THE BEST WAY TO LOSE YOUR MIDDLE - CUTTING CARBS OR FAT?

Which should you cut back on first if you want to trim belly fat -- carbs or fat?

You might think that dietary fat goes straight to your middle, but research suggests that too many empty carbs is really the first thing to do your belly in.

Dueling Diets
In a study, healthy overweight men and women went on two consecutive 8-week diet interventions. The first diet period was focused on weight maintenance and the second aimed for weight reduction by cutting calories. Through each phase, the participants followed either a reduced-fat or a reduced-carbohydrate diet. When all was said and done, both groups lost weight. But it turned out that the group on the reduced-carb diet -- which, incidentally, also focused on quality, low-glycemic-index carbs -- lost 11 percent more deep belly fat compared with the group on the low-fat diet. Plus, the low-carb group lost more fat mass overall.

(Try these quick and simple low-carb recipes.)

Jon Stodola wins the first two week bonus dollars ($10) for a combined total of 22 points - WAY TO GO!

After a magnificent start in week one we fell off by 15 points this week. Let's see if we can beet our week one total of 122 points as a team.

Weekly Tip: Jon Stodola is using www.livestrong.com to track calories. "It's been extremely helpful in actually seeing what I need to do verses just feeling good about what I eat." "If I get towards the end of the day and I've consumed more than I should have, I go for an extra run, walk or Rollerblade to keep the net calorie intake below MY recommended amount."