Big tummy begone: Five easy tips to shrink that waist

What's common between heart failure, periodontal disease, lowered lung function, restless leg syndrome, migraine headaches, and higher mortality?You are at risk for all of the above if you have a large waist.You may already be going for the routine 15 minute walk everyday (yes, even 15 minute helps), however combining your exercise regimen with the right food can help you speed up the chub melting process. Fat-burning foods which help banish belly fat don't need you to make major lifestyle changes. You just have to eat smart.Here's what you should be rushing to add to your diet starting today! And to make it stress-free, we’ve offered quick 15-minute recipes that you can incorporate in your diet.1. Oatmeal: Most of us skip breakfast however nutritionist Dr Shikha Sharma insists you should never skip meals, especially your first meal of the day. Eating a healthy breakfast can jump-start your metabolism, regulate your blood sugar levels, and give you the energy to carry you through lunchtime. Oatmeal helps combine soluble and insoluble fibre, which lowers bad cholesterol. Thanks to a low glycaemic index oatmeal is assimilated slowly, ensuring that your sugar levels are always stable. The American Diabetes Association actually recommends a daily fibre intake of 20-35gms.[caption id="attachment_100966" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Oatmeal helps combine soluble and insoluble fibre, which lowers bad cholesterol. Getty Images."][/caption]Quick fix: Take ½ cup oats powder, ½ cup onion, ½ cup finely chopped coriander and salt and chilli to taste. Mix it all in a bowl and add water for a pancake-like consistency. Take a flat non-stick pan, drizzle some olive oil, and put the mixture in the pan. Cook one side on low heat for two minutes, toss it and do the same on the other side. Once it’s golden brown, take it out and dig in.2. Almonds: According to researchers at King’s College London, almonds have the ability to absorb fat. One of the keys to actually reducing fat around the midsection is to focus on eating mono unsaturated fatty acid, which means healthy fat like Almonds. A handful of almonds everyday can therefore improve your cholesterol levels and research also found indication that the cell walls of almonds swell during digestion, becoming permeable, allowing the fat in almonds to be slowly released through the digestive tract.Quick fix: Almonds make a great afternoon snack. Sprinkle 5-7 almonds crushed almonds in 1 cup of yogurt. Add salt and pepper to taste, and be blown away by how delicious this afternoon snack is.3. Orange: Flavones in oranges help fight fat. Studies have further proven that women who ate most flavones (found in cereals and herbs) have a much lower increase in body fat as they age. Scientists at the University of Western Ontario in London Ontario recently identified a substance in tangerines like orange that could prove to be a powerful antidote to poor diet and lack of exercise. However drinking orange juice isn't the way to guarantee that you are cutting fat since it doesn't have the same effect. Have an unpeeled orange. It's always best to ditch the packaged food route when you've decided to make healthy changes to your lifestyle.4. Cinnamon: Researchers have found that a quarter to one teaspoon of cinnamon with food helps metabolise sugar up to twenty times better than food not eaten with cinnamon. Diabetics are anyway advised to use cinnamon to reduce levels of blood sugar in Type 2 diabetes. Cinnamon helps in breaking down sugar and not allowing it to pass through the blood stream, so when a person does consume unhealthy food that easily converts to belly fat, cinnamon stands in the way of the conversion process. While most of us use it while cooking, Dr Saumya Khan, nutritionist with Torque Gym says it's advisable to have a glass of milk before you sleep at night with just one tablespoon of cinnamon. When you hit the bed, you allow the cinnamon to start working its magic on your belly fat.5. Salmon: Not only does salmon contain protein which helps increase your metabolic rate so that you burn calories all day long, but it also contains omega fatty acids which support a healthy metabolic rate. So basically when you eat salmon you maximise the number of calories you burn off on a daily basis.Quick fix: Whip a tasty salmon salad for dinner. You need one salmon fillet, 2 cups of lettuce, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, ½ cup chopped capsicum, ½ cup chopped onions, one cube of cheese, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tablespoon of pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the salmon with salt, olive, oregano and pepper and put it on the broiler/grilled pan for 10 minutes. Test it with a fork to check if it's done. Once done, slice it into pieces and mix the lettuce, oregano, capsicum, onion, cheese, and the cooked salmon in a bowl.Bon appetit, and say hello to the new, sexy you!