21 worst habits for belly fat

If you can’t stay away from Facebook and Instagram, you may start to notice yourself packing on the kilos. A large study found that if participants had a friend who became obese, their chance of also becoming obese rose by 57 per cent, according to Harvard Health Blog. Scientists suspect that your social network influences what people perceive as normal and acceptable – if you see your high school friends getting heavier, you feel like it’s OK if you do too.

If drinking fruit juice is how you get your daily serving of fruit, you’re doing more harm than good. “Your body needs fibre to help regulate how much and how fast sugar gets into the bloodstream,” says endocrinologist, Dr Rasa Kazlauskaite. “Too much sugar causes inflammation within the belly and contributes to belly fat.” Fruit juice in general is high in kilojoules and sugar, plus it lacks the fibre and other vitamins and nutrients you’d get from an actual piece of fruit. Plus, the number of cups of orange juice you’d have to drink to reach your daily serving exceeds how many sliced oranges it would take to get there.

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“People treat their bodies like a garbage bin and that can really contribute to belly fat,” says Dr Kazlauskaite. Not only does snacking all day long mean you’re ingesting extra kilojoules that can be hard to keep track of, unless you’re munching on veggie sticks or almonds you packed the night before, but you’re also likely reaching for sweets or processed foods lying around the office, which can be high in fat, sugar and salt.

Aside from diet, exercise has the biggest impact on gaining or losing belly fat. “When you exercise, muscles use energy instead of it being stored in belly fat,” says Dr Kazlauskaite. “That’s why when you start exercising, many people notice they lose centimetres from the waist first.” The Department of Health and Aged Care recommends adults engage in 1.25 to 2.5 hours of aerobic activity a week.

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The hormones that go into overdrive when you’re menstruating can have an impact on your appetite. One study found that binge eating among women peaked during the premenstrual phase, likely because of the increased progesterone production, according to Psychology Today. But just because this only happens once a month doesn’t mean it’s OK to indulge those cravings. Try to stick to your regular diet no matter what else is happening to your body.

Gut bacteria play a big role in weight gain or loss, and the probiotics found in yoghurt and some supplements can help keep the good and bad bacteria in order. One study found that having too little of a certain type of gut bacteria was linked to being obese, according to Fitness magazine. Your gut bugs balance can also impact your appetite by affecting regulation of the hunger hormone ghrelin.

Read on for the benefits of probiotics.

Be a mindful eater instead of a mindless one. “When you don’t plan what you’re going to eat and when, you end up eating whatever is available,” says Dr Kazlauskaite. “When you plan, you can make better choices.” Plan what you’ll eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner the night before. If you have the time, take it one step further and use your weekend to shop for groceries for the week or prepare some meals you can keep in the fridge.

If you can’t stay away from potato chips or fries, expect to see your waistline expand. Fried foods are filled with the worst type of fat, trans fat, which triggers weight gain around the belly. And unless you eat your burger and fries with a large helping of salad, the fat is almost immediately absorbed. “Fat goes fast into the bloodstream without a moderating effect. Vegetables help with digestion and metabolism because they have vitamins and antioxidants that help clean up the bad ingredients ingested,” says Dr Kazlauskaite.

Your mood can affect what you eat. Research from Cornell University found that students feeling negative emotions found indulgent food more appealing than when they were feeling positive.

Check out these ways stress-eating impacts you, say eating psychology specialists.

If at least half your plate isn’t filled with vegetables (yes: potatoes or sweet potatoes count), you could be sabotaging your weight. Dr Kazlauskaite advises starting your largest meal of the day with a hearty helping of fibre-filled vegetables, which leaves less room for other foods that aren’t as healthy.