Creating a flat tummy not only makes you feel more confident, but it also reduces your risk for unwanted health complications. Doing this fast can be easy, but you still need to have discipline around the clock. Being that spot reduction is not possible, you have to promote full body weight loss. Add in the right blend of exercises and you will create a well-defined midsection.
Cut Back on Food
When you reduce your calories, you create a deficit where your body burns fat for energy. A fast way to trim your tummy is to cut back by 500 calories a day. This will promote about 1 lb. of total body weight loss a week. An easy way to create this reduction is by giving up foods that are high in saturated fat like cakes, cookies, burgers, fries, wings and doughnuts. High-fat foods are also high in calories.
Increase Your Fiber Intake
High-fiber foods get digested at a slow pace and they also keep you feeling full for an extended period of time. Including these foods into your diet is an easy way to keep your appetite down. Eat foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and whole-grain products.
Eat More Frequently
Eating two or three meals spaced many hours apart is risky when you are trying to get a flat tummy quickly. If you become hungry, you might end up eating a high amount of calories at your next meal. To prevent this from happening, eat breakfast, then eat a meal every two to three hours thereafter. This will not only stabilize your appetite, but it will also boost your energy levels. The key thing is to eat just enough food to take the edge off your hunger. A cup of yogurt with fruit mixed in is a meal, for example.
Substitute Your Beverages
Liquid calories can sabotage your goal to flatten your tummy when consumed on a regular basis. Eliminate all the beverages that contain calories like soda pop, sweetened tea, slushies, dessert coffees, beer, wine and milk shakes. Instead, choose water, unsweetened tea, diet soda and any other beverage that is calorie-free. To further help fill your stomach, drink a cup of water with each meal.
Select a Form of Cardio
Cardiovascular exercise is performed repetitively and it engages the arms and legs with little resistance. This form of exercise burns a high amount of calories and promotes weight loss throughout your whole body. The easiest type is the one that you like and will do on a regular basis. Walking, jogging, elliptical training, cycling and rowing are examples. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of cardio performed five days a week to lose weight.
Train with Weights
Weightlifting builds muscle which causes an increased resting metabolic rate. This in turn will help you flatten your stomach faster. In similar fashion to cardio, the easiest exercises are ones that you like. Utilize machines, body weight or free weights to target all of your major muscle groups. Perform exercises like pushups, shoulder presses, lat pulldowns, triceps extensions, biceps curls and step-ups. With all of your exercises, aim for 10 to 12 reps and do three or four sets. Work out two or three days a week.
Tone Your Stomach
Abdominal exercises do not burn massive amounts of calories, but they do help tighten and tone your tummy as you drop weight. Focus on doing exercises from multiple angles and with different motions to recruit as much muscle as possible. Lying leg raises, reverse crunches, side bends, side crunches and regular crunches are basic exercises that work the whole abdomen. Aim for 15 to 20 reps, do three or four sets and work your abs two or three days a week.
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