Abs-olutely Fabulous: The Top Foods for a Flatter Stomach
With Thanksgiving on the horizon, many of us can relate to the feeling of having a meal so big, it prompted us to loosen a notch on the belt or unbutton the pants for a little relief. The good news is that even if you feel like you magically gained 10 pounds, you didn’t. The bad news is that you’re bloated, which is an unattractive look (and feeling) for your stomach.
The only way to truly blast the fat from your midsection is to combine exercise with a sensible eating plan (just what we advocate here at A Better You), but you can keep your abs looking their best with these flat-stomach food do’s and don’ts:
For Fab: Water, water, water. H20 keeps your body working the way it’s supposed to, so get in six to eight glasses daily. If you don’t like the plain taste of water, spritz it up with a wedge of lime or a slice of cucumber. It’ll help you feel full and keep you from eating more when you confuse thirst for hunger pangs.
For Flab: Carbonated drinks. The fizziness in sodas can trap gas in your stomach, leading to bubbling bloat.
For Fab: Cooked vegetables. You already knew that veggies are good for you, but what you might not know is that when they’re cooked, they’re smaller, taking up less room in your gastrointestinal tract but still retaining their nutritional benefits.
For Flab: Salt. Put down the shaker—there are better ways to season your food if you want to feel slim in the stomach region. Also be on the lookout for processed and frozen foods, which often pack a ton of extra sodium.
For Fab: Avocados. With this monounsaturated fatty acid, you’ll feel full—but not uncomfortably so. And you’ll show no outward signs of having a satiated stomach.
For Flab: Chewing gum. If you’ve got a gum habit, chew on this—chewing gum traps air in your system, which could lead to belly expansion.
For Fab: Papaya. This fruit is thought to aid the digestive process, which will help move along the foods that have a tendency to make you puff up.
For Flab: French fries. That heavy feeling you get in your stomach after eating fried foods translates to the outside, too, contributing to the distended belly look—and these greasy meals don’t do a whole lot for you nutritionally.
For Fab: Green tea. Green tea catechins (catechins are a type of antioxidant) have been proven to increase fat oxidation and improve exercise-induced abdominal fat loss.
For Flab: Sugary coffee drinks from popular coffee chains. The Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, for example, has a gut-busting 380 calories, 13 grams of fat, 51 grams of carbs and 49 grams of sugar. Need we say more?
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