There is no woman in the world who would not want to have a slim, toned figure, a flat stomach and feminine sides. A simple desire, as a rule, is not enough, and the most popular way to lose weight among the fairer sex is a diet. But what kind of diet should women choose to lose weight in their belly and sides without harming their health?
It is worth noting that when using any diet, you should adhere to the rules of a healthy diet. Thanks to a balanced and nutritious diet, you will not only achieve slim sides and abdomen, but also normalize your metabolism, intestinal and stomach function.
Basic principles of a diet for losing weight in the abdomen and sides for women:
- Be sure to have breakfast! No cup of coffee in the morning.
- Eat less, but more often. The optimal number of meals is 4-6 times a day.
- A light dinner 3 hours before bed is your best friend.
- Drink at least 2 liters of water per day.
- Reduce your intake of fast carbohydrates (sweets, starchy foods) to a minimum.
- Avoid fried fatty foods, alcohol and salt.
- Eat more vegetables and fruits.
- The most powerful effect will be obtained by combining a diet for losing weight in the sides and abdomen with high-intensity physical exercise.
Reviews and results of losing weight
Olga, 28 years old
After giving birth, I weighed 75 kg. Six months later, I lost 8 kg, but my stomach did not shrink at all. Then I decided to take care of myself and gave up junk food. No sweets or fast food, alcohol or soda. I started eating right and doing exercises in the morning. After just 3 months, the waist decreased by 6 cm, and the sides “gone away”. My husband is proud of me, and I happily wear my favorite jeans, which I purchased before pregnancy. Now I know how to get rid of my belly and sides on a diet.
Galina, 34 years old
I have always loved to eat, and there were no problems with my metabolism, but as I got older, I began to notice that excess fat appeared on my stomach and sides. There are conflicting reviews about diets for the abdomen and sides. However, I found a suitable program for myself and lost weight with the help of kefir. For a week, I drank 1.5 liters of fermented milk product daily in 6 doses. In addition to kefir, vegetables and fruits are allowed. The program was not easy for me, but the extra centimeters went away. This effective diet for losing belly fat and sides is not suitable for everyone. Before getting on it, I consulted a doctor.
List of prohibited foods for consumption
It is advisable to completely exclude the following foods from your diet, or at least reduce their consumption to a minimum:
- Salt and lightly salted foods. Salt retains fluid in the body, which will interfere with weight loss;
- Baking and flour products. These are fast carbohydrates in their purest form. In people with a slow metabolism, these foods will turn into fat;
- Sugar: sweets, confectionery, chocolate, syrups, jams, etc.;
- Fried, baked and smoked dishes. Refusal of these dishes is largely due to the need to improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
- Fast food: hamburgers, sandwiches, soda, chips, crackers, sauces;
- Alcohol and cigarettes.
7 day regime
Do you have an important event or trip ahead? And there are only seven days left? There is a way out - this is a simple diet for 7 days. If you follow an oatmeal diet, you can achieve good results in a short period of time.
A diet for losing weight in the abdomen and sides, suitable for women, has the following menu for the week:
- Main meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner should consist of oatmeal, which is cooked in water without added sugar, salt, oil or fruit.
- In between, you can eat any one fruit. However, it is worth understanding that this is not a “green light” for everything. For example, sweet grapes and bananas should be forgotten.
- It is worth remembering about water. You should drink up to 2 liters per day. Green or herbal tea is welcome and its volume is equal to the volume of water. You can drink the liquid 30-60 minutes before meals.
After finishing the diet, it is very important to exit it smoothly. Any products should be administered in small quantities. It is recommended to start with fermented milk products, protein meat (chicken, rabbit, turkey), and other types of cereals.
Menu for the week: diet for losing weight in the abdomen and sides for women by day
For the diet to work, especially after 40 or 50 years, you must follow its basic principles, expand your diet with permitted foods, and eliminate foods that are not recommended for consumption during the diet. We have compiled an approximate dietary menu for you that is convenient to use without thinking about what to cook today.
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Afternoon snack | Dinner | |
| Monday | Oatmeal with water and an apple or green tea. | Orange or apple. | Steamed fish and a portion of rice, lettuce. | A serving of dried fruits and nuts with green tea. | Vegetable salad and steamed beans. Or low-fat cottage cheese. |
| Tuesday | 1 boiled egg and 2 breads. | 1 apple. | Chicken fillet on a plate and a portion of buckwheat. Bell pepper. | A glass of low-fat yogurt. | Boiled beef and fresh vegetables. |
| Wednesday | Low-fat yogurt 200 ml., 1 orange. | 1 banana. | Vegetable lean soup with chicken, tomato and cucumber salad. | 1 apple. | 200 g boiled rice without salt. A glass of kefir. |
| Thursday | Low-fat cottage cheese 100 g, apple. | Grapefruit or other favorite fruit. | Low-fat baked fish, stewed vegetables. | Dried fruits with green tea. | Vegetable salad and jacket potatoes. |
| Friday | 1 boiled egg, a glass of yogurt. | Granola bar. | Low-fat mushroom soup. Low-fat curd cheese – 40 g. | 1 glass of kefir. | Boiled chicken fillet, fruit salad with orange. |
| Saturday | Oatmeal with water – 200 g. | 1 apple. | Boiled beef - 200 g. Buckwheat - 100 g. | Nuts and dried fruits. | Boiled rice – 200 g, 1 apple. |
| Sunday | Pearl barley porridge – 200 g, 1 banana. | Grapefruit | Fresh vegetable salad, 150 g steamed turkey. | Low-fat cottage cheese. | 1 glass of kefir and an apple. |
Diet for the belly. What you can and cannot eat. Table
Thanks to the table, you can find out which foods are prohibited during the diet, and which you can eat without worrying about an increase in your waist.
| What not to do | What is possible |
| Sugar, sweets, desserts, chocolate, jam, peanuts, candied fruits, dried figs | Dried fruits: nuts, seeds, raw, you can eat 1 small handful 2 times a week |
| Baked goods, muffins, pasta | Porridges such as rice, oatmeal, buckwheat |
| Fried, salted, smoked | Lean meat: beef, rabbit; poultry meat |
| Fatty fish | Low-fat fish |
| High fat cheese | Hard low-fat cheese 80 g twice a week |
| Any canned food | Salads with greens: parsley, dill, arugula, cilantro, basil |
| Mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sauces | Restricted dairy products. Low-fat kefir can be drunk 1 glass 3 times a week, and cottage cheese is allowed 1 time a week |
| Some fruits: grapes, figs, banana | Fruits: apples, apricots, peaches, plums, cherries, cherry plums, pears |
| Starchy vegetables: potatoes, cauliflower, beets | Vegetables: radishes, tomatoes, asparagus, carrots, green peas, bell peppers, cucumbers, cabbage. All these vegetables can be consumed raw, boiled, stewed. |
| Packaged juices, carbonated drinks, coffee, alcoholic drinks | Black and green tea, hibiscus without sugar, dried fruit compote, rosehip decoction, juices without sugar |
| Fast food | Berries: currants, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc. |
Diet and exercise for the abdomen and sides
In order to achieve the most effective results from a diet, you need to back it up with physical exercise. This rule especially applies to the abdomen and sides - problem areas for losing excess weight. Reviews of people who have achieved impressive results thanks to this diet indicate the effectiveness of the following exercises:
1) Twisting;
2) Running;
3) Bicycle;
4) Jump rope;
If you find these exercises boring, or simply cannot bring yourself to do them, then you can use much more fun ways that will replace cardio exercises - active games. Ideal games for losing weight are: table tennis, volleyball, badminton, etc.
Causes of fat deposits in the abdominal area
The causes of fat accumulation have internal and external origins.
Stressful situations. The reaction to stress varies from person to person. In particular, it leads to uncontrolled food consumption. In addition, stress releases the hormone cortisol, which converts calories into fat. This doubly contributes to excess weight gain. To avoid the consequences of gaining kilograms, it is recommended to take sedatives.
Physical inactivity. A sedentary lifestyle is fraught with weight gain due to slower blood supply to tissues and metabolism, and low energy needs. When a person does not experience physical activity, muscles atrophy, and adipose tissue thickens, cellulite develops, and fat deposits accumulate on the abdomen and sides.
Liver diseases and dropsy. These diseases cause abnormal growth of the abdomen.
Poor nutrition. Negatively affects the body in all directions:
- salty foods lead to fluid retention in the body;
- cholesterol clogs blood vessels, which disrupts body functions;
- Eating at different times causes digestive problems - fats are less digestible;
- Due to the consumption of large amounts of food, the stomach gradually stretches, and in order to achieve a feeling of fullness, it is necessary to eat more and more food.
Heredity. Fat deposits on the stomach and sides are characteristic of an apple-type figure. Specific actions aimed at losing weight must be performed immediately as soon as negative changes are noticed in this area, because in this case it is difficult to lose weight in the stomach and sides.
Menopause. A natural period in a woman’s life when the outline of her figure changes. Accumulation of fat in the abdomen and sides is typical. You can normalize weight with the help of hormonal drugs.
After childbirth. During childbirth, the body accumulates several additional kilograms to protect the fetus and nourish it in a critical situation. In addition, hormonal levels change. After the baby is born, the skin on the abdomen becomes loose and sagging. But if you take measures, losing weight in your stomach and sides will be quick.
Hormonal disbalance. Excess cortisol in the body slows down metabolism and causes fat storage. Having normalized your hormonal levels, you can begin to lose weight.
How to boost your diet to get a flat stomach
For a flat belly diet to be effective, it is recommended not only to adhere to proper nutrition, but also to do at least simple exercise. Even simple walks will be beneficial.
If you suspect the presence of any diseases, you should consult a medical specialist. The doctor will select a treatment, perhaps it will stimulate weight loss and help normalize metabolism.
It is also important to maintain a drinking regime, eat on time, and avoid starvation. Visiting baths and saunas, massages, various body wraps, and cycling will help.
Express diets are popular, but they are not very healthy, so you should not get carried away with them.
Why are the sides and stomach problem areas for women?
The most common problem areas in women are:
- Sides (so-called ears);
- Stomach;
- Hips.
Even when a woman gains a small amount of kilograms, fat accumulates in these areas. Why is this so? This fact is explained by physiological characteristics based on gender.
The fact is that a woman’s body and her hormonal metabolism are maximally adapted to bearing offspring. A woman is normally more predisposed to weight gain, because the body retains a sufficient amount of fat (which is the main energy depot) to ensure normal conception and further development of the baby. The main hormones involved in this process are progesterone and estrogen.
Women also have quite little testosterone, which is stored in large quantities in the male body. It is because of this hormone that men are less likely to be overweight.
But, by the way, if a man has less testosterone than female hormones (men have them, but in small quantities), he will be just as susceptible to gaining excess weight as a woman.
Men and women also have different metabolic rates.
It's not fair, but a piece of cake eaten by a woman is much more likely to be deposited as fat on the sides than if eaten by a man.
It is also worth considering the structural features of fatty tissue in women. By nature they have more of it and its structure is porous. As a result, when the amount of fatty tissue does not even increase much, the sides, stomach and other areas become not very attractive and become covered with an “orange peel”.
Have you noticed that men almost never have cellulite? This is precisely explained by the fact that they have less adipose tissue and its structure is denser.
Apple diet
It is worth paying attention that you are allowed to consume no more than 650 kcal per day. This, in turn, is approximately 1-1.5 kg of apples. You can eat apples during a diet for weight loss not only fresh. They can be baked without adding other products. If there is an urgent need, you can introduce rye crackers into the diet, but it is recommended to do this on the 6th day. It is necessary to exit the diet gradually. Vegetables are introduced into the menu first, followed by low-fat broths. The last one is meat.
Vacuum is a flat stomach's best friend
The “vacuum” exercise is something that many athletes, yogis and many other people who work on their bodies talk about with hope. This is truly a magical thing that helps remove belly flop even in thin people.
With the help of a vacuum, you can actually reduce your waist by up to several cm. In addition to the fact that this exercise is great for helping you lose weight in your stomach, it also brings other benefits:
- During the exercise, the organs are massaged, which promotes their proper functioning (this mainly concerns the gastrointestinal tract);
- Improves well-being and quality of sleep;
- Reduces back pain;
- Strengthens the abdominal, lateral and even dorsal muscle frame.
The vacuum has no special contraindications, but it cannot be used for pregnant women (after giving birth, a couple of days later it is already possible) and for people who have an aggravated illness at the time of performing the exercise. Also, a vacuum cannot be used for 3-4 months after a caesarean section.
How is this miraculous vacuum made? It is best to do this exercise in the morning, always on an empty stomach (if you do it on a full stomach, it will be bad). As a maximum, you can drink some water before approaching.
The vacuum can be done lying down, sitting, kneeling or just standing (for most people this is the most comfortable way). The exercise is done according to the following scheme:
- Inhale deeply through your mouth, then exhale through your breath. The breathing cycle should be long and measured. The press should unintentionally tense at this time.
- Then a false breath is taken (but the air is not drawn into the lungs, this is very important), during which the stomach should “stick to the back”). During false inhalation, the abdominal muscles should be contracted as much as possible. You should stay in this position for 10-15 seconds. If it doesn’t work out, you can finish the approach earlier.
- After the time has passed, sharply make a false exhalation, as if you are forcefully pushing out the previously inhaled air.
It is worth performing about 5 approaches at a time. Video tutorial on vacuum:
The first results from the vacuum usually appear after a couple of days. People feel much better, their gastrointestinal tract works more smoothly.
The vacuum should be done daily. This should become a kind of morning ritual that is performed immediately after getting up. If you do the exercise for at least a month, your waist will begin to shrink.
