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Healthy Foods That Helps You Lose Belly Fat Naturally
Probably the hardest battle you’re going to face in your weight loss quest is losing belly fat and keeping it away for good. Belly fat is the most difficult to shed. However, it’s a healthy news to know that certain foods help you lose belly fat more than others. And you’re probably eating them already.
Your diet is a very essential piece of the belly fat loss puzzle and if you’re serious about losing belly bulge then you need to pay close attention to it. Exercise certainly helps to lose belly fat faster. But with a proper diet plan where you’re eating the right foods in the right amounts, you’ll strip off layer after layer of body fat and you’re gonna be saying goodbye to that belly fat forever.
However if you’re eating the wrong foods you’ll only be setting yourself back further and further. What’s still troubling is that with an improper diet plan you don’t have to get used to loosening your belt notch after notch because your belly fat will be there to stay.
Be sure to know that you aren’t making any mistakes with the food that you’re selecting. To help with that here are the 20 best foods to lose belly fat. You should be eating a combination of these regularly to lose that belly fat for good.
Top 20 Best Foods to Lose Belly Fat Naturally
#1. Avocado
The first food I want to start with is the avocado. Unlike other fruits that are loaded with carbs, avocados are full of healthy monounsaturated fats, specifically oleic acid. They are also full of fiber which is going to help you feel full for longer. Mono-unsaturated fats stops blood sugar spikes in your diet, so that fat is not stored in your mid-section, love handles and hips.
Another great nutrition fact about avocados that was discovered during a study from the Ohio State University at Columbus is that avocados help you absorb more cartenoids from fruits and vegetables; up to 15 times more to be exact.
So not only will avocados help you burn fat but you’ll also be strengthening your immune system and absorbing more cancer fighting cartenoids than ever.
#2. Eggs
The next of foods to lose belly fat is eggs. Eggs are great to incorporate into your diet plan because they’re high in protein, high in healthy fats and they can help you feel full for a very low amount of total calories. Eggs are also one of the most bioavailable sources of protein out there.
This means that your body can very efficiently digest, absorb and assimilate the protein found in eggs. Having a solid protein source like eggs in your diet will help prevent muscle loss while you eat less calories to create enough of a deficit to burn fat.
#3. Berries
It’s time to share with you one of the best fruits you can eat to lose belly fat: berries. Compared to most other fruits, berries are very low in carbohydrates. They are also full of vitamins and antioxidants. These antioxidants can help improve blood flow delivering more oxygen to your muscles and your cells.
In general ultimately this can help improve your workouts while assisting with the fat loss process. The low carbs berries include blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. Blueberries are gonna be a bit higher in carb so to keep calories low stick with the other three.
#4. Apple Cider Vinegar
One of the best foods to lose belly fat isn’t really a food but instead it’s a drink that has been proven very effective at helping you fight that belly fat. Apple cider vinegar has been shown to help people lose weight and waist circumference.
These aren’t the typical animal studies that you constantly see that don’t necessarily guarantee the same results for human beings. These are human studies.
One of these studies was 12 weeks long and it demonstrated that obese individuals could lose anywhere from 2.6 to 3.7 pounds just by consuming 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per day. It has also been shown to improve blood sugar spikes after meals. It could help increase fullness after a meal.
In fact one study showed that taking apple cider vinegar with a high carb meal could result in people eating 200 to 275 less calories for the day.
How should you consume apple cider vinegar?
You want to make sure that you dilute only one to two tablespoons of the apple cider vinegar and water. Don’t drink it straight.
#5. Tuna
Tuna is one of the healthy foods to lose belly fat because it’s a high-protein food. Tuna is also a very lean fish that’s pretty much entirely made up of protein. This makes tuna a great option to increase protein intake without increasing calorie intake too much.
The essential thing is if you you’re buying canned tuna you want to make sure that you get the tuna in water not oil. If you get the oil then all the extra calories that you save from the low-fat fish will be canceled out. Fish in general is a great option for when you’re trying to burn body fat, including higher fish like salmon, which is our next food for belly fat loss.
#6. Salmon
Salmon is loaded with high quality protein, healthy omega-3 fatty acids that will help lower inflammation. It also contain many important nutrients and it’s very filling. Salmon contains iodine which is an important nutrient for proper thyroid function to ensure that your metabolism is running optimally.
#7. Green Tea
The next we have on our list of foods that burn belly fat fat is green tea. Once once again it’s a drink that can help speed up your fat loss. Green tea works by revving up your metabolism so lose belly fat naturally at home. Now don’t get me wrong sitting around drinking green tea all day isn’t gonna get you to lose your belly fat alone.
However green tea has a compound in it known as ECGC (Epigallocatechin gallate – let me know in the Comments if you were able to pronounce it on your first attempt) that has been shown in studies to help increase fat loss. 3 cups of green tea per day or a supplement with ECGC can help enhance your fat loss when combined with a proper diet and exercise program.
To have a proper diet plan, one of the number one foods that you should be eating that I actually started off with are leafy green vegetables. These include kale, spinach, collard greens, arugula, Swiss chard, and a couple more.
Green vegetables in general are a great way to decrease hunger and increase fullness. They are also not very calorically dense. Your stomach will be full from the volume as well as the fiber found inside leafy green vegetables for a very small caloric cost.
Moreover they’re loaded with beta-carotene as well as plenty of vitamins and minerals.
#8. Chicken Breast
Moving on with our foods that burn fat have a bodybuilding staple food chicken breast. Chicken breast like tuna is a very lean source of protein that leaves you feeling full for a small amount of calories. Consuming more protein throughout the day like chicken breast, tuna, eggs and salmon has been shown in studies to reduce cravings by 60%.
Reducing your cravings is a great way to prevent late-night binge eating. Now you probably know that’s a huge portion of the battle for a smaller waistline.
Good Carbs to Lose Belly Fat
Now that you have a couple good protein options let’s talk about some great carb sources of foods to lose belly fat.
#9. Sweet Potatoes
We start with sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have a relatively low calorie content and they’re slow digesting. So they’re gonna keep you full for longer. Another reason why sweet potatoes are great at keeping you full is because they have a high amount of dietary fiber which takes up a lot of room in your stomach. This prevents over eating
#10. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is another slow digesting carbohydrate full of fiber that will leave your stomach feeling full. It also can help improve digestion which may be very useful if you’re eating a high-protein diet.
Even though oats are great you have to be careful because not all oats are created equal. Flavored instant oats are full of added sugar and obviously that’s not going to help you lose very much fat at all.
Try instead to get plain oatmeal and flavor it yourself with something like cinnamon. That’s how to lose belly at home naturally.
#11. Beans
Another great carb source for losing belly fat at home is beans. Beans are one of the highest protein plant-based foods available. So many people assume that it falls under the category of a protein source. However even the highest protein beans like black beans will still contain a lot more carbs than protein.
So there’s still primarily considered a carb source regardless. They’re a great carb source because they’re filled with fiber and protein. There are now a lot of bean based products available that you can incorporate into your diet plan as well.
Products like black bean pasta, beans potato chips as well as black bean burgers are all worth looking into to make your diet more enjoyable and versatile.
#12. Brown Rice
Now brown rice is one of my favorite carbs to help build muscle. Just like sweet potatoes and oats, they also help burn lots of fat. Brown rice is slow digesting and full of fiber. It’s also full of something known as resistant starch which can help boost the metabolism and burn fat.
A half cup serving of brown rice contains 1.7 grams of resistant starch.
#13. Chili Peppers
Moving away from high carb foods to lose belly fat naturally, chili pepper is another great food to incorporate into your diet. Not only can eating chili peppers temporarily increase your metabolism, it also has great benefits for your appetite.
One study showed that eating just one gram of red chili peppers reduced appetite and increased fat-burning in people who didn’t eat chili peppers regularly.
#14. Grapefruit
Let’s move on to grapefruit. It’s no secret that grapefruit is recommended in many different fat loss diet plans. My question is does it really help people lose more weight or is it just another fad diet?
Well it turns out there was a 12 week long study done on 90 obese people in which they would eat half a grapefruit before their meals. This actually did lead to a weight loss of 3.5 pounds and also improved insulin sensitivity.
With less insulin resistance it becomes easier to burn fat faster.
#15. Soup
Another great food to reduce belly fat naturally is soup. By having soup before your meals it’ll help reduce the total amount you eat for the day. Of course it’s very important that you’re just not eating any random soup.
Soups are very high in calories and carbs and when you start adding things like croutons to your soup, you’re no longer looking at a meal that’s gonna help you lose belly fat naturally. Stick to low calorie options like vegetable, chicken or mushroom clear soup.
#16. Protein Powder
The next on our list of good foods to lose belly fat fast is really not a food. However, it can serve as a meal replacement and that’s protein powder. Even though you should always try to have real food over supplementation, protein powder can really help you out when you’re in a pinch and you have no time to actually prep a meal.
It’s also a great option to have after workout when you need a fast digesting source of protein that can get into your bloodstream and your muscles to start the repairing process.
Another thing you could do with protein powder is make a protein shake directly before going out to eat with friends or family at a restaurant. This will significantly reduce your hunger and the total amount that you wind up eating at the restaurant.
#17. Coffee
A great way to further reduce your hunger is to enjoy the appetite suppressing effects of coffee. Coffee isn’t exactly a food but it’s virtually an empty calorie beverage that reduces your desire to eat food.
Black coffee is best but even if you add a little bit of cream or unsweetened almond milk you’ll still experience the benefits without any downside. Coffee is used as a staple by people that are trying to do intermittent fasting because it’s so great at suppressing appetite.
Most people don’t know that coffee also contains many antioxidants.
One of these antioxidants is chlorogenic acid or CGA and it can actually increase your body’s use of fat for energy. Research has also shown that CGA can slow the release of glucose and lower insulin resistance to prevent weight gain after eating a meal.
#18. Asparagus
We have three more left of the good foods to lose belly fat. Asparagus is next on our list. Asparagus is not only a great green vegetable that helps fill your stomach up and satisfy hunger. But it has been shown to reduce bloating especially around the midsection.
So it’s one of the lowest carb vegetables available with only roughly half a gram of carbs per sphere.
#19. Peanut Butter
The last food that you can incorporate more as a snack while trying to lose belly fat naturally is peanut butter. Peanut butter is very filling and also has a good amount of protein.
However regular peanut butter is still pretty packed full of calories and fat. Getting a dehydrated peanut butter like PB2 can help you cut the calories in half while still getting plenty of protein and maintaining that same familiar peanut butter taste.
Actually PB2 taste better than regular peanut butter. Get a couple of spoon scoops and add water to give you the awesome flavor of peanut butter.
#20. Bananas
Banana is the last we have of the foods to lose belly fat. It’s great fruit packed with very essential mineral potassium. Potassium helps with balancing the sodium in your food to prevent bloating.
Conclusion
I definitely agree that is a long list of foods that can help you lose weight. Really hope that this list gives you a list of what to eat to lose belly fat. Understanding these options will go a long way to help control your waistline and be healthy.
Just eating any of these foods won’t necessarily result in losing belly fat unless the rest of your diet is on point. To lose belly fat you have to make sure that you’re on a diet that incorporates these foods while giving you the right amount of calories and lowering insulin levels.
Following a good diet, and it doesn’t have to be some boring, bland diet you cannot stick to, with moderate exercise on a daily basis is what gets you lose that belly fat and look great. If there is a food that we missed and you would like to include let us know in the Comments below.