This article was written by Sharon Liao and provided by our partners at Prevention.
If you're pinching an inch or more, you know the frustration: What's
it take to tame the jiggle in the middle?
"When it comes to
losing belly fat,
there's a lot of misinformation out there," says Holly Lofton, M.D., an
assistant professor of medicine and director of the weight management
program at NYU Langone Medical Center. Many dieters swear by certain
plans, but there's no one exercise or food that targets your belly.
"It's about your lifestyle," says Lofton.
To make matters worse, some so-called healthy habits may be
slowing—or even standing in the way of—your progress. Read on for six
surprising reasons why your waist isn't shrinking, and what you can do
to get on track.
Get more toned than you've ever been in just 10 minutes a day with our reader-tested exercise plan!
Even low-calorie processed foods can be high in sugar and sodium—a double-whammy for your waistline. "Salty foods lead to
belly bloat," says Lofton. "And your body stores excess sugar—even in its natural forms, like honey—as fat." According to a
study published in the journal
Hepatology,
people who added snacks high in fat and sugar to their regular meals
packed on more belly fat than those who ate the same total calories from
well-rounded meals.
If you haven't gotten the message already, it's time: Targeting one part of the body—
spot training—won't help you shed pounds in that area. "You have to
lose weight
overall to see results," says Lofton. In other words, those situps will
build muscle. But they'll remain hidden beneath any existing fat. If
anything, they may make that fat protrude more.
A better approach: Focus on total-body moves that also strengthen your abdominal muscles, such as this
lift-off lunge.
Having a strong core is important for preventing injuries, says Lofton.
Meanwhile, building your larger muscle groups, such as your legs and
arms, increases your muscle mass so that you'll burn more calories
overall.
Yeah, right! You already know that coming up
short on sleep can lead to weight gain, and
research
shows that those extra pounds often pad your belly. According to a
study from Wake Forest University, people who averaged five hours or
less a night not only weighed more, they carried more fat in the abdomen
than those who logged six to eight hours. Not getting enough shut-eye
can increase the production of hunger hormones, encouraging you to
overeat. Feeling tired may leave you less likely to hit the gym, say the
researchers.
Strength training
builds muscle, which use more calories than fat at rest. But if you
want to trim your middle, you need to do moderate- to high-intensity
cardio to
turn up the burn,
says Lofton. "Aerobic exercise is key to burning those calories stored
as fat," she says. Focus on working up a sweat at the gym, and add in a
few resistance-training sessions.
According to a review of 14 studies, this mix of exercise had the biggest impact on beating belly fat.
It's true that the healthy unsaturated fats found in nuts,
avocados,
and vegetable oil can fill you up and encourage weight loss. But the
problem is that many people tend to overdo it, says Lofton. An ounce of
almonds—a small handful—packs in 164 calories, so munching on a bag of
nuts can set the stage for calorie overload. Make sure to measure out
your servings: an
ounce of nuts, one-fifth of an avocado, and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. (Try adding a healthy fat to one of these
20 healthy smoothie recipes.)
People who
drink diet beverages can gain nearly three times as much belly fat as those who avoid the stuff, according to a
study published in the
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Although experts aren't exactly sure why, they believe that artificial
sweeteners may slow metabolism. Plus, feeling virtuous for drinking diet
sodas may make you feel like you can indulge in a treat.
