How to Get Rid of a Midsection

There is no magic pill, food or exercise that is going to get rid of your midsection. Doing endless crunches is not going to give you a flat tummy, either. Spot reduction, which focuses on reducing fat from one part of your body, is not possible. To eliminate belly fat you have to involve your entire body. Reducing belly fat makes you feel and look better and, according to the Mayo Clinic website, it also lowers your risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.

Instructions

• 1

  Reduce your caloric intake through diet and exercise. Create a caloric deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories per day. The National Library of Medicine recommends a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week. One pound of fat has 3,500 calories. By cutting out 500 calories daily --- or burning off 500 extra calories from exercise --- for seven days, you will be on track to lose 1 pound and by doubling these calories, you may even lose 2 pounds.

• 2

  Eat more often and avoid skipping meals. Consume five to six small meals daily so you provide your body with consistent energy and keep your metabolism active. Avoid skipping meals because this may trigger your famine alert, where your body starts holding onto fat out of "fear" of starvation.

• 3

  Consume healthy foods such as fruit, vegetables, fiber, complex carbohydrates, unsaturated fats and lean protein. Complex carbohydrates are fiber-rich foods that digest slowly and keep your blood sugar stable. They include brown rice, oatmeal and whole-grain bread. Unsaturated fats include olive oil and canola oil. Lean protein may come from fish, chicken and turkey.

• 4

  Keep your daily salt intake to less than 1,500 milligrams per day as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Excess salt causes water retention and bloating, making your belly look bigger.

• 5

  Exercise five days a week for 45 to 60 minutes per day. Perform cardiovascular exercise to burn calories. Go jogging, walking, biking or swimming or use gym equipment such as the stair climber or elliptical machine.

• 6

  Perform compound, strength-training exercises two to three days per week. Maintain and increase your muscle tissue because muscle stimulates your metabolic fat burn. You will burn fat from your entire body, including your midsection. Target your entire body with multiple-joint exercises such as lunges, squats, dips, rows, deadlifts and pushups.

• 7

  Perform a variety of abdominal exercises, three days of the week, so that once your belly fat is reduced, tight muscles will show. Include exercises such as crunches for the upper abdominal muscles (lie on your back, legs bent, feet on the floor and lift your shoulder blades off the floor). Target your obliques with elbow-to-knee crunches (lie in crunch position, knees bent at a 90-degree angle, then pull the left knee in to your body and reach your right elbow to your left knee and switch sides). Work the lower abdominal muscles with reverse crunches (lie in the crunch position, knees in a 90-degree angle and use your abdominal muscles to curl in your lower body slightly). Perform abdominal exercises slowly and with control.

• 8

  Keep your stress levels low. Stress triggers cortisol production in your body. According to the Natural Health Website for Women, the cortisol hormone stimulates fat gain around the waist. Meditate or take several minutes to breathe deeply whenever stress levels rise.