05/06/2023
5 Best Foods to Lose Belly Fat (Based on Science)
https://youtu.be/vE-95N4XCOo
Number 1: “low calorie density foods”. These contain a ton of weight and volume for relatively few calories. People who eat these foods consume fewer calories everyday but end up eating more actual food than those who don’t eat these foods. So what are the best low calorie density foods for belly fat loss? Basically, most fruits, vegetables, and low-fat foods classify as a low calorie density food. But that doesn’t mean you should completely restrict yourself from high calorie density foods. You just want to eat less of them and add more low to moderate calorie density foods into your diet. For example, during breakfast, instead of having high sugar granola, go for a whole grain cereal with fruit.
Number 2. Depending on the type of food you eat, your body will burn a certain amount of calories just to digest that food. This is what’s known as the thermic effect of food and is part of what makes our next food, lean proteins, so effective for belly fat loss. The importance of having enough protein when losing fat goes far beyond this. It’s the most important food to help you maintain or even build more muscle as you lose fat. This will not only help you look better once you get lean enough to lose your belly fat, but it also seems to correlate well with preventing fat regain after your diet is over. But, it’s important you prioritize lean proteins that deliver significantly more protein for fewer calories. Egg whites, shrimp, protein powder, low-fat greek yogurt, extra lean ground beef, chicken breast, turkey, tofu, and white fish are all great examples. You can still have the fattier protein sources in moderation, but by eating mostly leaner proteins, you’ll not only consume fewer calories, but you can also potentially swap those saved “fat” calories for something else.
Food number 3: omega-6 PUFA. You need about 20-30% of your calories to come from fats to support your general health and hormones. But the specific types of fat you eat matter when it comes to belly fat. To potentially avoid building up the dangerous fat in the belly and organs, try to moderate the amount of daily fats you get from saturated sources such as bacon, cheese, butter, cream, and fatty meats like pork and beef. Instead, try to have more of your fats come from foods rich in omega-6 PUFA’s such as nuts, seeds, and seed oils, as well as omega-3 PUFA’s which have been shown to have other health benefits and can be found in sources such as salmon, tuna and flaxseed.
The 4th food on our list that’ll help you lose belly fat is a controversial one and was put to the test in a 2015 study, where researchers took 300 overweight individuals and had them start the same weight loss program. Only difference was one group was assigned to drink an additional 24oz of water everyday whereas the other group had to drink that same amount but with a non-nutritive sweetener. The sugar free group not only experienced significantly greater weight loss, but they were also better able to keep that weight off for good. Why? It's possible that in the water group, limiting access to sweet beverages may have promoted their desire to satisfy their cravings from other sources like candy and desserts.
Number 5. So far I’ve given you a lot of great food options to lose fat. But let’s be honest, some of the foods I mentioned won’t appeal to you. Sure zucchini is a low calorie dense food and yes egg whites are a great lean protein source, but if you don’t enjoy those foods then don’t force yourself to eat them. The key to making your diet stick is to eat your favorite foods. Personally, I love wraps, burritos, and shawarmas so I make one every day. But I’ll incorporate what I taught you earlier about what to eat to lose belly fat by using a low calorie wrap or tortilla, adding plenty of veggies, using a lean protein source, and adding fats or calorie dense condiments in moderation. So pick a handful of your favorite foods from each of the categories we went through, add a couple of your favorite treats to have every now and then, and that’s pretty much your diet.
