6 Ways You can Lose Belly Fat in Just 17 days

We all desire a flat belly, Yet hours of doing crunches, cardio, and keeping to strict dieting aren’t realistic—or a whole lot of fun—for many of us. Luckily, it is possible to lose your belly fat and look slimmer very quickly.

Shedding belly fat is not as difficult, complicated or expensive as people usually make it sound like. It is all a matter of making the right choices and staying disciplined. Here are some 6 changes that you can make to the daily routine that will give you astonishing results in 17 days.

1.      Eat more of whole grains and protein
 A non-flat stomach is most likely going to be created by a combination of fat and bloating. The potential causes of belly fat can include overeating, constipation, foods that are known to cause gas buildup (carbonated beverages, beans, etc), and foods that don't agree with your stomach.

Giving up refined carbohydrates for whole grains is not just healthy, it can also help you shed belly fat, too, according to research from a Pennsylvania State University study. Dieters in the study who ate whole grains shed more than twice as much abdominal fat as those who ate none. Whole grains reduce the production of insulin, a hormone that encourages fat storage, making it easier to lose belly fat.

Add another belly fat-fighting component to your meal by packing in protein-rich foods. In a Danish study of 60 men and women, those following a diet that included 25% of calories from protein lost nearly twice as much fat after 6 months than those eating a diet with 12% protein. Include a serving of lean protein with each meal and snack—eggs for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch, low-fat or fat-free yogurt or milk for a snack, and grilled fish and vegetables for dinner.

2. Exercise

Unfortunately, the idea of spot fat reduction is a myth. I.e.: you can't just do a ton of crunches and JUST get rid of belly fat without overall weight loss. So weight loss will still be key to achieving a flatter belly. However, you can still highlight your fat loss results through improved muscle tone, which you CAN spot treat.

Here’s a workout idea to get you started. It's got lots of multi-joint movements that work for multiple muscle groups and so it will give you a combination strength and cardio workout to help you build muscle and burn off that fat.

1-mile run

3 (or more) rounds of:

·         25 dumbbell goblet squats

·         20 dumbbell snatches (10 each arm)

·         15 bent over rows (each arm)

·         10 bicep curls

·         5 front squats

Even better, do it with a friend.

 

3. Have watermelon for dessert
 The amino acid arginine, abundant in watermelon, might promote weight loss, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition. Researchers supplemented the diets of obese mice with arginine over 3 months and found that doing so decreased body fat gains by a whopping 64%. Adding this amino acid to the diet enhanced the oxidation of fat and glucose and increased lean muscle, which burns more calories than fat does. Snack on watermelon in the summer, and eat other arginine sources, such as seafood, nuts, and seeds, year-round.

4. Go slowly at meals
 Under stress, we tend to scarf down even healthy food. In fact, research has linked this behavior to bigger portions and more belly fat. But Elissa Epel, PhD, a researcher on stress eating at the University of California, San Francisco, hypothesizes that slowing down, savoring each bite, and paying attention to feelings of fullness may lower cortisol levels along with decreasing the amount of food you eat, thereby shifting the distribution of fat away from the belly.

5. Don't eat anything for two to three hours before sleep. Your body slows down when you sleep, which will prevent your body from digesting the food in your stomach properly.

    You are also much less active in the evenings and at night, which means that your body is more likely to store the calories you consume late at night as fat, rather than burning them as energy.

    Try not to eat anything at least two to three hours before going to bed, or follow the "daylight diet", which only allows you to eat during daylight hours.

6. Eat healthier. There's no real secret when it comes to having a flat-tummy friendly diet — you simply need to eat more healthy foods like fruit, veg, and whole grains, and cut down on junk food, like candy, chips and fast food. Just by making this simple switch, you'll see a world of difference to your stomach. However, it's not recommended that you go cold turkey — try to ease into a healthy diet by slowly, but consistently replacing the bad with the good. Here are some simple changes you can make:

    Eat lots of lean protein. Beans, nuts, and lean meat are rather good for you as long as you do not eat the fat!

    Eat whole grains. Look for labels that say "100% whole grain" or "100% whole wheat" and not just "wheat flour." Whole grains keep you fuller longer, which can help with weight loss and getting a flat tummy.

    Eat low-fat dairy products. Switch out your high-fat dairy for low-fat options, which are rich in protein and vitamin B6.

    Eat healthy fats. Not all fat is bad you know! The monounsaturated fats found in avocados, nuts and fish oil are actually very good for you and can help you to shed belly fat. Just stay away from the trans fats found in processed foods and baked goods.

    Lower your sodium intake. Sodium causes your body to retain water, which causes you to look bloated — especially around your abdominal region. Whenever possible, try replacing high-sodium foods with healthier options. Switch regular table salt for kosher or sea salt, which is lower in sodium, and stay away from soy sauce as it's full of it.