Forget the compressor belt, creams that “burn fat,” and miracle teas. Yes, it is possible to reduce the abdomen, even briefly. However, if you want to know how to dry your belly, you must change some habits.
Want to know what habits these are? So, read on! Let’s explain what you need to put – or take – out of your life to achieve the expected result. Let’s go.
How To Dry The Belly Through Food?
The first step to flatten your belly is to change your diet. But let’s not start with a list of foods you need to eliminate. Our first focus is what you should consume. Even the right menu will help you to make the last changes.
Consume Soluble Fiber
Have you ever noticed how after eating bread, pasta, or even sweets, you get hungry again a short time later?
This happens for several reasons. The speed of glucose release is one of them. However, these foods also do not contain soluble fibers, which greatly help the feeling of satiety.
When soluble fibers reach the stomach, they form a kind of gel. Thus, they reduce food digestion speed, making the feeling of satiety last longer.
There are several foods rich in soluble fiber. Some examples are flax seeds, oats, wheat germ, broccoli, avocado, unpeeled apples, chia, bananas, oranges, lentils, beans, etc.
Put these foods on your menu, and you’ll have excellent allies to flatten your belly. The fibers will even help to overcome the desire to eat more caloric and fast-digesting foods, such as refined foods and sweets.
Adjust Your Protein Intake
Photograph your plate for a few days and observe the proportion of food you consume. Chances are you’ll find yourself eating more carbs than protein.
Unfortunately, this is an error. Their quantity must be balanced. In a lunch dish, for example, ideally, you should have 50% salads and vegetables, 25 to 30% carbohydrates, and 20 to 25% proteins.
However, this is different from what happens to most people. First, many skip salads and vegetables. Then, they exaggerate carbohydrates and have a low-protein diet.
Not to mention breakfast. Many skip the protein in this meal and stick with the carbohydrates. As a result, hunger appears well before lunch.
How does this interfere with your weight and belly increase? Protein increases the release of the peptide hormone, which reduces hunger and causes feelings of fullness. Little protein, very hungry.
Another important point is that adequate protein consumption and exercise help maintain and increase muscle mass, accelerating metabolism.
This means that the body needs to burn more energy to maintain muscle. Consuming more energy does not allow the body to store fat, and if there is a caloric deficit, it still burns that reserve.
Normal protein intake is equivalent to 1 gram per kilogram of body weight. For those who want to build muscle mass, it is recommended that it be 1.5 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight. However, it is valid to seek guidance from a nutritionist.
Also Read: How You Can Get Rid Of Stubborn Belly Fat – And How Long It Takes To Get Results
Control Carbohydrate Consumption
If we put more energy into the body than we consume, this excess will inevitably turn into fat, including in the abdomen.
Therefore, if you want to know how to flatten your stomach, you need to understand that you need to rethink your carbohydrate consumption, both in terms of quantity and quality.
We have already said here on the site that there are better options than the low-carb diet for most people. As a health factor, it is only prescribed for some very specific cases.
However, it is a fact that Brazilians, in general, consume a large amount of carbohydrates. Therefore, for most people, it is necessary to adjust this amount.
Furthermore, we must remember that good carbohydrates provide energy and contribute to good health, and others that unfortunately harm our bodies.
Therefore, as important as adjusting the quantity is selecting the best foods according to their benefits for the body, replacing sweets and sugar-filled products, for example, with fruits and healthy options.
Free Yourself From Sugar
And speaking of sugar, let’s get to that. Do you believe that sweets make your abs grow just because of the calories? They also contribute to increasing your waistline, but there is much more behind these products.
First, sugar provides an empty calorie. What does that mean? That the person ingested calories but did not obtain important nutrients for the proper functioning of the body.
So, in other words, the main effect of sugar is to make you fat. It also gives us energy, but we can get it from healthier foods.
But not only that. Sugar consumption unbalances the intestinal flora. It serves as food for harmful bacteria, which have their population increased. The good bacteria are at a disadvantage.
This situation causes your intestine to produce a series of gases, which will cause abdominal distention. Therefore, sugar is not a good option for those who want to dry their stomachs.
As with sugar, another sugarcane derivative produces the same effect — alcohol. It also does not contribute nutrients, harms health, and causes bloating, among other problems.
Reduce Your Sodium Intake
The protruding belly and well-designed abs are not always like that due to fat alone. She’s there, sure, but fluid retention can make the problem – and the belly – even bigger.
One of the elements that most cause liquid retention is sodium, which is present in salt. It is usually part of several industrialized foods, including sweets.
Ready-to-eat sauces and dishes, crackers, bread, soft drinks, and processed foods generally contain a considerable amount of sodium. However, among the main products with excess sodium are the embedded and ultra-processed ones.
Therefore, sausages, hams, sausage, mortadella, patio, roast beef, nuggets, and even the innocent turkey breast are foods that extrapolate in the amount of sodium present among their ingredients.