6 Ways to Downsize Your Middle

Q: I've been losing weight for about a year. I've dropped from a 34-inch to a 30-inch waist size in blue jeans. Unfortunately, I still have a gut that I just can't seem to get rid of. I don't really want six-pack abs, but I do want a flatter stomach. What are some ways to achieve this?

A:  Losing four inches around your middle over a year is solid proof that you're on the right track. But just going by your jeans size alone doesn't give me enough information to assess your weight or body-fat status.

Are you still a little overweight? Or have you reached a normal weight in 30-inch jeans? Or are you underweight with excess ab flab? You don't mention how you lost the weight: Was it through diet alone, or from a combination of diet and exercise? And if you have been working out on a regular basis, have you been doing more cardio or more toning? All these variables can affect your waistline.

Apple shapes—where waist circumference is bigger than hip circumference—carry more health risks than pear shapes, where the hips are bigger. To find out whether you are an apple or a pear, you need to figure out your waist-to-hip ratio: Divide your waist size by your hip width at their widest points. A number higher than 0.80 in women and 0.95 in men suggests that too much fat is carried in the midsection and is linked to having greater health risks.

One thing is clear: You've been very successful at consistently losing weight for a year, something that isn't easy to do. It's natural to reach plateaus where weight loss is stymied while your body adapts to the new, lighter, you. This typically happens after about six months of losing weight, but it may vary. During these periods, it's important to settle into a lifestyle where you focus on maintaining what you've lost, so you don't gain it back.

Whether you can whittle down your waist further is unclear. Even a thin person has more than 30 billion fat cells, and genetics can affect where you store your fat—if you tend to store it in your belly, it may be harder to budge. 

Still, for most people, belly fat is the easiest place to lose it. Research shows that if you lose 5 percent to 10 percent of your overall body weight, you may actually lose up to 30 percent of deep ab fat. That's because ab fat seems to be the most mobile type—there are more fat-burning enzymes and more blood vessels to distribute these enzymes here compared to other areas of the body.

Smart diet and exercise choices may make the difference in your middle:

Food ab-flatteners

Reduce animal fats and trans fats. Those who eat too much saturated and trans fats are more likely to overeat and be insulin resistant, and have higher cholesterol and a larger waist size. So eat more fish than poultry or meats, and choose low-fat dairy. And eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, beans and whole grains.

Avoid alcohol. They don't call it a beer belly for nothing. Alcohol may be more likely to increase ab fat, possibly due to the effects of the alcohol, or possibly because every drink is an infusion of 200 to 400 calories (the equivalent of one to two candy bars), so several nights out a week can really add up.

Eat good carbs. Minimize eating processed, refined carbs like white bread, bagels, muffins, pasta, cookies and cakes; they are linked to larger waistlines. Eat whole grains (that means cooked brown rice, barley, quinoa and the like.) When that's not practical, choose the least-processed versions of foods and try to enhance them. So, choose whole-wheat pasta and sprinkle quinoa in the boiling pot, or choose whole grain (not just "brown") bread and add a layer of uncooked oatmeal to the fillings inside (you won't taste it but it will add fiber, nutrients and more chew to your sandwich or toast).

Fitness ab-flatteners

Do cardio nearly every day. Regular exercise will help you lose more deep abdominal fat, and cardio seems to work best since it burns the most calories per minute.

Work out at higher intensities. Get your heart rate up higher. One study at Duke University in Durham, N.C. found that 175 overweight men and women who walked at least 11 miles per week prevented increases in their ab fat over eight months. (So, about 45 minutes, 4 days per week.) But those who worked harder (walking fast or jogging) for 20 miles a week (about 60 minutes, 5 days a week) actually lost ab fat—and this was all without dieting!

Try for 60 to 90 minutes of cardio a day. Start walking or doing other types of cardio as much as you can. If you're a new exerciser, build up fitness first with 15 minutes of brisk walking or cardio activity every day and add more minutes every week. Work up to doing 60 to 90 minutes on most days of the week.

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Martica is a Manhattan-based exercise physiologist and nutritionist and an award-winning fitness instructor. She has written for a variety of publications including Self , Health , Prevention , The New York Times and others. Martica is the author of seven books, including her latest, - Cross-Training for Dummies . (Read her full bio.)