Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Simulate temporary weight loss
• Method 2 of 3: Change your lifestyle
• Method 3 of 3: Change your eating habits
• Tips

Losing weight is a popular fitness goal. Many people consider it important to lose weight. The abdomen is a particular concern for many people, and research indicates that visceral fat (fat that surrounds internal organs) is the most dangerous to your health. While you won't lose a lot of weight without exercise and diet, there are a number of things you can do to reduce belly fat without going to the gym or starving yourself.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Simulate temporary weight loss

1. Try shaping clothes. There are so many options in underwear and clothing, options that can strengthen and shape the middle part of your torso. Such underwear is widely available in different types and most sizes.
   • For women there are also shaping tights, shorts, body suits, shirts and tops. Often made of Lycra, elastic or a combination thereof. Most women's underwear brands have shaping tops, but the most popular shaping underwear brands are Spanx, Soma, and TC Shaping. Buy your regular size and expect it to run small.
   • There are many options for men too, including the Spanx or Sculptees brands. These offer tops that target the abs. In fact, they are compression shirts, which slightly change the appearance of the abdomen. While the results differ, there are companies who say their product can cut 7.6-12.7 cm of the waist circumference.
2. Take advantage of the current trends in waist training. This method involves wearing a tight piece of clothing over your stomach. If you do it right, wearing corsets, for example, can lead to a slimmer silhouette, without having to make any changes in your lifestyle.
   • Some celebrities swear that waist training helps you lose weight, but doctors say it won't help you lose fat cells. It can help you lose weight by squeezing your stomach while you eat so that there isn't much room in your stomach and you can't eat as much. In addition, the fat cell can expand or shrink, depending on the amount of fat that the cell stores.
   • Be careful with corsets that are too tight and don't wear them too often. They can reduce the capacity of your stomach, which could cause you to vomit after a normal portion of food. They can also contribute to the production of stomach acid and they can compress your organs.
   • Buy your corset from a store with staff who know what they are talking about. They can help you put on the corset correctly and teach you to tighten it correctly so that it is not too tight.
3. Consider one body wrap. Body wraps are spa treatments, said to detoxify and tighten the belly area. With some practice, this can also be done at home. Although the process can be different, it usually consists of several steps and the application of different body products.
   • The esthetician starts by massaging a scrub on the abdomen area, which is then rinsed off in a shower. The scrub will contain various herbs and minerals, which are believed to rid the skin of impurities and reduce fat and cellulite.
   • Then a lotion or oil is applied, which contains soothing properties.
   • Then you are wrapped tightly in linen, plastic or heat blankets, after which the body is heated with an electric blanket for about 30 minutes, which will make you sweat. This step in particular is thought to remove impurities and reduce fat.
   • After the blanket and wraps have been removed, you will be massaged again to increase circulation.
   • While this process is not recommended for weight loss, many clients report that it does reduce the appearance of belly fat and cellulite, especially with multiple treatments. Due to sweating (and loss of water weight) it is not surprising that you lose a few inches, but this is temporary.
4. Reduce your water weight. The body can retain water for a variety of reasons, creating a puffy appearance, especially around the waist. Reducing water weight will temporarily narrow your waist.
   • Hydrate. In many cases, water retention is one way for the body to avoid dehydration, this happens when you don't drink enough water in a day. This applies especially in the warmer months. Make sure to drink at least 8 glasses (or 2 liters) of moisturizing liquid in a day. This will help flush your system and reduce bloating.
   • Reduce your salt intake. Excess salt can cause the body to retain water. Processed foods and foods in restaurants are the greatest sources of salt intake. Such foods provide about 75% of the salt in your regular diet. You shouldn't take more than 1.5mg of salt per day, which is just over half a teaspoon.
   • Reduce your alcohol and coffee intake. These drinks are known to cause dehydration, which can cause your body to retain water (the body will hold onto whatever it can).

Method 2 of 3: Change your lifestyle

1. Avoid swallowing air. This may seem like a strange suggestion, but swallowing air is one of the biggest causes of bloating, which in turn contributes to a more rounded belly area. Reducing the amount of air you swallow during a day can reduce your belly size.
   • Avoid carbonated drinks, even those with zero calories (like carbonated water). Drinks that contain air fill your stomach with air. This will give you a puffy appearance.
   • Avoid smoking. Smokers who catch up tend to swallow the smoke, causing the abdomen to swell.
   • Avoid chewing gum and talking while eating. These habits both lead to swallowing air.
2. Practice good attitude. Changing your posture won't make your belly fat go away, but it will make you look slimmer because the belly fat is distributed evenly across the torso, instead of concentrating in the belly area. Try to keep your upper body straight, your shoulder back and your head up.
   • When you sit, your buttocks should touch the back of the chair and the normal curves in the back should be present (meaning a small rolled up towel should fit above your bottom).
   • When standing, keep your shoulders back, tuck in your stomach and place your feet about hip-width apart.
   • If you don't mind a little bit of exercise, there are exercises to strengthen your back and torso. This makes it easier to maintain good posture while strengthening the muscles in your waist. As you improve your posture, try adding a few light crunches and easy back exercises to your schedule.
3. Get plenty of sleep. Sleeping itself does not burn fat, but it is a crucial part of weight loss and weight loss efforts. Mainly because lack of sleep makes weight loss more difficult. If you are not well rested, it is difficult to motivate yourself to do anything. It is therefore more difficult to control the appetite: it is more likely that you will impulsively eat junk food if you do not have enough energy.
   • While everyone has different sleep needs, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep. Children and the elderly often need more sleep.
4. Find a fitness positive support network. Surrounding yourself with people who are committed to a healthy lifestyle can help you live a healthier life. Spending time with people who are health conscious can give you more opportunities to participate in activities that lead to weight loss. Commit to spending time with people who have hobbies that promote a healthy lifestyle, such as walking, exercising, cycling, healthy home cooking, etc. Limit the time you spend with people who have unhealthy hobbies, such as eating junk food , drink a lot of alcohol and watch a lot of TV.
   • If no one in your family or circle of friends is interested in healthy activities, don't be afraid to seek out new contacts. Join a sports club or social activity group. Take a course in healthy cooking or join a spinning class at the community center. There are many healthy ways to meet new people, but you have to do it!
5. Start tracking your weight. Some nutrition experts suggest that having a clear indication of your weight can help you live a healthier life. Tracking your weight forces you to think healthy. When the numbers on the scales go up, you know it's time to change your habits.
   • The weight of a person can vary by up to 4.5 kg per day. To get a good average, you need to weigh yourself at the same time every day (for example, right when you get out of bed). At the end of the week, add up the numbers and divide the total by seven. The number you then get is your average weight.

Method 3 of 3: Change your eating habits

1. Drink plenty of water. If you normally drink soda, sports drink, flavored coffee and sugar and milk or other high calorie drinks, try replacing them with water. You will then receive the same amount of moisture and you will be just as saturated, while you will receive fewer calories. Keep this up, because then you can lose a little bit without extra effort.
   • The health benefits of water are well documented. Drinking water gives energy to the muscles, keeps the skin healthy and free of imperfections and gives you an energy boost. The best thing about water is that it has zero calories, you can drink as much of it as you want. Check out these tips for incorporating water into your daily schedule for more great ideas.
   • Don't swap soda for fruit juice, which is also full of calories. The juicing process removes all healthy fiber from the fruit, leaving nothing but sugar. For the best belly-friendly hydration, stick with flavored water or water, without calories.
2. Eat more often and in smaller portions. Instead of three large meals a day, it is good to eat several small meals of a few hundred calories. This restarts the eating rhythm, so you know when you are really hungry instead of eating out of habit.
   • A handy way to reduce portions is to use smaller plates. Smaller plates make the amount of food on them appear larger, this is caused by what we call the Delboeuf illusion. In fact, you're fooling your brain, leaving you feeling full with less food.
3. Keep track of the amount of food. Don't rely on your eyes to tell you how much to eat, use your brain. The trend in commercial kitchens is to serve large portions, so many people have a distorted view of what a normal portion is. Use measuring cups and the nutritional information provided on your food packaging to make sure you eat one serving. You can also invest in a simple food scale.
   • The portions of many foods are easy to remember visually. Below are some examples (for more, see here):
     • Fruits and vegetables: about the size of your fist
     • Meat, fish or poultry: about the size of your palm (excluding the fingers)
     • Cheese or fatty spreads: about the size of your thumb
     • Carbohydrates (rice, pasta, etc.): About the size of a cake tin
4. Eat breakfast. Many people skip breakfast and then make up for their severe hunger by overeating at lunch and dinner.
   • Make sure your breakfast consists of at least one portion of something from the three food groups: dairy, fruit, and grains.
   • If you are on a high-protein, low-carb diet, you could eat eggs and cheese. Most importantly, eating in the morning triggers your metabolism and your body does not remain in the fasted state.
   • A healthy breakfast for an adult weighing about 70 kg consists of 300-400 calories.
5. Make smart food choices. A healthy diet is better for your waist than an unhealthy lifestyle, even if the amount of calories are the same.
   • Eat fresh fruits and vegetables instead of prepackaged snacks. Processed foods contain added preservatives, artificial ingredients, and are often full of carbohydrates, sugar and fat. Fresh foods provide more nutritional value per calorie than processed, carbohydrate-rich snacks, such as chips and crackers. Processed foods also typically contain a lot more salt, which can lead to fluid build-up in the body and extra weight in the belly area.
   • Never snack straight out of the bag or box. Research has shown that people who got a large bowl of popcorn ate 44% more popcorn than people who got a smaller bowl. It is easier to overeat when you have a large portion of food in front of you. Put some of your snack in a bowl and put the packaging away.
6. Check your portions when you are not eating at home. It is often easier to check your portions at home than when sitting in a restaurant, for example, where the portion sizes given often include the total recommended calories per day. Or at a friend's house, where you can't control what's in the meal. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to control portion size in places where you have no control over the food:
   • Think in advance what you are going to order. Many restaurants have websites that display the nutritional content of their menus. So you can already make a smart choice before you leave the house.
   • When in a restaurant, you can ask the waiter to bring a doggy bag when your food is served. Measure out one portion and immediately put the rest in the doggy bag. You will then be less tempted to keep eating while you talk to your friends.
   • If you're eating at someone else's house, don't be afraid to ask for a small serving. You can then eat your plate completely empty and you don't have to insult your friend by leaving food on your plate.
   • When shopping, buy foods that are individually packaged, rather than foods that are sold in bulk packs. For example, instead of a large tub of ice cream, buy a box of individually wrapped ice creams.
7. Switch to foods that keep you feeling full for longer. When it comes to reducing belly fat, it's not just about how much you eat, but what you eat. Certain foods provide only a short burst of energy and a short period of satisfaction, leaving you hungry before it's time for your next meal. Look for alternatives that keep you satisfied for longer.
   • Filling foods that keep you satisfied include whole grain bread, rice, pasta, grains, nuts, water, lean meat and fish, eggs, green vegetables, beans, and legumes.
   • Non-filling foods include soft drinks, prepackaged snacks, white breads, rice, pasta, sweets and starches.
8. Eat slowly. When you eat quickly, you can swallow a surprising amount of food before you start to feel full and fulfilled. Eating slowly provides enough time for you to start feeling full and fulfilled, allowing you to stop eating without taking in more calories than necessary. There is even evidence to indicate that eating slowly induces the production of specific hormones in the brain, which are responsible for feeling satisfied.
   • Take time to eat your food. Concentrate on chewing, chew each bite 10-20 times and take a sip of water between each bite of food. Place the spoon or fork between each bite. If possible, eat with someone else so that you can pause to talk while you eat.
   • Try setting an alarm at the start of your meal for 20-30 minutes. Eat at a pace that you will not take for the last bite of food until the timer goes off.
   • When you're done eating, take a break. Even if you are still a bit hungry. Give your body time to recognize that it has a full stomach, this can sometimes take a while. Only eat more if you are still hungry after half an hour.
9. Eat in quiet, quiet locations. Research indicates that eating in a quiet, quiet place causes you to eat less. Eating in loud, crowded, and chaotic environments can actually lead to overeating. While the cause of this is not certain, such situations are believed to distract you from the sense of satisfaction by causing mild panic.
   • A well-known cause for fast, panicky eating is late for school or work. You can fix this by adjusting your schedule. Consider getting up earlier so you have a chance to have a leisurely breakfast before you go.
10. Keep track of what you eat. Keeping track of what you eat can be a revealing experience. You may be eating a lot more than you think. Try to keep a record of your meals and snacks in a notebook that you always have with you. Also write down the number of servings per meal and the amount of calories per serving.
    • There are several websites and apps that make it easier to track your daily food intake. Myfitnesspal and Fatsecret.com are two easy-to-use options.

Tips

• There is some evidence to suggest that certain teas (especially green tea) enhance the body's fat burning capacity. Tea has no calories if you don't add sugar or milk to it, but don't drink it just before going to sleep unless it's a caffeine-free kind.
• Alcohol is a great source of calories (alcoholic drinks often have more calories than the same amount of carbohydrates or protein). Try to limit drinking alcohol to special occasions. If you drink, drink a glass of water after every glass of alcohol.