The 7 foods (and a bad habit) that you must avoid to stop accumulating fat in the belly

The belly is the most problematic area for many people, we would love to get rid of the excess fat that accumulates in it. We explain how to lose abdominal fat and what foods you should completely avoid to achieve it.

Most of us want a slim body. Many for aesthetic reasons, but also from a health point of view, being overweight puts our metabolism and the whole body to the test.

A few extra kilos in the legs or hips are not so problematic. However, if the calories and fat deposits settle in the abdomen, it is a cause for concern.

Belly Fat is Dangerous

A flat stomach is not only part of the beauty ideal, it is also the best from a health point of view. Lower abdominal fat, also known as subcutaneous fat, is the fat that lies just under the skin.

However, the so-called visceral fat is particularly dangerous, it is fat that is deposited in the abdominal cavity and accumulates around the internal organs.

The factors that favor the most dangerous visceral fat include age, hormonal factors, hereditary factors, and gender, since men are more likely to develop visceral fat.

But why is inner belly fat dangerous in the first place? Since it is metabolically active, it forms messenger substances that, among other things, fuel inflammation in the body and increase blood pressure.

Because of this, visceral fat is considered a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many other diseases. However, with the help of exercise and the right diet, you can do a lot to combat your belly fat.

Unfortunately, there are no special exercises or tricks to immediately and specifically combat abdominal fat. Instead, you can focus on your diet.

This does not mean a crash diet or a zero diet. If you omit just a few foods from your daily diet, your stomach will thank you. There are certain foods that have been shown to contribute to the storage of fat in the abdomen.

Foods that help to accumulate abdominal fat

1. Trans fats

Trans fats are man-made fats found primarily in processed and packaged foods, such as margarine, baked goods, candy, sauces, and ready-to-eat dressings .

Trans fats not only increase abdominal fat, but are also harmful to heart and vascular health. It is best to eliminate trans fats completely from your daily diet.

2. Sugar

The beloved sugar is, of course, a major factor in the development of belly fat. Consuming excess sugar leads to fat storage in the abdomen and liver. This can even lead to insulin resistance, making it even more difficult to lose weight in the future.

If you have a craving for something sweet, next time it is better to reach for fruit instead of chocolate, after all, we have enough tasty variety.

3. Processed meat

Processed meat also has a lot to offer. Breakfast classics like bacon and sausage aren’t just bad for your health, they’re also obviously bad for staying slim.

Processed meat is usually completely fatty and can also have an inflammatory effect. Inflammation in turn can promote fat deposits in the organs and also inhibit muscle growth.

Simply put, if you want to lose fat and build muscle, you should minimize inflammatory foods like red meat and sausage.

4. Sugary drinks

Unfortunately, it’s not just food that has a negative effect on our midsection, drinks often contribute as well.

Especially sugary drinks such as lemonade, fruit juices or iced tea provide a lot of visceral fat. Liquid calories are just as plentiful as food, but they don’t even fill you up.

This is because the body cannot process them in the same way as solid calories. If you want to lose weight in the abdominal area, you should definitely switch to water, tea and healthy drinks and eliminate liquid carbohydrates.

5. Sweeteners in moderation

Sweeteners are ambiguous, on the one hand, they are low-calorie or even completely calorie-free, do not cause tooth decay , and are therefore already significantly healthier than sugar.

On the other hand, they cannot be recommended unreservedly, as studies have shown that sweeteners have an effect on our blood sugar, as well as our gut bacteria.

Therefore, no-calorie sweeteners can induce insulin resistance, although the dose-response relationship is not fully understood.

Sweeteners are always the best alternative to pure sugar in a healthy diet, however one should not be subject to the fallacy that sweeteners are not problematic on a daily basis and in large amounts. They should be considered stimulants like sugar.

6. Snacks as an exception

Snacking between main meals causes blood sugar levels to rise again and again, triggering an insulin response from the pancreas.

Because insulin promotes fat storage, it’s not good for your belly. With each snack, fat burning stops and fat is stored in its place.

Above all, short-chain carbohydrates, which are found in white bread, sweets, fruit juices or milk chocolate, spike blood sugar.

As a healthy exception, keep nuts on hand in case of an emergency, if your stomach growls, or if the main meal is postponed.

Walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds contain healthy fatty acids, lots of protein and fiber and therefore keep you full for a long time.

Eat your fill of healthy, high-fiber foods and plenty of vegetables and salads at main meals to avoid feeling hungry until the next meal.

Keep nuts on hand so you have an alternative to chocolate bars, muesli bars or crisps when in doubt.

7. Late dinner

If you are in full control of your weight, feel fit and energetic, then you don’t need to change your meal times. However, if you have tried everything and still have not reduced your waist size, you should reconsider the timing of your meals.

A growing body of research shows that eating late can lead to greater weight gain than eating earlier. The reasons for this are various hormones that are related to our circadian rhythm.

The amount of melatonin in the body increases at night. The “sleep hormone” lowers glucose tolerance, causing our blood sugar levels to rise more when we eat late. This in turn requires more insulin to be released, which drives fat storage.

Eat dinner at least three hours before bed, but no later than 9 pm, to minimize fat storage.

Lose abdominal fat, the right training

Those who want to lose weight in the belly often tend to launch into sit-ups and other exercises. The idea behind this seems logical, the more we train our core, the more the belly gets smaller.

Unfortunately, this is not entirely effective. Although we train our abdominal muscles with crunches and the like, you can only see them when there is actually no more fat on them. Why you have to get rid of the love handles first. Unfortunately, we only fight fat with these exercises very sparingly.

Much more effective against obesity is to train legs and buttocks. They are the largest muscles in our body. And the more muscle mass, the greater our energy expenditure, even when we are not doing anything.

So, if you have trained the muscles of the legs and buttocks, you will get the most out of your metabolism and calorie consumption and burn fat more effectively. The perfect exercise is squats.