There is good news and bad news when it comes to visceral fat. The bad news is that your risk of having this type of dangerous fatwhich wraps around your organs and can lead to heart disease and diabetes, increases significantly as you age.
However, the good news is that there are tangible ways to lose visceral fat over time and in a healthy way. In fact, experts say that getting enough sleep, reducing stress, exercising and eating healthier can contribute to belly fat loss.
If you want to make changes to your diet to work on visceral fat loss, where do you start? Our expert dieticians suggest some key changes to your drinking habits that can make a difference as you age.
Read on to learn more and for more tips on healthy drinks be sure to check out Worst Smoothie Habits for Belly Fat.
They can be delicious, but sugary drinks like sodas and fruit cocktails have the power to really screw up your weight loss goals.
“Over time, excessive intake of added sugars can contribute to chronic inflammation and sugary drinks They have almost no nutritional value, which means they really only provide you with sugar and calories,” says Amy Goodson, MS, DR, CSSD, LD author of The Sports Nutrition Playbook.
Lauren Manaker, MS, RDNauthor of The new mom’s pregnancy cookbook Y Feeding Male Fertilityagrees, saying “swapping sodas for water can save you some serious calories and, as a result, can help you lose belly fat.”
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Like soda, says Goodson, “many alcoholic drinks provides little or no nutritional value, which means you’re just drinking extra calories.”
Courtney D’Angelo, MS, RDauthor in what a wellness, warns that along with plain alcohol, drinking mixed drinks can also contribute to visceral fat. “Sugar mixed drinks it can have a greater effect on your waist circumference, causing more fat to be stored in that area, so try to cut back and limit yourself to a reasonable number of drinks per week, or cut it out of your routine altogether.”
Manaker suggests that if you still want something fun to drink at night, try choosing a non-alcoholic cocktail instead. “Limiting alcohol and drinking non-alcoholic cocktails can help you avoid drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, helping you lose that belly fat.”
We’ve discussed drinks that should be avoided or limited, but what about drinks that can benefit our health? According to D’Angelo, Green Tea it is useful for losing visceral fat.
“Green Tea is packed with nutrients and antioxidants that can help with weight loss, fat burning, and your overall health, which is due in no small part to green tea’s main antioxidant, EGCG, which has been shown to promote the breakdown of fat especially in the abdominal area,” says D ‘Ángel.
Not only that, but he points out that “green tea also contains caffeine, which can speed up your metabolism (which slows down as we age) and helps fat cells break down more fat.”
While limiting your intake of added sugar and drinking green tea can help control belly fat, consuming enough protein on a daily basis is a crucial component in losing fat around the belly.
Not only does it help you build muscle, but protein is also known to speed up your metabolismwhich can contribute to weight loss.
“Add a Protein shake or shake into your diet so you get the recommended amount of protein per day,” says D’Angelo, “and if you want to get creative, you can add high-antioxidant fruits and other ingredients that help with belly fat as well.”
