Many girls dream of a flat stomach just like Deepika Padukone’s and no matter how hard we try at the gym, we are still somehow just unable to get those sexy abs. Right, girls?! Well, a flat stomach is not achieved just by working out at the gym as various other factors also play an important role in this. Thus, to help you girls achieve your dream, we have some things that you need to STOP doing or things that you need to cut ties with, because they’re coming in between you and your flat stomach!
1. Doing only ab exercises
A hundred crunches would not give you a flat stomach. Working out only the abdominal muscles would only result in tiring them and thus would lead to you not performing other exercises properly. To get in shape, it is recommended to do a total body workout as that would maximise the calorie burn and would help you get toned overall.
2. Using big plates
The bigger the plate, the bigger is the meal. A simple trick to achieve a flat stomach is by replacing your big plate with a small plate. A small plate makes the food served appear larger whereas a large plate makes the food served look small and can result in overeating. Go for a second serving only if you’re still hungry after the first one.
3. Turning to jams
Most of the jams available in the market are just pieces of fruits mixed with sugar and preserved in a jar. Replace these jams with peanut butter which gives you a similar taste without any added sugar!
4. Aerated drinks
All kinds of aerated drinks, diet or normal, are SO unhealthy. They are loaded with empty calories, sugar or artificial sweeteners and harmful preservatives. It is best to replace them with water which helps you keep hydrated as well as healthy.
5. Excess of certain vegetables
Some veggies like corn, broccoli, kale, raw spinach, cauliflower and button mushroom are very healthy and filled with nutrients but an excessive quantity of the same is not recommended as they sneakily contribute to your belly feeling bloated. Don’t avoid them but it is important to keep a check on their consumption.
6. Chewing gum
Chewing gum not only makes you swallow tummy bloating air, it also contains sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners which further make your stomach bloat.
7. White food
Foods made with white flour like white bread, white pasta and white rice are low in fibre and thus, difficult to digest. Replace these with brown bread, whole wheat pasta and brown rice and you will notice a big change.
8. Eating a late dinner
Not getting an appropriate number of hours gap between your dinner and breakfast is one of the main reasons for not feeling fit. The body accumulates the extra nutrients and transforms them into fat. By having a longer stretch between these two meals will give your digestive system time to recover and help you reduce your belly fat.
9. Adding too much salt
Normal salt in meals is fine and healthy but eating foods which are rich in sodium (salt) leads to water retention. Thus, try to avoid processed foods like salted peanuts and salted chips that are available in the market.
10. Not sleeping enough
Not getting enough sleep results in the slowing down of your metabolism rate. The human body needs time to rest, repair and restart itself the next morning.
11. Alcohol
Try limiting the intake of all types of alcohol. Beer and sweet cocktails contain a lot of calories. Replace these drinks with red wine as is not as harsh on your belly and also helps in digestion.
12. Eating quickly
We tend to eat our food very quickly when we are hungry. This habit needs to be broken as eating food quickly causes us to swallow excess air too which in return causes bloating. This swallowed air makes us feel full immediately and does not fill our stomach completely which makes us hungry again in the next few hours.
13. Drinking less water
Water is the only drink that contains zero calories but is loaded with nutrients and health benefits. Drinking up to 8-10 glasses of water is a must for a healthy body. You could also add lemon to hot water and drink it as soon as you wake up. Dream abs would not be far away!
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