Will Smith just came out with pictures of his new ‘Dad Bod’ and people loved it. But if your waist size is ever expanding, you may want to do something about it. It’s not just about having clothes fit better (saves you money from buying new clothes though right?), or looking good (I mean, really, who doesn’t want to look good?), it is about your health. We want you to feel good and we want you to be around for a long, long time so here are our top tips for trimming that waist down a bit. And it has nothing to do with 100 crunches a day…

I think we all know this by now but it always bears repeating. You cannot spot reduce. You cannot trip down your waist by doing crunches, or any ab work for that matter.

The only way to trim down your waistline is to make changes to your lifestyle, and specifically what you eat, what you drink and how much you move.

Simple carbs like pasta and bread and beer are at the foundation of all Dad bods. So skip the refined foods and instead fill your plate with protein, fibre and fat. Good choices include lean meats, like chicken and fish, legumes such as lentils and healthy fats such as avocado, nuts and seeds and olive oil.

Instead of alcohol or pop, choose to drink more water. There is nothing like a cold glass of water to not only quench your thirst but to help reduce inches around your middle. Not only does alcohol contain empty calories, it doesn’t hydrate you at all. Dehydration leads to a slower metabolism, which leads to weight gain and it is often confused with hunger, causing you to take in more calories than you actually need.

Get some sleep! Just as it is with stress, it is tough to make good food choices when you are tired. And when you don’t have enough sleep your hormones get all messed up. Your hunger hormones go up, your satiety hormones go down and your sleep hormone melatonin isn’t produced in adequate amounts, which is linked directly to obesity and heart disease.

Move more. Exercise is a non-negotiable. Ideally you will work out with weights two to three times a week, perform some form of low intensity cardiovascular exercise like walking most days of the week and, if your joints and coordination allow, practice high intensity interval training twice per week.

So, eat better, drink better and sleep more and move more and your father figure will thank you for it! And so will those people who call you Dad.

If the idea of embracing new habits is daunting, make gradual changes for the most sustainable results or hire a health coach or personal trainer to help you. One of the best gifts you can give your loved ones is you. Stay healthy to increase the likelihood you will stay around for the long run.

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