It’s absolutely true that calorie deficit will result in weight loss but not at the cost of nutrition. Proper nutrition will propel your weight loss journey in the right direction. This is a major reason why crash dieting or fad diets may not result in significant weight loss because they reduce calories by compromising on nutrition. When trying to get lean and healthy, along with protein, healthy fats, complex carbs, fiber is also an essential nutrient that forms part of a healthy diet, without which you may not see any significant drop in weight. Talking about fiber, it’s a category of nutrients that does not break down into sugar molecules and pass undigested into the gut, helping to maintain a healthy digestive system, regulating blood sugar levels, and also improves overall health. Fiber also helps to reduce appetite (by slowing down the movement of food through the gut), reduces belly fat, and thus helps with weight loss too. But here we are talking about a certain type of fiber that may help cut down belly fat, so let’s find more details about this kind of fiber:
Soluble and Insoluble Fiber:
There are two types of fiber:
1. Soluble Fiber – Soluble fiber decreases blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. It mixes with water in the body to form a gel-like component. It also helps lower blood cholesterol.
2. Insoluble Fiber – Insoluble fiber, as the name suggests, does not combine with water and adds as a bulking agent and helps to have a strong digestive system. Insoluble fiber speeds up the passage of food through the digestive system. It retains its consistency without mixing with water. Insoluble fiber prevents constipation.
Foods with whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, brown rice, cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers, nuts, carrots, are all good sources of both types of fiber. Also read (12 Handy Tips To Add More Fiber to Diet for Weight Loss).
So, we are particularly interested in soluble fiber, that helps with better absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream from the small intestine. Studies have linked increase in soluble fiber intake to reduction in belly fat. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like texture and clears away toxins through the gut. When soluble fiber reaches the gut, the friendly bacteria break down the fiber through the fermentation process to produce short-chain fatty acids (acetic, propionic, and butyric) which target belly fat by reducing fat deposit and promoting lipolysis (fat burning process).
Now that we know how important soluble fiber is to target belly fat, check out these 11 Best Sources of Soluble Fiber.
11 Best Sources of Soluble Fiber:
1. Sweet Potatoes:
2. Broccoli
3. Kidney Beans/Rajma
4. Carrots
5. Apple
6. Flaxseed
7. Oats
8. Barley
9. Black beans
10. Green peas
11. Psyllium Husk
Most importantly, you need to use insoluble fiber rich foods the correct way to target belly fat, otherwise, it may not get you desired results. Check out the Rati Beauty diet on how to use the right kind of food to lose weight and trim the waistline as well.
12 Handy Tips To Add More Fiber to Diet for Weight Loss