10 weird tricks to get rid of belly fat amazingly fast
One of the reasons I joined the
field of nutrition was to prevent chronic diseases (such as type 2 diabetes)
and help clear up the confusion. My goal is to simplify and share information
that can help improve your health. These changes worked for me, but they may
not work for you. Your mileage may vary.
And just to be clear, no, there are
no tricks that will help you get rid of belly fat surprisingly fast. You can't
tell your body to lose fat from certain areas, and lifestyle changes should be
a lifelong approach rather than incredibly quick miracle cures.
Here are 10 practical concepts that
can put you on the right path to improving your health. All of them focus on
healthy eating or physical activity. Keep in mind that there are many aspects
to living a healthy life other than those listed below (eg, don't smoke, don't
smoke, don't smoke).
This is not medical advice, so
always communicate with your health care providers about any substantial
behavioral changes. If you are specifically looking for personalized diet
advice, reach out to a registered dietitian.
This is simply a list of the lessons
I wish someone had told me when I first tried to change my habits.
1. Don't set unrealistic
goals for weight loss. Focus on the behaviors.
Weight can be a fickle thing. It can
fluctuate depending on your fluid intake, time of day, and the food you
consume. So when you start taking steps to improve your health, please don't
judge your success by just the number on the scale.
Know your weight and track it over
time, but avoid worrying about your weight daily.
There is no doubt that excess weight
increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, especially
when it is stored around your waist.
But weight is only one factor for
health. Too often we judge success by our ability to achieve an unrealistic
weight loss goal (often a completely contrived and arbitrarily set number). We
aim for this unrealistic weight loss goal rather than behavioral goals (eg
eating at least three servings of vegetables a day) or a more moderate goal
that will improve our health.
Failure to reach this ideal weight
can cause frustration and may increase the likelihood that we should completely
give up improving our diet or getting more exercise.
It's important to understand that
maintaining weight loss and sticking to long-term habits make a difference. A
person can lose weight temporarily through many different methods, even by just
eating Twinkies, McDonald's, or potatoes.
As a society, unfortunately, we
judge others if they are healthy or not by their appearance. When people start
making changes, at a glance, we can't see that the person has lowered blood
pressure, improved blood sugar control, or eaten three servings of vegetables
that day.
As Patrick Mustaine so eloquently
said,
“If we are to shift the conversation
toward a culture of health — one that values healthy eating and regular
physical activity as an end in itself, we may be happily surprised to find that
not only do we live longer and happier lives, with fewer diseases and lower
health costs, but also, we may need to drop A group pant size or two. Or not.
Either way, we're better off."
Set a moderate goal, focus on
behaviors, and remember that even a 5% weight loss has been associated with a
reduced risk of many chronic diseases.
Related: Health and fitness through weight loss
2. Focus on your general eating pattern
Before I start talking about
nutrition, I would like to make an important note that it is a difficult
subject to study.
We are still learning as a field. It
is very difficult to make a statement with great certainty that eating a
particular food will improve or worsen your health, or in particular, create a
longer life. Context is key to nutrition. It's an evolving field, and we have
to embrace its evolution. The field is currently discussing ways to improve it.
What we currently know is that
eating or not eating a single food will likely have little effect on your
health and/or your life span. Almost all of the longevity claims for a single
food should be met with a lot of skepticism (I'm looking at you goji berries).
When you look at cultures around the
world, you will notice that humans can live on a variety of different foods. No
single diet rules them all; however, we have learned that once a culture adopts
a more Western way of eating and living, it is likely that chronic diseases
will follow, unfortunately. However, this is usually in exchange for more
expensive, convenient, and productive food supplies (#tradeoffs).
Research has shown that general
dietary patterns (and other habits such as exercise) are more important than
simply focusing on a single food or nutrient. It's not perfect, but Dariush
Mozaffarian of the Tufts Friedman School of Nutritional Science and Policy has
developed a simple diagram of the foods we should be eating more of rather than
others.
To break down his thoughts, let's
just say we have three food groups: eat more, eat in moderation, and eat less.
Current research suggests that our
health can be improved if we eat more whole fruits, beans, lentils, nuts,
seeds, fish/seafood, whole grains, vegetables, vegetable oils (such as extra
virgin olive oil), and yogurt (note: more research is needed!) rather than
common sources. "Eat less" foods like chips, sugary cereals, butter,
pizza, sugary drinks, cheese, potatoes, refined grains (like bread and pasta),
alcohol, processed meats (think deli), and other ultra-processed foods.
Other foods such as cheese, chicken,
eggs, and milk are in the "eating in moderation group". Some benefits
appear but not as much as eating more (more research is needed!).
The only nutrient-specific items he
recommends limiting are foods high in salt (think ramen and most frozen meals)
and artificial trans fats. Thanks to policy changes, most industrial trans fats
have been removed from the food supply in the United States.
You can avoid these two nutrients by
looking at the ingredients list and the Nutrition Facts label (like the box on
food packages that contains fat, sugar, etc.). Check the words partially
hydrogenated in ingredients and rate the sodium on the label.
Unless your healthcare provider
advises you, 2,300 mg (equal to a teaspoon) appears to be a useful target for
your daily intake, but it is a highly debated field of nutrition (more research
is needed!).
If you're eating foods in the Eat
More group, you don't have to worry about these last two nutrient
recommendations because these foods don't contain artificial trans fats or
significant amounts of sodium.
You also don't have to eat all the
foods in the Eat More group. You can change your diet and decide to include
specific items depending on taste, environmental concerns, and cultural
preferences.
The best place to start is to
replace snacks (like chips and candy) with things like whole fruit and nuts,
which don't require cooking and are convenient.
3. Food has more calories
Calories matter and in America, we
currently have no shortage of them.
Departing from best estimates, the
daily caloric surplus of 220 calories for adults and 41 calories each day for
young adults explains our weight gain. Weights have been increasing since the
1920s, but they've increased more rapidly since the 1960s. The prevalence of
obesity increased from 13.3% in the early 1960s to about 39% in 2016.
As you begin the process of
improving your diet, it is helpful to measure how many calories you are
supposed to be eating. I highly recommend checking out the National Institutes
of Health Body Weight Chart for an accurate estimate.
Some people find it helpful to use a
food diary app to keep track of intake and calories as well. I love Cronometer
because it offers a barcode scanner feature to easily capture your validated
food and nutrition data. (Note: I don't receive any dollars from them).
But please don't just judge a food
item based on its calorie content. For example, one avocado contains 234
calories compared to 143 calories in a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola. Does this
make soda healthier than avocado? of course not. Food companies like to use
this line of thinking all the time when they reformulate a product to be
"healthier" or "low-fat" because it's lower in calories.
As I mentioned, the science of
nutrition continues to evolve, and we are learning about the potential
importance of the food matrix and the thousands of phytochemicals (i.e.
bioactive compounds) in plants about chronic disease risk (more research is
needed!).
To find out how many calories you're
consuming, but focus on eating items from the eat more category rather than
just calories for overall health other than weight management.
Related: 20 Best Weight Loss Tips
4. Create a healthy sanctuary at home
Make your home a haven of healthy
food only for most weeks of the year. This is especially important for families
with children. Avoid keeping foods rich in energy and poor in nutrients that
make it difficult to stop eating in your home. Especially avoid buying larger
portions of it.
Scientists and food companies are
good at their jobs (for better or worse). They know exactly how to make foods
irresistible and as easy to eat as possible.
It is very difficult to practice
moderation on food that does not make you feel full until you have already run
out of packaging. In the past, Cheetos and Reese have been prime examples of
this to me (let's be real, I can still polish a bag of them easily).
You can eat unhealthy just about
anywhere, so it is important to make sure that your home is the default place
for healthy eating. The key is to stock the house with healthy foods (think
eating more) that you already enjoy. Give yourself some time to find these
foods. Change takes time.
5. Upgrade your drink
We love our drinks here in America,
and I'm part of that group.
Sugary drinks, in particular, don't
help our efforts to be healthy. They are detrimental to our dental health and
provide no benefit besides energy in the form of calories.
The smart approach to improving your
diet is to upgrade your drink. One of the first steps I took to improve my
health was to reduce sugary drinks. Start drinking more unsweetened beverages
such as tap water, drinking water, tea, or coffee.
Cut back on items like soda, fruit
juices, energy drinks, coffee drinks (think Frappuccinos), sports drinks, and
often ignore the source of calories and alcohol (say it isn't!).
As someone from Wisconsin
(#GoPackGo), I enjoy Bayer (my college friends can attest to that). However,
you should be aware of how many alcoholic beverages you are consuming for many
reasons. It's an easy source of calories that we often overlook. For example, a
12-ounce bottle of Founders Breakfast Stout has 270 calories.
In America, alcohol is one of the
top 10 sources of calories for adults. A good rule of thumb is to limit
consumption as much as possible, while never feeling deprived again. I usually
enjoy it now when I am with family and at social events.
Drinking alcohol can also lead to
reckless unhealthy food choices (again my college friends can attest to). It
acts as an appetite stimulant and impairs your good judgment.
I don't drink diet soda personally,
and we still don't know the long-term health effect of some artificial
sweeteners; However, IMO drinking diet options are still a step in the right
direction away from full sugar. For the most part, claims about diet sodas are
exaggerated.
6. Healthy Living≠Perfection
A surefire way to fail in a healthy
life is to strive for perfection. We rarely expect perfection from other
aspects of life, so please do not apply it to eating or exercising. You should
plan for setbacks from less desirable eating habits and mistakes should be
expected.
7. Avoid extreme hunger
I feel proud to make this comment,
and I know some people don't have the resources to avoid this problem. As a
country, we can do a lot to ensure that no one goes hungry on a systemic level.
But if you're as privileged as me
when it comes to healthy eating, hitting the point of hunger can lead to poor
decisions. When you're hungry, making a rational decision about food is even
more difficult. Especially when you have a lot of energy-dense, nutrient-poor
food triggers, and marketing.
Identify the periods that have
caused your "hunger slips" in the past. Plan and pack "eat
more" snacks to ensure rational dietary decisions are made.
8. Include physical activity in your daily schedule
Similar to not believe there is one
diet that rules them all, I also don't think there is a perfect exercise that
meets everyone's needs and preferences.
The best exercise is one that you
enjoy and you can imagine continuing to do for the rest of your life. Remember
that any movement is better than sitting on the couch watching Netflix.
Physical activity also supports your health, regardless of your body size.
I try to move every day. I have a
few exercises that I find interesting (after trial and error). It improves my
mood daily and reduces my stress. Some days it's hiking or biking; Other times
it's just a quick walk with our dog or weight lifting at the gym.
If traditional leisure exercise
isn't your thing, incorporate physical activity into your daily routine. Try
cycling, walking, or running to work. Take a "workout snack" by
climbing the stairs at your office, park the farthest place when shopping, and
try to take several trips on foot or by bike. Move as much as you can and enjoy
the benefits.
9. Make healthy eating easier
Just as with exercise, scratch
cooking can be a great activity to do. There are millions of healthy recipes
for you to choose from on the Internet. You can make scratch cooking as easy or
as fancy as you like.
If you like to cook and want to take
it easy, I highly recommend buying a quick pot (note: I didn't receive a
promotion dollar). It changed the rules of the game in terms of preparing meals
for the week and in aspects of group cooking like whole grains and beans.
Tupperware and meal prep containers are also useful resources.
Unfortunately, we all have busy
lives and sometimes we just can't do this great job. So please don't feel
guilty if you are not able to cook all your meals. Although they are hard to
find, stores and restaurants are starting to offer healthy options. Again,
focus on "eating more" when dining out. These products are more
expensive than making them yourself, but they will save you time and effort and
make healthy food more convenient.
10. Enjoy life and don't stress over it
All people value their health to
some extent, and health is one of the top priorities for families.
No one hopes to have a heart attack,
need weekly dialysis as a result of type 2 diabetes, or be physically unfit to
play with their children and grandchildren. Our current food environment makes
it very easy to “prioritize immediate gratification over potentially negative
long-term outcomes”; It exploits our biological, psychological, and
socioeconomic vulnerabilities, making it easier for us to eat unhealthy food.
Although the above guidelines focus
on individual change, it would be more productive and beneficial if larger
environmental and social changes made healthy eating and physical activity
easier, more affordable, equitable, and convenient. Most of the gains in our
lives have come from teamwork rather than a focus on changing individual
behavior.
IMHO, unhealthy food and inactivity
are often a huge part of our daily lives. For a while, our number one source of
calories each day came from sweets. We all have some personal responsibility
for our health, but our surrounding environment can either support or undermine
our long-term health goals. The current environment reinforces our preferences
and demands for foods that are nutrient-dense and energy-dense.
To help counter this environment,
before you buy nutrient-poor, energy-rich foods, think about your reasons for
doing so. Do you celebrate a specific event? Do you enjoy this reward with your
loved ones? Do you enjoy the food you eat?
Or are you just stressed, bored, or
impulsive? Again, it's okay if these states make you eat unhealthy from time to
time (we've all been there!). no one is perfect.
My argument is to make sure that the
treatment is actually a cure. The food you actually want to eat. A sure sign of
a rush to buy unhealthy food is regret after eating it. Try to remove the idea
of feeling guilty about food.
In the end, life is also more than
just nutrition and healthy life. Be deliberate about your food choices but
don't let that disrupt other, more important aspects of life.
The great thing about healthy living
is that it can be adapted to your preferences, your culture, and your daily
reality. If you don't like turnip, you don't have to eat it. If you enjoy
eating healthy food all the time and don't feel like you're missing out, you
can do that too.
The idea is to find a lifestyle that you really enjoy sticking to. No one will refuse your favorite food or force you to do an exercise you hate. No doubt, it can be difficult at first to shift your taste buds to the foods you like or find a fun workout.
Change takes time.
However, food can be tasty and nutritious.
Related: 5 Ways To Lose Weight While Maintaining Your Health
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