6 Healthy Food Swaps To Tighten Your Lower Abs
Skip this, eat that to tighten your lower abs
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing 6 healthy food swaps to tighten your lower abs.
This is part 2 of 2 in our Skip This, Eat That series, where I share foods to skip, and the healthy foods that you should replace them with.
If you missed part 1, here are the 7 healthy food swaps to burn belly fat.
The key nutrition takeaway from this series is all about making better food choices.
You can simply do this, by focusing on foods that are in their whole state, and contain as little added ingredients as possible.
In particular, reducing the consumption of your belly fat’s best friend, refined sugar.
This means swapping out foods high in simple carbohydrates, like refined sugar and flour, and replacing them with foods higher in protein, healthy fat, and fiber.
So if you love these healthy food swap posts, click the social media logos above to share them, and leave a comment below, to let me know that you want to see more.
Lets get started.
6 healthy food swaps to tighten your lower abs
#1: Skip This: Crazy flavored potato chips cooked in vegetable oils
These potato chips are essentially fried white potatoes in unhealthy vegetable oils, with a whole bunch of artificial ingredients to give it the crazy flavor.
Sounds like disaster for losing the belly fat on your lower abs.
Although many brands of potato chips are promoting that they are trans fat free, be aware because they usually are still cooked in unhealthy and inflammatory vegetable oils.
Eat This: Potato chips cooked in avocado oil with natural seasonings
If you look at the ingredients of your potato chips, it should include:
- potatoes
- healthy oil like avocado oil
- natural herbs and spices
That’s it.
#2. Skip This: Deep fried vegetables
Deep frying anything usually kills a lot of the nutrients in the food, including vegetables.
So if you are ordering tempura, because it has vegetables in it, think again.
The batter and deep frying essentially ruins most of the benefits from the vegetables.
Eat That: Steamed or sautéed vegetables
A simple and affordable hack to eat more vegetables, without having them rot in your fridge, is frozen vegetables.
Although I prefer the taste of fresh vegetables, we usually keep a bag of frozen vegetables in our freezer, for our vegetable insurance.
Not only do they last a long time, they can also be easily steamed, which is one of the healthiest ways to cook vegetables.
However, if you sauté your vegetables, just make sure you use a healthy cooking oil like avocado oil.
Also, avoid using sugary and fattening sauces, that are super high in sodium, like teriyaki and soy sauce.
#3. Skip This: Deep fried chicken fingers and chicken wings
Similar to deep fried vegetables, deep frying any healthy food, including chicken, also kills many of the nutrients and adds a lot of unhealthy calories.
The idea of unhealthy vegetable oil, plus a flour based batter, is a lower abs no-no.
Eat That: Baked chicken fingers and baked chicken wings
If you’re out with the guys for wings, stick to baked chicken wings or baked or grilled chicken fingers.
I also have a delicious baked chicken nuggets recipe that you can try here.
Once you make or order baked chicken wings or chicken fingers, just make sure you don’t ruin it with the fattening and sugary dipping sauces.
The best option for dipping sauce is sticking to your favorite mustard.
I love dijon mustard.
#4. Skip This: Starbucks caramel frappuccino blended coffee
A 16 oz version of this sugar and cream concoction contains a whooping 420 calories, with 66g of sugar.
That’s the equivalent of 5.5 tablespoons of sugar.
Hard to believe a coffee can contain this many calories and sugar.
Ouch!
Drink That: Starbucks black coffee with stevia
If you need a coffee, go black.
If you need sweetness, add the plant based natural sweetener, stevia.
You’re not a little kid, so you don’t need whip cream in your coffee.
By going black, you’ll safe over 420 calories and 66 grams of sugar.
Your lower abs will thank you.
#5. Skip This: Regular peanut butter
This one confuses a lot of people.
Even though peanut butter is often promoted as a health food, if you buy the wrong type, it contains hydrogenated oils, and sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup, or other forms of sugar.
So if you go to your cabinet and see these ingredients listed, throw it out.
Once again this combo of inflammatory vegetable oils and high glycemic sugar will slow your efforts to tightening your lower abs.
Eat That: One ingredient nut butter
Only buy nut butters that contain one ingredient on the label.
The nut.
It’s that simple.
No added fat or sugar.
Anymore than one ingredient, and you’re doing your lower abs a disservice.
By the way, if one ingredient nut butter is new to you, you will notice that the oil sits on the top of the jar when you first open it.
This is normal, so don’t get grossed out.
This occurs naturally as there is no sugar to hold the oil and nuts together.
Simply stir the oil and butter together and refrigerate.
It will blend.
#6. Skip This: Frozen french fries with ketchup
Often times these pre-made frozen french fries contain unnecessary unhealthy oils, artificial ingredients, and preservatives.
Plus the ketchup probably contains a bunch of high fructose corn syrup.
Eat That: Homemade baked french fries
You can easily make your own homemade baked french fries using either a white potato or sweet potato.
By doing this, you control the oils and spices that you’re putting into your body.
Also, even though the sweet potato has lower glycemic index ranking and contains more nutrients like beta-carotene, vitamin C, and fiber, when compared to a white potato, they are both fine to eat.
Here is a link to a sweet potato french fries recipe that you’re going to love.
Try dipping your french fries in dijon mustard, or if you love ketchup, use a sugar free, organic version of ketchup.
I hope you enjoyed 6 Healthy Food Swaps To Tighten Your Lower Abs
When you’re Living Lean, you don’t have to give up your favorite foods and eat nothing but boiled chicken breast and spinach all day.
This is a lifestyle that is sustainable 365 days a year.
It’s all about educating yourself on foods that optimize your hormones so you can burn stored body fat for energy, not excess sugar.
If you ready to level up your nutrition, go join our Team at Team Live Lean to get access to our weekly meal plans which contain our step-by-step cooking recipe videos, grocery lists, and a brand new workout program every month.
Here’s a link to join Team Live Lean.
Thanks for watching and keep Living Lean.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
Dairy products, mainly cheese. Low fat or full fat? I want a pizza that won’t derail my success.
If your body can handle dairy, go with full fat cheese.