How to Reduce Tummy Fat After Having a Baby

This question has been asked many times over: How can you reduce tummy fat without starving yourself or working out non-stop? Can you shrink your stomach without getting skinny all over?
For moms, past experience and research would have you believe that countless sit-ups and abdominal crunches would get rid of the baby fat that's built up over the last nine months in your stomach area. Truth is, that's not true at all! You can't just get rid of the baby fat in your abdominal area without reducing your overall body fat percentage. Good news is that you can get rid of the baby fat and make your tummy look flatter with the right foods and exercise.


Foods that Reduce Tummy Fat
There are some foods that emphasize tummy fat and others that reduce the appearance of it. So not only does it matter how MUCH you eat but the TYPES of food you eat play a significant role in getting rid of the baby fat around your waistline.

Some foods and chemicals put stress on our delicate bodies. Popular examples are caffeine and nicotine. These substances act as stimulants by making our heart rates faster and increasing our blood pressure. When this happens, our bodies interpret it as a sign of danger and automatically go into preservation mode by hanging onto extra calories and storing them as tummy fat.

This is done through cortisol, a hormone that our bodies produce when stressed. Cortisol is the culprit behind the storing of fat, specifically around the waist area. This type of fat can be harmful and has been linked to cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

Another issue that can make things worse is insulin production. Our bodies produce insulin to help the body use or store blood glucose it gets from food. Eating sweet foods can cause this to happen even though our blood glucose levels are normal. That's why you'll hear people complain of hunger even after eating artificially sweetened foods. Our blood glucose levels are lowered by the insulin leading us to feel like we're starving! In turn, we eat more and begin accumulating the dreaded tummy fat.

To counteract this and get rid of the baby fat you already have, you need to eat foods that don't put stress on your body or trigger extra insulin production. Foods that are slow to digest can help: whole grain breads and pastas, lean meat, tofu, nuts, high fiber fruits and vegetables, olive oil and avocados.

Give up coffee. If you can't, try green tea instead. Tea has a smaller amount of caffeine but still contains phytonutrients that provide a host of other health benefits, including a faster metabolism!

Exercises that Reduce Tummy Fat

Diet is not the only thing to follow when trying to get rid of the baby fat. Exercise is just as important. Although you can't just hone in on your abdominal fat specifically, you can do cardio and strength exercise to reduce your overall body fat percentage. Then once the belly fat is gone, you can do abdominal exercises that target toning up the area.

Good thing is that you can do any kind of cardio exercises. Brisk walking, swimming, jogging, gardening, dancing- all these activities are cardio! Find something you enjoy and make a habit to do it 3-5 times a week. Your health will get better and you'll start to lose weight, including the unsightly weight around your middle.

Building strength helps with burning fat too. Lean muscle mass burns more calories leaving less fat to store. Create a strength training routine that you can do at least 3 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes. Make sure you target different groups of muscles on different days. Monday you'll target arms and shoulders. Wednesday would be abs and core. Friday you'll work on exercising your legs.

Rest in between your exercise regimen and always stay hydrated! If you don't take in enough fluids, your body will not burn fat as efficiently. Aim for an intake of 64 ounces of water per day, an equivalent of 8 glasses. Try these tips and pretty soon, you'll be jumping for joy that you were able to get rid of the baby fat fast!

Learn more ways on how to get rid of the baby fat and trim your body down. Visit my website to get helpful tips and quality resources to reduce tummy fat and other problem areas fast!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_McNamara