How to Watch Your Waistline

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recommends maintaining a healthy weight to improve your overall health. Too much belly fat increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancers. A few lifestyle tweaks can help you reduce belly fat and leave you with a slimmer waistline.

1

Track the calories you consume each day by logging them in a journal or at an online calorie counter. Use that information to keep within calorie guidelines for your weight and activity level. For example, a 140-lb. female who exercises three days per week should consume between 1,410 to 1,763 calories per day to maintain a healthy weight.

2

Exercise three to five days a week to lose belly fat. Cardiovascular exercises such as aerobic classes, walking or jogging burn excess calories. In many cases, belly bulge shrinks first when you begin a consistent exercise routine.

3

Maintain a healthy diet by consuming lean protein, such as fish, chicken and low-fat or fat-free cuts of beef. Replace white bread and refined sugars with complex carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables. Always read nutrition labels to track caloric intake and reduce the amount of calories you consume or trim your portion sizes if you are trying to lose belly fat.

4

Avoid eating after 8 p.m. when your metabolism slows down. If you find yourself hungry late at night, have a filling snack of an apple or banana. Or drink a glass of water if hunger strikes at night.

5

Decrease your stress level. High stress causes cortisol levels to rise in your body, which can lead to an increased appetite. It also causes the food you eat to turn to fat that settles in the waistline area. Cardiovascular exercise helps reduce stress as well as a peaceful yoga session.

 

3 EASY WAY TO KEEP YOUR WAIST LINE SMALL.

Dieting and exercise—two dirty words hated by most. While no, diet and exercise isn’t really something one trying to lose weight finds enjoyable, they are the safer alternatives to undergoing cosmetic surgery and consuming diet pills.
Not only are these drastic measures to lose weight expensive, but they can ultimately result in death.  However, if you want to lose weight but aren’t truly prepared to go full throttle at the gym or go cold turkey on your favorite foods just yet, there are some small and most importantly natural things you can do to help you start battling the bulge sans dieting and exercising. Continue reading to figure out what those things are.

1) Control Stress LeveLs             

First and foremost, one of the easiest ways to lose or maintain your weight is to find ways to release build up tension and stress. This can include taking a few days off of work to go on a vacation, heading to the spa, doing some retail therapy or simply getting away from the kids for a few hours. This is said because when one is stressed, your coritosol levels in your body increases.

This special hormone is what triggers emotional eating and in short makes you crave salty and sweet foods—foods that are known to pack on the pounds.  Ironically exercising does in fact help relieve stress, but other options can be as simple as taking a hot steamy bath, mediating or crying. Yes, when one cries feel-bad chemicals are flushed out of the system and in-turn improves one’s mood.

2) Move Around, A lot

While most don’t like to exercise, sometimes the things that we find most enjoyable are in fact forms of exercising. For example, dancing in stiletto heels is an excellent way to simultaneously have fun, get that heart rate going, and tone your legs. There are numerous other ways to keep yourself active and have a blast while doing it. For example activities can include swimming, playing a sport with your friends or kids, riding your bicycle or even something as minor as taking a stroll in the mall. The trick is to move as much as possible.

3) Minimize Portion Sizes

This doesn’t mean you have to stop eating your favorite foods entirely, but reducing the portion sizes can help you maintain your weight substantially. A good way to trick yourself into believing that you are eating your normal portion size to simply place the food item on a smaller plate. To keep it up a notch, try placing the food item on blue plate as well—studies show that the color blue (and other dark colors) acts as a natural hunger suppressant and can curve one’s appetite while bright colors such as red have the reversed effect.