Getting Rid of that Extra Abdominal Fat

While most Americans can easily pinch an inch of fat around their bellies, pinching three or more inches is a recipe for premature death. For most people, belly fat is an unwanted and unattractive facet of their bodies and getting rid of it becomes an important goal.

With the obesity rate increasing in the United States, it seems as if the quest to slim down explains why there’s a new diet sensation every month. But unfortunately, surveys suggest only about one in 10 dieters is likely to lose significant weight and keep it off for more than five years.

So what’s a person to do for getting rid of that unwanted belly fat and all those extra pounds? Since many diets are usually too restrictive and complicated or just impossible to maintain for any number of reasons, the best thing an individual can do is pick a diet they can live with for the long-haul. That could mean a simple approach to changing the way a person eats, such as reducing refined carbohydrates (donuts, chips, white bread, french fries, etc) and high fat foods, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, nachos, etc. Just changing out these foods with a wide variety of fresh or frozen vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grain products (whole wheat, whole oats, brown rice, etc.) can help reduce calorie intake significantly.

The key is not necessarily focusing on total caloric intake either but rather focusing on eating highly nutritious foods that have high levels of fiber. This approach to including high-fiber foods in our daily diets has been shown to naturally reduce calorie intake and still leave the individual with a sense of satisfaction and fullness.

The plethora of diets available today can be confusing and misleading to most, if not all, average Americans–those that don’t have their own personal diet counselor or chef. With physicians to dietitians writing books about which diet is the best one to follow, many Americans get conflicting messages about what’s best for them. This is not to say that many people haven’t successfully followed certain diets like the Paleo diet or the Mediterranean diet and kept the weight off. But there are many more that have tried any number of diets and failed.

What has been shown to work is that any diet that’s chosen has to be one that the individual can stick with comfortably. Not everyone can afford to buy fresh fruit but frozen fruits can be a good alternative, as well as frozen vegetables if fresh vegetables are unavailable. The one thing that should be avoided is canned fruits in syrup or canned vegetables that have added sugar or salt.

Just following these simple steps when grocery shopping or planning meals can help cut unneeded calories and help lead to a permanent weight loss and a much trimmer waist.