Do you have stubborn belly fat, a.k.a. a “muffin top” that you want to firm up?

Do you have stubborn belly fat, also known as a “muffin top” (the way the fat seems to spill over the top of your waistline)?  This is especially annoying when you put on your favorite pair of pants that are now too tight.  

Some call these “love handles, ” of course.  Regardless, most of you would rather be without those handles and firm up those softer areas.

There are many ways to get the results you’re looking for, some of which are as follows:

Nutrition.  Stubborn belly fat around the abdomen and flanks grows when your body’s metabolism is low, especially when you are sitting around on your computers all day while eating food with too much fat content or carbohydrates (which turns to fat if you don’t burn it off with exercise).

If you’re going to be sitting around for long periods of time, out of necessity, eat foods with lower fat content and more greens and protein for energy.  Some foods have a high fat-burning quality to them such as grapefruit juice. My favorite!

Save the high carbohydrate / high fatty foods for those days when you plan to exercise it all off that day or early the next morning.

Exercise.  Fat burning, cardio exercise is best for burning away any fat in the body.  Even if this type of exercise is not necessarily targeted at a certain body part, the overall internal fire gets moving inside you which melts your problem areas first.  If you started reading this article in the first place, you are probably one whose problem area is in the abdomen area.  Make it easier and start with an overall body pick-me-up.

Abdomen exercises (upper abs, lower abs, and obliques–waistline) are all great to do.  But do not just start and stop there.  Your overall body should be warmed up first so that your metabolism becomes a fat-melting furnace, making it easy for those ab exercises to burn the fat more effectively.

Movement each day is very important.  If you are like most people, your job and your life have a tendency to take over, leaving you with less time to yourself to dedicate to your exercise of choice.  If you sit at a computer all day, at least take the time to go for a couple brisk walks each day for breaks.

Drink lots of water.  As I normally preach, drinking water all day is an excellent way to keep your insides flowing, including the fat that could build up in your belly.  Drinking 8 glasses of water per day helps to flush out the toxins too that make you feel sluggish.  This practice will also force you to spend more time getting up to go to the bathroom and to refill your glass at your water dispenser.  These extra trips all add up!  When you are glued to your seat for long periods of time, a tremendous about of stress can build up inside your body (even if you feel so productive).  You can even start to feel addicted to sitting still for so long.  Keep getting up and moving…

If you can’t make it to a lunchtime power flow yoga class, get down on the ground and do some Downward Dogs when you can.  Or, balance on one leg in Tree Pose with your eyes closed before you respond to a stressful email.  It’s not only stress management, it’s keeping your body fit.  [Remember with mostly all yoga poses, you focus on your core for personal strength.]

Liposuction.  Liposuction is an option after all else fails.  You may be predisposed to fat build up in certain areas that will not go away no matter what you try!  Dr. Macdonald is an expert in Liposuction for many of the body parts which have a tendency to accumulate fat.  [Follow stories for two of his patients covered here on this blog:  “liposuction for women” and “liposuction for men”.

One happy patient felt this about Dr. Macdonald:

I am fit and gym-toned, but like many people I had a few problem areas that no amount of sit-ups or aerobics were going to fix.   My first procedure was liposuction under my chin and jawline.   I was so pleased with the results that about a year later I had another liposuction done on my stomach and “love handle” areas.  Dr. Macdonald did an excellent job on both procedures, and I lost that stubborn fat that I hadn’t been able to get rid of through exercise.

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