Flattening your stomach in one month depends on what kind of shape you're currently in. If you're obese, or even moderately thick around the middle, a month just may not cut it. But if you could stand to lose 5 to 10 lbs. and you've got less than six-pack abs, take heart. The first thing you should know is that no number of situps or crunches is going to flatten your stomach. If you're flabby, you need to lose weight. You might even already have a hidden six-pack waiting to be revealed, especially if you have been working out but also over-eating.
Step 1
Figure out how much weight you need to lose. You should consult with your doctor if you're going to be making dramatic changes, but you can figure out some personal baseline data on your own. Weigh yourself and calculate your BMI and BMR. BMI is your body mass index, which measures body fat based on height and weight. BMR is your basal metabolic rate and represents the number of calories your body needs each day to sustain itself. It's an at-rest number that accounts for breathing, brain activity, blood circulation and other body functions.
Step 2
Calculate your daily calorie expenditure by figuring out how many calories your cumulative daily activities consume. For example, your job, household chores, walking your dog and exercising all burn calories. Books and online sites are replete with calorie-burning calculators to assist you. Add this number to your BMR figure to arrive at a total daily caloric expenditure total.
Step 3
Track your daily calorie intake for one day. Use a typical day and account for every calorie you consume. Compare that number to your total calorie intake number. If the figures are similar --- for example, you burn 2,500 calories a day and you consume about the same number---then your weight is probably fairly constant. You need to diet, exercise, or preferably do both.
Step 4
Lose weight or, more accurately, lose fat. There are 3,500 calories in 1 lb. of fat, so a reduction in 3,500 calories results in a loss of 1 lb. of weight -- mostly fat. You have to develop a diet plan that allows you to cut the maximum number of calories each day, and remember, you've only got a month. While theories exist about how much weight a person can actually lose in one week, the sheer numbers point to a 2 lb. limit, unless you're extremely over-weight -- and if you're extremely over-weight, you won't be seeing a flat stomach in one week. Cutting intake, or boosting expenditure, by 1,000 calories per day yields a 2 lb. per week weight loss (1,000 x 7 = 7,000 / 3,500 = 2). That's 8 or 9 lbs. in a month.
Step 5
Exercise. Aerobic exercise is your best bet for fat loss, especially combined with a sensible, balanced, calorie-reducing diet. Running, swimming, biking and stair-stepping provide some of the most intense cardio workouts. Add to that an abdomen routine of core weight-lifting, situps/crunches and other stomach exercises --- including weight-assisted situps --- and you may develop a visible ripple once the extra mid-section weight is shed.
Tips and Warnings
- Investigate the possibility of a low-carb diet. Although long-term benefits are questionable, and low-carb diets aren't conducive to intense workouts or extended physical fitness programs, they do provide a quick start to weight loss through increased fat burning and water loss. Revisit your diet after a month, particularly if you're going to stick to a workout schedule. You may find yourself actually needing more calories per day than when you began because of increased activity and changes in your metabolism Don't weigh yourself during the month. It may discourage you if you're not losing as much weight as you targeted, and the weight isn't important. You're trying to lose fat, not weight. A flat stomach is the goal, so if you gain muscle while flattening your stomach, there is no harm.
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