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Carrying extra fat around your midsection can indicate chronic inflammation in your body, which may lead to diseases and illnesses that include cardiovascular disease, cancer, and arthritis. The best way to combat inflammation is by maintaining a healthy, sensible diet that is low in sugar and processed foods and high in protein, healthy fats, and vitamins and minerals.
But even if you’re adding a variety of fruits and vegetables to your meals and snack plans, visceral fat — a.k.a. belly fat and fat around your back — is notoriously stubborn and hard to burn. It may be time to take a closer look at your carb intake — this is the one carb you should stop eating if you can’t lose stubborn back and stomach fat.
For many years, people were misinformed about the right types of foods that could burn belly and back fat and help them lose or maintain weight. Foods that contain fat were shunned in favor of a low-fat diet that often consisted of far too many processed foods and carbs.
Thankfully, our ideas about fatty foods like nuts, avocados, and certain types of fish and beef have changed as we learn about their many benefits — including how they can help promote weight loss and weight maintenance. Unfortunately, the confusion still leaves us with questions about which carbs we should eat and which to avoid.
The bottom line when it comes to carbohydrates is that complex carbs like quinoa, legumes, whole fruits, veggies, oats, and seeds are going to provide essential minerals and vitamins (including important B vitamins) and won’t pack on the pounds or contribute to visceral fat, provided you eat them in moderation.
The carbs to avoid or eat in minimal quantities are those that fall under the refined or simple carb banner — which is where you’ll find foods like pasta, white rice, pizza dough, and doughnuts.
But there’s one carb that has actually been proven to contribute to more weight gain.
French Fries
In a Harvard study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers outlined how they followed thousands of people over a four-year period and tracked their diet choices. Those participants who ate French fries on a regular basis were found to have gained an extra 15 pounds of belly fat after four years.
The problem isn’t the fact that you’re eating a potato — it’s the way French fries are prepared that can be harmful to your health. Fried potatoes release a chemical called Acrylamide, which has been linked to cancer in several studies, reports Forbes. And deep frying potatoes in a vat of refined oil like canola or soybean oil contributes to health risks by adding harmful trans fats to your diet.
If this news makes you sad because you love nothing more than a plate of crispy potatoes, choosing healthier alternatives can help scratch that itch without adding sugar and trans fats to your diet. Experiment with air frying or baking sweet potatoes or regular potatoes and adding a sprinkle of salt or cinnamon for flavor.
It's not all doom and gloom.
The good news is that, even though you might be giving up some of your favorite carb foods to lose stubborn belly and back fat, science is on your side. According to a study performed by The Endocrine Society, participants who ate a moderately carb-restricted diet experienced 11 percent less abdominal fat than those participants who ate a standard diet.
