emaxhealth.com. With summer beach season approaching, many of us are shelving our beloved snacks and reaching for the celery sticks. But you shouldn’t have to torture yourself for that flatter belly. There are at least 7 delicious foods, including almonds and yogurts that can help with weight loss.
Certified Nutritional Practitioner and Founder ofWhole Life Balance, Shane Griffin, CNP, compiled these 7 delicious foods to help you to have a flatter belly this summer.
Popcorn (air popped): For a flat summer belly, you should make foods high in fiber your new best friend. Experts recommend between 25 and 35 grams every day. High-fiber foods like air-popped popcorn will help you flatten that belly by regulating bowel movement. When it comes to the popcorn, avoid added calories by checking the label – make sure it’s light on the butter and low in sodium (if fiber is your best friend, consider sodium your worst enemy). Don’t do microwave popcorn, it may be an unhealthy choice.
Dark chocolate: To help satisfy your sweet craving, reach for a piece of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is high in monounsaturated fats (the “good fats”), which are shown to reduce your belly fat and banish the bloat! Not only is dark chocolate a wonderful source of monounsaturated fat, it’s high in antioxidants, which can protect you from chronic diseases and help you get better results out of your workouts. Don’t go overboard on this one — you shouldn’t be eating more than a quarter cup of dark chocolate per day. By the way, the mystery of dark chocolate’s health benefits is solved now.
Oatmeal: Lay off the pancakes and French toast for breakfast, and go with oatmeal, another high-fiber food. As an added bonus, oatmeal keeps you feeling full for longer, so you won’t feel (as) tempted to munch on unhealthy snacks during the day. You can learn about the benefits of oatmeal in our previous coverage here.
Raw Almonds: Try throwing some raw almonds on that oatmeal, or munch on them during the day for a healthy snack. Raw Almonds (not the salted ones, and especially not the candied ones) can help reduce cravings and build muscle, thereby trimming down that tummy.
Probiotic Yogurt: Yogurts containing live bacteria, or probiotics, will aid your quest for a flatter stomach. Though details on exactly how and why this works are somewhat of a mystery to researchers, probiotic bacteria has been shown improve intestinal mobility, thereby relieving constipation, thereby banishing unwanted belly bloat.
Fruits (with skin): For a topping to that yogurt, cut up some organic apples, figs, and pears. The skin on these fruits is high in our old friend fiber. Bananas make another great food topping (see below for another banana treat). Fruits vs Vegetables: Which of these healthy foods have more benefits?
Frozen Banana: Bananas are high in potassium, which helps battle sodium in your body and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. For a delicious treat, freeze up a banana and smother it in that monounsaturated-fat heavy dark chocolate. Sprinkle some almonds over the top and you’ve made yourself a counter intuitive belly busting snack for the summer! (Again, keep this one in moderation). Here are 15 surprising uses of bananas. Did you know you could use bananas in 15 different ways? In fact frozen banana is one of the 5 ways to staying cool in a sizzling heat.
Which of these options is your most favorite? Please share you opinion in the comments section as well as other foods that have helped you with weight loss and to adopt to a healthier lifestyle.
