Is unsightly belly fat causing you frustration? Perhaps your energy and motivation have diminished as your waist has increased. Are you concerned that this is just your lot in life? Does it seem like nothing you are doing is helping? Perhaps you have tried exercising, limiting calories to no avail. Many people limit their outside activities because of lack of confidence in the way they look.
Once you learn the correct foods to eat and those to eliminate, find out the right exercises, learn how to get adequate sleep, and learn how to lower your stress level, it will surprise you how fast your waist circumference will diminish! Confidence in your looks will return. You find energy increasing each and every day as you incorporate the following lifestyle habits into your life.
Diet
Focus on eating a whole food, real food diet. In most cases, the best strategy is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store–especially the produce and the meat departments. Avoid the center of the store where the processed and preservative heavy foods are. Most people should also greatly reduce their dairy intake, as dairy is a highly inflammatory food for many people. If you handle dairy okay, opt for whole milk products. While fresh fruit is healthy for you, it is also high in sugars so a moderate amount of fruit is okay, especially when focusing on berries high in antioxidants.
Avoid anything with added sugar and all refined carbohydrates. Breads, pasta, and pastries will go straight to your waist since they severely raise insulin levels. Anything that raises insulin adds to your waist circumference.
Be sure to add in healthy fats–avocados, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter or ghee. Healthy fats are good for you, and actually support your overall health in many ways!
Exercise
The best exercise is the one you will do! Walking is something most everyone can do and needs no special equipment. The most important part of your exercise habit is planning it into your schedule. Set an appointment with yourself just like you would do with someone else.
Plan to exercise for at least 30 minutes each day and promise yourself you will not miss two days in a row! If you don’t have a safe place to walk, other ideas are: gym membership which usually includes classes, machines, walking tracks, free weights, etc. It is also very possible to exercise at home even in a small living room. YouTube has many free options for exercises. There are videos for yoga, exercises for different age groups, zumba classes, weight lifting, crossfit workouts and likely anything else you look for! There are no good excuses. I always recommend starting small and creating a daily minimum. Something easy that you can actually achieve every day. Then each time you check that box and achieve that minimum, it is reinforcing for your brain that you CAN do it, so you keep going and increasing your minimum little by little.
Sleep and Stress Reduction
So many people spend their whole lives in fight or flight mode! Cortisol is the stress hormone designed to help your body run from the tiger. Historically, once the danger was over– either we were eaten, or we got away to safety. Then the cortisol went back to normal and we could relax and get out of fight or flight mode. In today’s hectic world, it is more difficult to relax and lower the cortisol. Extra cortisol leads to extra abdominal fat.
Sleep is often interrupted because of the extra cortisol, as it is the waking hormone. It’s hard to sleep when the body thinks it’s being chased by a tiger! Research has shown that a minimum of seven hours of sleep daily is imperative.
A few tips to help with sleep starting 1 hour before bedtime include: dim the lights, put away the screens, read a book, do a few yoga poses, take an epsom salt bath, do relaxation breathing, record three things you’re grateful for. Start by choosing one thing to incorporate each evening, and as that becomes routine, add in another. It will all become a habit, and you will start to see your sleep improve!
It’s not going to be an overnight fix, and it is a process, but once these habits are in place, you will be thrilled as you watch the belly fat melt away! Each of these tips can be personalized to what is actually achievable for you, as no two people are the same. If you’d like support and guidance through this process, be sure to give our office a call so we can get you on the plan that is right for your body!