Foods for Flat Belly

A fashion news flash recently announced how most of the glam set, wanting to scorch the beach front, had plunged into fad diets and intense exercise just so that they could squeeze into their skimpy swimwear. Here are a few tricks from yoga to get you bikini-ready and a torso like J. Lo:

Tone-up Foods:

• Herbal teas: Like those made from fennel, green tea, aniseed, cinnamon, ginger may be preferred because they are natural themogenics. This means they rev up the body’s mechanism, hiking metabolism, helping with fat burn.
• Anti-cellulite menu: Daily, you need three portions (one portion equals a handful) of vegetables, three portions of fruit, there portions of salad, one portion low-fat dairy, one portion good fats (from nuts/fish), one portion brown rice.
• Foods to avoid while toning up (they can aggravate dehydration and weakness): fizzy drinks, all caffeine based stuff, including coffee and soft drinks, white bread and processed foods. Processed foods will aggravate waste build-up, leading to dimpled cellulite.
• Water is an essential: Have a glass of water with freshly squeezed lime first thing in the morning. Do not consume anything after this for at least an hour. This is a great de-toxifier.
• Some detox refreshers: Cranberry juice (to keep kidneys super-efficient), a green tonic (of palak, coriander and mint) for great skin and eyes; a regular intake of lettuce (for clear skin and eyes).   

A crucial point while holding a pose is to remember to breathe evenly. Else, it will be counterproductive, building up toxic waste and lactate levels in the blood, leading to ugly cellulite. So, breathe evenly. Efficient breathing also revs up the metabolism, which in turn bums fat.