Performing hundreds of sit ups and hanging leg raises may help strengthen your core, but they will not yield flat abs. Dietary and cardiovascular interventions are the best ways to shrink your midsection. Improve your health and appearance by shrinking your belly.
Exercise
Regular cardiovascular exercise helps you drop body fat, especially in the abdomen. A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology published in 2005 demonstrated that a sedentary lifestyle contributes to the accumulation of belly fat. It further showed that moderate exercise, such as 30 minutes a day for five days a week as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, helps discourage the development of additional belly fat. The researchers from Duke University concluded, however, that only when exercise was increased to about an hour per day, most days per week, did people experience significant loss of fat at the abdomen. Try to exercise the equivalent of jogging 20 miles per week to flatten your abs.
Dairy
Eating dairy daily helps you achieve a flatter stomach. Researchers at Australia's Curtin University compared dieters eating three servings versus five servings of low-fat dairy per day. They found that five servings per day yielded more weight loss over the course of 12 weeks--much of which came off at the midsection. Eat more non-fat milk and low-fat cottage cheese and plain yogurt to help your own belly flatten.
Cook with Coconut Oil
Use coconut oil more often to sauté and make salad dressings. Brazilian researchers reported in a July 2009 study in the journal Lipids that consuming 30 ml of coconut oil daily for 12 weeks promoted a reduction in abdominal obesity when combined with a low calorie diet and 50 minutes of moderate exercise daily. Participants who consumed soy bean oil did not experience the same results.
Reduce Bloat
Even if you eat healthy foods and are not overweight, you may experience bloating that prevents your stomach from appearing flat. Avoid gas-producing foods like onions, celery, cabbage, beans, raisins, prunes and bran, recommends the University of Michigan Health Systems. Excessive caffeine and carbonation may also cause your stomach to bloat.
Consider Intolerances
If you find your stomach distends after eating certain foods, you may have a dietary intolerance. The website Food Reactions defines a food intolerance as the inability of a person's digestive system to break down food completely due to a deficiency in digestive enzymes. Some people can be sensitive to the sugar in milk, known as lactose. Soy and wheat can also cause bloating and stomach discomfort in some people. If you suspect an intolerance, try eliminating the offending food for three to five days and see if your stomach flattens out.
Moderate Alcohol
Beer is not the only form of alcohol that contributes to a beer belly. Mayoclinic.com notes that drinking too much of any type of alcohol can cause a fat belly. Moderate intake of one or two daily drinks is fine, but too much negatively affects the way in which your body metabolizes fat, pads your diet with too many calories and reduces your ability to make healthy choices.
References
- Journal of Applied Physiology: Inactivity, Exercise, and Visceral Fat
- Curtin University of Technology: Higher Dairy Intake Can Help Fight Obesity
- PubMed.gov: Effects of Dietary Coconut Oil on the Biochemical and Anthropometric Profiles of Women Presenting Abdominal Obesity
- University of Michigan Health System: Helpful Hints for Controlling Gas
- Food Reactions: Food Intolerance
Member Comments