Burn winter fat at home

Our model: Leanne Balkin, 44, is one of the four winners from our “Win a shoot with Commando Steve” competition. She works out in the gym three or four times a week, rows, surfboats and is a volunteer surf life saver. 

What is Tabata?

Tabata intervals are high-intensity cardio and muscle workouts in which you perform as many reps as you can in four-minute circuits. This pushes you to your limit for a short time, making it a great no-fuss way to maximise results.  

Your Tabata score is your lowest number of reps per exercise. Use this as a benchmark for your ongoing training by aiming to increase your reps on your next round. 

If you’re pregnant, have high blood pressure or a history of cardiovascular issues, make sure you consult your GP before doing a Tabata session.

10 bikini body dos and don'ts

When it comes to bikini season, the right foods can often help you on the road to getting the summer body you want. So what should you eat and what should you avoid? Here are the top 10 dos and don'ts to help you on your way to getting into that bikini you've had your eye on... 

1. Cut down on bread and pasta

Beat the bloat by cutting down on wheat and gluten-containing foods like bread and pasta. Many people find these foods tend to cause bloating and digestive complaints. Try avoiding these foods for 2 weeks and see if you notice a flatter tummy and happier stomach. 

Have smaller meals, more often

Nutritionist Lisa Guy, just one of the experts in the body+soul revolution team, recommends eating 5 to 6 smaller, protein rich meals throughout the day. The frequency of meals is a great way to combat hunger pangs, while eating plenty of protein helps stabilise blood sugar levels. This means you’ll feel fuller for longer after a meal.

9 foods that help you lose weight

Yes, we all know the whole healthy diet and exercise part of weight loss but did you know there are certain foods out there that help you shed kilos? Whether they've got metabolism-boosting powers or even help you stay fuller for longer, these foods will help you on your quest to losing weight.

1. Coconut oil

Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), which is a type of saturated fat that behaves differently from other fats. MCFA fats can be absorbed straight into the cell where it can immediately be burned up as energy, making it a fabulous energy source. Coconut oil is considered a thermogenic food that helps boost metabolism and increases fat burning. Adding coconut oil into the diet can also help to balance blood sugar levels, which is also beneficial for weight loss. Coconut oil is ideal to cook with, use in baked goods, protein balls or added to smoothies.

How to beat your biggest weight loss hurdles

Want to shift a few kilos? Tackle your lifestyle and diet hurdles and make losing weight just a little bit easier. We show you how.

You eat when you're not hungry

We're all guilty of eating when food is in front of us, even if we're not hungry. To combat this try and keep a food diary of everything you eat for a week then look at how much of what you ate was to satisfy real hunger and how much was because you were bored or eating out of habit. Pay close attention to your body's hunger signals and be more mindful of how hungry you are - this can help curb non-hungry eating.

Your motivation levels are non-existent

Set concrete goals. If you want to lose weight by your 30th birthday at the end of the year then use it as something to work towards. Setting a time frame on a weight loss goal will make it a real objective. Visual inspiration is always good (that's what Pinterest is for!) so collect images of things that will inspire you to lace up your sneakers when you'd rather hit the couch, and look at it when your motivation is waning.

3 dynamic total-body exercises

Add some punch to your training with these three dynamic total-body exercises that are designed to give you maximum results in the minimum time for a leaner, more agile body

Make it a workout:

What you need

• Kettlebells or dumbbells (select a weight that challenges you for 10 repetitions. This should be about 6-8kg for beginners; 10-14kg for intermediate and advanced)

Set up your circuit

Complete 5 rounds in a descending ladder format. To do this, do 2 reps less in each round than in the previous one. Start at 12 reps, then do 10, 8, 6, and finish your last circuit on 4 reps. Rest in between as required.

Shredding: the secret to defined muscles

You don’t need to be a bodybuilder to get muscle definition, and it doesn’t matter how old you are. But the best part? You can see the difference in just six weeks. By Fiona Baker

Think your days of defined muscles are behind you or that you need to be pumping heavy iron several hours a day? Wrong. It’s possible for everyone to build some muscle definition, and it can be visible in as little as six weeks.

Kusal Goonewardena, the founder and head of Melbourne University’s Elite Akademy of sports medicine, works with high-performing athletes, including Olympians, and says their approach to training can hold the secret to not only being fit but looking fit, too. 

How to shape up for an event in a week according to a celeb trainer

Got an important party/work event/wedding to go to in 7 days? Celeb trainer Greg Joujon Roche will have you looking incredible in just a week

How to shape up for an event in a week according to a celeb trainer

As the man who has trained the likes of P!nk, Gisele Bundchen, Brad Pitt and Gwen Stefani, Greg Joujon Roche knows a thing or two about how to get someone looking red carpet ready in a short amount of time. Follow this plan and you’ll be smoking hot in just a week. 

Cut out foods that create inflammation

“You want to get rid of all the inflammation in your system and you do that by avoiding salt, white sugar and unfortunately booze and caffeine,” says Greg.

5 steps to a long and lean body

Emma Seibold is the founder of Barre Body yoga and barre studios, certified yoga teacher and health coach and mother of one gorgeous bubba.

Did someone say long and lean? Yes please! Sound impossible? It may seem so, but it's really not. We are all different shapes and sizes, but there are certain things you can do to increase the length of your muscles and streamline your body. To celebrate the launch of Body+Soul's Long & Lean 6 week challenge we've asked Barre Body's Emma Siebold to share her top toning tips.

1. Start with your diet

My philosophy has always been that a healthy diet will get you to the right weight and exercise will help to tone and shape your body. 

Women would sacrifice sex for bikini body

A new survey reveals women would forgo sex in exchange for a bikini body.

What would you give up to get your perfect beach body? Wine? Chocolate? How about sex?

A new US survey reveals the extreme pressure women feel to slim down and shape up for summer and the strict measures they'd take to achieve their best body – including sacrificing sex.

The survey, conducted by Shape magazine in the US, revealed that the majority of women felt they needed to lose weight before summer, with with 60 per cent admitting to dieting or cutting out carbs, 22 per cent, prior to pulling on their swimsuit. 

The summer legs workout

The legs and bottom are often trouble spots for a lot of women but these moves will have them looking toned in no time. 

Single-Leg Bridge

Why: This is excellent both for hip stability and for firming and toning the backs of your legs and butt. It focuses on the hamstrings while engaging the glutes and core muscles.

How: Lying on your back, bend your right foot in toward your butt to create a 90-degree angle at the knee and keep your left leg straight out on the floor. Position your hands either side of your body for stability, pull your belly in and butt under as you press your right heel into the floor to raise your hips up, using mostly your hamstrings (back of thigh), and lifting your left leg straight up as you go. Form a straight line from knees to shoulders, then lower your body back down to the floor. 

The summer abs workout

Step 1: Knee Twist + Aeroplane

Why: Your upper body, deep core muscles and obliques will love this burn. 

How: Assume a push-up position on your toes with your core braced. Squeeze your right knee up to your left wrist and hold for a second before slowly releasing back to the push-up position. 

Step 2: Knee Twist + Aeroplane

Take your left hand off the floor and use your right oblique muscles to aeroplane it around and up to the ceiling as you turn your body to face the left, legs stacked and hips squeezed high off the floor. Return to the push-up position and go straight into the knee twist and aeroplane on your left knee and right side.

10 reasons you can't lose weight

Struggling to hit your goal weight? It’s not all about calories, says nutritionist Teresa Boyce.

You have heard it a thousand times: weight loss is simple, just eat less and exercise more, right? Well, maybe not.

Your expanding waistline and muffin top may be the result of something other than simply eating too many cupcakes. Research now suggests that weight gain and obesity are not only caused by a genetic predisposition or dietary and lifestyle behaviours, but are also affected by modern environmental factors.

1. You're not getting enough sleep

A lack of sleep may be hindering your weight-loss goals. Sleep deprivation slows your metabolism and affects the hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin.

Leptin tells your brain to stop eating, whereas ghrelin, produced in the stomach, stimulates hunger. Research suggests inadequate sleep is associated with low levels of leptin, high levels of ghrelin and weight gain.

5 weight loss tweaks

When the scales stall despite your best efforts, try these tips.

1. Hydrate

Water is a great weight-loss tool, experts say. A recent US study found middle-aged adults who drank 500 millilitres of water prior to meals, three times a day, shed about 2.3 kilograms more over 12 weeks than those who didn't. Dietitian Lisa Renn says: "The critical thing from that study was they were drinking before eating, decreasing their stomach capacity and eating smaller portions."

2. Don't refuel all day

Are you always sipping a coffee or eyeing the biscuit jar? Stop. Balanced eating - consuming a portion-controlled meal or snack every two to three hours - keeps blood-sugar levels stable and helps you recognise true hunger, whereas constant refuelling just adds extra calories you don't need, Renn says.

"Think strong, not thin": bikini tips from Jessica Gomes

Nobody knows how to get swimsuit-ready better than Aussie model Jessica Gomes. She shares her secrets with Fiona Baker

It was after Aussie supermodel Jessica Gomes decided that she wanted to be strong, not thin, that she started enjoying exercise.

“I’m never going to be a waif – that’s not my body type – so I found that exercising and dieting to be thin was unmotivating; it’s not a positive mindset to be in,” the 30-year-old says. “Then, a couple of years ago, I changed the way I approached diet and fitness and now I look forward to meals and really enjoy exercising.”

As a catwalk model and David Jones ambassador, Gomes’ face and body is her currency, so she knows all too well how important it is to find enjoyment in what you eat and how you exercise.

How to keep to your fitness goals

Our top tips to help you beat any obstacle on your path to fitness and come out winning.

How to keep to your fitness goals

There’s a good reason people run faster as soon as the finish line is in sight – clear, attainable goals are incredibly motivating. But it’s the many pitfalls along the way we have to watch, so we asked Rob Hale, Head of Fitness at Fitness First, and Dugald Pollitt of Sydney’s North Shore Gym, how to avoid the sort of slump that kicks the best laid plans to the curb.

Make it social

There’s strength in numbers, so make a habit of working out with a friend or taking a lively gym class. “We’ve seen a huge shift into group fitness training,” says Dugald. 

How to refuel your body the healthy way

Your workout is done and you’ve left it all on the gym floor, but what happens next?

Smart refuelling is the unsung hero of healthy habits, so we talked to Rob Hale, Head of Fitness at Fitness First, and Dugald Pollitt, CEO of Sydney’s North Shore Gym, to get the inside word on what to do after working out.

Chow down while you cool down

Sit down to a balanced meal under an hour after your workout. Don’t let that gnawing feeling linger; it’s your body begging you to fill the tank. 

Rob says, “There’s an optimal window of about 45 minutes to an hour post-workout when your body really needs to refuel, not only to replenish the nutrients, but also to help with muscle growth, muscle repair [and] recovery.” 

8 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds Without Exercise

Trying lose those pesky 10 pounds you gained on summer vacation or wondering how to prevent packing them on over the holidays? Oodles of new research has uncovered ways to trim 100 calories or more from your diet without skimping on flavor. While it doesn't sound like much, shaving off 100 calories a day could help you trim 10 or more pounds a year—even if you never set foot in the gym. 

Get started today with these science-backed calorie-cutting shortcuts that'll help you maintain healthy curves all year long.

1. Dim the lights

Regardless of what you thought as a kid, it turns out the dark isn't so scary after all. A new study from Cornell University says the secret to eating less—and feeling more satisfied about what you do eat—could be as simple as turning down the lights. Researchers found people who ate a meal under soft, warm lighting consumed 175 fewer calories than those who noshed in brightly lit places. The study participants who dined under mood lighting ate 18 percent less of the food on their plates—and also rated their food "more enjoyable" than those under bright lights. Scientists think that's because the harsh fluorescent lights commonly found in fast food restaurants may create a psychological need to rush through meals and eat more—so light a candle or two at dinnertime, and you may be less stimulated to gobble up your food.

Top Ten Waist Slimming Exercises for Women

The secret of a slim waist lies in the type of exercise that you do.

It is true that when you control your diet, you will lose some of those fats in your belly. However, you will achieve that slim waist only if you compliment your diet with the right kind of exercise.

Simply exercising on your stationary bike for hours is not enough. Long, slow cardio sessions are not the ideal work out for a slimmer waist. Doing crunches until you can’t stand up straight is also not enough to have a slim waist.  Ab-focused exercises like the popular crunch isolate the abs but fail to hit the muscles that run up your side (the obliques) and the deep, ‘corset’ muscles of the abdomen (the transversus abdominis or TVA).

Top Ten Most Effective Waist Slimming Exercises

The Best Drink For Weight LossThe soothing way to shed pounds

Pinkies up! A new research review in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds tea drinkers sport slimmer waistlines. 

After looking at several studies and meta-analyses on the effects green, white, and oolong tea have on body weight, Dutch researchers found that tea's natural ingredients—catechins and caffeine—help increase a person's energy expenditure, or the calories they burn just by being. The compounds also increase fat oxidation (fat breakdown) in the body.

Not to mention tea is really good for your gut, says Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and director of the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Science is continually showing how certain foods can boost good and bad gut flora, or bacteria, and drinking tea accomplishes the former.

15 Terrible Snacks For Weight Loss

Snacking can be a total diet bomb—if you let it. Here’s how to do it right.

Attacking the snacks

From the Cheerio-toting toddler to the vending machine-loving employee, we're a nation obsessed with snacks. How obsessed? Most of us eat nearly 600 calories a day—that's roughly a third of our food—in snacks rather than meals, according to a 2010 study from the University of North Carolina. 

That's a lot of snacking, something that can make or break your weight loss efforts. “There is a right way and a wrong way to snack,” says Katie Ferraro, MPH, a San Diego-based registered dietitian at Ingrain Health. Done right, snacking can keep your appetite in check, fuel your workout, and give you valuable nutrients. Done wrong, and you're downing gut-busting snacks loaded with sugar and fat, says Ferraro.

17 Fat-Burning Ab Exercises (No Crunches!)

Abdominal exercises to burn fat, flatten your belly, and strengthen your core.

Bye-bye muffin top

When most people think "abs," they think the muffin top that blooms over the top of too-tight pants. But abdominals, a set collectively known as the core, includes the many interconnected muscles that run up the back and stretch down to the butt and the front and inner thighs, says Michele Olson, PhD, professor of physical education and exercise science at Auburn University–Montgomery, Alabama. 

Here are 24 moves, from simple to killer, that will keep your daily core workouts interesting!

7 Ways To Lose Weight When You're Over 60

For many of us, life gets better—easier, even—as we get older. We get more comfortable and confident in our own skin. We weed out what doesn't work for us and invite more of what does work into our lives. There's a certain clarity that inspires us not to sweat the small stuff so much and to keep the big picture in mind.

If only exercise, healthy eating, and weight loss fell into that "it gets easier with age" category.

Instead, dropping pounds can often feel harder than ever. After all, that stiff back that keeps you from bounding out of bed in the morning can make it less inspiring to go to the gym, a busy schedule can prompt you to eat on the run, and those 10 pounds you gained in your 40s can become an extra 20 pounds in your 50s and, well, you get the idea. (Want to lose weight but are short on time? 

The 10 Biggest Mistakes You Make When You're Trying to Lose 50-Plus Pounds

Planning to drop a lot of pounds? You'll be happy to know that the first 10 or more will come off quickly. (Here's how to get started.) That's a thrill, but losing more and keeping it off takes planning, effort, and discipline. Although you'll find the challenge physically and mentally exhausting, every pound you shed equals success. "The most important thing to remember is any weight loss is good," says Louis Aronne, MD, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill-Cornell Medical College and author of the forthcoming book The Change Your Biology Diet: The Proven Program for Lifelong Weight Loss. "Any weight loss will improve your cardiovascular function, reduce your risk for diabetes, and help your blood-pressure." 

When you start your weight loss journey, avoid these common mistakes and you'll achieve the results you're after!

7 Ways To Lose Weight In 7 Days

Boost your chances for lasting success in just one week with these sensible tips

There's a lot more to losing weight than simply eating better and working out. If you want to dramatically increase your chances for long-term success, you'll also want to modify the behavior that surrounds your meals and physical activity.

Try following these simple tips for one week—one for each day—to learn how to approach food and exercise differently.

Sunday: Plan your meals for the week

Eating can become just as disorganized and chaotic as any other activity that isn't thought out ahead of time. Planning establishes structure, which can help you stay within a calorie budget, reduce daily decision-making, and prevent overeating. Carve out some time today to think through a plan for the week. Start with a few basic foods to eat each day and add others to diversify your meals. Make a grocery list as you go. (Make it even easier! Cook quick meals at home that taste great and fight fat! Sign up for Chef'd and get all the ingredients and recipes delivered to your doorstep.) 

9 Ways To Get A Flat Belly By Friday

Need another reason to hate Mondays? Tight postweekend waistbands. Unless you spent the past 2 days living like a monk, the cocktails, movie snacks, and dinners out can all add up to one thing: belly bloat. (That kind of eating can do a number on your GI tract, too. 

“If you wake up bloated on Monday morning, your weekend food choices are likely to blame,” explains Keri Gans, RD, author of The Small Change Diet. “In fact, overindulging for two days straight can easily cause a gain of three pounds. Fortunately, this weight gain is usually temporary and easy to get rid of in less than a week.”

Feel flat again by Friday with these 9 easy tips:

15 Teeny Tiny Changes To Lose Weight Faster

Lose weight fast with just one easy tweak to your routine per week 

If your goal is to lose weight and exercise more, forget the deprivation diet and marathon workouts. Research shows that taking baby steps—not giant leaps—is the best way to get lasting results. 

A study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that participants who made one small, potentially permanent change in their food choices and/or physical activity each week (such as drinking one fewer can of soda or walking 5 more minutes each day) lost more than twice as much belly fat, 2½ more inches off their waistlines, and about 4 times more weight during a 4-month program, compared with those who followed traditional calorie-restriction and physical-activity guidelines.

"When you focus on just a couple of small changes at a time, you begin to ingrain some healthy habits that last for a lifetime, rather than trying an all-or-nothing approach that more often than not fails because it's too hard to follow," says Lesley Lutes, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at East Carolina University.

How To Drink Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss

We’ve heard for years that drinking apple cider vinegar can help you lose weight, but there’s never been much research to support the claim. That is, until now. 

Turns out, sipping on apple cider vinegar (often called ACV) before a meal may help lower your blood sugar, finds new research published in the Journal of Functional Foods. Study participants who drank a tablespoon of ACV mixed with 8 ounces of water prior to eating had lower blood glucose levels compared to participants who didn’t consume the tart solution. “Acetic acid, the main component in vinegar, may interfere with the body’s ability to digest starch,” says lead study author Carol Johnston, PhD, associate director of the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion at Arizona State University. 

How To Lose 30 Pounds Fast

Tap into the power of negative training

Almost everyone who's lost weight has eventually put the weight back on. Why this cruel reality? It's simple, really: During the first months of any diet, your body loses both fat and muscle. Then, when you gain back the weight, you add back only fat because it's much easier to gain fat than it is to gain muscle.

"That's the dirty little secret of most popular diet plans," says exercise researcher Ellington Darden, PhD, author of the new Women's Health book, The Body Fat Breakthrough. "They don't combine muscle-maintaining exercises with the calorie reduction. More muscle is your ticket to a better body."

6 Things You Can Do In The Morning To Promote Weight Loss All Day Long

The best part of mornings is that they’re so full of potential! No matter whether you laced up your sneaks yesterday or overindulged on a co-worker’s birthday cake, it’s a fresh chance to get closer to your health goals. To keep that get-fit momentum going all day long, start your day off right with these morning habits that will motivate you even more. 

1. Get Some Sun

Basking in the sun’s rays can help you drop pounds, according to research published in the journal PLOS ONE. Study authors had 54 participants wear wrist monitors that recorded their exposure to morning light for seven days. During that period, participants kept food diaries to track their calorie intake. The people who spent more time in morning light had lower BMIs than those who were in the dark, no matter their age, activity level, or what they ate. Why? Morning light helps regulate your internal clock, which aids your sleep schedule (crucial for weight loss). Morning sunshine also contains higher levels of blue light, which has the strongest effect on your circadian rhythm. You only need 20-30 minutes of morning sunlight between 8 a.m. and noon to get in on these benefits! 

5 Ways To Lose Weight Without Dieting Or Exercising

Here's the thing: You know about dieting. You know about exercise. Yes they'll help you shed pounds, but they take a lot of work and willpower. What you may not realize is that there are several ways to lose weight that don't require denying yourself and endless hours at the gym. Incorporate these five habits, and you'll start slimming down right away. And if you're already active and watching what you eat (which is always a good idea, of course), these tricks will help you lose weight a lot faster.

Cool Off

This trick requires nothing more than a stroll over to the thermostat. Turn the heater down a few degrees and you'll activate a type of body fat that actually burns calories. While adults have mostly white fat, as infants we had primarily brown fat. In recent years, researchers have come to realize that brown fat actually burns calories to help generate heat. A recent trial published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reports that when we're exposed to cooler temperatures, some of our inert stores of white fat convert to a darker, beige color and begin burning calories. You don't have to live in a freezer, either: A British study from 2012 suggests that lowering the thermostat by just two to four degrees—aim for the mid to high 60s—can trigger the fat conversion.

8 Flat Belly Shortcuts

You've worn in your walking shoes. You fill your grocery cart with healthy fare. And you're careful not to dive headfirst into a pint of ice cream under stress. Yet your belly fat remains. It's frustrating, for sure, but far from permanent! Those healthy habits are a good start, but as you age, you need to work out and eat smarter to maintain a slimmer middle. "Belly fat can be very responsive with the right strategies," says Michele Olson, PhD, an exercise researcher at Auburn University. 

Here, proven ways to fine-tune your already healthy routine for fast results. 

1. Speed up your walk

Pick up your pace and you'll burn an average of 25% more calories—and target belly fat. One recent study from the University of Arkansas found that even when exercisers burned exactly the same number of calories a week, those who did shorter, high-intensity workouts had a 20% drop in visceral (deep abdominal) fat after 3 months, while those who did longer workouts at a moderate pace had no change. Aim for 2 or 3 weekly speed sessions lasting about 30 minutes each. You should be walking at an intensity level in which you can speak only a few words at a time. If you're unable to maintain that effort for the entire workout, practice intervals, alternating short bursts of fast walking with slower segments. Some easy ways to incorporate intervals:

8 Fast Ways To Flatten Your Belly

Who doesn’t want a flat belly, stat? Yet hours of crunches, cardio, and superstrict dieting aren’t realistic—or a whole lot of fun—for many of us. Luckily, it is possible to flatten your belly and look slimmer almost immediately. “Your stomach is the one part of your body that reacts quickly to dietary changes—good and bad. If you want to look thinner fast, avoid gassy veggies, chewing gum, salt, carbonated beverages, and any foods with sugar alcohols,” says Erin Palinski, RD and certified personal trainer. These foods will lead to water retention and bloating, she explains. If you normally eat three larger meals a day, Palinski recommends cutting those portions in half and eating smaller meals every two to three hours.

Want more instant fixes for a flatter belly? Here are 8 ways you can feel trimmer and slimmer in your belly—in some cases, nearly overnight. 

15 Foods That Will Help You Lose Weight

Weight loss plans vary in their do's and don'ts, so it's no surprise that very few foods get a nutritionist's seal of approval when it comes to dieting. 

We consulted Rachel Stahl, RD, CDN, a New York City–based registered dietitian, and Danielle Starin, MS, RD, the director of nutrition at Nutritionix, to find out exactly which foods will give you the best "bang for your buck" diet-wise. Check out these 15 best foods for weight loss, to get you started on your healthy (and delicious) dieting journey.

Plain Greek yogurt

The calcium-filled favorite is a stellar breakfast food, but never forget that it can be used in lunch, dinner, dessert, and snack recipes. "Greek yogurt is great not only as a breakfast food topped with some fruit, but it really shines as a weight loss superfood when used as a substitute," Starin says. "Try it instead of sour cream, mayo, or even as a fruit dip."

9 Proven Ways To Lose Stubborn Belly Fat

And 1 really good reason why ignoring it is no longer an option

Flat abs made easier

Belly fat is maligned for its way of tampering with any outfit that doesn't involve a muumuu, but really there's something way worse about the stuff: When white fat expands in your abdomen, nestling deep among your organs, it sets you up for some serious health trouble. We now know that this type of fat, called visceral fat, churns out stress hormones like cortisol and inflammatory substances called cytokines that affect the body's production of insulin. The result: It's worse than just being generally overweight; you're looking at increased risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Never stop moving

There's one thing to like about visceral fat: It yields fairly easily to aerobic exercise. Vaporizing calories via running, biking, swimming—anything that gets your heartrate up—wins over resistance training when it comes to getting rid of the stuff. A recent study from Duke found the sweet spot: Jogging the equivalent of 12 miles a week.

Why You're Not Losing Weight

The invisible saboteurs hiding in your gut 

When you think about your health, you’re probably not fretting over the millions of microbes that line your colon. But 2013 has been the Year Of The Gut, with scientific breakthroughs linking bacterial composition to all kinds of Western diseases, including asthma, depression, and colitis. The science is far from prescriptive yet, but diet has already emerged as a major influencer of healthy stomach bugs. (I should know: I got my gut colonies examined for a Prevention feature, and what I found out completely changed my diet.) This week, two new studies published in Nature found that gut composition isn’t just integral to your health—it might even be influencing your weight. 

Turn On Your Weight Loss Hormones

Banish your "bad" hormones, and crank up your "good" hormones with this 4-week plan

Whether it's your period, menopause, stress, a hysterectomy, or plain old heredity, women have felt vulnerable to hormonal cravings and sluggish metabolisms for years, with little to prove it but instinct. Now science is uncovering several bona fide links between female hormones, hunger, weight loss and fat metabolism. And in fact, evidence suggests that taking advantage of female hormones—mechanisms already in place in your molecular biology—may help you to manage your weight, shape, and appetite. 

What follows is a female hormone-harmonizing plan, based on the latest data, that may be worth trying if you've had trouble with weight loss in the past. Each week, you'll learn a new way to keep the levels of "snacking" female hormones from inching up into the danger zone or to encourage the levels of "feel good" female hormones to rise. Naturally. Now that's something to be thankful for!

11 Things Women Who've Lost 50+ Pounds Want You To Know

Dropping a quarter of your body weight and keeping it off is an incredible achievement. You must have the psychological strength to confront a lifetime of insecurities and past failures. Women with a lot of weight to lose are often deeply traumatized by emotional issues that began with childhood taunting. "Those scars stay with you," says Nicole Zernone, 42, a New York City schoolteacher who has lost 90 pounds and wants to lose 20 more. "As you lose weight, the memory of being teased and feeling ashamed floods you. A lot of acute stress flashes back." (Want to pick up some healthier habits? Sign up to get daily inspiration delivered straight to your inbox!)

Conquering those demons makes sustained weight loss that much sweeter. Here are 11 things that women who have lost 50 pounds or more want you to know about the good, the bad, and the stressful of this strange and wonderful new you.

How to Exercise for Weight Loss

Studies comparing the roles of calorie reduction and exercise in weight loss have generally found that the greater benefit comes from the dieting. But combining exercise and diet is usually best. Exercise not only burns calories and makes you trimmer and fitter, it also helps prevent the loss of muscle mass and the drop in metabolic rate that usually accompany dieting. And once you’re at your desired weight, exercise is an effective way to prevent or minimize future weight gain.

For overall good health, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise (such as 30 minutes, five days a week) or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic exercise. To lose weight and maintain weight loss, aim higher: 300 minutes a week at moderate intensity or 150 minutes at high intensity. To meet the goals more easily, you can break up your exercise—even into periods as short as 10 minutes.

The Right Diet for You

There’s no single diet that’s right for everyone. Where do you fit in?

Carbs vs. protein vs. fat? Various popular eating plans—such as the Zone, Dukan, Atkins, Pritikin, and Ornish—are based on wildly different ratios of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Some people lose weight more easily on low-carb/high-protein diets, while others do well by eating more carbs and less fat, partly due to genetic reasons. Experiment to find which balance works best for you. Whatever the fat/carb/protein ratio of your diet, opt for “good” carbs (in vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains), “good” fats (in fish, nuts, seeds, vegetable oils), and healthy protein (in legumes, white-meat chicken, low-fat or nonfat dairy). And remember that the total number of calories you eat matters more for weight control than what proportion of them comes from each macronutrient.

18 Keys to Healthy Weight Loss

Fad diets tend to have lots of very restrictive or complex rules, which give the impression that they carry scientific heft, when, in reality, the reason they often work (at least in the short term) is that they simply eliminate entire food groups, so you automatically cut out calories. Moreover, the rules are almost always hard to stick to and, when you stop, you regain the lost weight.

Rather than rely on such gimmicks, here we present 18 evidence-based keys for successful weight management. You don’t have to follow all of them, but the more of them you incorporate into your daily life, the more likely you will be successful at losing weight and—more important—keeping the weight off long term. Consider adding a new step or two every week or so, but keep in mind that not all these suggestions work for everyone. That is, you should pick and choose those that feel right for you to customize your own weight-control plan. Note also that this is not a “diet” per se and that there are no forbidden foods.

1. Start with a healthful diet.

That means a diet that's rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes and low in refined grains, sugary foods, and saturated and trans fats. You can include fish, poultry, and other lean meats, and dairy foods (low-fat or nonfat sources are preferable to save calories). Aim for 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day from plant foods, since fiber helps fill you up and slows absorption of carbohydrates. A good visual aid to use is the USDA’s MyPlate, which recommends filling half your plate with vegetables and fruits. Grains (preferably whole grains) and protein foods should each take up about a quarter of the plate. For more details, see 14 Keys to a Healthy Diet.