11 Easy Ways to Lose Your Belly and Save Your Health

Eating a few ounces of beef every day could triple your belly fat loss in the first month — and help you shed 17 unwanted pounds in the first year, University of Oklahoma research reveals. Protein-rich beef revs metabolism inside abdominal cells helping them burn an extra 100 calories daily. Plus, it cuts cravings and nighttime snacking in half, the study authors say.

Dieting? Taking 400 mg. of magnesium could slim your waistline 25 percent faster — and triple your odds of keeping the weight off permanently. Magnesium prompts the release of fatty acids stored in your belly, so your muscles can burn them for energy. Plus, it calms your brain and nervous system, cutting your risk of stress-eating as much as 50 percent.

One option: Sundown Naturals Magnesium ($, Amazon)

Sure, staying active speeds slimming, but it can be tough to fit exercise into a busy schedule. The fun fix: a pedometer! Counting the steps you take daily helps you shed belly fat 55 percent faster, reports the journal Trials. How? By giving you an incentive — and a reminder — to add motion to your daily life. "Even if it just encourages you to putter around the house more, every  bit help," says study co-author Elizabeth Evans, PhD. 

One option: PedUSA PE298 Talking WalkFit Pedometer ($, ). Or download a free step-tracking app (such as Argus or Pacer) to your smartphone.

One problem with belly fat — it releases hormones that makes you feel hungry, even when you're full. Sipping 6 oz. of bilberry tea before each meal can help you avoid that effect. Compounds in the fruity brew block the release of hunger hormones, reducing cravings.

If you get sleepy after meals, it may mean your blood sugar is fluctuating a lot when you eat, which can increase ab flab 67 percent! When your bloodstream contains more glucose than you need, your liver converts the excess into belly fat. Another tip-off your sugar level may be out of whack: feeling lightheaded or grumpy if you wait too long to eat. Drinking four mugs of green tea daily could shrink your belly fat 76 percent in four months. Compounds in the tea block sugar absorption, plus stop liver enzymes from converting sugar into belly fat.

Substituting 2 Tbs. of coconut oil for other fats you normally use can help you pare 60 percent more abdominal fat every month, reports the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. "Coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acids, which stimulate your liver to burn stored abdominal fat for energy," says naturopath Bruce Fife, ND.

No need to give up carbs for a trim waistline: Yale research shows eating 1/2 cup of whole grains (like brown rice, barley, or popcorn!) daily could trim three inches off your tummy in six months. The grains' fiber and phytonutrients cut the insulin production that triggers belly fat. 

Adding 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. cayenne to your daily diet can cut your belly fat buildup 29 percent or more, French research suggests. Cinnamon encourages fat cells in your abdomen to use blood sugar for fuel — before it can be stashed away as fat. And spicy cayenne increases your metabolic rate, so you burn more body fat for energy.

A little-known perk of the hormone estrogen? It prods your pancreas to make lipase, an enzyme that burns belly fat. So when estrogen output drops at menopause, your lipase production is cut in half, which can lead to 13 new pounds of belly fat in the following 10 years, French research shows. To combat this, eat three cups of barley weekly. According to Canadian researchers, barley is rich in manganese, molybdenum, and selenium, a trio of nutrients that reinvigorate your production of fat-burning lipase even if your estrogen level is low. This trick can trim three inches off your waistline in two months!

It's normal to produce small bursts of the stress hormone cortisol every day — but if nonstop stress keeps your cortisol high from morning until night, your risk of belly fat formation doubles, says Michael Roizen, MD, author of This Is Your Do-Over. Why? Constant stress signals your body that danger is looming, triggering it to pack fat around your belly to protect your liver and other organs. "It's the reason people who are under a lot of stress often develop pot bellies," explains Dr. Roizen. Eating a cup of fresh or frozen berries daily can reduce your stress hormone production 25 percent in two weeks, doubling your belly fat loss on any diet, Cleveland Clinic experts say. The pigments responsible for berries' vibrant hues calm your cortisol-producing adrenal glands and switch on genes that prompt you to burn more belly fat for fuel, reports the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Your tummy produces a hormone called ghrelin when it's time to eat — a hormone it's supposed to stop making once your belly is full. But if this system isn't working properly, your stomach releases ghrelin even after meals, a snafu that doubles your risk of belly fat formation by making it really difficult to keep calories under control, according to endocrinology researcher Madeline Drent, MD, PhD. Adding 1/2 cup of chickpeas to your daily diet can rein in your appetite and kick-start belly-fat burning within seven days. Thanks goes to compounds in chickpeas that help shut down ghrelin production after meals. 

This article originally appeared in our print magazine, Reverse Aging.