There are thousands of different tips and tricks for losing belly fat – but by far the most common is to cut down on calories. Although this is well known for the pure reason that it works, it also can encourage us to eat the wrong things just because they are low in calories – and the worst culprit is diet drinks.
As a person who keeps an eye on their weight, when choosing a drink and decide on a soda, you will opt for the ‘diet’ version – why not? It has zero calories, fills you up, and tastes almost exactly the same, so why would you waste about 200 calories on just a regular drink when you could do the same damage with a chocolate bar or a bag of crisps? But this is where we are going wrong when it comes to losing belly fat.
Recent studies have shown that diet drinks can actually contribute towards weight gain. Researchers from the American Diabetes Association found that over almost 10 years, those who drank diet soda would have a waist circumference gain of over 70 percent than those who drank regular soda. And, those who drank diet soda the most regularly (about two drinks a day) had waist circumference increases which were 5 times the amount than those who did not drink any. The artificial sweeteners in diet drinks confuse our bodies over how to process them, so that when it does come to real sugar, our body is not so experienced in breaking it down. So drinking diet drinks actually can set our bodies up for a fail when it comes to burning belly fat as they are not ready when it comes to consuming real sugar.
Instead of opting for a diet drink, the best option for losing belly fat is water. Water can help us to lose fat for many reasons, but most importantly – we do not have to make that decision between a diet and a regular soda, as the more water we drink, the more hydrated we are and therefore do not crave a soda in the first place.
We also feel fuller after a drink of water so not only will we not feel a need for soda but it will put us off eating so much food as well – helping us to consume fewer calories. Once hydrated, our bodies have much more energy, so we can continue to do more exercise and stay active for longer and it also helps the body remove any toxic substances which can cause the storage of fat. So we are eating less and exercising more just with the help of a glass of water which will help you on your way to burning belly fat.
Water has so many positive benefits that come in handy for losing fat – it is a natural way to flatten that tummy without having to worry about the unhealthy side effects of soda!