Belly fat is not only cosmetically unappealing, it poses very real risks to your health. The American Heart Association advises taking immediate action to lose belly fat, especially for men who have a waist size more than 40 inches and women with one more than 35 inches. Pairing exercise with a healthy, reduced calorie diet helps you lose belly fat, but including certain foods in your diet can accelerate your results.
Lose Refined Grains
Give up refined white grains, like white bread and bagels, pancakes, white rice and snack crackers in favor of whole grain varieties. Lead Pennsylvania State University researcher Heather Katcher, Ph.D., reported in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2008 that dieters who consumed whole grains instead of refined grains while following a low-fat diet lost more belly fat than dieters eating just refined grains. Try oatmeal for breakfast, 100 percent whole wheat bread at lunch and brown rice for dinner. You will benefit from added fiber and B vitamins in these products as well.
Monounsaturated Fats
Choose foods high in monounsaturated fats to reduce the chance that fat will accumulate at the belly. In 2003 the "British Journal of Nutrition" published a study showing that a diet high in monounsaturated fat and low in saturated fat, induced a significant loss of body weight and fat in eight overweight men. A 2007 Spanish study published in "Diabetes Care" also concluded that a monounsaturated-rich diet discouraged distribution of fat at the belly as compared to diets high in saturated fats or carbohydrates. The best food sources for monounsaturated fats are nuts, plant oils like canola, olive and safflower; flaxseed and avocados.
Low-Fat Dairy
A study out of the Australian Curtin University of Technology Department of Nutrition in 2009 showed that five daily servings of dairy increased the rate of weight loss in participants following a reduced calorie diet. The study also showed that eating five servings, as opposed to the recommended three, of low-fat dairy led to a greater total percentage of abdominal fat loss. Make sure you choose low-fat, low-sugar options like plain, nonfat yogurt with berries, skim or one percent milk, low-fat cottage and ricotta cheese and kefir.
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