Top tips to trim your tum

Two out of three Brits have put on weight during lockdown, so if your waistband is feeling tighter, you’re not alone. MICHELE O’CONNOR asks the experts how to blast belly fat – fast

PUT THE KETTLE ON

Love your morning cuppa? It could be doing more than simply waking you up.A recent University of Nottingham study discovered that coffee stimulates brown fat in the body. Brown fat is beneficial, burning sugar and fat to produce body heat. If you’re not a coffee fan, try green tea. It contains an antioxidant called EGCG which boosts metabolism and encourages the body to burn fat.

GO MEAT FREE

A large US study found that people who eat the most meat are around 30 per cent more likely to be obese and to carry weight around their middle, which increases the risk of diabetes.

However you don’t need to go veggie full time to feel the benefits. Instead go meat free a couple of days a week and you’ll soon see results.

EARLY TO BED

Research has found that people who get at least seven hours sleep each night lose twice as much fat and are less hungry than people who don’t get as much shut-eye.

Without adequate rest, your satiation and hunger hormones, leptin and ghrelin, will be out of kilter.This can encourage cravings, in particular for sweet foods.

STRESS LESS

“Stress can cause a rise in cortisol, the stress hormone that has been associated with increased fat storage around the middle,” warns nutritionist Kim Pearson (kim-pearson.com).

Deep breathing, yoga and meditation are all known to help tackle stress. Research from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre found yoga helps prevent middle-age spread and aids weight loss in 45 to 55 year olds.

STEP IT UP

According to the American Council On Exercise, people who monitor their steps take an average of 2,500 more steps per day than those who don’t. If you don’t have a fitness tracker, most smartphones will measure steps.And more walking equals a trimmer waist.A Canadian study found that women who walked briskly for around an hour a day for 14 weeks shrunk their belly fat by 20 per cent.

SAY YES TO YOGURT

People who eat dairy products as part of a healthy diet tend to lose more weight around their waist than those who cut it out, say studies. It’s believed that calcium encourages fat burning, while the friendly bacteria in yogurt improves the way the digestive system absorbs nutrients.

“Look for bio full-fat or organic yogurt, which contains higher levels of omega-3 essential fatty acids and leaves you more satisfied,” advises nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville.

THE FAST SHOW

Delay breakfast by 90 minutes. This change, coupled with eating your evening meal 90 minutes earlier, can burn more body fat, according to research published in the Journal Of Nutritional Sciences.

Or if you seriously need to drop pounds, try intermittent fasting such as the 5:2 diet, eating no more than 600 calories two days a week. Or the 16:8 diet, eating within an eight-hour window each day.

During the fasting period, the body will deplete carbohydrates to run on and start to take energy from the body’s fat stores. Alternatively, ProLon is a five-day fasting mimicking diet that has been scientifically proven to trick the body into a fasted state, while you still get to eat.

BIN THE BOOZE

“Your belly as well as your liver will thank you,” says nutritionist Christine Bailey (christinebailey. co.uk). “Alcohol contains a lot of calories but very little nutrients and is burned first as a fuel source before your body uses anything else.The result? Excess glucose and lipids end up as fat on the body, particularly around the tummy. In a study in more than 2,000 people, frequent alcohol consumption was associated with more belly fat.”

USE A SPOON

It’s very easy to end up eating too much when you don’t measure. Bigger portions mean more calories, so try eating from a smaller plate and make sure you dish up rice, pasta and mashed potato with a tablespoon rather than a large cooking spoon.

Measure out cereals, granola and oats rather than shaking a bowlful straight from the packet and use a spoon to measure salad dressings, mayonnaise and sauces rather than pouring straight from the bottle.

FAST FIXES

For a quick fix, try a super-charged soak in the bath.Adding Epsom salts to your bath water is a well-known celebrity trick to flush out toxins and get rid of any bloating before red carpet events.

Wear well-fitting control underwear to smooth out lumps and bumps and add a belt or choose clothes that cinch in at the waist to instantly make you look trimmer around the middle.

PERFECT POSTURE

Hunching over your desk, phones and tablets, or working from home from the comfort of your bed, can throw your posture out of whack. Good posture not only makes you look slimmer, as you stand taller, but it engages your stomach muscles too.

Work at a desk on a supportive chair and imagine there is wet paint on the back of your chair so you have to hold yourself up instead of leaning back.

ON YER BIKE

A study published in the Journal Of Physiology showed cycling for at least 20 miles a week led to a seven per cent drop in visceral fat – the dangerous fat that develops around the organs – and a seven per cent overall drop in fat around the waistline after eight months. If you don’t have an outdoor bike, a cheap stationary bike is just as good. Why not try an online indoor cycling class?

PROTEIN POWER

Protein increases the release of satiety hormones, which decrease appetite and promote feelings of fullness. It also helps you retain muscle mass while you lose fat.

Make sure every meal contains a good source of protein – think eggs, meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, dairy, beans and pulses.

GO NATURAL

Eating food in its natural, unprocessed form contains fewer calories and less saturated fat or sugar than processed food, says nutritionist Zoe Harcombe (zoeharcombe.com). “So, eat fresh fish not fish fingers, and steak not meat pies,” says Zoe. “This is known as the ancestor rule – if a caveman wouldn’t recognise it, don’t put it in your mouth.”