The fitness and nutrition experts from The Healthy Mummy have revealed the eight best ways to lose belly fat without visiting the gym or going on a diet.
Stomach fat is known to be stubborn and difficult to lose but can be achieved by not drinking alcohol or fizzy drinks, eating healthy portion-controlled meals, staying hydrated and managing stress levels.
Going to bed the same time every night and having healthy sleep hygiene is also important for balancing stress-related hormones.
The experts from The Healthy Mummy has revealed the best ways to lose unwanted belly fat
Stomach fat is known to be stubborn and difficult to lose but can be achieved by not drinking alcohol, eating healthy portion-controlled food, staying hydrated and managing stress levels
Consume portion-controlled meals
Taking note and controlling how much you eat each day is said to be one of the best ways to fast-track weight loss and shed weight around the waist.
‘If you eat just the right amount of food, you’ll strike a balance and you’ll be able to lose weight, especially around your stomach,’ The Healthy Mummy wrote online.
Portion controlling your meals can also help you lose unwanted fat elsewhere on the body.
Chew your food slowly
Rather than eating food quickly, experts recommend chewing your food slowly to prevent you from feeling too full or risk overeating.
‘When you swallow lots of air when you’re eating, this can lead to that stuffed feeling and may cause your stomach to swell,’ The Healthy Mummy wrote online.
‘Savour your food and chew slowly to prevent this, and this can also help you eat smaller portions.’
Stay hydrated and avoid fizzy drinks
Soft drinks, energy drinks and sparkling mineral water can cause your stomach to puff out due to the carbon dioxide present in the liquid.
These types of fizzy drinks also don’t hydrate the body and for this reason, it’s best to stay hydrated by only drinking water throughout the day.
Remove alcohol from your diet
Similarly to carbonate drinks, alcoholic drinks including beer and cider can also leave your stomach feeling bloated.
What is more, drinking alcohol has also been proven to impact muscle development, dehydrate the body, increase the heart rate and impairs sleep.
This ultimately hinders the progress towards your fitness goals by making it harder to lose weight or build muscle.
Similarly to carbonate drinks, alcoholic drinks including beer and cider can leave your stomach feeling bloated
Get enough good-quality sleep
When it comes to losing stubborn fat, getting enough good-quality sleep each night is just as important as eating well and drinking enough water every day.
The Healthy Mummy said a lack of good-quality sleep can make it harder to lose stomach fat and can also lead to long-term side effects, such as cardiovascular disease or poor mental health outcomes.
Keep stress levels down
The Healthy Mummy said women have a tendency to store more fat on their bellies compared to men, and feeling stressed can lead to added weight gain around this area.
Meditation and developing healthy daily affirmations can be one way to help manage your stress.
Determining what you can control and identifying any fears you may have can lead to better stress management.
The Healthy Mummy said women have a tendency to store more fat on their bellies compared to men, and feeling stressed can lead to added weight gain around this area
Work on posture control
With more people working from home around Australia since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s important to maintain good posture or work on your posture control.
Poor posture can cause weight to creep around to your stomach, causing the added look of bloating.
Eat better food
Consuming rich, fatty, nutritious food is essential to weight loss, but certain types of healthy food can also cause bloating – such as apples, broccoli and beans.
Instead The Healthy Mummy recommended eating bananas, avocado, asparagus, ginger and yoghurt that is filled with probiotics that will benefit your gut health.
Healthy foods that is known to cause bloating can still be consumed but in small portions.