How to Lose Belly Fat After Age 50

How to reduce belly fat

Experts say the only way to get rid of belly fat is a comprehensive plan that incorporates both diet and exercise. “The ideal approach involves addressing your overall lifestyle, including eating a balanced diet of whole, naturally fiber-rich foods, being regularly active, prioritizing sleep, not drinking excessively and managing stress,” says Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian based in Los Angeles who specializes in nutrition and plant-based eating. 

What you eat matters. “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet,” says Michele Promaulayko, author of Sugar Free 3: The Simple 3-Week Plan for More Energy, Better Sleep & Surprisingly Easy Weight Loss! “Eating a healthy diet and working out are great companions.”

Losing belly fat has many positive impacts, according to recent evidence. When researchers in a 2026 Nature Communications report evaluated abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 533 participants from previous clinical trials who had lost weight, they found that less visceral fat was linked with slower brain shrinking, better brain structure preservation and improved cognitive performance in late midlife, whether or not a person regained weight. The loss of visceral fat, not just weight loss, was responsible for helping the brain most, mainly by improved glycemic control.

Similarly, in a report out this year in Circulation, scientists found that for every 10 percent of weight participants lost during the earlier clinical trial, their risk for type 2 diabetes was 28 percent lower a decade later than it would have been without visceral fat loss, even in those who gained back weight.

The good news is that you can lose belly fat if you make changes to your diet and exercise regularly. Here’s how to revamp both for a flatter belly after 50.

1. Exercises for belly fat

Regular, consistent exercise like walking, running and swimming has been shown to help burn calories and some fat. But high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) — also referred to as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) — is a more efficient way of working out and gets more results in less time.

HIIT is a form of cardiovascular exercise that alternates between short bouts of high-intensity and low-intensity moves for the duration of the workout, which is usually 30 minutes or less.

High-intensity interval training includes:

1. Walking or running at a slow pace
2. Speeding up
3. Repeating

It can also include aerobic, boot-camp-style cycling or any classes that alternate between slower- to moderate-intensity and high-intensity movements.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services recommends adults spend at least 150 minutes per week on moderate aerobic activity — think a brisk walk or bike ride — or 75 minutes per week on vigorous aerobic activity, like running. It also suggests strength training exercises at least twice a week. 

Walking 75 minutes briskly once a week reduced total body fat mass, body fat percentage and waist circumference, which researchers said boosted cardiovascular fitness. These results were comparable to splitting up the walking time over three days, according to a small 2026 study in Nature Communications. In other words, if you can only walk one day a week, you can still obtain results. Starting slowly, as you would with any exercise, is essential for older adults.

2. Cut down on sugar

Sugar, particularly simple sugars, is one of the leading causes of fat and specifically belly fat, according to Promaulayko. “Excess sugar is a major driver of belly fat and fat in general because we only need very little for energy. The rest is stored as fat. And the fact is, we’re getting way more than we need via added and hidden sugars,” she says.

Sass also recommends cutting down on sugar in the form of refined carbs found in breads, bagels, muffins and sugary drinks, all of which contribute to belly fat.

3. Eat a plant-based diet

Sass recommends eating a healthy, balanced, plant-based diet. “Including unsaturated plant-based fats, from foods like avocado, extra-virgin olive oil, whole Mediterranean olives and olive tapenade, nuts, seeds and nut or seed butters — especially when they replace saturated fats as part of a healthy balanced diet — may help reduce belly fat,” she says.

These fats, within an overall healthful eating pattern, have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and lead to more favorable inflammatory levels, two metabolic conditions linked to belly fat, she says.

Add pulses, the umbrella term for dry beans, lentils, peas and chickpeas, for a nutritious source of protein. “The unique combination of fiber and plant protein found in pulses makes them an excellent food for regulating blood sugar and insulin,” Sass says. “Pulses have been shown to help reduce body fat, and regular pulse eaters have smaller waist measurements and a more than 20 percent lower risk of obesity.”

Research has also shown that people who eat whole grains lose more belly fat than those who eat refined grains. “Whole grain eaters also experienced greater improvements in C-reactive protein, a blood marker for inflammation, which is tied to belly fat through changes in gut microbiome activity and improvements in insulin sensitivity,” says Sass. She adds that soluble fiber is also key.

Foods that provide soluble fiber include oranges, apples, pears, figs, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, oats and avocados.

A plant-based diet can help you not only reduce belly fat but also live longer. A 2023 study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that eating a plant-based or Mediterranean diet was linked with about a 20 percent lower risk of early death.

4. Limit ultra-processed foods

More than half of the calories adults eat are from ultra-processed foods, according to a 2025 report published in The Journal of Nutrition. And an earlier study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition said that consuming foods such as sodas, frozen pizza, fast food, salty snacks and sugary breakfast cereals “may be a key driver of the U.S. obesity epidemic.”

Other studies have linked processed foods to higher risks of dementia, cancer and death from heart disease, as well as your risk of gaining belly fat. So cut way down on frozen meals, fast food, chips and sugary drinks. Fill up instead with heart-healthy foods like:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Legumes
• Lentils
• Nuts
• Whole grains
• Lean meats like poultry and fish

5. See if intermittent fasting is right for you

There are many types of intermittent fasting — from time-restricted eating (limiting your eating window to a certain amount of time per day), to alternate-day fasting (where you limit calories to 500 or 600 on two nonconsecutive days a week), to brief continuous fasts, Sass says.

“Intermittent fasting has been shown to help reduce belly fat,” she says. But what you eat when you’re not fasting is key to whether you’ll lose weight.

Some studies have found intermittent fasting helps people lose weight. The authors of a 2024 report in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics that reviewed 48 studies on intermittent fasting between 2011 and 2022 say that fasting leads to greater fat loss, compared with eating as usual. And it’s more effective for weight loss and reduction in terms of BMI, though it’s unclear if the practice benefits sugar and lipid metabolism.

Not all studies show benefits. A six-year study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that calories mattered more than meal timing for weight gain. Intermittent fasting may be a bad fit for people with health ailments such as diabetes (especially type 1 diabetes) who must eat at regular intervals or take prescription medications with food.

Data published in 2024 that received a lot of buzz linked eating less than eight hours per day to a 91 percent higher risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. Other experts say that this didn’t prove that fasting caused death and that intermittent fasting on the whole needs more research. Ask your doctor before you try intermittent fasting, especially if you have a health condition.

Regardless of the diet plan you choose or how you time your meals, a healthy eating pattern is essential, along with exercise, to reduce your waist size and improve your health.