Eat to Have a Flat Tummy

Crunches, diets and diet pills on their own cannot guarantee a flat belly, health experts and trainers have repeatedly warned. The secret to losing abdominal fat lies within finding the perfect combination of dieting and working out and, as a new study points out, in eating certain foods. Below are some of those that can help us achieve a flat belly, as presented in the latest issue of Shape magazine.

“There’s no single exercise move – or magic pill, for that matter – that instantly zaps belly fat. You have to lose overall body fat to trim your midsection.” Sari Greaves, R.D., a New York City nutritionist, says for the aforementioned magazine.

What Greaves tells comes in perfect accordance with the findings of a new study of Boston University researchers, who have learned that women on a lowfat diet rich in fibers and other nutrients are less prone to packing on abdominal fat, as opposed to women whose diet has more calories.

Based on this, melon should always be found at the top of our grocery list. It comes with less than 50 calories per slice, is sweet and fulfilling, therefore the kind of treat that we should indulge in as often as we get the chance, experts recommend. “Both honeydew and cantaloupe are high in potassium. This mineral keeps sodium levels in check and beats belly bloat.” Greaves shares.

Wine is also an extremely important ally in the fight against the pounds, since people who drink an average of a glass a day with their meal have been found to have slimmer waistlines than those who don’t. This happens, Greaves explains, because alcohol consumption is believed to speed up the calorie-burning process.

Whole-grain bread and walnuts should also make it on our shopping list. Whole-grain bread, when associated with a lowfat diet, encourages fat loss especially in the belly area. Walnuts, on the other hand, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which lower the levels of the stress hormones and thus prevent fat from storing. Adding the vitamin C-rich grapefruit to our diet can also help us in our endeavor to achieve a flat tummy.

At the opposite pole are sugar substitutes (which can make the stomach swell), canned soup (laden with sodium, which encourages the organism to retain water) and partially hydrogenated oil, which can prompt the body to redistribute fat to the belly.