Regardless of how many hours on a treadmill you spend or how many crunches or sit-ups you do, you will never eliminate stomach fat until you avoid certain foods. According to Harvard Medical School, foods that have high amounts of saturated and trans fat and high amounts of added fructose sugars encourage your body to store fat over the abdominal region. Remember to consult your doctor or a registered dietitian before making drastic changes to your diet.
Fast Food
Fast food is the epitome of fattening food that will store fat on your stomach. Fast food is high in trans fat and saturated fat. Fast food is usually deep-fried in partially hydrogenated oil or fried on a grill that has been covered with margarine, a major source of trans fatty acids. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, fast foods such as fried chicken, biscuits, french fries and fried fish sandwiches are likely to loaded with trans fat. Although many popular fast food chains have agreed under pressure to stop cooking with trans fat, fast food is still high in saturated fat and will be counterproductive to your quest for a lean stomach.
Desserts and Treats
You should avoid most commercial desserts if you are trying to reduce your stomach fat. Most commercial desserts, especially store-bought baked goods are loaded with trans fat and sugar. The UMMC reports that doughnuts, muffins, cookies, cakes with icing and pies are likely to have trans fat. Icing, often made with vegetable shortening, adds a significant amount of trans fat to any dessert. As with fast food chains, many popular doughnut vendors have agreed to stop using trans fat to fry their desserts, but their treats are still likely to be high in saturated fat.
Regular Soda
Drinking regular soda on a daily basis will severely hinder your quest to lose inches from your stomach. Nearly all American non-diet sodas are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. While sugar is bad, high-fructose corn syrup is even worse, according psychology professor Bart Hoebel and a team of researchers at Princeton University. High fructose corn syrup tends to encourage your body to store fat, especially around the stomach and abdominal regions, right over your vital organs. Diet soda is a wise alternative without the high-fructose corn syrup that you can substitute and drink in moderation.
Butter and Margarine
You should not eat or cook with butter or margarine if you want to avoid belly fat. Margarine, once thought of as a healthful alternative to butter, is loaded with trans fat. Butter, on the other hand, is loaded with saturated fat. The Harvard School of Public Health notes that stick margarine is the worst of all. Both Harvard and the UMMC suggest avoiding both margarine and butter and using healthful oils such as olive oil or canola oil. These oils are a rich source of healthful unsaturated fats that can improve your cardiovascular health.
References
- Harvard Medical School: Taking Aim At Belly Fat
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Trans Fat 101
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Butter vs. Margarine
- Princeton University: A Sweet Problem: Princeton Researchers Find That High-Fructose Corn Syrup Prompts Considerably More Weight Gain
- Harvard School of Public Health: Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, In with the Good
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