Belly Fat Diet For Flat Tummy

Increased belly fat, even with a normal BMI may lead to a risk of many health issues.

So you should have an insight into the different causes of belly fat so that you could address them and prevent them. Let’s have a look at them.

1. Alcohol

   One of the major reasons behind sudden belly fat gain could be alcohol.

   According to a study^[1], people who consume alcohol in excess might see an increase in their belly fat.

2. Stress

   Sometimes your stress could even be the reason behind your sudden gain in belly fat.

   This is because of the stress hormone known^[2] as cortisol which is produced by the adrenal glands in bothersome situations.

   During stress, you may eat more, and cortisol could lead to the storage of these excess calories in your belly as fat.

3. Genetics

   Your genes could play a massive role in an increased risk of obesity.

   At the same time, they might even^[3] be responsible for encouraging your body to store the fat near the belly area.

4. Lifestyle

   The particular lifestyle which you follow could play a major role in the accumulation of fat near your belly.

   In case people perform resistance training or aerobic exercise after a year they lose weight, then it could help to prevent belly fat gain.

   However, people who do not perform exercises even after they lose weight might be at high risk for belly fat gain.

   Thus, these are the different causes that might lead to increased belly fat. Other than this, certain food items could even lead to weight gain in your belly area.

   So let’s have a glance at these food items, which you could avoid if you wish to lose belly fat.
   Foods to avoid.

5. Sugary Food And Beverages

   According to a study^[4], eating sugary food and beverages might lead to weight gain near your belly area.

   The major reason behind This may be the extra refined sugar that is added to sugary food and beverages during their processing stage.

   Though excess sugar is harmful at any stage, sugar-sweetened beverages might especially lead to additional weight gain in your belly area.

   So you may avoid consuming sugary foods like chocolates, candy, fruit juices, or baked goods.

   Apart from this, aerated drinks like soda might not just add belly fat, but could even add liver fat.

    People who consumed soda regularly had a weight nearly four times more than non-consumers of soda over a 10-year duration.

6. Excess Salt

   The salt in your body could lead to water retention and hence^[5] it may make you weigh more as compared to the actual weight of your body.

   Due to this, the excess salt may even lead to the accumulation of belly fat. The kind of weight gain due to excess salt may be referred to as water weight.

7. Fried Food

   As you know, the calories in fried food are quite high because it may absorb the fat of the cooking oils.

   Apart from this, fried food is even packed with trans fats which are one of the worst types of fats. This may be because it is difficult for your body to break down trans fats.

   Hence they could lead to harmful effects like^[6] diabetes, obesity, and even certain types of cancers apart from belly fat.

Foods To Lose Belly Fat

If you focus on eating the foods mentioned below along with a strict workout regime, then it could help you to shed belly fat and lose weight.

1. Oatmeal

   Packed with fiber, oatmeal could^[7] help you to work with the gut bacteria and turn off the genes that may lead to diabetes.

   Moreover, if you have a sweet tooth, then you could even satisfy it by adding a little bit of sugar to your oatmeal.

2. Lean Meat

   The major function of lean meat could be to bolster your metabolism and hence assist in shedding the stubborn fat near your belly.

   So you could add lean meats like skinless chicken breast, lean cuts of beef, or even the white meat part of Turkey to your diet.

3. Fatty Fish

   Fatty fishes that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, mackerel, sardines, herrings, or even anchovies could help to decrease the visceral fat near your belly area.

   Research^[8] even shows that if you consume two to three servings of these fishes, it could help to reduce your liver and abdominal fat.

4. Leafy Green Vegetables 

   Leafy green vegetables could turn off the fat storage genes in your body and even reduce swelling.

   Moreover, green vegetables are low in calories. The study^[9] shows that leafy green vegetables could efficaciously help to reduce belly fat.

Meal Plan To Lose Belly Fat

Since there is no single magic ingredient that could help to shed all your belly fat, you have to focus on a diet and meal plan that could help you to lose belly fat.

Certain foods might have belly fat-burning benefits like eggs, chickpeas, whole grains, peanuts, avocado, green tea, and so on.

These few food items could help to decrease your waist size by shrinking the fat cells. So here is a meal plan which you could follow to lose belly fat.

You may even meal Prep ahead so that you could adhere to this meal plan during the hectic weekdays.

Day 1

Breakfast

• 8 ounces of green tea
• One medium orange
• One serving of Greek muffin tin omelets

Lunch

• Spinach and artichoke salad
• Dinner
• Spiced lentils with roasted green vegetables

Snacks

• One Cup of raspberries fresh or frozen.
• Two tablespoons of chia seeds.
• One medium banana

Day 2

Breakfast

• 2 Kiwi
• One serving of bagel avocado toast
• one serving of mature green tea latte

Lunch

• One serving of veggie salad and white beans

Dinner

• One Cup of cooked brown rice with chopped parsley
• One Cup of steamed broccoli florets, seasoned with salt and pepper
• Oats

Snacks

• One medium banana
• Half serving of green muffin tin omelets
• Day three

Day 3

Breakfast

• ¾ cup of raspberries
• 8 ounces of green tea
• Three-fourth cup of unsweetened Muesli.

Lunch

• One serving of avocado toast and white bean

Dinner

• One Cup of cooked brown rice
• Half tablespoon dried oregano
• One whole wheat pita bread

Snacks

• Two rings of Apple Donuts
• Peanuts
• One medium apple

Thus, this could be your ideal belly fat diet. However, it is not mandatory to stick to the ingredients mentioned above.

You could modify it according to your requirements. But make sure that you focus on the food items that are mentioned in this article.

Also, try to avoid eating those which could instead lead to weight gain.

Thus, this was all you need to know about the belly fat diet. You must focus on food items that are rich in antioxidants and fiber in your belly fat diet.

These food items could include nuts and seeds, leafy green vegetables, and so on.

You could even focus on various diet forms like the ketogenic diet, Paleo Diet, Atkins diet, or the vegan diet if you wish to lose your stubborn belly fat.

Apart from this, you may even drink different vegetable juices like beetroot, cucumber, bottle gourd, and carrot, which could naturally help to lose belly fat. 

Good luck with the process.