If you stand up straight and look straight down, and you can’t see your toes, then you probably have a pot belly. Like most people, your mind probably jumps straight to solutions like ‘more exercise’ or ‘a better diet’ as ways to reduce your pot belly naturally.
There are a number of factors that cause and affect tummy fat – from your diet to the level of physical activity to the amount of sleep you get and the amount of stress you take.
But there are actually a lot of things that contribute to a pot belly, and some of them are an easy be fix naturally
1. Reduce your alcohol intake
It’s not necessarily beer but too many calories that can turn your trim waistline into a belly that protrudes over your pants. Any kind of calories whether from alcohol, sugary beverages, or over sized portions of food can increase belly fat. However, alcohol does seem to have a particular association with fat in the midsection. Expects say alcohol intake is associated with bigger waists, because when you drink alcohol, the liver burns alcohol instead of fat. Avoiding too help reduce calories which cause potbelly
2. Good body posture
Body posture is another hidden cause of potbelly which a lot of people have not noticed. Posture is one of the easiest and most natural things to change, that will noticeably reduce your pot belly naturally. To find your ideal standing posture, try this:
- Stand with your feet slightly apart
- Make sure your knees are ‘soft’ (not locked out)
- Point your tailbone down toward the ground (push hips slightly forward)
- Lift your ribs up and straighten your spine
- Roll your shoulders back, and then down
- Pull your chin back
- Lengthen your neck, as if your head was pulling toward the ceiling.
3. Drink too much water
You easily can get rid of that bloated, puffy, ‘water retention’ feeling by drinking the right amount of water and managing your salt intake.
After all, your body likes equilibrium, that nice balanced state. If you don’t help your body by getting that balance right, your body will try to regulate water and salt levels on it’s own, via the process of osmosis.
Consequently, if you eat a lot of salty food and don’t balance that out with enough water, your body will take up and hold onto water, in an attempt to dilute the salt in your cells.
So if you’re feeling like a puff ball, try reducing your salt intake, and increasing water intake.
4. Check Your Carbohydrate Intake
Carbohydrate intake is relatively easy to manage, and makes a big difference to your pot belly. Insulin resistance is one of the biggest health issues of the modern era.
There are many contributing factors, but a big one is the fact that too many carbohydrates – especially refined, processed, sugary carbohydrates – all of which can cause an imbalance in insulin and promote fat storage.
Unfortunately, there is a double whammy here – ageing means an increased risk of insulin resistance. In other words, you probably need to consider your carbohydrate intake a little more carefully after the age of 40. Make sure you get the right balance of carbs, proteins and fats at each meal.
5. Get enough sleep
Health experts stress on 8 hours of quality sleep for a reason. Sleep deprivation may make you munch on more calories than you actually want to or should be having. If you reduce stress and manage it better, and your pot belly will start to shrink.
That’s because when you get stressed, levels of the stress hormone cortisol increase, your body dumps insulin into your blood. This process encourages fat storage and inhibits fat burning.
6. Hit the gym
It’s also beneficial to get more exercise and to maintain that exercise routine throughout your life. It probably comes as no surprise that exercise is good for you, but moving more can directly target stomach fat and help you get rid of your pot belly and keep it off.
7. Check your portion size
You may not realize that portion size affects your pot belly in two ways. And portion size is one of those things that take a bit more time and effort to get right. Food served on large plates deceive you into believing that you are having less food. In reality, your food is just scattered, and you end up gobbling more food than you what you need. Take smaller sized plates for your portions and eat only to the point of satiation.
8. Eating late at night
While it’s true that your body naturally burns some flab as you sleep, it might not be able to efficiently do so when you go to bed on a full stomach.
Practicing these will help reduce potbelly within the shortest possible time.
