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Wellness by Luke Coutinho: How do I get rid of my belly fat?
Hint to answering the big question: No supplements, oils, powders, belts, and machines need to be involved. At all.
A few months ago, I spoke about revealing a pill that can burn fat without any side effects on social media. The big-reveal post was planned to go up the following day at 5 am. Needless to say, this created a stir across social media. So, as planned, I woke up to put up the post. In no time, questions around that quick fix and people asking for a purchase link to buy that pill flooded my inbox.
Obviously, it was a joke. There are no quick fixes to melt belly fat. While some brands might try to sell supplements, oils, powders, belts, and machines that can melt your belly fat, let me burst your bubble and say—it is all a lie.
People who have lost the maximum number of inches from their waist (and kept it off!) focussed on making simple shifts in their daily living. If you are tired of trying fad diets and exercise programmes and spending a fortune on fat burners, it’s time for you to give these powerful yet inexpensive lifestyle changes a try.
Add N.E.A.T. movements
These are tiny movements that you can sneak in during your day. They do not count as a workout, but add up to a lot of calorie burn. They also induce thermogenesis, which is the body’s ability to burn fat even while sitting. In short, it puts the body in fat-burning mode. For example: walking while you are making phone calls, squatting to tie a shoelace, calf raises while standing, stretching, doing 10 squats or lunges, a one-minute plank, two Surya Namaskars or 10 jumping jacks every hour, and so on.
Eat an early dinner
Your body is not designed to digest that late-night meal. If you cannot eat your dinner at sunset (which is ideal), try getting it at least an hour or two later, but eating at 11 pm or midnight isn’t going to help your weight, digestion, sugar, and insulin levels in any way. Early dinner also allows you to enter a beautiful fasted state for a couple of hours, which can help maintain your body weight.
Get smart about desserts
No, this isn’t another article asking you to stop eating sugar. Living healthy is about balance, not extremes. If you enjoy dessert, eat them in the afternoon because that is when your metabolic fire is at its peak. This also means that your biggest meal of the day should be lunch, because your body can break it down, as opposed to a heavy dinner.
Know your perfect truth
Deep down, everyone knows what made them put on excess belly fat. Ask yourself: what are your perfect truths regarding your inability to get fit? Laziness, gluttony, procrastination, indiscipline, inconsistency, greed, fatigue, inactivity, emotional eating, excess alcohol or something else? Rather than chasing fad diets and weight loss pills, face your perfect truth and work on it.
It’s convenient to blame food like bananas, mangoes, tea, rice, or carbs in general, for causing weight gain. But, food is harmless. It is not the culprit. The culprit is the person consuming each of these. It is the overconsumption and poor lifestyle. It is also the lack of sleep and chronic emotional stress. So, we must stop blaming foods and change our lifestyle and attitude instead. That is the secret to shrinking your waist.
Luke Coutinho is a holistic nutrition and lifestyle coach who focusses on integrative and lifestyle medicine & is the founder of YouCare Lifestyle—All about YOU by Luke Coutinho
Catch Luke Coutinho’s column every fortnight in HT Brunch. It will next appear on 30th April, 2022.
From HT Brunch, April 16, 2022
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