Many people perform crunches, hanging leg raises and planks hoping to achieve a flat tummy. While these exercises do improve core strength, they do nothing to improve the appearance of your abdomen as long as you have subcutaneous or visceral fat covering up your muscles. To achieve a flat abdomen, you must take action to amend your diet and lifestyle.
Step 1
Reduce your calorie intake below your daily calorie burn to get rid of excess weight, which often is carried in the tummy. Aim for a slow rate of loss, about one or two pounds per week, advises the Centers for Disease Control, to prevent unbearable deprivation.
Step 2
Exercise at a moderate- to high-intensity level for 45 to 60 minutes five or six days per week to trim belly fat. Go for the equivalent of jogging 20 miles per week, as this amount was shown in a 2007 issue of the "Journal of Applied Physiology" to help participants burn off belly fat and reduce waist circumference, while lesser amounts of exercise did not.
Step 3
Eat a balanced diet consisting of whole foods such as lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables, plant and fish oils and whole grains. Pay attention to portion sizes so you do not overshoot your calorie target and gain weight.
Step 4
Prepare meals at home using fresh, minimally processed ingredients, and stay away from convenience foods, junk foods, fast foods and chain restaurant offerings. Cooking at home also will help you avoid extra sodium, saturated and trans fats, refined flours and simple sugars: Sodium can cause bloating, refined flours and sugars contain nutritionally void calories that can promote weight gain, and trans fats have been shown to contribute to abdominal obesity, as noted in an animal study in a 2007 issue of the journal "Obesity." Monkeys fed a low-calorie diet containing trans fats experienced an expansion of their waistband, while monkeys that did not take in the trans fats did not.
Step 5
Eat five servings of low fat-dairy daily. Choose unsweetened yogurt, cottage cheese and skim milk as your primary sources. After 12 weeks, dieters consuming five servings daily experienced a greater loss of belly fat and overall weight compared with those consuming three daily servings, according to an October 2009 study at Curtin University in Australia.
Step 6
Eat mini-meals at regular intervals throughout the day. Divide your daily calorie target by five or six and strive to eat that many times a day to keep your metabolism stoked and your belly from becoming too full. Do not skip meals or you risk becoming overly hungry and binging at the next opportunity, meaning an intake of too many calories, which can lead to weight gain and a distended stomach due to fullness.
Tips and Warnings
- If you are lactose intolerant, do not increase dairy servings, as you will likely experience bloating and sabotage your flat tummy. Food intolerance to soy or wheat also might cause bloating. If you suspect you suffer from one, consult your physician. Remember, not everyone can achieve a perfectly flat stomach because of genetics or life experiences, like multiple C-sections. Take the steps to achieve a flatter tummy and aim for health, rather than some unattainable ideal.
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