Nowadays many women desire to slim their waist in order to get a perfect hourglass figure. Having a tiny waist can boost your physical appearance and can also be one of indicator of good health – when you have a slim waist it means that you don’t suffer from bloating or indigestion, and also don’t store dangerous visceral fat.
But please keep in mind that the width of your waist is highly determined by genetics. You can trim it down, but set realistic expectations – if you naturally have a wide midsection, don’t compare yourself with the girls from Instagram with crazy waist-hip-ratio. You need to learn how to appreciate your own body, but you still can do a lot to make it look even better!
If you’re ready to know how you can quickly slim your waist the healthy way, this article will teach you just that!
Also, be sure you get to the end of the article, as I will share some amazing tiny waist exercises and videos that really helped me to slim the waist!
Eliminate these foods
When it comes to the size of your waist, diet is one of the most important factors. These foods can lead to increased stomach fat and bloating so try to avoid them or, at least, to reduce:
- Dairy products: It’s estimated that 65 percent of people worldwide are lactose intolerant and up to 90 percent within certain ethnic groups. If you notice frequent bloating, you may be one of the 65 percent. Try cutting out milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream and replace them with non-dairy alternatives.
- Potato Chips: Potato chips are typically cooked in hydrogenated oils. These are trans fats that can raise your cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease and obesity.
- Soft Drinks: A study conducted from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health revealed that drinking a can of soda per day was linked to a larger waist and a gain of over 2 pounds during the two year study period.
Soda and all other soft drinks are full of refined sugar. Excess sugar in the body leads to an increase in body fat, especially in the mid-section. Soft drinks hold no nutritional value whatsoever, might as well ditch them for good!
- Margarine: Back to the topic of trans fats, margarine has a lot of it! Instead, opt for real butter.
- Processed baked desserts: Packaged goods such as muffins, cinnamon rolls, and doughnuts are loaded with refined sugar and can lead to weight gain. Not even only that, but sugar is linked to chronic inflammation, which can result in bloating, puffiness and affect all other areas of the body. These yummy goods may be convenient and delicious, but they cause more harm than good.
- White carbs: The body stores white carbs as fat when consumed in high amounts. Cutting back on the white rice, pasta, white bread, and flour can make a drastic difference in your waist size. Replace white carbs with whole-grains like brown rice and whole-grain bread.
- Fried foods: Full of trans fats, once again. Greasy, fried foods lack nutritional value and are typically fried in hydrogenated oils. Steer clear of fried chicken, french fries, and all other fried foods. Stick to baked foods or foods fried in healthy oils like coconut or extra virgin olive oil.
- Cereal: Not only are most of the popular fruity cereals full of sugar, but most people eat cereal with dairy milk. Talk about a recipe for a bloated, pufferfish belly! If cereal is an absolute must in your mornings, go for cereals with less sugar, use an alternative dairy-free milk, and stick to the serving size of one.
- Refined sugar: Processed, refined sugar spikes your insulin levels and promotes the storage of fat. Sugar affects all areas of the body and can lead to an array of chronic health conditions such as obesity, heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and potentially cancer.
Refined sugar is one silent killer proven to be highly addictive. Sugar consumption in moderation won’t cause any harm; however, most people consume significantly more than the recommended daily sugar intake of 36 grams for men and 25 grams for women. Instead, opt for natural plant-based sugars such as stevia, erythritol, and xylitol.
- Alcohol: Alcohol consumption causes water imbalances within the body, leading to bloating, swelling, and fluid retention. It’s okay to have a drink here and there but make sure you drink plenty of water and avoid meals high in sodium when drinking alcohol to prevent your body from retaining fluid.
As you can see, stomach fat isn’t the only thing to be concerned about when consuming these foods. While they’re incredibly delicious, is it worth the risk of heart disease, obesity, and other chronic health conditions? I don’t think so. That’s why try to eliminate such foods if you want to slim your waist and improve health at the same time.
Eat these foods instead
Now when you know which products to cut off your diet in order to get a tiny waist, let’s have a look at foods you should be filling your fridge with for your dream waist and optimal health!
- Fish
- Potatoes
- Leafy greens
- Eggs
- Fruit
- Oatmeal
- Healthy oils
- Nuts & Seeds
- Turmeric
- Greek yogurt
- Herbs and spices
- Green tea
- Quinoa
- Dark chocolate
- Red wine
- Grass-fed meats
- Whole-grain foods
- Dairy-free milk (almond, coconut, oat, etc.)
This list features various foods that reduce inflammation (check my post “Best anti-inflammatory foods“), improve cholesterol levels, maintain a healthy gut (“PCOS and digestive issues“), and lower blood sugar levels (“Low-glycemic diet for weight loss“). These life-giving foods are high in nutritional value and nourish your body.
Some of the foods on this list, such as dark chocolate and red wine, may have caught you by surprise. Red wine contains resveratrol, an antioxidant-like compound derived from plants. Studies have shown that the consumption of resveratrol significantly reduces weight.
Dark chocolate can also reduce body fat due to the anti-inflammatory flavonoids. As long as the chocolate bar doesn’t contain alkalized chocolate to reduce flavonoids and has at least 70 percent cacao, you’re good to devour and enjoy!
Making the switch from eating processed, packaged junk food to eating healthy, organic whole foods is anything but easy. But Implementing these foods into your diet you can significantly reduce stomach fat and slim your waist.
The more you replace unhealthy foods with these healthier options, the easier it gets, and the faster you’ll see results in slimming your waist.
Bloating and a tiny waist
Bloating is the unwanted feeling we all get when your stomach feels full or stretched. It can even feel like your tummy is full of air – because it typically is! When the digestive system is stretched, and your gut contains excessive gas, liquid, and stool, this is defined as bloating.
Dietary choices and food intolerance are the leading causes of bloating. The most common foods that cause bloating are high-sodium foods, dairy, gluten, and carbohydrates.
These are also the top foods that many individuals have an intolerance to. Food intolerance is when your body lacks the ability to metabolize a certain type of food properly.
The best way to check for food intolerance is to note your symptoms when you eat certain foods. Keep a food journal and jot down what you eat for the day and how you feel. If you notice bloating and other digestive issues after eating certain foods, remove them one by one and take note of if your symptoms improve.
If you often feel bloated, try to add more probiotics to your diet and drink more liquid (especially dill and chamomile tea).
Tiny waist exercises
If you thought you could eat your way to your fabulous dream body, you’re sadly mistaken! Achieving the highly desired tiny waist doesn’t stop with dieting; this is only half of the solution.
Exercise is critical to losing weight all throughout your body, including your waistline. Not only is exercise essential for weight loss, but it’s essential for every aspect of your health. From promoting good sleep habits to decreasing the risk of disease, this is a step you don’t want to miss.
So if you want to slim your waist you need to focus on 2 types of exercises: ones that help you to burn extra fat and ones that tighten your belly.
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Vacuum exercise
If you’re looking for a lazy way to work your tummy, you’ll love this exercise! The stomach vacuum exercise works by simply sucking in your tummy.
Now you might be wondering, is this actually effective? How does this exercise slim my tummy?
The stomach vacuum exercise slims your tummy by training your transverse abdominis, which supports good posture, internal organs, and core strengths.
Best of all, this exercise can be done anywhere, so there’s no excuse as to why you can’t work on your tummy while sitting at your desk at work all day or sitting on the couch watching Netflix. Try this exercise every opportunity you get, along with a proper diet, and watch your stomach fat slowly vanish!
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Booty and back exercises
The infamous hourglass figure consists of curvy hips and larger breasts, giving the illusion of a smaller waist. Working your back and booty is the key ticket to getting your desired hourglass body.
It’s important to keep in mind that your area of focus will depend on your body type. If you’re naturally thin, you’ll need to focus on building your glute, chest, and shoulder muscles.
This part is very important. You need to have wider shoulders and hips in order to get the tiny waist look. So check this video that shows the most basic exercises you should do for your upper and lower body:
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HIIT and cardio
If you struggle with stubborn belly fat, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the best exercises you can do. HIIT workouts burn a significant amount of calories in a shorter period of time. HIIT works by performing an intense exercise for a short period of time, followed by short rest periods. One of the easiest HIIT workouts is running for 30 seconds and walking for 15 seconds. You can do this for as little as 30 minutes and burn as much as 450 calories.
HIIT is an amazing way to burn fat and lean muscle mass quickly. Regular cardio can help you achieve your desired weight loss goals, but it only results in weight loss and at a significantly slower pace.
HIIT burns fat quickly due to the spike in your heart rate, allowing your body to stay in the fat-burning zone for a longer period of time, even for hours after a workout.
Unlike regular cardio, HIIT training sculpts your body while burning body fat at the same time. If you want to sculpt your body, speed up the weight loss process, and make your exercise session worthwhile, HIIT cardio is your best friend.
Avoid weighted exercises for abs
Weighted oblique exercises can build muscle around your waist so never use weights for training your abs, otherwise your waistline becomes wider. And that’s something you don’t want to happen, right?
Instead, try bodyweight exercises like planks. There are a variety of different exercises you can do, such as:
- Side plank lift
- Plank with hip drop
- Twisting v-up
- Side plank with leg lift
- Plank with leg kicks
These plank exercises work the transverse abdominis and burn stomach fat without adding inches of muscle to your waist.
After reading this post, you now know how to slim your waist. But keep in mind that achieving an hourglass figure isn’t easy for everyone. Your results are dependent on your natural body shape. If you’re following a specific diet and workout regime, your results won’t look the same as someone else’s. Unfortunately, many women genetically have wider waist and you can’t expect it to be teeny-tiny.
Throughout this journey, it’s important to be realistic about your results and know that your body is beautiful regardless of if you have a tiny waist or not. Getting to know what works for your body points you in the right direction for better health and a healthier body.
With that being said, there’s nothing wrong with trying some tips from this post and see how it works on your body. By improving your diet and adding some more exercises, not only will you look good on the outside, but you’ll feel amazing on the inside. These tips may take time to adjust to; nonetheless, they’re totally worth it!
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xo,
Jane
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