7 Habits I Learned From the Zero Belly Fat Diet

Just a few tweaks to your diet and lifestyle can help you burn fat to lose weight.

While fast weight loss isn't really the best strategy (it's not always safe or sustainable) and focusing on how you feel (vs. the number on the scale) is typically more effective for reaching your goal, sometimes you have a fast-approaching deadline, such as your BFF's wedding, that's fueling your determination to get after it. Hey, you're not alone—plenty of people would like to know how to lose abdominal fat in two weeks. Spoiler alert — I was one of those people.

I struggled with an extra 25 pounds during my childhood, and I figured it was my genetic destiny to have a fixed amount of abdominal fat — that was, however, until I set out to learn more. Over the 20+ years in health journalism, I've been on a mission to learn everything there is to know about, yup, abdominal fat. But nothing I learned intrigued me quite as much as the recent research showing how we can override our genes to lose weight. Using what I've learned over the years and from these findings, I began to formulate my own advice on how to shed abdominal fat in two weeks.

The result? Zero Belly Diet — a plan dedicated to delivering readers with the best ways to lose abdominal fat in two weeks. I created the Zero Belly Diet around the science of nutritional genetics, the study of how our genes are turned on and off by the foods we eat. Simply making a handful of tweaks to your diet and lifestyle can help improve your gut health, dampen inflammation, and turn off your genes. If you ask me, it's the ideal plan for people who want to know how to lose abdominal fat in two weeks.

Before scrolling straight to my tips on how to lose abdominal fat in two weeks, a quick reminder: It's pretty hard to spot reduce—some might say impossible—so no singular food or abs workout will help you magically reduce abdominal fat only. What you can do, however, is lose abdominal fat while simultaneously reducing fat in other parts of your body as well. Of course, you are probably wondering - how? Well, below are some of my tips for how to lose abdominal belly (and other) fat.

Take a Brisk Walk Before Breakfast

Before sharing the Zero Belly Diet with the world, I used a 500-person test panel to field-test my plan. Panelist Martha Chesler incorporated morning walks as part of her Zero Belly program and saw results right away. "I saw changes immediately," she reports. In less than six weeks on the program, Martha reached her weight loss goals (and then some) by combining the Zero Belly Foods with a pre-breakfast walk.

This morning ritual works on two levels. First, a study found an association between early morning sunlight and having a lower BMI. Researchers speculate that the morning light helps regulate your body's circadian clock. Throwing off your internal clock might alter how your body processes food and lead to weight gain. But what really stunned Chesler was the improvement in her cardiovascular ability.

Before starting the Zero Belly Diet, Chesler's heart rate would typically soar to 112 beats per minute (bpm) within moments of starting her exercise bike workout. "After the first week and a half I could not raise my heart rate over 96 bpm with the same workout," she says. "It was great to see a change in the mirror and even better to know good things were happening that I couldn't even see." In addition to a.m. strolls, try out these plank exercises for stronger abs for even faster results.

Start with Some Fiber-Loaded Oatmeal

Naturally sweet oatmeal recipes in Zero Belly Diet were the key to panelist Isabel Fiolek's dramatic 13-pound weight loss. "I happen to have a big sugar addiction," says Fiolek. "But the recipes have been surprisingly satisfying for my sweet tooth." Fiolek also made dramatic health strides: A checkup after her six weeks on Zero Belly Diet revealed she'd dropped her total cholesterol by 25% and her blood glucose level by 10%.

So cook up some oatmeal and top it with some fruit. What's so special about this combination? Each provides soluble fiber that helps reduce blood cholesterol and feeds the healthy bacteria in your gut. By doing so, you trigger your gut to produce butyrate, a fatty acid that reduces fat-causing inflammation throughout your body. Plus, you can learn more about the health benefits of oats and simple ways to enjoy them, and it may make you an oatmeal fan forever.

Choose Red Fruit Over Green

If you want to make a simple swap that'll help you lose abdominal fat in two weeks, start eating red fruits over greens. s. The higher levels of nutrients called flavonoids—particularly anthocyanins, compounds that give red fruits their color—calm the action of fat-storage genes. In fact, red-bellied stone fruits like plums boast phenolic compounds that have been shown to modulate the expression of fat genes.

Related: How Many Servings of Fruits and Vegetables Do You Actually Need Per Day?

Load Up On Avocados

For test panelist June Caron, incorporating fresh produce such as avocados was one of the best ways to lose abdominal fat in two weeks. The 55-year-old lost six pounds in the first week of following the program. "Learning to eat real, chemical-free, fresh foods has been the best thing that ever happened to me," she says. "I am never hungry, and I'm still losing weight." Glowing skin, healthy nails, and better sleep were Zero Belly Diet bonuses, says Caron.

Avocados are a double-whammy for losing abdominal fat. First, they're packed with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats (good fats) that dim your hunger switches. A study in Nutrition Journal found that participants who ate half a fresh avocado with lunch were 40% less likely to desire food for hours afterward. Second, unsaturated fats like those found in avocados seem to prevent the storage of abdominal fat. In fact, here are a few creative ways to eat avocado that will help you up your intake.

Mix Up a Plant-Protein Smoothie

Test panelist Bryan Wilson, a 29-year-old accountant, lost an impressive amount of weight in just six weeks on the program, and he attributes his success to the Zero Belly Diet shake recipes. "I love the shakes," Wilson says. "I added them to my diet, and almost immediately, I lost abdominal fat. I crave sweet foods, and the shakes were an awesome alternative to bowls and bowls of ice cream I would have had."

Protein drinks can help you burn abdominal fat in two weeks, and they make a delicious, simple snack. But most commercial drinks are filled with chemicals that can upset your gut health and cause inflammation and bloat. And the high doses of whey used to boost protein levels can amplify the belly-bloating effect. The Zero Belly Diet solution: Try vegan protein, which will give you the same fat-burning, muscle-building benefits without the bloat. And while you are at it, check out this complete guide to easy-to-digest plant proteins.

Power Up with Eggs

You'll find lean, satiating protein in every single bite you take on the Zero Belly Diet. The muscle-building macronutrient is fundamental to the plan for how to lose abdominal fat. Plus, eggs happen to be one of the easiest and most versatile delivery systems in the universe. They're also the best dietary source of a nutrient called choline.

Choline, which is also found in lean meats, seafood, and collard greens, attacks the gene mechanism that triggers your body to store fat around your liver. (That's why eggs are one of the best foods for weight loss.) One Zero Belly Diet recipe, a breakfast hash with sweet potatoes and fresh farm eggs, became test panelist Morgan Minor's go-to breakfast. After just three weeks on the program, the female firefighter was proof that the plan was full of the best ways to lose abdominal fat.

Drink Citrus-Infused 'Spa Water'

One of the plan's top tips for how to lose abdominal fat? Start each day by making a large pitcher of "spa water"—that's H20 filled with sliced whole lemons, oranges, or grapefruits—and make a point of sipping your way through at least eight glasses before bedtime. Citrus fruits are rich in the antioxidant D-limonene, a powerful compound found in the peel that stimulates liver enzymes to help flush toxins from the body and gives sluggish bowels a kick.

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