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13 Shortcuts for Blasting That Belly Fat

Have you ever wondered how to lose belly fat, or wished your waistline were slimmer? The latest research reveals what’s causing your excess tummy fat and offers easy tricks to lose belly fat and achieve rapid weight loss. The best part? In the process, you’ll cut your risk of heart disease by 72 percent, and your risk of cancer, stroke, and other chronic illnesses in half.

How to Lose Belly Fat Fast

Remember, belly fat is not just troublesome because it makes you unhappy when you look in the mirror. The excess weight around your middle that increases with every passing year can raise your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and more. But if you’re wondering what you can do to prevent that, these tricks to lose belly fat fast can help a lot.

How to Burn Belly Fat With Fiber

Folks with fluctuating blood sugar levels are more likely to have belly fat than folks whose sugar levels are relatively steady. Try taking daily supplements of 750 mg to 1,500 mg of glucomannan, a Japanese root extract that can help you shed up to six pounds of belly fat in two months, Columbia University scientists say. (Important: Be sure to check with your doctor first.)

How to Lose Belly Fat for Women Fast

This estrogen belly trick is ideal for those who are fighting the post-menopause estrogen dip. Avoid eating or drinking anything (except water) for 40 minutes after any intense physical activity. Exercise encourages pancreatic cells to release lipase, increasing your belly fat burn as much as 51 percent and helping you shed 14 pounds in one year if done daily.

How to Lose Belly Fat Quicker by Sleeping

Multiple studies show that poor sleepers tend to gain more weight, including belly fat. In fact, a 16-year study revealed that folks who slept less than five hours per night were far more likely to gain weight than folks who slept seven hours. Being well-rested slims you by lessening sugar cravings and helping you feel full throughout the day.

How to Lose Belly Fat Quickly for Women

It turns out the easiest trick to lose belly fat can be done in seconds. The expert advice? Stand up straight and adjust your posture. This simple trick to lose belly fat works because the abdominal muscles use energy to keep us upright. When you slouch, you put these muscles to sleep, meaning they can’t burn belly fat. “Correcting poor posture can make you look 5 pounds slimmer instantly,” strength and conditioning specialist Deborah L. Mullen told Prevention.

How to Lose Belly Fat by Sipping Wine Instead of Beer

The flowers of the hops plant that gives beer its flavor are high in phytoestrogens, which mimic the hormone estrogen in your body, triggering belly fat formation! Plus, beer has one and a half times more calories than wine, notes naturopath Michelle Schoffro Cook, Ph.D., D.N.M., author of 60 Seconds to Slim ($13.92, Amazon).

Beat stress fat with colorful foods.

Each of the vivid pigments that make foods red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple is also a phytonutrient that reduces cortisol production (a major cause of belly fat) and switches on enzymes that torch 25 percent more belly fat for fuel, say researchers at the University of Bridgeport.

Whittle your middle with nuts.

As many as three in four of us are low in magnesium, a mineral that’s essential for releasing and burning stored body fat. Eating half a cup of nuts or seeds as part of your daily diet can trim your waistline by six inches in six months, according to University of Hawaii research.

Flatten your middle with cinnamon.

Cinnamon is a natural blood-sugar destabilizer, which helps prevent insulin resistance, a contributing factor behind excess belly fat. Take a 500 mg supplement, or add 2 teaspoons of Ceylon cinnamon to food and drinks daily (but always check with your doc first!).

Accelerate exercise’s benefits with green tea.

Get a boost with green tea. Not seeing the workout results you want? Drink a cup of green tea after every workout and your middle should be smaller within 12 weeks, according to the Journal of Nutrition.

Avoid trans fat with coconut oil.

“Trans fats don’t occur in nature, so our bodies weren’t designed to metabolize them,” says Schoffro Cook. “That means they can’t be properly digested, throwing off blood-sugar levels and contributing to obesity.” A six-year study found that a high-trans-fat diet that included foods like margarine led to a 33 percent increase in tummy fat. By contrast, she says, “coconut oil speeds fat-burning.”

KO stress with deep breathing.

Stress can not only stimulate appetite, it can also kick abdominal fat storage into overdrive, she says. The easy antidote: a deep breathing technique proven to lower your stress level in 60 seconds. Simply breathe in while you silently count to seven. Hold the breath for another seven counts, then slowly release it for seven counts. Repeat eight to 10 times.

How to Lose Belly Fat With Stevia

“Most people think eating fat makes us fat,” says Schoffro Cook. “In reality, eating sugar makes us fat.” Multiple studies back this claim, proving that sugar especially boosts belly fat. Why? “Sugar causes the pancreas to pump out insulin to quell high blood sugar — and insulin signals the body to store more fat,” she explains.

The sweet all-natural fix: stevia! Made from the leaf of a plant related to chrysanthemums, this no-calorie sweetener has a low glycemic index. “It does not contribute to unstable blood sugars and weight gain because it contains glycosides, which naturally taste sweet but contain no sugar molecules,” Schoffro Cook explains.

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