Healthy Habit #1:
Ditch Diet Soda people who drank two or more diet sodas a day had waist-size increases that were six times greater than non-drinkers. Diet drinks are loaded with deceptively sweet artificial sweeteners, which, researchers say, trick the metabolism into thinking sugar is on its way
spike insulin levels, and shift the body from a fat-burning to a fat-storing state.
Healthy Habit #2:
Eat Three Squares three balanced meals may be the way to go. Try weaning yourself off the snack wagon by nixing your morning nibble first. Research suggests mid-morning snackers tend to consume more throughout the day than afternoon snackers.
Healthy Habit #3:
Eat More Walnuts Polyunsaturated fats on the other hand, activate genes that reduce fat storage and improve insulin metabolism. At about 13 grams per 1 ounce serving, walnuts are one of the best dietary sources. Sprinkle a handful on ur morning oats/salad for belly-busting benefits
Healthy Habit #4:
Skip The Bootcamp Obesity found people who performed interval training on an exercise bike for 24 minutes three days a week, actually gained 0.7 percent abdominal fat over a 12-week period. Meanwhile, those on the same dietician-regulated diet, who performed traditional aerobic
exercise—45 minutes of continuous moderate cycling three days a week—lost nearly 3 percent of their abdominal fat over the same 3-month period. The study authors did notes that HIIT improved fitness, but suggest that the only evidence to support interval training as an efficient weight loss method was research using young people who were already lean and healthy. Remember: Workouts are only half of the equation; abs are made in the kitchen as they say.
Healthy Habit #5:
Eat the magical beans, Jack There are diet pills on the market that actually work. They’re called beans. Researchers suggest beans, as they’re particularly rich in soluble fiber, can lessen the accumulation of abdominal fat deposits.
Healthy Habit #6:
Swap coffee for green tea Green tea and weight loss are a natural pair. Sipping on green tea throughout the morning has proven to whittle your waist, but too much coffee has the opposite effect. What makes green tea so waist friendly are compounds called catechins,
belly-fat crusaders that blast adipose tissue by revving the metabolism, increasing the release of fat from fat cells (particularly in the belly), and then speeding up the liver’s fat burning capacity. In a recent study, participants who combined a daily habit of 4-5 cups of green tea with a 25-minute sweat session (or 180 minutes a week), lost 2 more pounds than the non tea-drinking exercisers. Meanwhile, a research team in Washington found that the same amount of coffee (5+ cups/day) doubled visceral belly fat.
Healthy Habit #7:
Be Unrefined participants who ate three or more servings of whole grains per day (oats, quinoa, brown rice, wheat) had 10% less belly fat than people who ate the same amount of calories from refined carbs (white stuff: bread, rice, pasta).
Healthy Habit #8:
Sprinkle Pepper Everywhere Meet Piperine, the fat blasting ninja! A powerful compound found in black pepper, piperine has been used for centuries in Eastern medicine to treat multiple health conditions including inflammation and tummy troubles.
But recent animal studies have found that piperine may also have the profound ability to decrease inflammation and interfere with the formation of new fat cells—a reaction known as adipogenesis, resulting in a decrease in waist size, body fat, and cholesterol levels. More pepper, please!
Healthy Habit #9:
Use coconut oil for cooking What smells like an exotic vacation and can shrink your waist faster than your favorite Zumba class? You got it: coconut oil. just 2 tablespoons per day reduced waist circumference by an average of 1.1 inches over the course of a month.
Healthy Habit #10:
Indulge in Dark Chocolate Research now shows that eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate can reduce overall body fat and shrink the waist. A study among women with normal weight obesity (skinny fat syndrome) who ate a Mediterranean diet that included two servings of dark
chocolate each day showed a significant reduction in waist size than when on a cocoa-free meal plan. Researchers say it has to do with the flavonoids, heart-healthy compounds in chocolate that have important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Just be sure you’re reaching for a bar with at least 70 percent cacao, and stay away from the “alkalized” stuff, which has a significantly reduced flavonoid content.
