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How Can I Get Rid of Belly Fat?Dear Dr. Katz: What's the best way to get rid of the belly fat that recent reports say is a risk factor for all kinds of health problems? At least once a month, someone asks me how far along I am, as if I were pregnant. I just want to cry every time it happens. Help! 
Response: The first thing to point out is that you are not to blame. Where a person tends to accumulate weight is genetically determined. Try to place your weight problem in this perspective and reduce your emotional investment in it. That said, you are right: Excess weight in the belly is much more strongly linked to diabetes and heart disease than is extra weight on the hips, thighs, buttocks or legs. Fortunately, it's usually also easier to lose. If you cut down on calories, the first pounds to come off will likely be from your belly. Combine this with exercises for toning your abdominal muscles, consulting a trainer should you need to. (When the belly protrudes even though you're thin everywhere else, conditioning the stomach muscles should really help.) If despite eating well and exercising you don't wind up with exactly the physique you'd like, welcome to the club. With the possible exception of swimsuit and underwear models, we're all in it. Dr. David L. Katz, M.D. 
Read more of Dr. Katz's advice in every issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Subscribe Now!
For more information related to the topics addressed in this column, visit Dr. Katz's website: www.thewaytoeat.net. |
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