If you’ve ever been told to have a muffin top, chances are your excess body fat droops horizontally over the edges of your waistline. But, if you own a muffin top body, that’s yesterday’s news, although this may be a telltale sign of bad health.
However, the million-dollar question is, how to get rid of muffin top?
So, if you’ve had enough of yours, let’s destroy them once and for all!
What is a muffin top exactly?
The term muffin top is surely cute and when you think about it, there’s nothing sinister about it at all. In fact, this term derives from the appearance of a muffin that’s baked over the muffin tin.
It appears from the sides of one’s waist like the excess batter of a muffin that’s baked over the baking sheet.
The name took the world by storm in 2006 when the American
Dialect Society included it in one of the most creative
new terms of that year.
If you’ve ever fallen
into the battle of muffin top vs love handles, or even
Googled the term to find the difference between love
handles and muffin top, love handles is just another fancy
name for the muffin top.
In terms of inventing a perfect name for this excess fat, they’ve certainly hit the nail on the head with that one.
But, regardless of all the sugar coatings, a muffin top isn’t something to be proud of.
Unlike hip dips, which are pretty natural for all human beings, a muffin top can be a bad omen. In other words, you might want to take a second glance at your health.
On the other hand, after noticing excess fat hanging over jeans, many people would go for muffin top workouts that include crunches or ab exercises to lose fat in this area.
Little do they know that no one can get rid of muffin tops without making significant overall dietary, fitness, and lifestyle changes.
The bad news is, that tossing a coin to your wishing well and hoping that it’ll disappear overnight is a fool’s errand.
But, the good news is, if done right, anyone can lose their excess fat around their waist area without opting for outrageous surgeries, pills, or bogus teas.
Is it really necessary to get rid of muffin tops?
We definitely have established that a muffin top body isn’t something that’s easy on the eyes. But, that’s not good enough, is it? So, why should we be afraid of them?
The reason is, that if you knew the real reason for accumulating fat around your mid-area and what kinds of health hazards it might snowball into, you would’ve never even asked that question in the first place.
Although having a bit of fat around your waist cannot kill you, it may be an indicator of chronic illnesses such as,
- Heart disease.
- High cholesterol.
- High blood pressure (hypertension).
- Stroke.
- Sleep apnea and other breathing issues.
- Type 2 diabetes.
- Colon or breast Cancer.
- Liver disease.
- Osteoarthritis.
In light of that, it may be pretty handy to know how to lose muffin tops, so you can dodge many future illnesses that come down the road and boost your overall health.
Why do I have a muffin top?
This question is often surfaced because there’s no
one-size-fits-all cause for excess fat accumulation around
your waist.
It can happen due to a variety of
factors, and here’s a list of them for you to get a hint
of why you might have a muffin top body.
1. Aging
As you get older, belly fat accumulation in particular is pretty common.
Especially for women, when they hit a certain age, with menopause, estrogen levels drop.
This changes where you store fat. So, instead of storing fat on your hips and thighs, the fat tends to linger around your waist and belly.
What’s more, aging can drop your insulin sensitivity as well.
If your belly gets bigger and bigger for no other apparent reason, an increase in serum triglyceride level, declining HDL, rise in blood pressure, you might have a risk of pre-diabetes, A.K.A. metabolic syndrome.
Although insulin resistance should be expected at any age, aging is a leading factor.
However, age-related muffin top belly isn’t common for everybody. People who are a tad physically active and have embraced a healthy lifestyle are often exempt from this list.
2. Too much Cortisol
If chronic stress isn’t a secret in your life, the odds are, most of the time, your stress hormone or Cortisol levels might be sky-high.
When you’re too stressed, your adrenal glands release cortisol, which prepares you for a fight or flight situation.
Although seen as a good thing, this tells your liver to produce more glucose, which leads to an excess build-up of belly and waist fat.
On the other hand, too much cortisol makes you want to gobble down foods that are high in sugar and fat. In other words, you’re welcoming diabetes without even knowing it.
So, regardless of how many muffin top exercises you’d do, if your stress isn’t under control, excess fat around your waist is inevitable.
3. Little to no physical activity
Obviously, most of us are caught up in the rat race. As a result, “me time” is one step away from extinction.
But, “me time” doesn’t only include binging on Netflix or having a drink. It also means keeping your physical fitness up to par.
Having an adequate amount of exercises like a 30-minute jog, walking, a bit of cardio at home, or strength training, would most definitely keep the muffins at bay.
But, if you’re wondering how to get rid of a muffin top with exercise, you need to be really smart because if done incorrectly, you’ll get the opposite results of what you’re expecting.
Sitting less is another good habit to continue. When you combine some muffin top exercises (We’ll get to them in a second) with a set of other exercises, your muffin top will be gone for good.
4. Bad diet
When it comes to food, what you see is definitely what you get. In English, if you devour a ton of fluffy muffins on a daily basis, guess what you’re going to look like.
Food with high sugar, fat, and calories is one of the main culprits of belly fat.
No matter how hard you swear by your muffin top workout and keep asking yourself “will my muffin top go away?” these types of food will forever keep you on the wrong track.
If you want to say goodbye to your muffin top belly, the first thing you have to do is to adapt yourself to a new Muffin top diet.
Cutting back on ultra-processed food, sweetened drinks, sugar, excessive amounts of fruit juice, fried and carbs heavy food, etc. should be your top priority.
Instead, opt for whole fruits like Apples, Berries, Passion Fruit, Avocados, non-starchy vegetables such as Carrots, Eggplant, Mushrooms, high protein sources including Eggs, Almonds, Chicken breast, Milk, healthy fats like Dark chocolate, Fatty fish, Full-fat yogurt, etc.
An overall good diet will not only rule out the possibility of having a muffin top body, but it will also give you the edge over health problems starting from cardiovascular disease, and stroke to type 2 diabetes.
5. Lack of water
Does drinking water get rid of muffin tops? Good question and we cannot say this enough. It’s a resounding Yes!
When your body is deprived of water, your urge to snack on different foods throughout the day is unavoidable.
This means you’ll probably eat more calories than you lose.
Consequently, you’ll look like a muffin yourself.
Jokes aside, water actually helps flush out toxins and debris out of the cells in your body. This leads to boosting your metabolism and allowing you to burn more fat and of course excess fat around your belly.
6. Undiagnosed or untreated health conditions
This one is tricky because half the time health conditions go undiagnosed or untreated thanks to some doctors who are reluctant to guide you to another good doctor. Or it might be due to you just being hopeful that it’ll go away.
That being said, it’s counterintuitive to think that muffin top fat can actually be a sign that’ll save you before it comes to the worst-case scenario.
For instance, this may be an indicator of an underactive thyroid or Cushing’s syndrome. Conditions like these make your metabolism slow down and hinder your ability to burn more calories.
On the other hand, medications like corticosteroids can be the cause of your muffin top body as well.
So, if you notice more fat in your belly, you might want to get a hold of a qualified doctor and have a physical exam and necessary blood tests.
This way you can rule out any underlying conditions you may have and focus your energy on how to get rid of muffin tops by revamping your lifestyle.
7. Bad outfit choices
When you’re looking up the term “can you hide muffin tops” oftentimes you end up getting the same results that advise you to adapt yourself to diet changes and workout regimes.
But if you have a hunch they both aren’t the case for your muffin top stomach, you might be on to something.
If you’re 90% positive that you eat healthily, move your body enough, and have the ideal body weight, you might want to upgrade your fashion sense.
For example, if your pants are too tight around your waist, regardless of how slender your figure is, rain or shine, you’re going to get a muffin top.
So, always stay true to your waist measurements and purchase pants that fit you. You’re not fooling anybody with those extremely tight pants but yourself. Besides, you’ll be excessively uncomfortable in these and will forget to breathe.
Another type of pants to avoid is low-waisted pants. With
these, even the most toned bodies are mistaken to have
excess fat around their waist region.
If you’re
one of them, then no amount of muffin-top workouts can
bring you peace.
Top exercises to get rid of your muffin top
For whatever reason, now you have a muffin top and there’s no point in worrying but taking action today.
Thus, while you’re working on the above-said areas, let’s do some of these killer muffin top exercises that’ll make sure they will stay gone.
1. Standing arm extend and twist
If you were wondering how to get rid of a muffin top without lying down on a mat or hurting your already fragile backbone, this exercise will sweeten the pot for you.
Unfortunately, no excuses for you today!
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not imperative to lay down on a mat to lose your excess belly fat. In fact, these standing arm extends and twists can scorch the fat out of your hip area in a matter of weeks.
They are so effective to the point that you’ll feel like you cannot go past 30 reps on one side.
- Stand straight while keeping your legs shoulders’ width apart.
- Raise your arms a bit above your head.
- Now, take one leg and place it a couple of inches behind you.
- Then lift that leg as far as you can while trying to touch your knee with your palms.
- Keep going until your abs, hips and those pesky fat are crying for help.
- Then, repeat with the other leg.
- Do 2 or 3 rounds of these before calling it a day.
2. Russian Twists
Russian twists are a killer move that can shape your abdominal area sooner than you hope.
- Lay down on your mat while keeping your upper body elevated and placing your legs in front of you.
- Now, lift those legs up from the ground.
- Then turn your upper body from one side to another.
- You can let your hands guide this twisting motion.
- Do these for 30 reps, 15 on each side, and repeat 3 times.
Tips :
- You can lift your legs and intersect them to hold your position well.
- You also have the choice to keep them on the ground to make the move a tad easy.
- If you want to make the Russian twists more effective, hold a weight on your hands.
- Do Not do this exercise if you have minor to severe tailbone pain, as it will aggravate your symptoms.
3. Bird dog
This exercise is excessively effective towards toning your upper body and helping you kiss your pesky muffin top goodbye.
- Kneel on your mat and keep your palms under your shoulders.
- Place your knees right below your hips to form a 90-degree angle with your legs.
- Now extend one leg behind while pointing your toes.
- Then extend the opposite arm at the same time.
- After extending both your arm and leg, try to take them to the center.
- If you can, touch your knee with your elbow.
- Then extend them again.
- Keep going for 15 reps and come to the starting position.
- You can do this for the other side as well and repeat it for a couple of rounds.
4. Lying Side Hip Raises
If you want to target the side fat that droops off and gives you a ton of trouble when styling yourself, Lying Side Hip Raises might do the trick for you.
- First, lay down on your side comfortably while keeping your legs stacked.
- Place your arm on your hip and the other arm on the mat.
- Using this arm that’s placed on the ground, raise your hips up and hold it for a couple of seconds.
- Then come back down.
- Repeat for at least 20 reps and switch sides.
- You can throw in 3 rounds of these to your workout routine.
Tips :
- If it’s difficult for you to hold a perfect side plank position, you can bend your knees to do this move.
5. Single-Leg Glute Bridge
If you want to target your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back at the same time while training your lower back muscles to stabilize them more effectively, single-leg glute bridges are the way to go.
- With arms by your sides, lay on your mat facing up.
- Bend your knees and lift one leg up towards the ceiling.
- Hold that pose for a few seconds.
- Make sure your spine is on a straight inclined line from your chest area to your knees.
- After holding for a couple of seconds, come back down and repeat the move with the same leg.
- Do these at least 12 reps for each side and repeat for 2 to 3 rounds.
6. Spiderman Climbers
In order to perform a couple of spiderman climbers, you really don’t have to be spiderman. Just some will to banish those muffin tops would do.
- Start with a plank position while placing your hands under your shoulders.
- Take one knee to the elbow on the same side.
- Try to reach your elbow with your knee, but make sure to stay within your range of motion.
- Then, take your leg back to the starting position and repeat the exercise with the other leg.
- Keep doing the exercise while alternating your legs for about 30 seconds.
Tips :
- Make sure to keep your body aligned.
- If you want to take the intensity up a notch, jump instead of just slowly reaching the elbow with your knee.
- You can also speed up or slow down the moment as necessary.
7. Sumo Squat With alternating crunches
Whether you have a muffin top body or not, engaging in compound exercises is something that you should definitely zero in on. The reason is, that they don’t only help you get that snatched waist, but firm your legs and booty as well.
- Keep your legs a bit wider than your shoulder width.
- With your toes pointed out, keep your hands in front of you, either laced together or extended out.
- Now, slowly bring your butt down to a squat and come up.
- At the top, squeeze your butt.
- After you’re completely stood up, take one knee up sideways while crunching your obliques.
- Let your elbow touch the outside of your thigh as you crunch.
- Finally, squat again and repeat with the other leg.
- Keep crunching while alternating your legs for about 20 reps for each side.
8. Hip Twists
When it comes to muffin top vs love handles topic, if you’re willing to go the extra mile to get rid of them, you should never overlook hip twists.
- Position your body on your mat as if you were trying to do a plank.
- Keep your spine, legs, and neck straight.
- Now, go down to your elbows and again make sure your body is completely straight without dipping or arching your body.
- Then, using the strength of your arms on the ground, twist your hip from one side to the other.
- The goal here is to touch the ground lightly with your hips when you twist them down.
- Do 16 – 20 reps of these for 3 rounds.
Tips :
- If your elbows hurt, you can place a towel or rug underneath your arms.
- If you have spine or tailbone pain, DO NOT do this exercise.
9. Bicycle Crunches
If you ask an expert, “Is muffin top permanent?”, you will receive one answer, i.e. Yes. But, not for long if you’ve been sticking to a clean diet and concentrating enough on your workout routine.
That said, Bicycle crunches are one of the muffin top exercises that can do wonders for your belly area.
- Lie on your mat and bend your knees to a 90-degree angle.
- Lightly put your fingers beside your head.
- Now, take one knee inwards while trying to touch it with your opposite elbow.
- Then extend that leg and let your upper body lightly touch the ground.
- Finally, repeat with the other side.
- Keep alternating the legs and try to touch your knees with the elbows simultaneously.
- Do 22 – 26 reps of these for 3 rounds.
Tips :
- Inhale and exhale the whole time while your core is being engaged.
- Don’t pull your head up with your hands because otherwise, you’ll hurt your neck.
10. Cardio
No matter what you do, if you don’t throw in a bit of cardio into your workout regime, you might not see the results you’re after.
The more calories you burn, the fewer mysteries on the topic of how to get rid of muffin tops will exist.
Cardio doesn’t have to be boring jumping jacks or running in place.
You can spice it up with a bit of kickboxing, dancing, jumping rope, having a jog around the block, walking your dogs, or even swimming or cycling!
Remember, the goal is to get your heart rate pumped up and keep it that way at least for 20 minutes.
If you don’t know where to begin, you can find thousands of cardio dance videos on YouTube and dance your muffin top away.
Not to mention, you can always begin your workout with a bit of cardio to get a good workout that’ll scorch calories and a top-notch warm-up session with no additional time wasted while you’re at it.
Frequently asked questions answered
1. Will walking help muffin top?
Of course! Walking is a type of cardio, and one of the best muffin top exercises. However, it’ll take a bit longer to see results just by walking.
2. Will running lose muffin top?
Yes! Running will burn quite a lot of calories. It’ll help burn the excess fat around your belly.
3. Will a corset help muffin top?
Corsets are designed to give you a cinched waist no matter what your build is.
But, on the contrary, while corsets will reduce the appearance of your belly, if you have a lot of fat around the area, they can push some of the excess fat down to your waist. This can also make your muffin top more prominent.
On the other hand, they can cause a whole lot of discomfort while breathing or sitting down.
So, it’s better to do it right rather than going for the easy but less effective solutions.
4. Does drinking water get rid of the muffin top?
Yes. Drinking a lot of water helps you flush out toxins, makes you less bloated and keeps you from munching all day long, which all contributes to beating a muffin top stomach.
5. Pants to avoid muffin tops?
We’re not saying that extremely tight low waisted, and mid-waisted jeans are exclusively made for those who don’t accumulate tons of belly fat.
Be that as it may, they sure contribute to inventing a muffin top and make you look like you’re heavier than you actually are.
The bottom line is, that the wisest decision is to purchase pants that are true to your size.
6. Is it normal to have a muffin top?
Mostly yes.
But, if you have abnormal muffin tops that don’t make sense according to your health, you can consult with a doctor.
7. Can you hide a muffin top?
You can. With oversized clothing or high-waisted pants. But, honey, that’s not the answer since your health might be also at stake!
8. Can liposuction remove muffin tops?
Yes. But it involves spending quite a bit of money, and potential side effects. On top of that, it won’t make you naturally healthy.
Working out and embracing a muffin-top diet don’t pose unwanted risks and make you a lot healthier!
9. Is muffin top permanent?
If you follow the above-mentioned lifestyle, No!
10. Are muffin tops and love handles the same?
Yes.
11. Will my muffin top go away?
It all depends on your eating habits and how you move your body. Go through the above-mentioned solutions and do them accordingly.
We’re certain that your how-to-lose muffin top journey will no longer be a wild goose chase.
Over to you
Well, we know this is a lot to digest in one go, but, a little effort towards the betterment of your health goes a long way.
All in all, if you have excess fat around your waist and if you were cursing your genes all these years, you may want to have a retrospect and call out on your own mistakes.
If you can’t figure out why you’re the owner of a muffin top body, try consulting a doctor and start doing the above-mentioned muffin top exercises along with a carefully crafted diet, outfit choices, sleep regimen, etc.
We know you can pull it off, now get your little butt to
work! Good luck!
