That stubborn roll of excess fat around your midsection, commonly called a ‘muffin top,’ is notoriously hard to shift. It’s often one of the last areas to hold on, even if you become leaner, and sometimes never goes away without medical intervention.
Keep reading for effective tips and treatments to get rid of even the most stubborn muffin top—and keep it off for good.
What is a muffin top?
A muffin top, sometimes called an apron belly or spare tire, is the area of stubborn body fat that hangs over the waistline. It gets its name because it resembles the top of a muffin.
Your belly is made up of both visceral fat and subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat gives you a wide waistline and is considered a health risk if you measure wider than 35 inches around as a woman or 40 inches for a man. Visceral fat lies deep inside your belly and surrounds your internal organs. While it’s designed to protect our organs, too much of it can lead to severe health issues like diabetes, heart disease and more.
Subcutaneous fat accounts for the vast majority of fat found on your body (around 90 percent). It sits right beneath the skin and creates the pinchable inch, or more, that creates a muffin-top appearance. Because it’s more metabolically active, this subcutaneous fat is harder to get rid of.
What causes a muffin top?
Anyone can develop a muffin top, including skinny people. Even if you don’t have a lot of extra body fat, a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle can cause the fat you do have to settle into your stomach.
Some of the main causes of an expanding midsection are genetics (genes dictate where our body fat is stored), poor diet, lack of exercise and stress.
Hormones are another key factor, which is why muffin tops are more common in women. Hormonal changes triggered by lifestyle factors, pregnancy or menopause can all lead to weight gain, especially in the midsection. During pregnancy, women develop fat in their midsection to protect the developing baby, which can be hard to shift after childbirth—even more so for women who’ve undergone a C-section as the scar tissue can cause excess fat to accumulate in the lower belly area.
How to get rid of a muffin top
If you’re wondering how to lose your muffin top, you have to reduce your overall body fat as there’s no way to target the fat in your midsection. That means the same strategies to slim down apply to targeting a muffin top, from eating less and exercising more to getting enough sleep and reducing stress.
Muffin Top Exercises
A combination of cardio, strength training and core-centric exercises are best for shredding body fat and achieving a toned tummy. Some of the top exercises for burning belly fat include high-intensity interval training (HIIT), side plank with leg raises, single-leg toe touches, twisting mountain climbers and high knees.
Aim for 3-5 sets with 6-12 reps per set to see results. A good rule of thumb is, if you’re not feeling the burn … you’re not doing enough!
Diet and nutrition
The formula is simple: eat less, move more. The only way to lose body fat is to burn more calories than you’re consuming. Use an online calorie counter to figure out how many calories your body needs per day based on your gender, age, weight and height. Once you’ve got the calories on track, make sure you’re eating a balanced diet and giving your body the nutrients it needs.
Opt for lean proteins like chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, beans and legumes. Switch out simple carbs like white bread, pasta and rice for sourdough, brown rice pasta and brown or wild rice. Make sure you’re incorporating plenty of fruits and vegetables for vitamins, minerals and fiber. And up your intake of healthy fats from foods like avocados, nuts, seeds and olive oil.
Top tip: Avocados and green tea are natural fat burners and have the potential to speed up your metabolism and support your fat-burning efforts.
Foods to avoid include anything processed (if you can’t pronounce the ingredients, it’s a no-go), refined sugars, alcohol, and saturated and trans fats.
Lifestyle changes
Stress and poor sleep can cause your body to produce cortisol, a stress hormone that can lower your metabolism and increase your insulin levels, which in turn triggers cravings for sugary, fatty foods. Chronic stress can elevate your cortisol levels and keep you in fight-or-flight mode, which can cause you to gain weight, especially in the abdominal area.
Stress management is key to managing your weight. Meditation, breathing exercises, yoga and walks in nature are all great ways to calm and relax the nervous system and maintain a healthy weight.
When it comes to sleep, aim for 7-8 hours a night consistently. Obviously, this is harder for night-shift workers or new parents. But in most cases, adopting sleep hygiene practices like making sure your room is dark and at the right temperature, and avoiding screens an hour or more before bed, can work wonders.
Losing body fat, especially in the muffin top area, through diet, exercise and lifestyle changes can be challenging—and you can’t expect to see results right away. It’s important to be patient, stay consistent and build sustainable habits for lasting results.
Medical and surgical options
In many cases, diet, exercise and lifestyle changes simply aren’t enough to get rid of a muffin top. Thankfully, there are medical solutions to target stubborn belly fat with immediate and lasting results.
One option is a tummy tuck, also known as abdominoplasty—a popular procedure that removes excess fat and skin from the abdominal area. A lot of people find the risks of a tummy tuck, such as complications from general anesthesia, outweigh the reward. But it is considered a safe and effective procedure.
Another less invasive option is Kybella, a prescription medicine that aids in the breakdown and absorption of fat. Kybella is injected into the fat, where it destroys the cells. The outcome depends on your body type and how loose the skin in the area you’re targeting is and it should be mentioned that Kybella is usually used on smaller body parts such as the chin area and may not be as effective on larger areas.
At Squlpt, we’ve developed a safe, gentle and highly effective treatment called SoftSqulpt Midsection —a non-invasive procedure that targets the area covering the abdomen, waist and hips, removing fat while improving tone and definition.
Powered by SoftSqulpt®, our Awake Lipo-Shaping® technology, SoftSqulpt® Midsection is performed awake, eliminating the risks of general anesthesia. We use tiny precision tools and smooth vibration to gently remove unwanted fat, including visceral fat. The experience is close to pain-free, delivers proven results, and sets you up for a fast and seamless recovery.
Tips to prevent a muffin top
Whether your goal is to prevent a muffin top from forming in the first place or keep it off after you’ve managed to get rid of it, the strategies are the same as those to lose one—a combination of a balanced diet, regular exercise and healthy lifestyle changes.
Following a SoftSqulpt Midsection treatment, or any other SoftSqulpt procedure, we’ve created a comprehensive SoftHealing™ Aftercare guide to ensure a fast and seamless recovery and flawless, lasting results.
Embrace the body confidence you deserve
If you’re looking to get rid of a muffin top but you’re not sure of the best treatment option for you, book a free consultation with a Squlpt plastic surgeon and body consultant. Together, you can discuss your body goals and create a custom treatment plan that works for you.
Need some inspiration? Check out our before & after gallery as well as real stories from our body-confident community to see the transformative results of SoftSqulpt Midsection.
