5 Reasons Your Belly Fat Isn’t Budging

For many women, the belly is the last weight-loss frontier. After months of cutting calories, dropping pounds, and slimming your arms, legs, face, and butt, your stomach remains pretty much unfazed.

WTF?! While everything from your genetics to your age can cause fat to cling to your belly, the biggest culprit is good ole evolution. “The body preferentially sends fat to the waist so that the stored energy is near the vital organs in case they need it,” says registered dietitian Betsy Opyt, R.D., creator of Betsy’s Best. Plus, having plenty of energy on deck is especially important for women when it comes to baby making. So there’s that.

That being said, what you eat (and its hormonal effect) ultimately determines what fat you burn and what sticks around your stomach, she says.

Here are six common diet mistakes that may be standing between you and ditching the belly fat for good: