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Foods That Help You Lose Weight & Belly Fat

Many experts say there are no magic foods that make you lose belly fat and that losing weight anywhere is all about taking in less calories than you burn off. That's true, but studies have found there are certain foods that will speed the process along.

  1. Expert insight

    • Joy Bauer, MS, RD, CDN and the nutritionist for NBC's Today Show, said "certain foods cannot magically melt away the fat off your belly." But other experts, such as Yale researcher Dr. David Katz have found that eating some foods, in conjunction with an otherwise healthy diet of course, can help you lose that spare tire or muffin top.

    Significance

    • Extra belly fat is linked to all types of medical problems. Don't despair, though, because when you do lose weight, you'll most likely drop it from your belly first.
      "... Belly fat is the first kind of fat you tend to lose when you lose weight," said Dr. Michael Jensen, a Mayo Clinic endocrinolist and obesity researcher, on WebMD.com.

    Potential

    • Switching from white bread, pasta and rice to whole grain varieties is a good place to start. A 2008 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that obese people who ate a calorie-controlled diet of all whole grains, along with correct servings of the other food groups. shed extra waistline weight, according to WebMD.com.

    Pile on protein

    • Men's Health senior editor Matt Bean, author of "The Belly Off! Diet," has said a magazine survey of more than 300 men and women showed that making 30 to 35 percent of your diet lean protein was essential to losing weight, including belly fat. Edamame is a good source of protein and fiber, Bean says. Other lean protein sources: skinless chicken breast and egg whites.

    Go mono

    • Bean also advised taking in monounsaturated fats, such as avocados and nuts, which make you feel full quickly and increase your basal metabolic rate. Katz, director of Yale's Prevention Research Center, has found that women who switched to a 1,600-calorie diet high in monounsaturated fats lost a third of their belly fat in one month, according to More magazine.

    Fill up on fiber

    • Bean has called fiber essential to losing belly weight, because it binds with other foods and slows your digestion rate, thereby helping to move calories from your body. Good choices are whole grain pastas and cereals, fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes, such as beans.

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