Here’s a sad but true fact about Americans. Way too many of us are overweight! Even those who aren’t obese, have a belly that is bigger than they would like. There are lots of ways of losing weight, so we’ll defer those ideas for another article. Let’s concentrate on getting that belly slim and sexy looking, OK?
The strategy involves 5 steps of diet change and one part exercise. It’s no secret that much of the American diet consists of junk food, sweets and refined food. It turns out that this junk food is hard for the body to process. Our digestive system is the one system that pays the highest price for this behavior. Jay Robb, a certified clinical nutritionist explains. Our digestive systems can stop working properly. We become bloated, have trouble extracting nutrients and become prone to fat storage. We feel lousy, too, and become less active. It’s easy to end up carrying an extra five, ten, 25 pounds or more. Once you restore your digestive health, weight loss – especially from your belly – becomes effortless.
The Six point strategy:
1.
Increase the amount of fiber in your diet. Fiber has many benefits. One of them is the ability to keep your food flowing through your system. It also, “reduces bloating, helps block absorption of excess calories and improves levels of energizing B vitamins”, explains Robb. Fiber has also been shown to keep blood sugar low thus reducing the production of insulin, a belly fat hormone.
2.
Increase your intake of probiotics. And what are probiotics you ask? These are the active cultures, bacteria, found in organic yogurt and whey. You’ll see them listed on yogurt containers as “Live Cultures”. These beneficial bacteria when introduced to the digestive tract help the breakdown of food. This breakdown is what releases the nutrients found in the food you eat. These good bacteria also fight off microorganisms known to cause bloat, cravings and infections.
3.
Eat three good meals a day. Some experts advise the grazing approach to diet. In reality, when we graze, eating many small meals during the day, we overload on calories especially starch and sugar. This causes yeast to thrive, thus bloating. The average person is better off eating three good meals a day and skipping snacks,” says Robb.
4.
Carbohydrates are OK, just make dinner a low carb meal. An Atkins-type diet does improve the fat burning mechanisms of the body. The problem is there are good carbs, and you want to make sure you body eats them. Reducing carbs at the evening meal, gives you the advantage of the low carb diet without the drawbacks.
5.
Include coconut oil in your diet. Italian researchers have found the unusual fatty acids in coconut oil get so hot as they’re digested that they boost metabolism by up to 60%. This increased heat also zaps harmful bacteria and yeast, two bloat causing, belly bulging agents.
6.
Do crunches. This very traditional and often done exercise is the most effective tummy toner there is. “Start out with as many as you can do before you feel burning in your ab muscles,” Robb says. “Add one additional crunch a day until you can complete two sets of 30 daily.” The proper crunch position: Lie with knees bent, feet on floor, and hands behind head. As you exhale, curl your shoulders off the floor crunching your abs. Inhale and return to original position. Repeat.
“Every frustrated dieter will benefit from this because when your digestive system is happy, it’s so much easier to reach your goals,” says Robb.
“Get Your Colon Rollin'”, Jay Robb
