These flat belly eating tips are so easy and effective, you'll be asking yourself why you weren't doing them sooner.
Welcome to the club! While much of this website is dedicated to discussing a natural supplement I discovered that help me shed 43 lbs., today I want to share many of the techniques I've learned and applied to help me achieve a flat belly.
Some of these techniques are easy to implement while others will require a bit more effort. But all of them are free to do on your own and when combined together, they are sure to aid in achieving a flatter stomach.
Eat only at kitchen tables. Period. Sitting down to a carefully-set plat yields far different results than mindlessly munching straight out of a bag or a box in the pantry while deciding what to eat. And when there's an entire bag or box of snack food available (typically high in salt and sugar), indecision leads to greater consumption. Plan what to to eat and then sit down to eat it.
We all have a tendency to fill our plates full of food. Empty space just looks wrong! Instead of trying to restrict the amount of food you choose to put on your plate, consider restricting the size of the plates in your home.
This allows you to make a decision just once, instead of trying to exert your willpower every time you dish up. If you don't already have small plates, it might be time to invest in smaller serving-ware.
Sounds odd, doesn't it? Here's why red positively impacts our eating more than any other color. In our brains, we are conditioned that red means "stop," especially those of us who live in North America where stop signs are red.
This isn't just conjecture, studies have revealed that those who eat on red plates end up eating less than those who eat food on any other color of plate.
"But red doesn't go with my table cloth..." Maybe not. But rethinking your decore so you can fit into that skinny little red dress you use to rock years ago might just be worth it!
This little trick I learned a couple of years ago and it has helped me in numerous ways, but especially when it comes to maintaining a flat belly.
Salad tends to move through the body faster since it's less dense than other food. Salad is known to lubricate the digestive path because it's packed with water. It also acts as an enzymatic spark that makes it easier for heavier food to move through the body after the fact.
And lastly, if you prioritize what may be the healthiest part of the meal, you might not find as much room for the less healthy parts of the meal.
According to Rebecca Lewis, RD at Hello Fresh, studies show that eating with your non-dominant hand reduces food intake by an average of 30 percent.
If you've never tried this, it can be quite difficult. The disruption to our normal eating pattern causes us to be more mindful of how much we're eating because it requires so much more effort to do so.
Increasing the number of chews before each swallow helps in a few major ways.
So how many chews are we talking here? When I first started studying this topic, I kept seeing the number 20 pop up. I think the real key is to chew your food until the texture is that of a well0blended smoothie, whether that requires 20 chews, or 40 chews. But 20 chews is likely a reliable baseline.
This may or may not apply to you, but after surveying close friends and family, it sounds like many people have a preferred side of their mouth that they chew on. I know I do (the left side).
If you do, try switching the side you eat your food on. It's certainly more laborious, slowing your eating pace, and resulting in eating less food. Not to mention, it's good to use all of your teeth instead of just a single side taking all of the wear and tear of chewing.
Serving food from an island or kitchen counter instead of turning the kitchen table into a buffet line will decrease your overall food consumption.
When food is out of site, it's more likely to be out of mind. And even if you do want seconds, you'll now have to walk to go get it. Having to stand and leave your place at dinner can spur awareness so that you're more conscious of your food consumption.
Also, wait five minutes before your first serving and second serving. It takes a little time for the brain to interpret hunger/satiety signals. They're not immediate. Go ahead and drink another glass of water - you might be thirsty instead of still hungry.
Speaking of water, replace your soda consumption with water. Soda is full of sugar which is the arch enemy to the flat belly. "But what about diet soda? What about Coke Zero?"
They still use sugar alternatives and contain other alternatives that create belly bloat. So if you're looking for a flat stomach, you won't find it in syrup-based sodas.
For my fellow fiz addicts out there, consider carbonated water like La Croix, Bubbly, Perrier or other alternatives.
Sugar is in so much of our food that it can be really hard to avoid. And since there is no mandatory label for added sugar, it can be hard to decipher if the sugar occurs naturally in the packaged food, or if it has been added.
Check your local grocery store. On your next shopping spree, just turn over every package to see how much sugar is in it. A good rule of them, is to slect items that have less than 10 grams per serving.
And like we mentioned in the soda section above, sugar isn't always called sugar. Anything ending in '-ose' is usually code for sugar.
It's not just the sweet stuff you need to watch out for. Sodium causes your body to retain fluid, resulting in a bloated stomach. And while your stomach takes the brunt of the bloating, it can carry over to your fingers, ankles and feet. And the only thing worse than your favorite jeans not fitting, is your wedding ring not fitting. I've been there, and it's awful.
So how do you eat savory food sans salt? Try using dried spices like garlic powder, red chili pepper flakes, ground black pepper, or even cayenne pepper if you like spicy.
When salt is required for a recipe, just go on the light side and when possible, use pink Himalayan salt which has other trace minerals including potassium, magnesium, and calcium (all things that help achieve a flat belly by creating an electrolyte balance).
We're not looking to eliminate our sodium intake entirely because it is essential for maintaining proper fluid balance and preventing dehydration, sending nervous system impulses, preventing low blood pressure, and aiding in contracting and relaxing muscles.
But in the case of sodium, the adage "too much of a good thing" certainly holds true.
By now, I think we've all heard of the lemon juice detox or the lemon juice cleanse. Lemons are a natural diuretic, which is why they're almost always included in cleanses.
"Diurwhaty?"
Diuretic, a medicine or agent that increases the volume of urine excreted.
Who knew peeing was part of weight loss? It is. Removing toxins from the body is a fabulous way to promote a flatter tummy. Other diuretics include asparagus, beets, and parsley. These foods can help us pass excess water our bodies might be hanging onto when our diets are high in salt.
Fermented foods are excellent sources of probiotics, which aid digestive health and populate our intestines with beneficial bacteria - what I like to refer to as "the good guys."
Kefir, kimchi, kombucha, and sauerkraut all fit the bill nicely. Though, I sort of wish sauerkraut was know as just kraut, so that the entire list of items would all start with a k (but that's just my OCD coming out).
My personal favorite on the list is kefir. I have both water kefir grains and milk kefir grains that I grow at home and drink daily. Water kefir self-carbonates so it's a great replacement for soda. And milk kefir creates a yogurt-like substance that is fantastic as a base in fruit smoothies.
Fiber slows down hunger cravings and is critical to our digestive health. It keeps us feeling full for longer. Beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables all fit the bill. The biggest challenge though, is that none of these foods are usually ready to go as fast as a bag of chips.
To increase the likeliness of consuming raw food, wash and cut up your fresh fruits and vegetables as soon as you bring them home from the grocery store. Put them where they can be seen easily, which will increase the likeliness of eating them more often.
Another fiber-rich, favorite food of mine is popcorn. Instead of a buttery bag of microwave popcorn, go for a more natural approach by popping individual kernels, using coconut oil. I use the Whirley Pop, which is a fun way to cook popcorn and may even burn a few calories in the process.
Eating food right before you jump into bed is a sure-fire way to put on weight. When we sleep, salivation, swallowing rate, upper esophageal sphincter pressure and number of primary esophageal contractions are all reduced significantly.
Bottom line, our digestion isn't as effective when we're sleeping. Setting a curfew for your last meal is a great way to give your body time to properly digest it before you go into hibernation mode. Consider eating at least 3 hours before bedtime. So if you go to sleep at 10, do not consume any food after 7.
We often commit to healthy meals at dinner because we have more time to prepare them than we do first thing in the morning or at lunch time.
If you have left overs (because you're used to cooking a certain amount of food but after reading this article are consuming less of it), consider packing leftovers for lunch the next day.
By eating your leftovers at lunch, you propel your healthy eating cycle into the next day and avoid the temptation of eating fast food. I have a co-worker who recently made this switch and is dropping pounds fast. She still goes out with other team members, but always with her Tupperware in hand.
Put your cell phone on silent. Turn off the TV. Don't eat at your desk in front of your computer. All of these electronic activities put us in a mindless state, causing us to be unaware of how much food we are consuming.
Instead, take the time to experience food fully. Enjoy it. Savor it.
Replace your snack intake with gum chewing! Chewing gum between meals is really helpful, especially those who are used to having snacks between meals.
If you you're used to grazing a lot during the day, keep a pack of gum with you at all times. When you feel hungry, pop a fresh piece in.
Chewing gum keeps your mouth busy with out filling your body full of calories. This simple and affordable habit can suppress your appetite, especially cravings for sweets
I hope these flat belly eating techniques help you achieve a slimmer, trimmer stomach.
If you have any techniques we missed that have worked for you, please drop them in the comments section below.
❤️ Hope Williams
