Five foods preventing you from losing belly fat

Have you been religiously working out to lose that belly fat and nothing seems to be working for you? The kinds of foods you are eating could be preventing you from losing that belly fat. Working out alone cannot do the magic.

Your body is what you feed it and for best results, the diet you go for should work hand in hand with your exercising routine.

Here is a list of five foods that could be preventing you from losing that belly fat:

Sugary drinks

Sugary drinks like soda can make you gain excess weight because your brain does not register them as food.

After taking a sugary drink, you will get hungry faster and eat more food than your body requires. This is because sugary substances like soda can give room for more food without realising it because you don’t reach your fill.

When feeling hungry, you can take a banana instead, it has natural sugars and can provide you with the energy you need for a long period of time.

Alcohol

Taking alcohol is not bad. When taken in small quantities, red wine for instance, can help lower your risk of heart attacks and strokes. Although alcohol has some health benefits to it, it can be dangerous when taken in large quantities.

Alcohol suppresses the body’s ability to burn fats and excess calories and these end up being stored on the belly. That is why you will notice most beer lovers have large pot bellies yet they exercise every day.

Trans-fat foods

These include meals like: cakes, cookies, pies, refrigerated dough, frozen pizza, fried foods like chicken, doughnuts, french fries, the list is endless. All these trans-fat foods you are in love with could be the reason why your pot belly isn’t going away.

Trans-fats have been shown to increase inflammation that leads to insulin resistance and accumulation of belly fat. Trans-fats can also lead to various heart disease and other lifestyle related diseases.

Fruit juice

Most people believe taking processed fruit juice is healthier than taking other carbonated drinks when it is actually not true.

Fruit juice and soda contain processed and packed sugars which are more or less the same. They will not fill you up and as a result you will constantly crave food which might lead to excessive eating.

Not unless the fruits are freshly peeled and blended from your kitchen, you are probably not taking any natural fruit and sugars in those packed fruit juices.

Processed meat

Processed meat may be another major reason why you can’t lose the belly fat. These may include: sausages, bacon, ham, pepperoni, the list is endless. They are all mouth-watering and the thought of quitting some of them can be a tad difficult.

However, processed meats contain a lot of calories and saturated fats that are very hard to digest. They also contain no fibre to assist in digestion hence they can sit in your intestines for a longer time. This might be the reason your belly isn’t going away.

Tip: Instead of having bread or processed meats for breakfast, go for eggs. They are low in calories and are far more nutritious.