What to Eat to Lose Belly Fat

Whatever your weight loss goal, odds are you want to lose your belly fat first, right? Especially if you are over the age of thirty, and you have had a baby (or if you are a man in the same age category), it seems that the fat around your middle accumulates faster and easier than ever before. What can you eat to get rid of this unwanted belly fat?

The answer comes from a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  This study shows that a calorie controlled diet rich in whole grains helped trim extra fat from the waist lines of obese people faster. These dieters were also asked to eat protein from lean sources such as fish and poultry, along with at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Foods that are high in refined carbohydrates such as white sugar and white flour cause a higher elevation of the blood sugar and a greater insulin response. This increase in insulin results in the fat being deposited more readily. And guess what – usually, for a human body the easiest place to story body fat is, you guessed it, around your midsection, in your belly.

Another study done by those in sports medicine looked at two groups that did intense workouts almost every day. The group that had a diet higher in complex carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables lost more belly fat overall.

The moral of this story is simple – what to eat to lose belly fat comes down to this: The less refined carbohydrates your diet contains, the better – in other words, if you need to lose belly fat, focus on eating complex carbs, protein and healthy fats.