Ten Ways to Get a Flat Belly without Diet or Exercise
Introduction to getting a Flat Belly without Diet or Exercise
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Sometimes some things seem too good to be true. Well, how else would you explain getting a flat belly without diet or exercise? After all they did say nothing good comes easy. Well fortunately, this is one of the few things that do come easy.
We understand that while many yearn for a flat belly, they are not motivated to go through the rigors and pain of diet and exercise and as such, we have put together not just one way but ten easy ways to get rid of that bloated belly and achieve your dream of a trimmer, fitter, flat belly.
Incorporate these tips into your everyday schedule and you will be sure to see the positive results of a flat belly.
1. Maintain Good Posture
Here is a little secret, do you know that slouching leaves the stomach bulging and loose? This is sure to affect a lot of people who slouch while they spend several hours sitting down either at a desk or in front of their computers.
So next time while you are sitting at your desk, always remember to keep your chin up and sit straight. This not only makes your figure look better but also engages your stomach muscles by toning and tightening them thus making your belly look flatter.
This also applies when you stand and walk as well. Always perfect your posture and remember that as a plus, good posture helps the digestive system to work better.
Try and do a test while standing in front of a mirror. Watch the difference on your belly when standing relaxed and standing straight. The difference is indeed clear!
To work on this, you can use several strategically placed pin-up-notes to remind yourself to always stand tall and maintain good posture. It will work wonders in giving you a flat belly
2. Drink a Lot of Water
Now this is something you can never take too much of. Several people have the misconception that drinking too much water causes bloating. On the contrary, not drinking enough and being dehydrated is the true cause of bloating especially around the midsection because the body is forced to hoard water.
Don’t forget that water is life, aside keeping the body hydrated; water increases your energy and detoxifies your body by getting rid of excess salt and bloat.
So if you are aiming for a flat belly, ensure you drink up a lot of water to help your body maintain the right fluid balance, stop bloating due to dehydration and most importantly, since eating too much is a main cause of protruding belly, water makes you feel filled up so you are less likely to eat too much thus lose weight without putting too much effort.
Make water number one; ensure that water is the first thing you drink when you wake up in the morning and before each meal. Drink at least eight 8-oz glasses of water daily to improve fat burning and increase your metabolism by relieving constipation and gas. Start today by replacing all sugary and caffeinated drinks with water and you will be sure to see a firmer flat belly.
You can try setting up an alarm every few hours as a reminder to keep yourself hydrated if you find it difficult to remember.
3. Mindful Eating
Unlike dieting where you are required to eat a certain quantity or portion of food at each given time, mindful eating requires that you remember to be mindful of what you are eating by staying conscious when eating.
Wondering what relationship this has to a flat belly, the benefits are numerous. When you take the time to savor each bite by chewing several times before swallowing, this gives the body enough time to break down the food in the digestive system thus removing the risk of indigestion and gas which are the major cause of pot belly.
Secondly, by practicing mindful eating, we pay attention more to the feelings of fullness thus reducing the amount of food we would have normally eaten if we had earlier gobbled it down. This results in successful weight loss and shifting of fat distribution from the belly.
So next time you are about starting your meal and you yearn for a flat belly, stay away from distractions like television, or anything that will take your attention away from the meal before you so that you are aware of not just what you are eating but also how much.
4. Get enough Sleep
You would be quite surprised at the relationship between a flat belly and getting enough qualitative and quantitative sleep.
A hormone called leptin is produced by fat cells in the body. This hormone controls hunger and feeling of satiety and is only released during certain periods of sleep. This means that if you not sleep during these periods, the hormone is not produced thus disturbing hormonal levels.
Consequently with an imbalance in leptin, instead of burning calories, the body stores them causing weight gain and especially a rise in the level of deep abdominal fat.
Research shows that adults who slept for an average of between 5-6 hours at night were more likely to gain weight and were heavier around the abdominal area that those who had about 7-8 hours of sleep. This shows a definite relationship between inadequate sleep, imbalanced hormones and subsequently, weight gain.
Now isn’t getting a flat belly a good reason for turning in an hour earlier?
5. Avoid Sitting for Long Hours
Nowadays, because of the many jobs that rely on sitting in front of the computer, a lot of people tend to spend more time sitting at their desks. That means during this long period, our body are not moving. Unfortunately, our bodies were not designed to live a sedentary lifestyle as this inactivity or prolonged sitting aside triggering postural problems does not allow for fat burning hormones to be produced hence does not allow for a flat belly.
It has been proved by nutritionist that standing more and sitting less is one way to burn calories. In fact, a British study confirmed that standing at work for an hour burned 50 more calories than sitting for that same period of time.
Another research showed that men who spent more time sitting have a higher likelihood of being overweight.
The bottom-line therefore is that your waistline and indeed your belly prefer that you spend less time sitting. To follow this rule, try and move more while at work with tips like
- Taking short walks during break periods.
- Often standing while talking on the phone
- Instead of emailing or texting an office colleague, take a walk over to his/her office.
- Set a timer to remind you every hour or thereabout to get up or stretch for some few minutes.
6. Avoid doing things that will make you swallow too much air
This is another important point to take note of. When your aim is to get a flat belly, avoid habits that makes you swallow too much air because when you do this, the air causes gas because it is trapped in your stomach. This gas further leads to bloating of the belly.
Some of these habits to be avoided include
- Gum Chewing- it is time to ditch that gum because chewing it consistently forces you to swallow more and more air from the puff you make with it. In addition, almost all chewing gum contains artificial sweeteners which also contribute to bloating of the belly.
- Skipping meals
- Smoking
- Sucking on candy
- Eating too fast- when you eat too fast, there is more likelihood of swallowing too much air which increases the risk of developing a pot belly due to gas buildup. Ensure that you chew your food several times before you swallow for a flat belly
- Drinking through straws or gulping on beverages
- Talking while eating
7. Supplements
There are natural supplements that help in the reduction of belly bulge and create a slimmer waistline.
- Randolph, M. D., the author of From Belly Fat to Belly Fat recommends the addition of supplements such as calcium D- glucarate(1,000 mg) and B- complex to your regular vitamin regimen. This is because these supplements have been proven to assist in the elimination or excretion of the hormone estrogen which causes the human body to store fat around the midsection. The excretion of the hormone leads to a smaller waist and invariably a flat belly
Alternatively, other natural supplements like Beano or Phazyme could be taken to eliminate gas and eventually bloating.
In addition, it is advisable to supplement digestive enzymes with each meal to aid in digestion and invariably get rid of bloating. These enzymes include lactase (helps digest lactose), protease (assists in digesting protein) and amylase (helps digest starch).
8. Eat smaller meals
Take note of this pointer in your quest for a flat belly; eat smaller portion meals more often instead of large portions less often.
The reason behind this is simple; you are putting less stress on your digestive system by giving it enough time to do its job properly. By eating smaller portions, your digestive tract is not too overwhelmed and you are less likely to get the bloated feeling that follows large meals (like thanksgiving) because there is less expansion in your belly.
By eating smaller portions more frequently, your blood sugar can be controlled and hunger is better managed as you are sure to be kept fueled and feeling full all the time.
Ensure you go for five to six smaller meal portions every day to avoid the feeling of extreme hunger and eliminate bloating.
9. Keep stress level low
Stress is one of the major causes of chronic fat around your midsection. It causes bloating and weight gain.
When your body is stressed, it releases a hormone- Cortisol which regulates both hunger and fat storage. This alters the fluid balance in the body causing water retention. In addition, cortisol is also responsible for fat storage around the midsection and further causes thyroid suppression which slows down metabolism.
What this means is that constant stress causes constant bloating because there is more water retention. In addition, digestion is affected because the part of the brain that handles digestion of food has been shut down.
Stress conclusively leads to buildup of gas and bloating because of poorly digested food.
how then can you get a flat belly in the midst of all the stress you go through daily?
if you feel nervous, worried, or anxious, take time off to calm down, you can take a walk or do whatever gives you that feeling of relaxation and afterwards with a calmer mindset, come back to the issue or problem stressing you out.
Alternatively, you can take few long, deep breaths during the day to reduce stress levels and bring the stress hormone back to normal thus instantly relaxing and stopping overall stress.
10. Close the kitchen at night(no midnight snacks)
Try as much as possible to avoid late night eating. In the quest for a flat belly, limiting what you eat is just as important as limiting when you eat. Research has proved that people who eat late night meals show an increase in the midsection and fat deposit around the abdomen area. This is because unlike in the day when the body metabolism is at its peak and thus easily allows the body to convert stored fat and glucose into energy for the body cells, it is very different at night as the metabolism is at a low end especially during sleep.
That is why taking calories packed meals late in the night causes an increase in fat accumulation especially around the belly area. For a trimmer and flat belly therefore, avoid high calorie meals late in the night instead stick to fruits, vegetables.
Additionally, it is advisable to try to avoid eating at least two hours before bed as it encourages build up of acid in the gut which will lead to waking up in the morning all bloated up. Instead, ensure that after eating, you are still up and about for at least three hours before going to bed as this gives the digestive system enough time to work efficiently and effectively such that you don’t wake up in the morning feeling foggy headed and heavy bodied.