Hey there, viewers! Do you struggle with a muffin top?
You know, that stubborn bulge spilling over the waistband that makes you hate wearing denim.
While everyone loves to eat, nobody wants a muffin top.
In today’s video, we will talk about 7 simple ways women can lose theirs. Will eating more protein
help? Do you need to cut carbs and sugar? Are there exercises you can benefit from?
We’re talking about all that AND more. Let’s begin.
1. More Protein
When you’re trying to get rid of your muffin top,
you essentially want to change your body composition.
Protein isn’t just to build your body muscles. You really need it when trying to lose fat.
You must eat protein so you don’t lose muscle mass. Experts have found protein helps to
boost metabolism, promote satiety, and change weight regulating hormones. How, you may ask?
There’s an area in your brain, called the hypothalamus. This controls your weight by
producing satiety-promoting hormones like cholecystokinin, GLP-1, and peptide YY,
as well as a hunger hormone called ghrelin.
When you eat a diet high in protein, the hypothalamus increases the hormones
that make you feel full and decreases the hunger hormone.
This promotes a feeling of fullness, which reduces cravings as a result.
Protein makes you eat fewer calories. Another benefit of including protein in
your diet is that it has a higher thermic effect. This means your body spends higher
energy on digesting and metabolizing protein than it does for carbohydrates and fat.
Are you enjoying this list so far? Well, this next point will surely surprise you.
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2. Less Sugar
Many think consuming sugar won’t hurt your weight loss plan as long as you’re
maintaining a calorie deficit. But the truth is entirely the opposite.
Research has shown that added sugar can be really harmful to your metabolic health.
Sugar is half glucose and half fructose. When you eat too much of it, your liver
gets a fructose overload and converts it into fat to be stored for use later.
This increases liver and abdominal fat, leading to metabolic problems and
insulin resistance. Things get even worse when you consume
sugar in liquid form through beverages like fruit juice, Gatorade and soda.
Your brain doesn’t seem to register liquid calories as it does calories from solid foods.
Make sure you eat whole fruits instead of sugar-loaded fruit juice. Read the labels
properly to make sure there’s no added sugar and high fructose corn syrup in your packages.
Eat low carbohydrate foods, like eggs and lean meats,
as they prevent blood sugar spikes and help you lose weight.
3. Moderation & Consistency
This is a way of putting your body in fat loss mode. You need to create a
calorie deficit by moderately cutting them from your diet.
Cuts in calories help you achieve a sustainable weight. Remember to
not shock your body by going on a highly restrictive diet.
You can do this by calculating the number of calories you eat and the amount you burn.
For example, a total daily calorie expenditure. Ideally, there should
be a difference of 300-500 calories between the two. You should burn more and eat less.
Experts don’t recommend a particular diet to get rid of the muffin top.
You just need to be consistent with your moderate calorie cut.
The diet should maintain a healthy balance between all essential macronutrients.
One of the best ways to do this is by learning to estimate portion sizes and plan snacks ahead.
This is so you aren’t just eating random foods on impulse.
Before we continue, here’s another video you may
like. If the thought of dieting sends shivers down your spine,
watch this video to learn about 14 food comparisons that will make you forget about diets.
4. Focus On Your Sleep & De-Stress
One of the biggest reasons women get a muffin top and belly bulge
is because of low estrogen levels. When your estrogen levels decrease,
it causes your body to increase in body fat, resulting in a muffin top.
Experts have found links between psychological stress and lower estrogen levels.
Moreover, when our body is stressed and anxious,
it releases stress hormones like cortisol that accumulate in the body if released in excess.
This collection of hormones feeds into love handles and muffin tops.
To avoid this extra fat it’s best to avoid chronic stress. For this, you can try yoga and meditation.
This will ease your mind and allow you to gain control of your mood.
You should also maintain a healthy sleep schedule. If you don’t sleep properly, your body will be
tired the next day. You will also feel the urge to eat more in order to regain energy.
Avoid caffeinated drinks before bedtime to ensure a night of sound sleep.
Eat at least two hours before going to bed. This way,
your body has enough time to digest food and you catch a sound sleep.
Now that we have discussed lifestyle changes to get rid of a muffin top,
here are a few exercises that help you tone your abdomen muscles.
5. Elbow to Knee Dumbbells
This is one of the most effective and simple muffin top workouts. Hold a dumbbell
in your right hand. Stand with your legs apart. The distance
between your legs should be equal to the length of your shoulders.
Rotate your torso to the right and try to touch your left elbow with your right knee.
Remember you should move your knee towards the elbow, trying to touch them both together.
Repeat this workout in sets, alternating between both sides.
6. Side Bends & Bicycle Crunches
You don’t need any weights for these two workouts. The human body has two types of obliques. These
are internal and external. While the internal obliques are embedded deep inside the trunk,
it is the external obliques on the lateral sides of the abdomen that are visible.
When we put on weight, fat is stored in these obliques. This results in belly bulge,
love handles, and muffin top. Side bends help in reducing the fat on shoulders,
the upper and lower back obliques, chest, and legs.
All you need to do is stand with legs apart and hands behind your head forming an oblique.
Bend either side, trying to touch your elbows to the middle of your thighs.
For the same reason, bicycle crunches prove effective in reducing a muffin top,
as it tones your obliques in an efficient manner.
All you need to do for this workout is lie with your back against the floor.
With your hands supporting your head, move in the cycling motion,
just as you would when riding a bike, lifting left and right knees alternately.
7. Push-up & Planks
Pushups and planks can help you lose some of the most stubborn love handles, muffin tops,
and belly bulges. These body-weight exercises are intense and effective.
But make sure you maintain correct posture throughout.
For push-ups, lie facing the floor. Your arms should be in-line with your shoulders.
Raise and lower the body using the support of your arms.
Push-ups engage pectoral muscles, triceps, and your midsection on the whole.
For planks, lie once again facing the floor. Position yourself as
if you’re about to do a push-up. Plant your hands a little wider than the width of your shoulders.
Firmly ground your toes against the floor and squeeze your glutes to stabilize the body.
Make sure to not hyperextend your knees. Position your neck and spine
as if you are looking at a point on the floor about a foot ahead of your hands.
Your head and back should be in line. Hold the position as long
as you can without compromising the form. With time, you will get more
comfortable and hold planks longer without getting breathless or ruining the form.
Do you already follow any of these tips? Would you consider any after watching this video?
Let us know in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!