I have a pouch of fat on my stomach. I am generally pleased with the rest of my body, but this bit is annoying me. I exercise a lot and I do not mind doing a little bit more to get rid of it. Any suggestions for what I should do? I'm open to almost anything. --L.B.

This is actually a pretty common problem for certain body types. You are probably "apple-shaped," meaning you carry your excess weight in your tummy but not on your hips and thighs. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do in the way of spot reducing. You can't do an exercise for your tummy and expect to melt the fat away from that area. Your body doesn't operate that way, I'm sorry to say.

If you are overweight, increasing your aerobic exercise and watching your calories will help reduce your overall weight. And I do recommend doing some abdominal exercises, which will tighten up and flatten that area to some extent. These exercises also help improve your posture, which always makes your tummy appear flatter and improves your appearance in general. Try doing abdominal exercises two to four times a week, 8 to 15 reps per set. After a month or so you should see some improvement in the look and tone of your stomach area, even if you don't lose any weight.

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