I’m a fitness expert — do this 10-minute exercise daily to lose stubborn belly fat

Tracy Swartz
·3 min read
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A TikToker who goes by Menopause With Siobhan claims she's got the 10-minute trick to reduce belly fat: An exercise that involves lifting her knees and twisting her torso.
A TikToker who goes by Menopause With Siobhan claims she's got the 10-minute trick to reduce belly fat: An exercise that involves lifting her knees and twisting her torso.

Feeling gutsy? A postmenopausal fitness enthusiast claims she’s got the 10-minute trick to reduce belly fat.

A TikToker who goes by Menopause With Siobhan often posts exercise and diet tips for women over the age of 40. One of the UK resident’s most popular videos is her 10-minute belly-fat-blasting demonstration.

“This beginner workout is great even if you haven’t exercised in years!” Siobhan insists.

In the 10-second clip, set to “Maniac,” Siobhan stands on a yoga mat with her feet apart. Her fingers are intertwined as she lifts her right knee toward her left elbow while twisting her torso.

She recommends doing both sides for 30 seconds and repeating the process three times.

A TikToker who goes by Menopause With Siobhan claims she’s got the 10-minute trick to reduce belly fat: An exercise that involves lifting her knees and twisting her torso. tiktok.com/@menopausewithsiobhan
A TikToker who goes by Menopause With Siobhan claims she’s got the 10-minute trick to reduce belly fat: An exercise that involves lifting her knees and twisting her torso. tiktok.com/@menopausewithsiobhan

“This is amazing. Keep it up,” one TikToker enthused.

“Trying this,” another vowed.

“I did this once and I’m out of breath lol,” a third confessed.

“Well done you did it,” Siobhan replied. “It will get easier.”

Menopause is the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle — with the average age of onset in the US around 51 years old. You’re officially in menopause when your period has been absent for 12 consecutive months.

Women in menopause often endure hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, depression, weight gain, and other frustrating conditions.

“Menopause belly” — when a woman packs on pounds around her abdomen, instead of her hips and thighs — has been attributed to hormonal changes, a loss of muscle mass, slowing metabolism, and genetics.

“This beginner workout is great even if you haven’t exercised in years!” Siobhan claims. tiktok.com/@menopausewithsiobhan
“This beginner workout is great even if you haven’t exercised in years!” Siobhan claims. tiktok.com/@menopausewithsiobhan

A registered dietitian going through menopause shared her experience last year — she recommends eating a Mediterranean-style diet, abstaining from alcohol, managing stress, and improving sleep quality to combat menopause belly.

“The lifestyle changes I’ve made to get my black pants back on have taken more time and hard work than they would have in my younger days. It’s slowly working, but the benefit to my health is worth it,” Kristin Kirkpatrick, founder and president of KAK Consulting, wrote for Today.com in August.

Nutrition experts, meanwhile, have been sharing the foods to avoid to prevent belly fat and the best times to eat to keep waistlines trim.

Menopause — the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle — can threaten a woman’s abs thanks to hormonal changes. Sergey Nivens – stock.adobe.com
Menopause — the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle — can threaten a woman’s abs thanks to hormonal changes. Sergey Nivens – stock.adobe.com

For his part, an obesity researcher argued that using exercise, diets, pills, and supplements to target certain parts of the body for weight loss is a waist of time.

“Spot reduction is a myth — we can’t control where our bodies lose fat,” Dr. Nick Fuller of the University of Sydney in Australia wrote for the Conversation last fall. “But we can achieve the results we’re seeking in specific areas by targeting overall fat loss.”