Things You Inherit from Mom

We love her, but we don't love the spider veins she gave us! Learn how to trick your DNA and fix the beauty traits we wish we hadn't inherited from Mom. See yourself a size smaller with our Virtual Weight Loss Simulator!

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The "Pooch"

The docs can call it whatever medical term they want, but all women know what "the pooch" is. It's that area underneath your belly button that no matter how many crunches you do and miles you run just will not whittle down. If you have one of these, take a look at not only Mom, but Grandma too. This is a body trait that is generally carried down generation to generation, like having tiny ears or a weird pinkie toe. Unlike that odd toe, however, there is a quick fix to this solution. "The most immediate results can be seen by correcting your posture," says Robyn Flipse, M.S., R.D., of the Nutrition Communication Services. "Look at your body in a full-length mirror as you straighten the spine, raise your chin, and gently push your shoulders back. The chest is naturally lifted and the stomach flattened." Flipse also suggests eating meals at regular times and drinking carbonated beverages through a straw, to keep air out of the abdominal area and bloating at a minimum.