Every woman out there dreams about getting washboard abs and a flat belly. In a quest to achieve a snatched waist, some of us tend to drift towards fad diets, liquid diets, and other extreme measures which hardly fetch any results – not to mention the harmful effects such diets can have on your skin and hair. Diets that are based on starvation and food deprivation never work and they can mess up your body, and once you come off them, you tend to gain weight quickly and much more than before, and most of it is tummy fat! So basically, all such diets and other extreme measures are counterproductive and defeat their original intent, which is in fact, to get a flatter tummy. That’s why, the right way to diet to lose weight and tummy fat is by following the Rati Beauty diet on the Rati Beauty app which encourages you to eat nutritious, delicious and healthy food in a way that you would never feel like coming off it – so there you go – you don’t have to stay off food to lose weight, you just have to eat right, not less! By being on this diet, you can lose overall weight as well as stubborn tummy fat. Coming back to today’s topic, we are listing out 12 Foods to Eat for a Flat Belly, and the good news is that all of them have been included on the Rati Beauty diet program.
1. Yoghurt/Curd: Yoghurt and curd have loads of probiotics which keeps your digestive system healthy and also prevents your belly from getting bloated. Probiotics also tend to release appetite reducing hormones and such hormones (GLP-1 and PYY) help burn more calories and fat. Yogurt and curd also reduce inflammation which directly prevents weight gain.
2. Avocados: Avocados have healthy monounsaturated fats that help burn fat, more so tummy fat. It also contains a lot of fiber which keeps you full for a longer time and makes your digestive system running smoothly.
3. Green Leafy Vegetables: No, we are not talking about kale because the different varieties of green leafy vegetables in India (sarso, methi, palak, moringa, bathua, etc.), come loaded with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that make them a must-have in any healthy diet. They are not only extremely low in calories and high on fiber, they also contain a lot of essential vitamins and minerals that help ease water retention in our body. Here’s a list of “17 14 Best Leafy Green Vegetables to Boost Weight Loss.”
4. Walnuts, Almonds, and other Nuts: Nuts like walnuts, almonds, pistachios, are very good sources of protein, fiber and monounsaturated fats for our body that will keep you full for a longer time and burn fat too. Good news, almonds in particular block fat deposition in the body. Hurray! So make it a habit to start your day with a handful of soaked almonds.
5. Whole Eggs: Eggs are good sources of lean protein and starting your day with eggs prevents you from frequently getting hungry throughout the day as it keeps you satisfied. They also are a good source of amino acids that help build muscle in our body and burn fat also.
6. Berries: Berries like strawberries, blueberries, etc. helps blood flow which aids in contracting your muscle efficiently during workout. Additionally they are good sources of antioxidants and are full of fiber which will keep your digestive system running swiftly.
7. Green Tea: Green tea has antioxidants and contains compounds called catechins that increase release of fat from cells and speed up burning of fat by liver. Great reason to replace your black tea/coffee with a cup of green tea!
8. Spices: Spices like ginger, cinnamon, garlic and chilies have thermogenic benefits which essentially means the body burns more calories to make use of such foods, converting calories to heat form, thereby significantly boosting metabolism and body’s fat burning abilities.
9. Beans: Beans such as Kidney beans, black-eyed beans, etc. are excellent sources of protein and they speed up your metabolism to a huge extent since your body uses energy to digest the protein contained in beans.
10. Whole Grains: Opting for whole wheat breads and flours can give your body a lot more fiber than refined sources of flour which will in turn reduce your bloated belly by keeping your metabolism high. Additionally, foods like oatmeal and quinoa are also high in fiber and the complex carbohydrates in them keep you satisfied for a long time.
11. Green Chillies: It’s a thermogenic food that burns more calories and revs up metabolism as well.
12. Cucumbers: A water-dense vegetable with extremely low amount of calories, it also helps to get rid of bloating.
13. Oranges and other Citrus Fruits: Lemon and oranges contain high amounts of Vitamin C which in turn has a fat burning quality. By including warm lemon water or orange juice in your diet you can give a kick start to your metabolism.
14. Bell Peppers: The compound “capsaicin: found in bell peppers has thermogenic properties that help burn calories and reduce body fat. Read “Can Capsaicin and Cayenne Pepper Help you Lose Weight?”
15. Green Juice: Make yummy, nutrient-rich green juice by adding spinach and cucumbers along with these fruits (complete recipe here).
So what are you waiting for? Instead of drooling over Deepika’s amazing abs, why not make an effort to achieve one yourself. Also remember to support your diet with a healthy exercise regimen. All the best!
14 Best Leafy Green Vegetables to Boost Weight Loss
12 Top Vegetables To Include in your Diet To Reduce Tummy Fat