Get a Flat Belly Over 40: Melt Belly Fat With Trainer’s Rules

A flat stomach after 40 is possible – and 57-year-old trainer Jill Brown would know.

Brown, a certified health fitness master and nutrition coach, says losing weight and even getting a belly won’t look the same as it did in your 20s, but if you focus less on “beauty crises” and more on her number one priority, you’ll be on your way to seeing results.

Brown acknowledged that it’s definitely harder to lose weight in midlife — and it’s necessary to keep your body changes in mind with your diet and fitness goals.

“The first thing we need to understand is that we lose muscle as we age. Sarcopenia [age-related muscle loss] it happens to men and women starting around their 30s,” she told The Post.

“As we lose muscle, our metabolism slows down. So if we’re eating roughly the same amount of calories in our 40s as we were in our 20s and 30s, or we’re exercising less, we’ll slowly gain weight.”

And even if the weight gain went all the way to your thighs and butt, as you get older, more will settle in the middle.

“Once estrogen levels start to drop in menopause for women, the playing field is leveled and we all start storing more fat around the belly,” Brown said. “Add chronic stress to the mix, and long-term high cortisol will cause more fat to be deposited around the belly.”

So how do you lose belly fat? First comes the diet.

“There’s an old saying in my field that says, ‘Muscles are made in the gym and abs (or flat abs) are made in the kitchen,'” Brown said.

Ever heard that fat loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise? Brown says there is no scientific study to back up this report, but “almost every professional in the world of fitness and nutrition agrees on this.”

“To have a flat stomach after 40, nutrition should be the number one priority. All the fancy planks and crunches in the world won’t burn a noticeable amount of belly fat,” she explained.

“But when you have a meal plan that prioritizes high-quality protein with strategies to help you achieve a calorie deficit, you’ll see that belly fat start to melt away.

“We store extra calories as fat to use when food is scarce. Eat fewer calories and the fat will be used for energy.”

I better move

That being said, Brown emphasized that you still need to work out if you want abs — or any muscle definition. But strength-building exercises are the name of the game.

“No matter how much protein you eat, you can’t build muscle without exercise as a stimulus. So strength training should always be done,” she said.

You must be asking yourself, how important is it to have a flat stomach? Unless you’re genetically blessed, it takes work.

Jill Brown, Certified Health Fitness Master and Nutrition Coach

“The more muscle mass we have in our bodies as we age, the better. Increases our resting metabolic rate (RMR) – not by much, but every bit counts to compensate for the fact that metabolism slows with age, mainly due to muscle loss. The higher our RMR, the more calories our body burns per day.”

Cardio can also be helpful, but only as it relates to a calorie deficit – if you’re sweating it out on the treadmill or stationary bike, you’re burning calories.

“Traditional cardio exercises like walking, running, elliptical machines, etc., done at a steady, comfortable pace, don’t build muscle, but they do burn calories,” she said.

Think about your priorities

All of this may seem easier said than done, especially since people feel less energetic in their 40s, 50s, and 60s than in their 20s or even their 30s.

“The rub is that as we get older, we like to take it easy,” Brown said. “Maybe we have injuries—I have a few big ones from genetics and accidents—or we can feel exhausted and have less time to prepare healthy meals or fit in our workouts.”

So adjusting your mindset can make a difference.

“You have to ask yourself, how important is it to have a flat stomach? Unless you’re genetically blessed, it takes work,” she admitted.

“So it’s a good idea to think about it like this: Do I want a flat stomach just to look good or do I need a flatter stomach for my health?”

You may have a lot of subcutaneous fat, the kind you can “bundle and see jiggling under the skin,” which sits above the muscle and below the skin.

Brown says fat isn’t dangerous — but visceral fat, which surrounds organs and has been linked to everything from dementia to heart disease to strokes, is dangerous and can lead to early death.

If your motivation is to shed that visceral fat and live longer, you might be more likely to eat a little better and move a little more—which will take care of both types of fat.

“My last memory is this,” Brown concluded. “Losing the fat isn’t the hardest part. It’s keeping him out. If you want a flatter stomach for life, you need to make permanent changes in your lifestyle and habits. Not just a 60- or 90-day program where you go back to your old habits when you’re done.”