The path to the dream figure is often not easy. To make matters worse, belly fat bulges usually stick together particularly stubbornly. Plus, it’s not always the fat that makes the dream of a flat stomach burst like a soap bubble.

Some foods cause the stomach to swell particularly quickly. It makes your stomach look bigger than it actually is.

Belly Fat Health Risks

According to the Federal Nutrition Center, belly fat has a special consistency. Particularly metabolically active fat accumulates in the internal organs, among other places. As a result, the fat cells in the abdomen produce a particularly high number of messenger substances and hormones in the form of fat cells in other parts of the body.

In the worst case, these fat cells contain substances that stimulate inflammation or damage the walls of blood vessels. For this reason, people with a high percentage of abdominal fat have an increased risk of heart disease.

Body type determines fat accumulation

However, it is a big challenge to lose weight exclusively on your stomach and not otherwise reduce the remaining body weight.

But fat accumulation is mainly related to body type.

In the so-called pear types, body fat accumulates mainly on the legs and hips. In contrast, apple types mostly suffer from belly fat. It is mainly genetic in areas where fat is deposited.

Anyone who wants to counteract this process must therefore generally change their diet and thus lose weight permanently.

Choose whole grains over white flour

Although good nutrition is not the only contributing factor to a lean physique, it is an important one. A healthy, low-energy diet is a good basis for successfully fighting belly fat. However, this recommendation does not mean constantly starving yourself for a flat stomach.

If you only want to lose a few pounds, you can, for example, follow the basic rules of nutrition. This includes avoiding larger portions and replacing white flour with whole grain products. It’s also helpful to avoid sweets and alcoholic beverages and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables instead.

Prefer foods with low energy density

One of the main advantages of whole grain products is their high fiber content, which also gives the food a higher volume. As a result, these foods have a higher satiety effect and stimulate digestion. A similar principle works with vegetables. Fruit, on the other hand, has a natural sugar content. However, fruits are considered a low-calorie food that contains large amounts of minerals, vitamins, and secondary plant substances.

Anyone who regularly eats large amounts of whole grain products, fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry is doing something good for their health.

On the other hand, you must be careful about eating foods with high energy density. Foods with an energy density greater than 225 kcal/100 grams fall into this category. In addition to sauces and ready meals, types of fatty meats and cold cuts, mayonnaise, white bread, and pastries have a very high energy density. In the fight against cravings, it is advisable to eat very slowly.

It takes a few minutes for the satiety signals to reach the brain. Therefore, the faster you eat, the more food you eat.

Targeted abdominal muscle training

A combination of weight loss and a healthy diet is therefore an important basis for achieving a flatter stomach. Targeted exercises complete the project. Nevertheless, sports scientist Prof. Dr. In this context, Stephan Geisler points out that, from a physiological point of view, it is impossible to lose weight exclusively in certain parts of the body. After all, fat metabolism is designed for the body to convert energy for fat reduction. The human body gets its energy from its own nutrients. These nutrients are mainly fats and carbohydrates present in the blood.

A useful exercise is something called the scissors, where you lie on the floor and bend your lower and upper body up and down like scissors.

Another exercise to fight belly fat is bent leg side crunches. A mix of back and abs training is a good idea. While the so-called crunches or exercises on the abdominal machine are suitable for beginners, advanced users strengthen their abdominal muscles with sit-ups or leg raises on inclines. Elbow pads or elbow pads are particularly well suited for strengthening the back muscles at the same time.

Train abdominal muscles daily

If you want to train your abdominal muscles in a different way, you can also incorporate small exercises into everyday life.. True to the motto “Cheer up, chest out, stomach in”, you are already taking the first step in the right direction. After all, in this position of the body, the abdominal and back muscles are already tense. However, belly fat isn’t the only thing that causes worry lines on many people’s faces. Flatulence is often simply responsible for the small belly.

It is not at all difficult to avoid flatulence. An example is raw vegetables, which are low in calories and healthy. In return, however, this food bloats the stomach and is also difficult to digest. Sensitive people are well advised to eat these foods at noon and preferably eat steamed or boiled vegetables after 5 p.m.

In addition, spices such as caraway, anise or fennel guarantee better tolerance. Frothy dairy products like soft ice cream or soft drinks contain a lot of air, which causes the stomach to bloat and makes the belly appear bigger. It is therefore advisable to avoid these foods before visiting the lido in order to achieve the perfect beach figure. Besides dried fruits, fruit juices, and fruit yogurts, vegetables such as beans, lentils, white cabbage, leeks, and onions also have a flatulent effect.

Nevertheless, this vegetable is essential for a healthy diet. If affected individuals often suffer from bloating, a food intolerance test is a good idea. You may have lactose intolerance.