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If you’ve been eating less, moving more, and still can’t seem to lose the belly fat — there’s a good chance it has nothing to do with your willpower or your effort. According to a growing number of nutrition researchers, one extremely common food found in nearly every American refrigerator and pantry may be silently interfering with your body’s ability to burn fat — and most people eat it every single day without thinking twice.

What makes this so frustrating is that this food is often marketed as healthy. You’ll find it on “clean eating” lists, in diet meal plans, and on the shelves of every grocery store in the country. But emerging research suggests that for millions of women — especially those over 40 — this ingredient may be triggering a hormonal response that tells the body to store calories as fat instead of burning them.

“We’ve been blaming ourselves for years,” says one nutrition educator who has worked with hundreds of women struggling with stubborn weight. “But when you understand how this specific food interacts with your metabolism, everything starts to make sense.”

The good news? Simply becoming aware of this food — and knowing what to replace it with — may be the missing piece that finally allows your body to start releasing that stubborn fat, particularly around the belly, arms, and hips.