Any waistline measuring beyond 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women is alarming. This could be the onset of obesity, which can be extremely hard to tackle. Therefore, here is a list of foods to be avoided if you want to stay fit and find ways to lose belly fat.
- Don’t eat sugar, in any form: Sugar affects the metabolic health of the liver as it gets burdened with fructose which will turn into fat that will mostly get accumulated in both, belly and liver. It is found that liquid sugar (in processed juices) increases the risk of obesity in children by 60%. Hence, it is best to avoid sugary beverages like soda, punches, sweetened tea, etc. and high-sugar foods like cakes, candies, muffins, frozen yogurt, etc. to lose belly fat.
- Reduce intake of carbs: Carb restriction (refined carbs found in white bread, pasta, etc.) cuts the appetite and hence helps to lose weight. Low-carb diets specifically target the belly fat in the abdomen, around the organs and liver thereby decreasing the unhealthy and disease promoting intestinal fat.
- Consume alcohol in moderate amounts: Along with inflammation and liver problems, high alcohol intake suppresses fat burning. Furthermore, the excess calories from the alcohol itself will be stored as belly fat causing what is commonly referred as a beer belly.
- Eliminate trans fats from your food: These are often listed as partially hydrogenated fats, which are created from unsaturated fats and used to extend the shelf lives of packaged foods, margarine, sandwich spreads, baked products, etc. Trans-fats have been found to cause internal swelling, insulin resistance, heart disease, etc. along with producing excess abdominal fat.
- Avoid low-protein diets: Sufficient dietary protein keeps you feeling full, satisfied and increases your metabolism rate thereby reducing the calorie intake. So, if you want to lose belly fat, then you need to stop eating low protein diets that contain neuropeptide Y (NPY), a hormone which increases the appetite thereby causing you to gain belly fat in the course of time.
- Do not eat foods that are low in fiber: Intake of soluble fiber makes you feel full, stabilizes the hunger hormones and reduces calorie absorption from food thereby decreases the accumulation of belly fat. While whole grains that contain high-fiber are found to reduce abdominal fat and refined grains increase abdominal fat. Also, these foods act as roughage allowing easy digestion of food and egestion promoting intestinal health.