Blue Jeanz
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How to get rid of Belly Fat
An excerpt from the article "Banish your Belly"
By: Sara Ryba, RD, CDN
...New research indicates that diets that are low in sugar and refined carbs will help to reduce abdominal fat. As you may know, it is not healthy to have a lot of fat deposits around your mid-section. This type of weight gain is more closely related to heart disease and diabetes, while gaining weight below the belt seems to be associated with less risk of disease. Therefore scientists set forth to figure out what type of diet would work for those people who tended to gain more of their weight around the mid section. The exciting news is that they seem to have found an answer! When people reduce the calories from sugar – and keep their blood sugar and insulin levels controlled – abdominal fat is decreased.
Before I discuss which foods to avoid on your new diet, let me give you a brief lesson on biochemistry so that you will understand what is going on behind the scenes of this diet.
When a person eats a high sugar food, say jellybeans, their blood sugar rises. This rise in blood sugar causes your body to produce insulin to bring your blood sugar down. This is called a ‘glycemic response’. The diet that we will strive to follow will have a low glycemic response – in other words, you will not eat foods that will cause your blood sugar to rise and subsequently, you will not have to produce as much insulin. (It is thought that insulin causes fat deposition on the abdomen, but this is not confirmed yet)
Principles of the diet
As you have probably figured out by now, the ‘banish-belly-fat-diet’ will be void of high sugar foods. However, there are a few other principles to understand. See below
• Avoid all simple sugars such as candy, juice, cola, cookies and cake.
• When you eat a carbohydrate-based food, such as fruit or whole grains, be sure to pair it with a protein and a fat. This will decrease the blood sugar response.
• Choose only whole grain carbs while avoiding anything that is white, such as white bread or white rice.
If you follow these principles, you will be creating a very stable and even blood sugar level. This combined with calorie control and exercise is sure to reduce the inches around your waist...
...Getting started
Try to resist diving right in and eliminating all sugars from your. This diet will only be successful if you are prepared to make long-term behavioral changes. Here are some thoughts and strategies to review before getting started:
The first few days: You might find that the first 3-4 days on the plan leave you feeling tired and lethargic. This response is your body withdrawing from sugar. Yes, sugar is an addiction and when you go cold turkey, you will feel extra tired for a day or two. After this initial phase-in period, you will find that you have extra energy and that you no longer crave sweet treats.
Water: This diet requires a good supply of water. About 64 ounces of pure, unflavored water per day would be the perfect goal. This will help to keep cravings at bay and will keep your energy level up.
No one is perfect:
Don’t put unrealistic expectations on yourself. There will be times and places that you have to go ‘off’ the diet. Let’s say your daughter bakes cookies or it’s your best friend’s birthday. Just be sure to get right back on the plan, and avoid sugar at the next meal or snack.
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9/24/2008, 1:28 pm
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