Want to burn belly fat? Here's what you should be avoiding

The first few things you eat in the morning affect belly fat in a major way. Starting the day with natural, nutritious and healthy foods to reduce belly fat helps prevent blood sugar spike, allows fat loss and building of muscle and increases metabolism. Also eliminating the causes of belly fat is extremely important. Here are some causes of belly fat/bloating/heaviness followed by foods that will help you reduce it:

1. Gas forming foods: Air may enter the gut due to eating quickly, by chewing gum or by taking carbonated beverages. Also some foods like broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower, are gas producing, when eaten in excess.

2. Dehydration: When we are dehydrated, the body tends to hold on to water and retain it. Air travel expands belly up to 25 percent because of the air pressure and dehydration due to circulated air.

3. Excess salt or sodium: The more sodium we take in, the more water is retained in body to dilute the sodium and maintain homeostasis.

4. Stress: Stress increases cortisol hormone and results in increased belly fat. Caffeine tends to increase cortisol levels.

5. Lack of protein: Our body needs lean protein, lack of which may be one of the reasons for a fat belly.

6. Excess carbs: Excess carbs get stored in muscles as glycogen and for every gram of glycogen we store 3 grams of water. Also, foods with high glycemic index should be avoided.

7. Toxicity: Many toxins in the air that we breathe or the water that we drink are lipophilic (fat loving). Fats insulates us from these toxins. When we get rid of the toxins (after cleansing/detoxification) we also get rid of the belly fat.

Eliminate these causes and eat more of foods such as apple, avocado, cucumber, watermelon, green tea, water on empty stomach, berries and almonds (foods high in protein need more energy to digest as compared to carbs and fats, however, excess of even these foods can lead to overall increase in body fat due to extra calories). You can also opt for other nuts (not the salted ones), oatmeal, olive oil based foods, dark chocolate, green leafy vegetables and beans (especially cannellini beans).

In addition to eating right exercising using body weight (calisthenics) is essential to losing belly fat. Equally important factors are sleeping enough and meditation (to control stress which is a major factor influencing belly fat).