Belly fat is too easy to gain and too difficult to lose. Every extra calorie you eat seems to go straight to your abdomen. You can really gain fat if you are eating snacks throughout the day. Snacks are especially bad because they offer no nutritional value but are filled with extra calories you do not need. If you can control your snacking, you will be better able to lose your belly fat. Here are three ways you can beat your urge to snack and get back your trim waistline.
#1 Don?t Snack, Take a Power Nap: Knowing how to lose belly fat for women and men does not always mean spending every spare moment exercising. You may be surprised, but taking a break, especially a nap, can actually help you stay fit and trim. Many people have a natural afternoon craving for carbohydrate and fat rich snacks that make you gain belly fat. Most people snack in the afternoon in order to stay alert because you body goes into a ?shut down? mode after lunch. Rather than eating all of those extra calories to stay awake, go ahead and appease the need for rest by napping. People all over the world take afternoon naps because they are surprisingly healthy. People in countries where an afternoon ?siesta? is common, like Spain, Norway, Greece, and China, are 47% thinner than people from areas that do not nap. They are not only leaner, but have a 37% less chance of heart disease later in life.
You may resist the idea of a nap because you feel you are too busy, but a ?power nap? will actually help you be more productive. Several studies have shown that people who nap 20 minutes have a remarkable increase in alertness, energy levels, and overall performance throughout the rest of the day. This means you will have more energy to perform your daily tasks and you will have the energy for a more effective, belly fat-busting workout later.
#2 Would You Eat an Apple?: The urge to snack has been known to throw even the best weight loss plan off track. Everyone feels these urges at some point. It would help to know if you are truly hungry or if you are simply craving something you do not need. If you are really hungry, you should eat. As you already know, starvation is not the smart way to lose weight. In fact, it can cause your body to start storing abdominal fat. Determining if you are really hungry might be difficult. The best way to recognize true hunger is to ask yourself, would you eat an apple?
Apples are a tasty and nutritious food. However, a study done by the University of New York showed that an apple was always the last food chosen as an afternoon snack by ?hungry? people. These people consistently chose unhealthy snacks that were high in calories but low in nutrients. Avoiding these foods is exactly how to lose stubborn belly fat. When the people were questioned about their eating habits, they admitted they were not hungry but craving. This kind of unconscious craving can undo you best weight loss efforts and you will pack on the extra belly fat. If you want to know for sure that you are not just craving food, you should ask yourself if you would eat an apple. If you answer no, then you can make a conscious choice whether or not to give into your cravings.
#3 Eat What You?re Craving: If you want to know how to lose belly fat for men and women, then you should know it does not help you to spend an entire day craving a special treat. It will make you lose motivation. If you do give in to your cravings, you will tend to over eat and will only gain belly fat. Also, you may give in later in the day when you will have the least opportunity to burn off those extra calories. The best thing you can do to lose weight, is to give into your cravings first thing in the morning.
Eating a small portion of your treat with your breakfast will actually help you stick to your weight loss plans and keep a trim waistline. This will put you in a better position to control your portion size and account for those extra calories in your meal plan for the rest of the day. Eating these calories early in the morning gives you the most opportunity to burn them. Most importantly, if you start a day having already appeased your craving then you will feel satisfied the rest of the day. Your mind will feel that you have already met your craving for that bag of chips or pastry. This gives you control over your appetite for the rest of the day.
If you are not in control of your cravings then it will easily cause you to gain weight. Cravings are very natural, but those extra calories can quickly turn into stubborn belly fat. These three tips will help you gain control over your cravings. Once you can beat your urge to snack you will be able to shed that extra belly fat and gain an amazing physique.
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