6. Olive Oil
Olive oil is a staple in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet.
In a study on breast cancer survivors, an olive oil-enriched plant-based diet group experienced a greater weight loss than The National Cancer Institute’s diet group.
The women in the olive oil group experienced a weight loss of at least 5% of baseline weight in just 8 weeks. Nearly all of the women in this group continued the olive oil diet for another 6 months after the study.
This just goes to show how satisfying the diet can be and how easy it is to follow. In fact, the researchers concluded that the plant-based olive oil diet was “more efficacious for weight loss in breast cancer survivors than a standard lower-fat diet.”(13)
7. Almonds
Almonds are one of the best foods that help burn belly fat, especially for women.
High-quality protein, like the ones found in almonds, significantly reduces the risk of gaining belly fat and regaining lost belly weight (14,15,16).
In a recent study, a total of 108 overweight and obese women were assigned in our 3-month randomized controlled trial in either a balanced hypocaloric diet with or without almonds. The almond group consumed 50 g of almonds daily.
High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol), fasting blood sugar and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the almond group compared to the nut-free group.Additionally, the nut group improved their cardiovascular disease risk factors. The nut-free group, however, experienced an increase in systolic blood pressure and in bad cholesterol (17).
8. Walnuts
Getting enough magnesium lowers your risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which are both associated with a larger waist (18,19).
Full of magnesium, walnuts make a great fat-busting snack. Long-term nut consumption also correlates with a lower weight gain and less risk of overweight/obesity.
They work by contributing to satiety and potentially improving long-term adherence to healthful diets (20).
Make a habit of grabbing a handful of almonds or walnuts as a healthy snack alternative over chips or candy bars.
9. Salmon
Salmon, like flax seeds and olive oil, is high in healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids. Omega-3 increases satiety and positively impacts your pineal gland, which affects the sleep hormone melatonin. By improving your sleep quality, omega-3 fatty acids can help prevent your body from storing energy as fat (21).
10. Blueberries
These delicious fruits may seem like a dessert, but they really are belly-busting!
That’s because they contain anthocyanins, phytonutrients that have an effect on the genes that regulate fat and glucose metabolism. These phytonutrients also reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition which makes you prone to energy shortages and increased body fat.
In fact, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor studied the effects of blueberries on rats. In the 90-day study, obesity-prone rats followed either a high-fat diet or low-fat diet supplemented with blueberry powder. Both groups lost abdominal fat, though the fat loss was greater in rats on the low-fat diet (22).