Cut Sugar, Lose Belly Fat

Cut sugar, lose belly fat – is it that simple? Will you lose belly fat if you reduce your consumption of sugar or simple carbohydrates? Simple carbohydrates and sugar is the same thing, by the way. Some would say that it is wrong to focus on just one food group or nutritional element, which is true to some extent. The argument goes that when it comes to losing belly fat, the most important thing is your overall calorie consumption, not how much sugar you consume.

All of this is true, but you need to understand why you have belly fat to begin with. Most people start to accumulate belly fat when their bodies are not in balance. What does it mean? When you consume too much sugar, your body responds by producing an insulin spike – insulin plays an important role in fat storage, by the way. If there is nothing to counter this spike in insulin, and it happens often, your midsection will start to accumulate belly fat.

Of course, sugar contains calories, but so is, say, beef, right? But protein does not spike your insulin levels. Sugar does. Do not get me wrong, there is no question that your overall calorie intake matters, but I have never seen people with belly fat who keep their sugar consumption under control. In other words, it is hard to accumulate belly fat when you eat protein and complex carbohydrates.

In fact, I am willing to say that it takes an extra effort to gain belly fat just by eating proteins and complex carbs. Why? Because protein and complex carbs do not make you hungry? Why? Because they do not spike your blood sugar levels. Do not believe me? Test it for yourself. Eat a steak and a plate of steamed vegetables. Then eat a piece of cake and ice cream, and see how fast you become hungry.

To make a long story short, if you want to lose belly fat, minimize your exposure to sugar. You can eliminate it from your diet completely if you want. Sugar has no nutritional value anyway. If you crave something sweet, eat fruit.