Taming Your Trouble Spots: Belly Fat

Hi, I'm Dr. Pam Peeke. Is your belly getting so big it has its own zip code? Having trouble zipping up your skinny jeans without bulges of belly fat popping up? Problem solved. Let me help you achieve some real girth control. We're going to use an ab ball and a floor mat. Make sure you have enough room to spread out. Let's start with a waist crunch. Have a seat on the exercise mat. Now, what I want you to do is lie back. Take your hands and gently just place them to the side. Lift up your legs, bent knee. This is the beginner's position. For the people who are more advanced, you can extend your legs completely. Straight on up. And all you're going to do is lift up. You see what I just did? So simple. And then bring it right on back down. Nothing jerky about this. Nice and easy. And hold. And straight on down. It'd be great if you could start with five repetitions and work your way up to 10, and three sets of 10 over time. Be patient. Pop that patience pill.

: Now, while we're at it, I'm going to show you a secret. And the secret is the bicycle crunch. We love to multitask. This is going to take care not only of our rectus abdominis, but our obliques at the same time. We've got a lot of ab muscles here to deal with. So, all you have to do is lace your hands behind your neck, and then lift up a little bit. Bent knees, and then straighten out that left leg, keeping the right one bent. You're going to match your right elbow to your left knee. Watch this. We're going to bike away. Here we go! One... Two... Three. See how simple that is? I can feel it. How about you? Again, you're going to start with five great repetitions, gradually increase to three sets of 10, and boy, will you see some results.

: Speaking of which, let's hop on an ab ball, and I'm going to show you an ab crunch. Right off the ball. What you're doing here is allowing the ball to support your back. Lace your hands behind your neck, and you're going to do the same thing again. Engage your core. Bring it straight on up. Oh boy, can you feel it? That's right. That's your rectus abdominis working again. And again, you're looking for five great repetitions, gradually increasing to 10 for three sets. And you can really have some fun with this. You can, for instance, hold onto a medicine ball -- or how about some weights as well? Again, you start with five repetitions and work your way up to 10 repetitions. And eventually three sets of 10. Remember that maintaining good form is key. Mix it up using more than one exercise, and practice engaging your core every day with all of your activities. That's the secret to melting your muffin top and your menopot. You can make healthy changes to your diet and body, and WebMD can help. Use the WebMD Food and Fitness Planner to track your progress.