Top 8 Fruits That Help Burn Belly Fat
Amazing Fruits That Help Burn Belly Fat - Photo Getty
Contents

What causes belly fat?

There are many reasons why people gain belly fat, including poor diet, lack of exercise, and stress. Improving nutrition, increasing activity, and making other lifestyle changes can all help.

Here are some common causes of belly fat:

Lack of exercise

If a person consumes more calories than they burn off, they will put on weight.

An inactive lifestyle makes it hard for a person to get rid of excess fat, particularly around the abdomen.

Stress

A steroid hormone known as cortisol helps the body control and deal with stress. When a person is in a dangerous or high-pressure situation, their body releases cortisol, and this can impact their metabolism.

People often reach for food for comfort when they feel stressed. Cortisol causes those excess calories to remain around the belly and other areas of the body for later use.

Visceral fat is the first kind you lose. And to do that, you need to get moving. Your workout doesn’t have to be complicated. You might walk briskly for an hour a day. On a treadmill, you can set the incline higher for a metabolism boost. If you sit a lot, find ways to move. Set a timer on your phone to remind you to get up every half-hour or so. Or try a standing desk, and do squats as you work.

READ MORE: How Many Calories In A Banana: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits

Genetics

There is some evidence that a person’s genes can play a part in whether they become obese. Scientists think genes can influence behavior, metabolism, and the risk of developing obesity-related diseasesTrusted Source.

Environmental factors and behavior also play a role in the likelihood of people becoming obese.

Poor sleep

A 2013 study Trusted Source links weight gain to short sleep duration, which could lead to an excess of belly fat. However, causality cannot be inferred from this study.

Short duration of sleep is linked to an increase in food intake, which may play a part in the development of abdominal fat.

Not getting enough good sleep also may, potentially, lead to unhealthy eating behaviors, such as emotional eating.

Why is belly fat dangerous?

Top 8 Fruits That Help Burn Belly Fat
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Being overweight is one of the leading causes of major diseases.

Excess belly fat can increase the risk of:

heart disease

heart attacks

high blood pressure

stroke

type 2 diabetes

asthma

breast cancer

colon cancer

dementia

Relations between belly fat and bones

For a long time, doctors thought extra weight could help keep your bones strong and protect you from fractures. But research shows that's not necessarily true, at least when it comes to visceral fat. One study found that men with more belly fat had weaker bones. Another study looked at women who hadn't yet gone through menopause. It found that those with more belly fat had lower bone density, a warning sign of osteoporosis.

READ MORE: Top 10 Most Popular Fruits In The World

Do you know…?

No special diet but a healthy diet can reduce belly fat

In the tryst to reduce belly fat, you may have, in all probability tried various types of diets with big promises. And you may have also realized the hard truth that the belly fat is still nicely sitting on your tummy as if nothing happened!

Sitting – The Main Culprit Behind Belly Fat

So even if you have a desk job where are required to be glued to your chair for 8-9 hours, make it a point to leave the seat every half hour or so and either stretch or take a stroll.

This will help you to fight the existing belly fat and the pounds eagerly waiting to make your body their sweet home.

Top 8 Fruits That Help Burn Belly Fat

1. Grapefruit

Top 8 Fruits That Help Burn Belly Fat
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The results of the study, published in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism, showed that obese adults who ate half a grapefruit before each meal for 12 weeks lost an average of 7% body weight. Grapefruit is very rich in water, a rich source of vitamin C, which helps to accelerate the fat burning process.

A half of a grapefruit contains only about 40 calories and nearly 4.5 grams of pectin, a soluble fiber known for its ability to reduce cholesterol levels. "Due to its antioxidant components, grapefruit has been shown in studies to be associated with greater rates of weight loss," says Brittany Lubeck, MS, RD, a nutritional consultant for OhSoSpotless.com. The Journal of Medicinal Food found that eating half of a fresh grapefruit (about 40 calories) before meals was associated with significant weight loss, an average of 3.5 pounds in 12 weeks. Insulin resistance also was improved by eating fresh grapefruit.

2. Oranges

Like grapefruit, oranges are rich in vitamin C and fiber, free of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, making them a good addition to your daily diet.

How to use oranges for weight loss

While oranges are rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre and other antioxidants that can help reduce weight, you’ll want to eat them in moderation due to their high sugar content, although there’s no evidence to support that oranges can lead to weight gain. Oranges are easy to incorporate into one’s diet, making dieting easier and healthier. They can be eaten as slices, juiced, added to your smoothies, or even chopped up and included in your salads. Studies have found that eating whole fruits increased fullness, resulting in less hunger and calorie intake compared to drinking fruit juices. Make sure that you store your oranges at room temperature, and away from direct sunlight.

3. Guava

Top 8 Fruits That Help Burn Belly Fat
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Guava is rich in vitamins A, C, potassium and magnesium, accelerating the process of burning fat. In addition, the high content of the antioxidant lycopene in guava also helps reduce the risk of coronary artery disease.

4. Papaya

Papaya is rich in vitamins A, C and many enzymes that are good for digestion, helping to enhance the effect of weight loss.

Calories and other nutritional values of papaya

Papaya contains high amounts of vitamin C, antioxidants, and flavonoids. Medium-sized papaya approximately weighing 275 grams, contains 119 calories, 1.3 grams of protein and 30 grams of carbohydrates.

How much and how to consume papaya

Papayas can be eaten as a salad or blended into a smoothie.

5. Starfruit

Top 8 Fruits That Help Burn Belly Fat
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Starfruit provides a low calorie content but contains a lot of potassium and vitamin C, antioxidants that support the immune system, help keep you full for a long time, reduce cravings.

6. Pomegranate

Top 8 Fruits That Help Burn Belly Fat
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Pomegranate is rich in fiber, low in calories, capable of stabilizing blood sugar, helping to keep you full for a long time, supporting effective weight loss.

Calories and other nutritional values of pomegranates

A medium-sized pomegranate weighing 100 gms contains calories of about 64 units.

How much and how to consume pomegranates

One should drink a glass of pomegranate juice for breakfast every day. It can also be added to the salad bowl along with yoghurt before lunch.

7. Strawberries

Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and fiber, providing essential nutrients for the body and supporting weight loss. The antioxidants and phenolic compounds in strawberries beautify the skin from within.

8. Apples

Apples are rich in fiber, antioxidants and high levels of vitamin C, supplementing nutrients for the body, reducing appetite. The malic acid in apples helps to accelerate metabolism and reduce excess fat in the body.

Benefits of apples apart from weight loss

It helps in keeping the body energised. It also helps in maintaining the cholesterol level.

Calories and other nutritional values of apples

It is rich in vitamins B and C, antioxidants and minerals. Unfortunately, a medium-sized apple has a high sugar content of 19 gms.

Other ways to get rid of belly fat

Try curbing carbs instead of fats

When Johns Hopkins researchers compared the effects on the heart of losing weight through a low-carbohydrate diet versus a low-fat diet for six months—each containing the same amount of calories—those on a low-carb diet lost an average of 10 pounds more than those on a low-fat diet—28.9 pounds versus 18.7 pounds. An extra benefit of the low-carb diet is that it produced a higher quality of weight loss, Stewart says. With weight loss, fat is reduced, but there is also often a loss of lean tissue (muscle), which is not desirable. On both diets, there was a loss of about 2 to 3 pounds of good lean tissue along with the fat, which means that the fat loss percentage was much higher on the low-carb diet.

Walk To Reach Your Slim Waistline Destination

If your work schedule does not permit you to squeeze in vigorous exercises in your daily routine, worry not…

30 minutes of brisk walk every day should take you to a slimmer waistline [6]. There are many other benefits of walking apart from reducing belly fat.

Focus on the way your clothes fit more than reading a scale

As you add muscle mass and lose fat, the reading on your bathroom scale may not change much, but your pants will be looser. That’s a better mark of progress. Measured around, your waistline should be less than 35 inches if you’re a woman or less than 40 inches if you’re a man to reduce heart and diabetes risks.

Hang out with health-focused friends

Research shows that you’re more apt to eat better and exercise more if your friends and family are doing the same.

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As long as you do this correctly, you can lose a little weight every day and your health will also improve.

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