Are you carrying an unwanted load around your belly?
Well don’t worry, you’re without any doubt not alone! To be honest you don’t necessarily need to spend a dime to tighten and tone those abdominals. However, all you really need to understand is a few things about the human body.
DID YOU KNOW: Male abs are considered fat if the waistline measures more than 40 inches, (it’s time to consider cutting down your consumption of certain foods).
1. Refined grains
These are ingredient found in foods like white rice, white bread, and regular white pasta. The unrefined stuff (whole wheat, brown rice and quinoa) is always healthier. Pennsylvania State University researchers found that people who ate whole grains in addition to keeping a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and protein, lost more weight from the abdominal area the group of people who kept the same healthy diet but ate all refined grains.
2. Potato products
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine followed the weight changes of more than 120,000 men and women for up to 20 years. The participants were checked every four years and, on average, they gained 3.35 pounds each time—so almost 17 pounds by the time the study was finished. The foods associated with the greatest weight gain? Our favorites potato chips and potatoes.
3. Red and processed meat
In another study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers worked with more than 370,000 people and found that folks who ate the equivalent of a small steak a day gained about five pounds in five years.
Learn to say no to these delicious delights
4. Frosting
The cake itself might not have trans fat, but chances are if the frosting isn’t made from scratch it will likely have trans fat in it. How bad can trans fat be you must be asking? Well one serving provides nearly a full day’s worth of trans fat, so you’d better be extra careful about all of the other food you eat that day.
5. Diet soda
It’s easy to get fooled by the zero-calorie label, yet sodas made with sugar substitutes are believed by many to play a role in weight gain. A new study published this month found that people who drank diet soda gained almost three times the amount of abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn’t drink the no-cal stuff.