which should be avoided at all costs if you're trying to cut out this harmful ingredient from your diet.
Cutting Out Trans Fats for a Healthier Body: How to Avoid Cravings While Cutting out Harmful Fats
Of course not all fats are unhealthy and many are excellent for our health. However, trans fats should be avoided or strictly limited. Margarine, fried food, and processed snacks are a few examples of foods containing this harmful fat. Trans fats are known to increase inflammation in the body causing pain, bloating, toxin buildup, belly fat, an increase in the risk of heart disease, and low energy levels. Sometimes when first cutting out trans fats, there is an increase in cravings. In order to curb these cravings opt for naturally occurring healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocados.
The Link Between Alcohol and Belly Fat: How to Avoid the Beer Belly Effect
We all know the term beer belly, don’t we? Well, beer belly isn’t only caused by beer! The reason for this is that alcohol contains empty calories which result in insulin spikes. These insulin spikes often cause unwanted weight gain and belly fat. Much worse, excessive alcohol consumption leads to liver damage which can be deadly. Liver damage or fatty liver also reduces the body’s ability to burn unwanted fat. To keep belly fat at bay, it’s best to limit your alcohol consumption or even better, avoid it altogether.
Achieving a Healthier Body and Slimmer Waistline: Just a Few Tips for Losing Belly Fat
