Get Rid of Your Muffin Top

The dreaded “muffin top” is a weight loss challenge faced by many. While conventional advice is to focus on spot reduction exercises to eliminate that excess fat, most studies suggest that a general weight loss regimen including smart diet choices and plenty of cardiovascular exercise is actually far more effective at eliminating belly fat. Keep reading to learn more about how to get rid of muffin top.

Steps

Diet Changes

1. Avoid distracted eating. People tend to eat more when they stop thinking about them.
   • Set aside specific meal times. Eat at a dining room table, when possible, and prohibit yourself from eating in front of the television or at your work desk.
2. Limit your portion sizes. Eat frequent, small meals so that the calories are easier for your body to burn off. Doing so will limit the amount of fat that gets stored.
   • The meals should also be balanced and nutritious. Include plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains.
3. Monitor your fat intake. Monosaturated fats are better for your waistline than trans fats.
   • Studies suggest that trans fats may increase waist size 30 percent more than monosaturated fats.
   • Some examples of monosaturated fats include avocado, green tea, yogurt, blueberries, and bulgur. Chocolate milk is also a good source, especially when made with low-fat milk.
   • Eat more home-cooked meals. Fast food meals and processed foods contain many hidden trans fats.
4. Eliminate high-calories drinks. While many people may realize that they need to cut calories in what they eat, fewer realize just how many calories lie hidden in many drinks.
   • Avoid sugary fruit juices and sodas. Alcohol is also another major culprit.
   • These calories are all empty, so they do not provide your body with energy or any other nutrients it needs. Instead, these calories are eventually converted into fat.
5. Get more fiber in your diet. Fiber makes you feel full and slows digestion. As a result, food enters your bloodstream slower, making it easier to burn off.
   • Fiber derived from vegetables is especially helpful. Look for options like broccoli, avocado, cabbage, collard greens, peas, and Brussels sprouts.
6. Eat whole foods. Replace refined grains with whole grains, which have more fiber and less sugar.
   • White rice, white bread, pasta made with white flour, and potatoes all build on the fat. The sugar in these can raise your insulin levels, thereby increasing your appetite and prompting your body to store fat more readily.
7. Stock up on protein. Protein increases the body's sensitivity to insulin, preventing your body from digesting food too quickly and causing less fat to get stored in your stomach or any other region.
   • Protein also stimulates metabolism.
   • Aim for healthy proteins, such as those found in lean meats, seafood, and fruits and vegetables.
8. Avoid sodium. Sodium causes the body to retain water and gas, causing your abdomen to become bloated. In some individuals, the difference between a bloated belly and a non-bloated belly can actually be seen.

Focused Exercise

1. Forget spot reduction. Most personal trainers no longer endorse spot training, as evidence suggests that it does not successfully eliminate fat in the targeted area.
   • Some parts of your body lose fat faster than others. For many people, especially middle-aged women, the body retains a large portion of excess fat around the stomach area.
   • The fastest way to lose excess fat in your stomach is to perform exercises that cause you to lose excess fat overall.
   • Exercises focused on your abdomen do help you to tone that area, however. More muscle mass means a higher metabolism, which makes it easier to burn fat. Have a toned abdomen may also help to reduce the appearance of your muffin top.
2. Do more cardiovascular exercise. Cardio gets your heart pumping, forcing your body to work more and burn off more calories. The more calories your body burns, the more your muffin top should begin deflating.
   • High-energy dance classes, like zumba, work wonders. Swimming, hiking, kick-boxing, and cycling are also good examples of high-intensity cardio workouts.
   • Short, high-intensity exercises tend to work more effectively than drawn out, moderate-intensity exercises.
   • Take plenty of steps. You should take about 10,000 steps per day, and you can monitor these steps with a pedometer.
3. Strength train. Strength training builds muscle, and having more muscle makes it easier to burn excess fat quicker.
   • Strength train at least three times per week. Women who perform strength training for a solid 25 minutes two to three times per week usually gain about 2 lbs (900 g) of muscle and lose twice as much fat within the first two months.
4. Focus on your abs. While spot reduction does not work, performing exercises that work your abdominal muscles can build those muscles and tighten the area.
   • These exercises alone will not get rid of muffin top, so they should only be done in conjunction with cardio exercises.
   • Crunches and sit-ups are the most common ab-focused exercises.
5. Work-out your side muscles. You can help tone your waistline by working the muscles on either side of your abdomen.
   • Simple leg lifts are a good example of this sort of exercise. Lie on one side with both legs outstretched. Raise and lower the top leg, keeping it straight the entire time. Repeat the procedure with the opposite leg to work on both sides.

Intervals

1. Pick your favorite type of cardio. Running, biking, swimming, and jumping rope are all good choices for this exercise.
   • This routine does not spot-target your abdomen, but it does provide you with the cardio you need to melt excess fat. If you tend to gather excess fat around the middle, performing this as a part of your daily exercise regimen may help you lose more of that fat.
2. Warm up. Spend 10 minutes increasing your level of exercise from easy to moderate intensity.
   • At easy intensity, you should be able to hold a conversation with little to no problem. At moderate intensity, you should be able to hold a conversation but should only be able to speak in intervals of three or four words.
   • For instance, if you plan on running, work up from a walk to a jog.
3. Perform 10 sprints with recovery periods. Each sprint should be 30 seconds long, and the sprints should be separated by 30-second intervals or light recovery exercise.
   • During your sprints, you should exercise at full intensity. Exert enough energy to become breathless.
   • Keep moving during your recovery periods. Walk or jog slightly.
4. Go for 10 minutes at moderate intensity. For 10 full minutes, perform your chosen exercise at moderate intensity without pausing to recover.
   • Again, during moderate intensity exercise, you should be able to speak but only in groupings of three to four words.
5. Do 10 more sprints and recoveries. Repeat your sprinting procedure, performing 10 additional 30-second sprints of intense exercise with 30-second intervals for rest in between.
   • Continue moving during your recovery periods by walking or lightly jogging.
6. Cool down. Finish up with 5 minutes of easy intensity exercise to wind your body down slowly.

Abdominal Criss-Cross

1. Sit with your legs straight. Your bottom should be flat on the floor or exercise mat, and your legs should be sticking straight out. Lean your upper body back slightly.
   • If you lack the strength to hold your upper body back, you can prop yourself up by leaning back on your elbows.
   • If you have a stronger core and do not need to lean on your elbows, cross your arms over your chest.
   • This exercise does target your abdomen and may help reduce muffin top by building abdominal muscles.
2. Lift your legs off the ground. Your legs should be lifted just high enough to engage your abdominal muscles without straining them.
   • Before lifting your legs, make sure that your chest and back are held tall. Tighten your core or abdominal muscles.
3. Criss-cross your feet. Keep your toes pointed out and move your feet back and forth over one another.
   • Move your feet in quick, small, and precise gestures.
   • You may need to play around with the height of your feet in order to get the most benefit from the exercise. The closer your feet are to the ground, the more strenuous the movement will be. The higher up your feet are, the easier it will be. You need to choose a height that forces your abdominal muscles to work without causing pain.
4. Perform 20 to 30 per set. Each back-and-forth motion should be considered one repetition, and you should aim to do 20 or 30 repetitions per set.
   • Try to get three to five sets in during your exercise routine. Increase the amount or speed as you progress.

Tips

• Don't starve yourself. Not eating slows your metabolism and makes it harder to lose weight.
• Reduce stress. Stress causes the brain the release adrenaline and cortisol hormones. The body stores cortisol in the pelvic area, causing it to become larger and create the "muffin top" look. Similarly, a loss of sleep also triggers the release of stress hormones, causing you to retain weight in your stomach.
• Understand that your muffin top could be related to changes in your body. Many women begin to gain fat in their midsections after menopause, when the drop in estrogen causes fat to transition from the breast, thighs, and buttocks to the stomach.
• Change your exercises regularly. Don't just do one simple exercise because your body will get used to that, making it harder to reach all areas of your body for weight loss.
• Drink lots of water! It will help flush out toxins and accelerate your weight loss.

Sources and Citations

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