Live Healthy NYC: Tips for a flat tummy!

Live Healthy NYC: Tips for a flat tummy!: TIPS FOR A FLATTER TUMMY It’s almost bathing suit season, for both guys and gals! That means showing some skin and reveal...

Tips for a flat tummy!

TIPS FOR A FLATTER TUMMY

It’s almost bathing suit season, for both guys and gals! That means showing some skin and revealing what’s been hiding under those bulky winter sweaters!

Quick! Show me the magic! Hate to disappoint you, but it isn’t swallowing a magic pill or drinking some cool kool aide! It’s work and discipline. But, it doesn’t have to be that hard- just some effort! And a bit of knowledge- that I will share with you here!

First, cutting calories and consistently exercising are a must! Let’s talk about calories. I am awful with numbers, so I use visual techniques to determine how much should be consumed. A way to visualize a portion of veggies or one piece of whole fruit is to picture the size of a woman’s fist. If you are going to have dried fruit or nuts, picture the size of a golfball. A serving of meat, fish or poultry is about the size of a deck of cards or your palm (excluding fingers), or your checkbook. A ½ cup of cooked whole wheat pasta or brown rice or quinoa is the size of a tennis ball. A baked potatoe (sweet or white) is the size of your computer mouse. If you are like me and love scooping peanut butter or almond butter right out of the jar, then picture a ping pong ball (that’s roughly 2 tablespoons). If you are out to eat, there is no crime in leaving back some food and taking it home for another meal or for an afternoon snack. As American’s, we tend to “supersize” our portions. So, in efforts to cut back and cut down, if it looks like too much food, then it probably is! You don’t have to make the “clean plate club”!

There are foods that may have waist-shrinking (and health boosting) properties. Here is comprehensive list:

#1) Canola Oil

A heart-healthy cooking oil, canola oil’s high omega-3 content lowers insulin levels, ultimately discouraging fat storage in the abdomen.

#2) Beans

 Swapping animal proteins in your diet for vegetarian proteins like beans may do more than help your heart (and the planet). A study found that a vegetarian diet burned more deep (visceral) abdominal fat, as well as that extra layer just under the skin (subcutaneous fat).

#3) Dairy

Not only will milk (and other low-fat dairy, such as greek yogurt and low fat cottage cheese) help you build strong bones, but if you want to whittle your waistline and gain calorie-burning lean muscle you may need to up the ante. In a 2011 Journal of Nutrition study, dieters who ate 30 percent of calories from protein, including six to seven daily servings of dairy, chiseled off more belly and total fat—and gained more lean muscle—than women who trimmed the same number of calories but ate less protein and dairy. Researchers think the whey protein in dairy, which boasts the amino acid leucine, is particularly important in stimulating the formation of new muscle proteins.

#4) Whole Grains

Whole grains are rich in magnesium, a mineral instrumental in regulating fat metabolism. Individuals who ate whole-grains melted significantly more abdominal fat than those who ate refined grains or no whole grains at all.

#5) Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps you to burn fat! I’m talking about eating your fruits, not overdosing on vitamin C tabs or drinking a glass of oj in the morning. Eating grapefruits, oranges, strawberries, limes, lemons, mangoes, and kiwis are all fabulous sources of this fat-burning vitamin. Adequate vitamin C is essential for proper fat metabolism. Low vitamin C is linked with increased weight and higher waist measurement. Patients with low vitamin C tend to have more stomach fat despite overall weight loss. Vitamin C is required for production of molecules used in oxidation, or metabolism, of fatty tissue. Without sufficient vitamin C, your body is unable to use stored fat. Your body is still producing fatty tissue for energy, but is unable to use it. This causes a buildup of fat, especially in the abdominal area. Now can you “C” how important vitamin C is and how delicious losing weight can be?

So, take these tips to heart and get moving! You only have a few more weeks left til Memorial Day! And, for more information and to help get you going strong, contact me at Rachel@livehealthynyc.com