5 Habits For a Slimmer Waistline

I spent my adolescence, teens and early twenties carrying a spare tire around my midsection. This bothered me so much. I absolutely hated wearing anything tight fitting and I felt like it threw off my entire silhouette.

What's worse is that I come from a family of apple-shaped women, which made me feel like I was destined to have a "gut".

If you feel this way I want to ease your mind and reassure you that you too can lose the pooch, because if I did it so can you. Not only did I create a slimmer waistline for myself in a short amount of time, I even regained it back after giving birth to my son.

Belly fat is a common symptom of too much cortisol caused from dietary stressors such as blood sugar instability. If you want a slimmer waist there are some habits that you'll need to kick to the curb. Losing inches off your midsection requires forming some long-term lifestyle habits.

Here are 5 habits to a slimmer waistline that you can start implementing NOW:

Let go of the beverages that bloat

I'm talking

alcohol (within reason I'm not a monster),

carbonated beverages, and

bottled fruit juices.

If you want to slim your waste you gotta kick these to the curb. But, "what am I suppose to drink?" you say? my answer? WATER!!!! and lot's of it. This advice is never going to go away. If you want to shed unwanted inches you've got to avoid the liquid sugar.

Don't fear carbs

Eating the right kinds of carbohydrates known as "slow-carbs" contain beneficial fiber that supports good gut ecology and provides energy that keeps your adrenals and thyroid happy. No this doesn't mean you get to snack on bagels and muffins all day, but swapping your animal protein based meals for more whole-grain or legume based meals semi-regularly can promote a more nourished gut environment. This is key to a slimmer waist. Plus, going too low-carb sends danger signals to your brain which stimulates stress hormones and stress hormones = belly fat.

Move your body

Nope I'm not talking about walking. I'm talking about exercise that requires muscle engagement and failure. Shedding that unwanted belly bulge is going to take fat-burning types of exercise. HIIT, tabata, and compound workouts with weights help to stimulate fat burning muscle.

Cool the flame

Inflammation makes us store fat in the middle and fat in the middle in inflammatory. This is why it can feel like we can't win. Implementing anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle practices is an important step to shedding that spare tire. Emphasizing an abundance of green vegetables, essential fatty acids, anti-inflammatory herbs, fueling our gut, and avoiding known food sensitivities and reducing stress is very helpful in controlling inflammation.

Get your blood sugar under control

Blood sugar swings are a major problem when it comes to fat storage because of it's influence on stress hormones. You can help control this by how and what you eat.

Things like avoiding refined and processed foods, emphasizing fat and fiber at meal times, and avoiding stimulants can help promote blood sugar stability.

These steps are all key to getting rid of that muffin top for good. Choose one habit to work on and move on to the next once a habit is formed