Flat Abs Diet Plan

You cannot crunch your way to flat abs. Abdominal exercises offer value in strengthening the muscle of the core, but they do nothing to eliminate the fat layers that rest on top of the muscles. Dietary intervention and regular aerobic exercise are the only strategies that can help you reduce overall fat to reveal your muscles. If you are already relatively fit and watching your diet, you may need to make some tweaks to help prevent bloating from masking your flat tummy.

Features

A flat abs diet plan emphasizes whole, unprocessed foods high in nutrition and low in saturated and trans fats. Emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and unsaturated fats. Flat abs will not come about if you are not at a healthy weight. Attention to calorie content and portion control can help you drop pounds.

Specific Foods

Including certain foods in your diet can help encourage flat abs. Eating five servings of dairy a day, reports Curtin University in Australia, helps you lose more weight and belly fat than eating fewer servings. The 2009 study found that subjects who consumed cottage cheese, plain yogurt and skim milk five times per day while following a low-calorie diet had more success in losing weight.
Switching to whole grains also helps shrink your mid-section, reports a study in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2008. Go for oatmeal, brown rice and quinoa over corn flakes, white rice, and white pasta.
Eating unsaturated fats in lieu of saturated fats also helps decrease belly fat, as reported by a Spanish study published in "Diabetes Care" in July 2007. A study in the journal "Lipids" published in July 2009 suggests that coconut oil, despite its saturated fat content, is an effective belly fat buster.

Avoid Trans Fats

Avoiding all trans fats is another important aspect of a flat abs diet. Trans fats are a man-made product designed to increase a product's shelf life. They are often found in processed foods and restaurant fast food. A study in the journal "Obesity" in 2007 found that when monkeys ate a low-calorie diet that included trans fats, they still stored excess fat at their belly. The American Heart Association recommends you take in less than one percent of total calories in the form of trans fats.

Eat Often

Eating small meals throughout the day prevents you from getting that stuffed feeling that can lead to stomach distension. Divide your daily calorie allotment by five or six meals to be eaten every three to four hours. Regularly eating also prevents uncontrollable hunger that can spur overconsuming at your next sitting. For a 1,500 calorie a day plan, try five 300-calorie meals. You might consume a serving of oatmeal with a cup of skim milk and a teaspoon of slivered almonds at breakfast. Try a cup of whole wheat spaghetti with diced tomatoes, broccoli, an ounce of low-fat mozarella and three ounces of chicken breast for lunch. At dinner, enjoy a four ounce serving of broiled salmon with a small sweet potato and green beans. Your "snack" time meals might be made up of a ½ cup of part-skim ricotta cheese with a cup of blueberries or a low-fat string cheese with an apple and 10 pecan halves.

Considerations

If you have been following a healthy eating plan and still experience bloating and discomfort, you may be intolerant to certain foods, notes the University of Michigan. Vegetables like onions, cabbage and Brussels sprouts can cause bloating and gas. Lactose--the natural sugar found in milk--soy and wheat can cause intolerances in people that manifest as belly distension. A sudden increase in fiber intake can also cause bloating. Avoiding carbonation and gum chewing lessens air-swallowing, another cause of a distended belly.