Five habits that cause belly fat

Thu, Sep 1st 2016, 12:00 PM

There's nothing quite as frustrating as that stubborn belly fat that sits around your waist, makes your pants tight and destroys your confidence.

If you have belly fat to lose, then chances are great that you are harboring one or more of these five habits that cause belly fat.

Read the five belly fat habits below to identify the reason why your stubborn belly fat won't budge.

Belly fat habit #1: Too much sugar
Sugar is found in many of the foods that you eat daily. From breakfast cereals, to coffee drinks, to protein bars, to energy drinks... more items in your daily diet contain sugar than you're aware of. All of these sugar calories add up quickly and translate into many pounds gained.

Make it a habit to read the ingredients and the sugar count in the foods you are eating. Pay special attention to breakfast items, yogurts, protein bars and any item that is packaged. Avoid eating foods that contain added sugars as a part of your daily diet.

Belly fat habit #2: Daily dessert
There used to be a time and place when desserts were reserved for Sunday evenings and special occasions. Not anymore! These days, dessert has become a daily occurrence. Much like the first belly fat habit, having dessert is another form of having too much sugar, and all those sugar calories rapidly turn to fat.

Forget eating dessert every day. Save desserts for cheat days and special occasions, and stick with fresh fruit as your daily after-meal sweet.

Belly fat habit #3: Bad snacking
In recent years snacking has been named one of the best ways to maintain your metabolism in order to burn fat all day long; and while there is some truth to eating small, high protein-high fiber meals frequently, for the most part, all of this snacking has done nothing better than make us fat.

Most snack items are crunchy and salty -- two qualities that you'll rarely find in a healthy snack; they contain loads of simple carbohydrates and, you guessed it, more sugar. In order to avoid belly fat you're better off avoiding all traditional snack foods, and to fall out of the habit of snacking entirely.

If you're hungry between meals, eat a small amount of protein and fiber, such as a hard-boiled egg with cucumber, or a packet of tuna with celery.

Belly fat habit #4: Daily alcohol
Having that drink with dinner (or two, or three...) can quickly become a fast and steady habit. It's easy to justify the drinks because you had a long, hard day and you deserve it. The alcohol takes your mind off of your troubles and loosens you up for a good time. However, all those alcohol calories are basically sugar, and all that sugar is going straight to your belly (Beer belly, anyone?).

Breaking your daily alcohol habit is tough - I'll give you that - however it may motivate you to know that it's nearly impossible to lose fat on a day when you're drinking alcohol. Alcohol = fat storage mode. Also it's great to know that once you've allocated alcohol to cheat days and special occasions, you'll lose fat quicker and easier than ever before.

Belly fat habit #5: Lack of exercise
This one is kind of a no-brainer, right? If you aren't moving your body in a consistent, challenging way, then you're going to store body fat -- plain and simple. An effective, invigorating exercise routine is the ticket you need to dump that fat for good.

I'm here to help you simply and easily lose all of your unwanted belly fat. This is the perfect time to begin an exercise program that really works -- and my programs have been proven to be effective, so let's get going! Call or email me today to ditch that belly fat forever.

o Jimmy Mackey, founder of Macfit360, is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified master trainer, fitness nutrition specialist, certified weight loss specialist and corrective exercise specialist. He also has TRX STC/GSTC and Training For Warriors levels one and two certifications. He can be contacted at info@macfit360.com or telephone 698-2119.

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