Anyone that has tried to lose weight probably noticed that the stomach area seems the last place to show progress. However, selecting the right amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber to keep blood sugar steady and the body satisfied can make all the difference. So exactly what belly fat burning foods can help you get a flatter stomach? Here are some of the best belly fat burning foods that did wonders for me.
The reason belly fat is so hard to budge is because it is visceral fat, the deep fat that surrounds the organs, veins and arteries. This is the hard fat that you cannot pinch like the soft kind that you might be able to grab onto your stomach. The good news is that visceral fat is easier to get rid of unlike the softer layer of subcutaneous fat.
Opting for fewer carbohydrates in favor of protein is beneficial to defeat visceral fat. Protein helps speed up the metabolism to burn more fat, satisfy hunger and builds muscles due to its amino acids. Therefore, you want to start including more fish, especially salmon and tuna, eggs, legumes, beans, almonds, chia seeds, oats, whey protein to dairy products such as skim milk and plain Greek yogurt.
In my own case, I gave up eating breads as much as possible while increasing protein. In particular, I went with more meatless bean dishes. My typical breakfasts were eggs or oatmeal. Lunches were bean soups that I made in place of a sandwich. I used beans such as white navy beans, lentils, pinto beans, fried lots of onion in olive oil that I later thickened with flour to make a roux before adding plenty of fresh carrots, celery, broccoli, etc., changing spice combinations for delicious soups. Sometimes, I would put some milk for a creamy soup while other times I would just use water. Bean soups are more satisfying than you know instead of a typical sandwich.
Breakfasts were usually eggs or a cooked oatmeal as a replacement for dry cereal or toast.
Dinners were what I usually ate with a vegetable, a piece of chicken, fish or meat, and potato.
The real change that I made was replacing those sandwiches for homemade bean soups and avoiding as much bread and carbohydrates as possible. I also avoided eating sweets at every opportunity, which was no easy feat.
Baking sweets without eating them like before was challenging at first. Yet, I managed to avoid temptation by freezing most of the goodies and only taking out one small piece at a time when the urge for sweets hit. Gradually though, my taste buds must have changed because the longer that I did this, the less that I desired those goodies. In fact, I also noticed the same loved recipes somehow tasted overly sweet now.
If you’re trying to drop pounds, especially flatten the stomach, then take it from me that it can be done. These belly fat burning foods that I shared and how I used them can do more for your figure than you might believe. My advice is to take this information to heart and put it to use. You just may find a flatter stomach in the process.
