Love Your Belly

Muffin top. Pooch. Spare tire. Whatever you call the extra flesh around your middle, it's probably not flattering.

But it's time we started giving our bellies a little love. After all, they're our core, the place where the magic happens- where babies grow, where nutrients get absorbed and where gut feelings guide our choices.

Besides, most women aren't genetically programmed for washboard abs and that fantasy becomes less attainable as we head through our 40s and 50s, says Pamela Peeke, MD, Prevention US advisory board member and the author of Fight Fat After 40.

Why? Unless you make an effort to maintain muscle, you lose about 220 g of it every year after 30- and after 50, the rate doubles. Since muscle burns 6 to 9 calories per kilo every day, your metabolism can slow substantially.

Plus, as levels of oestrogen and progesterone drop in your 40s, your body stops storing fat in your hips and butt and starts packing it on in your gut. "Even fit women can gain a few pounds around their middles," says Peeke. "Unless you're an elite athlete, you're probably not going to have flat abs."

What you can have: a healthy belly. And there are good reasons to try. There are two types of belly fat: the squishy outside layer and visceral fat, a deeper type that builds up around the internal organs. The former can make you feel self-conscious; the latter increases the risks of everything from type 2 diabetes and heart disease to cancer. So keep yourself healthy by giving your belly the TLC it deserves. Get started today using these tips.

Get your heart rate up
For burning harmful belly fat, nothing beats sweaty, heart-pounding, calorie-burning cardio. "You need to burn calories to lose belly fat and the quickest way to burn calories is to increase the intensity of your workouts," says Cris Slentz, PhD, an exercise physiologist at Duke University.

A great way to do so: interval training, alternating high-intensity bursts of exercise with moderate-intensity ones. "Intense means what feels hard for you, whether it's brisk walking or a full-tilt sprint," says Peeke. The goal: try to get at least 5 days of cardio a week, alternating between a day of moderate exercise (aim for 30 to 45 minutes) and a day of interval training (aim for 20 to 30 minutes, alternating between 30 seconds at a fast pace and 1 to 3 minutes at a moderate pace).

Maintain (or gain!) muscle
While you may want to lose body fat, you probably need to gain muscle- and one of the easiest ways to do that is to strength-train. "Lean body mass drives your metabolic rate," says Prevention US advisory board member Wayne Westcott, PhD, director of fitness research at Quincy College in Quincy, MA. Without strength training, age-related muscle loss can cause you to burn far fewer calories every day (up to 240- the amount in a bag of M&M's) by the time you're 60.

Not only does muscle burn more calories than fat, but trained muscle, which has pumped-up cells, incinerates about 50% more than untrained muscle, says Westcott. In other words, a 55 kg woman, who typically has about 20 kilos of muscle, could burn 135 more calories per day if her muscles were fit and strong. In a recent study, Slentz and his colleagues found that people who did resistance training in addition to their aerobics routine lost more belly fat than those who did aerobics only. So aim to fit in 2 or 3 strength- training sessions a week. Include upper-and lower-body moves- such as squats, lunges, overhead presses and biceps curls- to ensure you're hitting all the major muscle groups.

Fill your plate with protein
One of your best defences against age-related muscle loss is to eat enough protein, which contains amino acids that help build muscle, says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, US. In fact, two studies of midlife dieters found that women who ate more protein lost less muscle than dieters who didn't pay attention to protein intake. Overall, try to get at least 30% of your calories from lean protein sources, such as egg whites, chicken and fish.

Nix mindless eating
For battling belly fat, the single best diet strategy is losing weight overall and the simplest method is cutting calories. When researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health compared four weight loss diets for 6 months, they found that participants lost about 14% of their abdominal fat and 16% of the dangerous visceral fat, no matter what type of diet they were on, as long as they restricted calories.

To lose weight at a safe rate of about a 0.4 kilo a week, aim to reduce your daily intake by about 500 calories. Just don't drop below 1,200 calories a day or you'll risk slowing your metabolism.

Crack down on carbs
Another way is to limit refined carbs, such as white bread, biscuits, bagels and pasta. These foods cause a sharp spike in insulin, a hormone that prompts your body to store fat in the abdomen and elsewhere.

Get plenty of fibre
In 2012, researchers from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that people who ate the most fibre had the smallest accumulations of visceral fat. For every 10 g increase in soluble fibre, the rate of visceral fat accumulation decreased almost 4%. "It's clear that macro-nutrients might play a role in where fat is stored, but at this point it's not clear why," says Kristen Hairston, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine and the study's lead researcher.

Aim for at least 25 g a day from healthy sources such as black beans, chickpeas, vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, wholewheat bread and brown rice.

Go for good fat
More and more research suggests that mono-unsaturated fatty acids can help prevent fat from settling around your mid-section. Good sources of MUFAs include nuts, avocados and olives- their oils too. Toss nuts into your breakfast oatmeal and salads or snack on them as is. Use avocado dip for your finger foods. And use olive oil to grill, bake and toss.

"Aim to get 25 to 35% of your calories from fat, with the majority of those coming from good fat," says Karen Ansel, MS, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Give your gut what it needs
"As women age, they tend to develop more belly troubles, like bloating and gas, because gastric motility usually decreases with age," says Peeke. What can help: regular exercise, along with eating fibre and probiotics to help maintain a healthy balance of gastro-intestinal bacteria. "Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that promote good health and keep bowel functions regular," says Chennai-based nutritionist, Dr Dharini Krishnan. Try and have a bowl of yoghurt with your museli, buttermilk after lunch or packaged probiotic drinks.

Cut down on couch time
Sitting can be hazardous to your waistline and the more you do it, the worse it is, according to a 2010 Australian study of more than 4,700 people. "The best advice for losing belly fat is to exercise in the morning and stay active through the day," says Dinaz Vervatwala, fitness trainer and MD, American College of Sports Medicine, Hyderabad.

Some effective stay-active strategies: walk to a colleague's desk instead of sending an e-mail; use a printer on a different floor; move the wastebasket by your desk out of arm's reach; or reduce your TV time and replace it with anything active- a walk, housecleaning or gardening. "For every total hour of sitting, you need 10 minutes of movement, so after every 10 minutes of sitting, get up and stand or walk for at least 1 to 2 minutes," says Peeke.

Get your z's
When Hairston and her colleagues looked at more than 1,000 people ages 18 to 81, they found that those who slept fewer than 5 hours a night gained more visceral fat over 5 years than those who slept 7 or 8.

Additionally, a study at the New York Obesity Research Center found that sleep-restricted people may eat as much as 300 calories more the next day. "When you're tired, you're more likely to reach for high-calorie foods," says Marie St-Onge, PhD, lead researcher of the study.

Chill out
Chronic stress causes the body to churn out too much cortisol, a hormone that promotes the accumulation of belly fat, according to Peeke. "This toxic stress also stimulates your appetite for sugary, fatty foods," she says. "You never hear anyone say, 'I'm so stressed out, I need a salad.'" Instead of reaching for some chips, take a walk, or do a mini-meditation: close your eyes and just breathe.

This short-circuits the stress reaction say experts. Also, "remember to unplug from the computer and your smartphone," advises Paromita Mitra Bhaumik, consultant psychologist, Belle Vue Clinic and Apollo clinic, Kolkata. "Since there is no time to unwind, it can cause stress," says Bhaumik. Try and vouch to offline for a few hours.

Experience joy
When researchers in the Netherlands studied more than 2,000 people, they found that those who were depressed were more likely to have a significant increase in belly fat 5 years later. Two likely reasons a blue mood leads to more belly bulge: depression has been linked to an increase in cortisol and lack of motivation, making it harder to maintain healthy exercise and eating habits.

Some effective stay-happy strategies: get daily exercise, which works as well as anti-depressants for mild to moderate depression, take time to slow down and notice the positive, even if it's a simple joy. "When something good happens, whether you finish a load of laundry or notice a beautiful sunset, savour the experience- it strengthens the brain's neural circuits for happiness, suggests Hanson."