 Ossie-Sharon 10 years ago | You’re very welcome, Tom. |
 tperazzo 10 years ago | Great to know, I haven’t been drinking enough water when considering my caffeine intake. Three weeks on my new nutrition plan and I’ve lost 3/4″ on my waist. (Less than one week on this site). A few tweaks here and there and I’ll be successful I think. I’ve already tried a few of the recipes here and they are good. (Fish tacos and veggie curry.) Thank you Ossie for your guidance. I’m sure more questions will come up soon.
Tom |
| Ossie-Sharon 10 years ago | Hi, tperazzo. Iced tea counts entirely as water if it is herbal “tea” without caffeine, and about 50% if it has caffeine. Green tea is excellent for dealing with belly fat (even better than black tea). The upper limit recommended these days is about 32 fluid oz, so your intake is perfect. Yes, artificial sweeteners have been associated with belly fat – they have been shown to cause an imbalance in intestinal flora (bacteria), which in turn has been linked to increased belly fat. The more you can wean yourself off the diet soda the better. It may help if you make your own version by flavoring and sweetening plain carbonated (“soda”) water with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice and a natural low- or no-carb option such as monk fruit or xylitol.
The rest of your progress sounds great, too! You are absolutely on the right track 🙂 🙂
Additional measures include using plenty of seasonings in your food – cinnamon, turmeric, and garlic are particularly helpful, especially in combination with extra-virgin olive oil. |
| tperazzo 10 years ago | Thanks for the quick reply Ossie-Sharon! I’m a good sleeper already. I will measure my water intake, but does iced tea count as water or no? On average I drink about 30oz of black or green tea per day. Do you think that is safe? On days I don’t drink tea I drink maybe 20-24 oz of diet soda. I’m trying to ween off diet coke, but its actually hard for me to do. I drink sparkling water as a substitute, but I still crave the soda. Do you think the caffeine and artificial sweetener amounts could cause my belly fat storage problem?
Thanks in advance for your help. I do feel that this site is a great resource. |
| Ossie-Sharon 10 years ago | I, tperazzo. It sounds like you’re on the right track. Additional measures would be to make sure you get a good night’s sleep (turning in well before midnight, and getting around 8 hours each night); drinking enough water (for your measurements, about 2 liters per day; and exercises that strengthen and tone the belly area. |
| tperazzo 10 years ago | I joined this site to learn more about nutrition in hopes for a better body. I’ve seen gains from circuit training (both strength and cardio), but I have a question for the experts or anyone else for that matter. Most of my body fat is around my waist-line. Skin fold measurements are 6mm, 3mm, 10mm, and 28mm, taken from: rear of arm tricep, front of arm bicep, near shoulder blade, and near belly button respectively. I’ve read here that cortisol level play an important role for males belly fat. I should add that my job and personal life are not overly stressful, so I think my diet is to blame. Starting this month, I’ve stopped eating out and have been focusing on more whole foods like lean protein and vegetables. I’ve also been eating 5-6 times a day. Is there anything else that you recommend to target this spare tire? |
