If you’re trying to keep your stomach flat and tone, you may be sabotaging yourself with your diet. It’s not just eating too many calories that are the problem, some foods just make a person predisposed to having a gut. If you eat any of these foods, it’s time to cut them out of your diet.
Some of these foods actually aren’t bad for you, per se, but they lead to bloating and gassiness that can make your belly bulge. Cutting down on these foods, or eliminating them entirely, may help you lose those last stubborn pounds that just won’t seem to go away.
The first food you’ll want to avoid is a smoothie. This sounds strange because many people throw otherwise healthy things into their smoothie maker for breakfast. Unfortunately, there are a couple of ways that your smoothie could be making you fat.
The liquid from a smoothie takes up a lot of space in your stomach, causing your belly to feel puffed out. If you drink your smoothie through a straw, that actually makes things worse. That’s because drinking through a straw increases the amount of air you consume, causing your belly to grow.
Similar to smoothies, eating large amounts of fruit can actually give you a belly. Again, this sounds strange because many people associate fruit with healthy living, but they can actually give you a bit of a belly. If this is your go-to healthy breakfast, it’s not as healthy as you might imagine.
That’s because many fruits are high in sucrose, a type of sugar. Fruits have been bred with increased sugar to make their taste more appealing. Some people have difficulty digesting this sugar and it makes their belly grow. It can also make you feel gassy and bloated.
Another food to avoid in the morning are protein bars. Many people love the convenience of protein bars when they need a quick bite before leaving the house. They are filling and easy to eat if you’re rushed in the morning.
But because they are made with soy, they may be causing you to feel bloated and giving you a belly. Just like sucrose, some people have trouble digesting the sugars found in soy and it makes them fat. If you eat a protein bar each morning for breakfast, you may want to find something else.
Pancakes or waffles are another food to avoid. An exception can be made for pancakes or waffles made with whole-wheat flour and topped with a healthy topping, but most types should be avoided.
These foods actually cause a person’s body to retain water, making them feel bloated. If you simply must eat something like this for breakfast, be sure you are only eating whole-wheat pancakes topped with fresh berries.
By cutting these foods out of your diet, you can get rid of that stubborn belly fat that may be plaguing you. With the right diet and the right amount of exercise, you can get that toned, flat stomach you want.
