Food for thought!

Exercise is at least half of the tummy fat loss equation but there’s not much point in ramping up your workout if you’re feeding your body the wrong stuff to start with. One thing that works well for some people is to think of food as nourishment, not entertainment. Let’s take a look at some foods choices that will help you get those fab abs.

1. Fill up on fibre
High fibre foods like fruit and vegetables are long in bulk and short in calories, which means you can pretty safely fill up on them when you get hungry. If you are serious about taming tummy fat, slowly increase your daily intake of fruit and vegetables and drinking plenty of water to flush the fibre through your system.

2. Control the Carbs
Cutting out carbohydrates completely isn’t a good idea, mainly because most people can’t maintain a low carb/no carb diet for long and they end up putting all the weight back on and then some. All carbs are not created equal so what’s good and what’s not?  A good rule of thumb is to avoid foods that are high in sugar and focus on eating good carbs like wholegrain bread, pasta, vegetables, fruit, beans and legumes.

3. Eat Protein
When it comes to the battle of the bulge, protein is one of your greatest allies. This is largely because protein-rich foods like lean meats, chicken, fish, nuts and dairy will help you feel fuller faster, which means that you tend to eat less.

4. Drink Water
Experts believe there is a strong relationship between the amount of water you drink and your ability to lose fat. Drinking a good amount of water during the day - especially before lunch and dinner – will help speed up the appetite suppression signals from your belly to your brain, which again means you are likely to eat less. If you struggle with drinking a lot of tap water, try spicing it up with a slice of lemon.

5. Have Healthy Fats
Given the bad rap that dietary fat receives, it’s not surprising that some people think all fat is bad. The main thing for waist watchers is to avoid the trans-fats you’ll often find in processed foods as much as possible and instead focus on eating good fats like olive oil, fish oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.

6. Watch the Booze
If you are consuming loads of calories in the form of alcohol, you can eat all the right foods, drink gallons of water and still not shift any tummy fat - it’s not called a beer belly for nothing. You may find it helpful to drink at the weekends but avoid alcohol during the week.

And if you want to step it up a level …

If you are really serious about getting washboard abs you need to look at the foods you eat and ask one of our coaches to help you calculate your optimal calorie intake based on your age, sex and activity levels.

Try these six tips for success:

1. Cut out alcohol completely.

2. Limit your fruit intake to three pieces a day but eat as many vegetables as you like.

3. Start your meal with soup – research says that you’ll then eat less in the meal itself.

4. Base the majority of your main meals around high protein foods like lean meat, chicken, fish and tofu.

5. Bear in mind that your stomach is about the size of your fist. Look at the quantity of food you are planning to eat and check it’s no bigger than your fist size.

6. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you miss it your blood sugar levels will slump later on and you’ll often end up making poor food choices.

Here are five suggestions for a healthy breakfast:
- Eggs on wholegrain toast
- Cereal teamed with a protein powder or a shake
- Fruit and yoghurt
- A protein smoothie made with fresh fruit and mixed with low fat yoghurt, water, vanilla essence and a protein powder