Have you heard that there are foods and special diets that are specially designed to help you get rid of your belly fat? There is something called the Flat Belly Diet that has been endorsed by the writers at Prevention magazine. The diet is promoted as a way to take as many inches off of your waistline as you want. There are also a variety of diets making the rounds right now that claim they can get rid of your stomach fat without you having to do a single minute of exercise. Are these diets the real deal? Here is what we have found out about belly fat diets:
The best way to get rid of stomach fat is to eat a healthy diet and maintain a regular exercise routine. You will want to work all of your muscle systems, not just your abdominal region. You know that this is true, but isn't there any truth to the diets that claim to get rid of belly fat?
To understand why these diets aren't what they claim to be, you need to understand how fat works in your body. Fat cells cannot be lost without surgery. Even people who are in model shape have plenty of fat cells in their bodies. Fat cells are cells that stretch and constrict depending on how much exercise you get and what you eat. The only way to lose a fat cell is to have it surgically removed. What's more, your body stores fat in different ways--focusing on a single area of your body won't get rid of that area's fat. It will simply relocate the fat to somewhere else!
The "Belly Fat Diet" promoted by Prevention Magazine is famous because it promotes the ingestion of monosaturated fat. Followers of this diet plan are instructed to add some source of monosaturated fat to every meal they eat. Monosaturated fats can be found in, among other things, soybeans, seeds, nuts, olives and dark chocolate. The person who developed the diet claims that monosaturated fat focuses specifically on the fat that is stored in the belly area. The author of the diet encourages exercise, but emphasizes that exercise is not required to make the diet successful.
Recently, MSNBC released an article that promises readers that there are no foods that will actively attack single areas of body fat. Belly fat is the same as fat located in other areas of the human body. The article maintains that genetics has more to do with where your body stores fat than anything you could eat.
Here is the simple truth: if you cut your calorie intake and burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight! To work specifically on the fat that is stored in your belly, you can add some extra abdominal exercises to your regular workout routine. There are no magical belly fat diets that will whisk away the fat cells stored in your belly. To truly lose your stomach fat you need to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly!