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Lavleen Kaur dietitian on belly fat reduction

Tried everything, and still cannot reduce belly fat? Do you know that there are some habits that can stop you from achieving your dreams of weight loss? You may be doing everything right from regular exercise to a healthy diet, but it is time to revisit some of the basics where you might be going wrong.

What if your ‘way of eating’ is wrong? Unhealthy habits that we overlook before, after and during having meals can cause our fat loss journey to remain as a dream. The problem of overlooking such habits starts due to hectic lifestyles.

So, what are the habits that you should follow Before, After and During having main meals to reduce belly fat?

PRE-MEAL

Eat raw food before meal

Consume raw food an hour prior having meal. Raw food in the form of fruit, nuts, and seeds before breakfast; raw vegetables including carrots, radish, cucumber, tomato, beetroot, etc. before lunch and dinner.

Not only this helps in portion control during main meals but strengthens a type of gut bacteria that soothes digestion in your stomach.

This is essential because a healthy digestive tract allows your system to absorb nutrients and remove waste, reducing problems of bloating, gas, diarrhea etc.

Cooked food generally lacks vital nutrients and vitamins that our body needs. They are simply a ratio of protein, carbs and fats. Experts always say “eat raw food” because the nutritional value of vitamins is much higher in raw food (in the form of salad) which also improves your immunity.

If you follow this habit consistently, you will automatically observe that your body demands less portions of food. This will be the key in reducing your belly fat.

Water Intake

Remember: Drink water 30-60 mins before your meal and not during or post meal. You can have warm or normal water before your meal. It flushes bad bacteria from your body. As our schedules are very hectic and we often forget to drink water, having water before meal also acts as a reminder to drink water.

You can have normal water or try ginger water too. Ginger water is a good option for developing your alkaline environment that helps in reducing acidity. Drinking water before meal keeps you hydrated. Incorporating this pre-meal habit means you are less likely to overeat your food, which will help reduce belly fat.

Pray and be grateful

Be thankful for the food on your plate. Every school once taught us to pray before having food, so how did we forget this habit? Praying before starting a meal is not only a way of being grateful but a sense of invoking positive spiritual energy.

“Channeling this positive vibe towards our food will stop you from finding too much salt or other faults in the food. Being thankful before starting a meal focuses your attention on eating and this way prepares your physiological body to digest the food by increasing salvation. “

I assure that praying before a meal will help in good digestion and bring a positive outlook in your lifestyle.

DURING MEALS

Sit on the floor and eat

At least for one meal a day, you should sit on the floor and eat. Sitting cross legged and eating food will maintain your appetite and helps your stomach muscles function smoothly.

Sitting on the floor (Sukhasana) and having meals is an old practice but forgotten these days.

It is believed that when you sit on the floor and eat, it makes you feel connected to the ground. Not only does it relaxes your body and mind but helps with increasing blood circulation and improving posture.

This getting up and sitting down movement also helps in weight loss as it engages your body in movements.

Chew slowly

There are many benefits of chewing slowly from good digestion to easier fat loss. People with belly often are the ones who chew fast or gulp food in big bites. This is the reason they remain bloated due to inadequate digestion which in turn causes our body to not being able to absorb the necessary nutrients from the food.

As slowly you chew, the more saliva mixes with your food and enhances your digestion process”.

It is an important and extremely easy habit that needs to be incorporated during meals to help with the reduction of belly fat.

Forget gadgets

During meal, do you switch on your television or watch something on your phone? Stop doing that! This is one of the worst habits followed in households nowadays.

Use of gadgets during meals are the reason for the lack of connection between food and your mind. Unless there is a mind, body and soul connection, there will be no use of simply ‘eating’.” Eating becomes filling.

You should consider these two questions during a meal: how much to eat and how long to eat for. The use of gadgets while eating doesn’t allow our body to focus on the food. This often leads to unnecessary eating or even overeating.

To build a good connection of body, mind, and soul, say goodbye to gadgets during meals. Start building your relationship with food instead”.

POST-MEAL

Do not drink water immediately after meal

Drinking water right after a meal is bad because it interferes with the digestive process by diluting digestive juices. You can drink water after 30 mins but not immediately.

It is good to sometimes replace water with lemon or ajwain water to help improve your digestion power and fight against acidity.

Fighting against acidity and improving digestive powers through this simple habit will help reduce belly fat.

Move your body

Many people ask if they should walk or move after a meal. Definitely! Any kind of gentle body movement or a walk after every main meal aids your body to easily digest the consumed food.

Alternatively, sit in Vajrasana (a Yoga pose) for 10-15 mins right after meal. Avoid it if you have knee problems. This will aid in faster digestion and less bloating. So, when you are moving or sitting in Vajrasana, you are helping yourself to reduce belly fat.

Manage sugar cravings wisely

After meals, we often want to eat something sweet but this is the biggest mistake. Refined sugar in the form of baked products or Indian sweets can be detrimental for your body when the goal is to reduce body or belly fat.

Instead of eating a processed sugary food, switch to a mixture of simple jaggery and ‘saunf’ which can be equally satisfying. To reduce sugar cravings post meals, adopt a well-balanced diet without depriving yourself of any food group, focus on micro-nutrients intake and stay hydrated.

BOTTOM LINE

So now you know the secret of how to eat right. The bottom line is that making a few small changes to your eating habits can prove to be an easy and effective way to lose belly fat.

For maximum results – make sure to regularly exercise, eat right, reduce stress levels, and have quality sleep. In a nutshell, both diet and lifestyle factors are the key to all solutions whether its to maintain weight or reducing belly fat.

Avatar photoLavleen Kaur

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12 Replies to “Reduce belly fat with these eating habits pre, post and during meals”

  1. Love the tips and recommendations and solutions

    1. U r the best

      1. We all know these habits but we don’t follow it ….Hi …I am diabetic….after finding this problem I am now more keen to eat sweets …plz suggest something

      2. Mam please tell me how to reduce my thigh fat only the thigh fat

        1. Avatar photo

          Spot reduction is a myth.

    2. Really helpful
      Always try to follow ur advice n I hv improves
      Pls tell me how to make ginger water

  2. Thanku doc … awesome and very simple tips

    1. You really explain each and everything so well I follow you always watch your videos to motivate myself thanks for guiding us time to time.

  3. Some websites said that–people can drink water during meal ..they r Ph.D in nutrition and diet.its very confusing..plz.clear it..need more guidance..it’s confusing?

  4. vry informative small small things we need to follow reduce belly fat

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  6. Good content and all the information regarding Belly fat is there in this blog very rich content you are having on this page loved to be a member of this page keep up the good work guyz, you are doing a great job for awareness.

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