6 Habits that give you a paunch

Meghna Mukherjee

TOI lists out the things that contribute to your burgeoning waistline.

We tend to overlook on certain habits that affect our life. We list down seven such habits that give you a belly pudge and how you can get rid of the unwanted fat gathering around your increasing waistline...

Skipping meals

When you skip meals, you end up overeating later and the fat inevitably finds a way to your midsection. Make it a point to eat small to medium-sized meals every three to four hours daily. Says nutritionist Jivesh Shetty, "We have to trick our body into having smaller meals every two to three hours to keep our metabolic rate high, not making us feel hungry and binge later."

Binge drinking

When you binge-drink, you are inviting flab to settle down on your mid-section. Alcohol contains lots of calories and you often tend to feel hungry while you are drinking. If you want to go out drinking with friends, make sure you opt for red wine — it helps fight paunch. Nutritionist Namita Nanal, says, "The consumption of alcohol in moderation is fine during weight maintenance. You can choose to have wine as it is a rich source of antioxidants."

Crazy about crunches

Sit-ups tone the muscles and does not affect the layer of fat covering them. Doing 50 or 100 crunches will not make your jeans fitting loose. Instead of doing 50 crunches a day, it is advisable to jog or brisk walk in the park or on the treadmill for half an hour daily to get rid of the belly pudge. Nanal says, "Only doing too much of crunches will not help. A proper combination of a good workout along with diet will help you to lose the fat faster."

Consuming 'lite' products

Remember that opting for sugar-free sweets, yoghurt, low-fat snacks or diet sodas will not help in the long run. These artificial sweeteners trigger your metabolism to increase the storage of fat.

Staying away from bread

Whole-grain breads and cereals allow insulin to rise and gradually reduce the chances of adding fat to your belly. Make it a point of include wild rice, whole wheat chappatis and oatmeal in your meal plan once a day. Says Shetty, "Bread made from whole wheat and other processed grains have usually more fibre and are usually no different from homemade chapattis. It is healthy to have some amount of carbohydrates to help in the digestion process."

Fatty foods: a big no-no

Not all kinds of fats are unhealthy. Monounsaturated fats are good for you. Nutritionists opine that if you consume one-quarter of an avocado either in your sandwich or salad, you will lose the fat around your belly soon. Nanal adds, "Good fats are essential for your body. For example, you can have nuts, healthy oils like sunflower and olive oil. Avoiding them completely will not benefit your body completely."

Source: 6 Habits that give you a paunch