How do I cut excess belly fat before New Year's Eve?

Many times during the holiday season we buy a cocktail dress, stockings, or a fresh button up before the beginning of the holidays only to find out a week before New Year's Eve that it doesn't fit anymore!!! Has this ever happened to you? If so, I have ten foods that you need to avoid this next week prior to New Years Eve.

10. HIGH ACIDITY DRINKS

-Drinks with high acidity such as alcohol, coffee, tea, or fruit juices can irritate your GI tract and cause swelling. You can have these drinks starting during the New Year, but in the future consume with moderation.

9. CARBONATED DRINKS

-This one is an easy call, the bubbles in the drink of course bubble up in your stomach. Insted of Carbonated drinks try flavored water that is not artificially sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup. The best alternative of course is plain water.

8. SPICY FOOD

- Onions, Garlic, Tabasco, etc are all things that can potentially upset your stomach and stimulate the release of stomach acids, which again can cause irritation to your GI tract.

7.  FRIED FOODS

- A safe bet to stay away from during the holidays.  These foods will stay in your body and can be hard to burn. 

Note: Do not confuse "bad fats" such as fried foods with "good fats" such as Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acids, i.e. Olive Oil, Low fat Peanut Butter, Nuts and Seeds, etc.  The MUFA's will help to burn the ever-so-hard to reach visceral fat on your torso around your midsection.

6.  SUGAR ALCOHOLS

- Sugar alcohols are seen in things such as energy bars and candy bars. The problem with these sugar substitutes is that most of the time your GI tract cannot absorb them so they can cause bloating and/or diarrhea.

5.  CHEWING GUM

- This one may be a surprise to most, but when you chew gum air gets trapped into your GI tract which can cause bloating and expansion of the belly.

4.  GASSY FOODS

- An obvious choice for the countdown.  Gassy foods such as Legumes, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussel sprouts can all produce more gas in your GI tract.

3.  EXCESS CARBOHYDRATES

- Carbs are mainly used for the body's energy.  What you don't know is that the body backs up its own energy storage in the carbohydrate form called "glycogen". For every 3g of water consumed, one gram of glycogen is stored in your body fuel's resovoir tank.  The problem with carbs is that if they are not expended, they sit...they stay on your stomach...and if you limit this intake your body will start getting trained to use the backup energy storage of glycogen versus constantly needing more carbs. 

2.  BULKY RAW FOODS

- Carrots are an example of a bulky raw food.  If you steam these vegetables LIGHTLY*** instead of eating them raw they will take up less space in your stomach thereby causing less bloating. 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!

1.  SALT!!!!

- Probably not a surprise to most here.  Salt is one of the number one factors for making your midsection not look as tone as it possibly can.  High consumption of salt also helps you retain excess water which will make your stomach look more puffy and adds to water weight.

Follow these steps and you should be ringing in the new year with all the puffiness and excess water off of your midsection!  So don't return that cocktail dress just yet!!!!

OVER AND OUT!