Eat and exercise to a thinner waist

Those things mamas across the United States say -- it's a meal not a race, eat more vegetables, go play outside -- really help battle the waistline bulge.

A nutrition expert said eating more deliberately, consuming foods as close to their natural state as possible and exercise are key to getting that slimmer waistline, ABC said.

Chewing food well before swallowing aids in digestion, allowing the digestive juices to work properly in breaking down foods' nutrients and metabolize fat, ABC said. Big pieces of food can inhibit these processes, resulting in feeling bloated or experiencing constipation.

Eating foods as close as possible to their natural, unprocessed state assists in flattening that stomach because these foods provide the body with soluble fiber, adding moisture to soften the stool, and insoluble fiber, which helps move food through the digestive process, ABC said.

Exercise is the final component to a flatter stomach and trimmer waistline. Any kind of exercise will do -- as long as it helps burn calories, improve digestion and avoid constipation, ABC said.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International