The Big Crunch

Forget doing 500 sit-ups a night to minimise your middle. Exercising on a Swiss ball is almost 40 per cent** more effective than traditional crunches because you have to work harder to keep your core stable. Meanwhile, your obliques (at the sides of your stomach) and transverse abdominals (connected to the back muscles) act like a corset, so moves that work these muscles will really trim your waist.

The Fat Trap

You've probably heard of trans fats, the partially hydrogenated vegetable oils that are used in processed foods. But did you know they send 30 per cent more fat to your waist than other fats? "Watch out for pastries, cakes and fried foods," warns Sydney nutritionist Dr Gina Levy, who says that spotting "shortening" or "hydrogenated" on labels is a sign of trans fats. She adds that monounsaturated fats (found in olive oil) are much healthier.

Flattening foods

While some foods, like white bread, promote bloating, studies have found that others are linked to a flatter stomach. Research † has found that people on a reduced-kilojoule diet that included three daily portions of yoghurt lost more fat than those who consumed the same amount of kilojoules, but little yoghurt, as calcium appears to inhibit fat absorption.

Stress less

Need a reason to take time out? Studies ‡ have shown that stress is directly related to a bulging belly. When the brain is stressed, it produces cortisol, which heads straight to the stomach (where there's a high concentration of cortisol receptors) and activates fat-storage cells. Stress also lowers levels of oestrogen, the hormone responsible for womanly curves.



*Choice, December 2007; International Day For The Evaluation Of Abdominal Obesity (idea). **Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2007;21:506-09. ^†International JKournal Of Obesity 2005:29:391-97; Public Health Nutrition 2007;3:1-7. ‡ Yale University Research, 2000; The Cortisol Connection by Shawn Talbott (Hunter House, $27.95)