Stomach fat on women comes with health risks. The problem sets in when deep, visceral fat builds up in the abdomen. This packs around the organs and is associated with an increased risk for conditions such as gallbladder disease and breast cancer. By flattening your stomach, not only will you lower your disease risk, but you may also gain back lost self-esteem. This takes a blend of lifestyle adjustments.
Step 1
Monitor your calories for a week and create a deficit. Track everything you currently eat and drink for seven days and then add together the totals. Divide by seven to get a daily average and deduct 500 calories from it. Aim to eat this number of calories every day. This will promote about 1 pound of weight loss a week through the body as an entire unit, including your stomach.
Step 2
Fill your stomach with healthy foods. Avoid sweets, salty snacks or foods high in saturated fat such as cakes, cookies, meatball hoagies, french fries and potato chips. Keep your diet as clean as possible and base it on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, low-fat dairy, legumes, whole grains and fish.
Step 3
Eat snacks between your meals to keep your appetite controlled and metabolism lifted. Eat a healthy snack two to three hours after each meal and keep it in the range of 100 to 200 calories. A small bag of whole-grain pretzels is quick and easy.
Step 4
Introduce your body to aerobic training. Aerobic exercise is key when it comes to developing a flat stomach. Choose an activity you enjoy, such as running, cycling, step aerobics, stair climbing, jumping rope or kickboxing. In addition to burning calories, all of these exercises also cause you to contract your abs to maintain spinal alignment and produce force. Make sure to exercise often enough to achieve satisfactory results. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of daily physical activity performed five days a week for weight loss.
Step 5
Train with weights to help flatten your stomach. Adding muscle to your body boosts your resting metabolic rate, causing you to burn more calories over a 24-hour period. This, in turn, melts fat in your stomach and through the rest of your body more quickly. Perform exercises such as chest presses, lateral raises, back rows, triceps extensions, biceps curls and squats to target your major muscle groups. Aim for 10 to 12 reps, do three or four sets and work out two or three days a week.
Step 6
Perform abdominal exercises to tone and tighten your abdomen. Incorporate exercises that work your entire abdominal wall, such as lying leg raises, side bends, Russian twists and stability ball situps. Use proper form with these exercises to achieve the greatest benefit. For stability ball situps, lie face-up on the ball with your hands on the sides of your head and lower back on top of the ball. Your shoulders and head should be slightly elevated at this point. Position your feet shoulder-width apart on the floor and move your torso upward until it is about 45 degrees to the floor. Squeeze your abs forcefully for a second, slowly lower yourself back down and repeat. Aim for 15 to 20 reps with each exercise and do three or four sets. It is safe to train your abs three to five days a week because they are more resistant to fatigue than other muscles.
Step 7
Attend yoga or Pilates classes one or two times a week. These forms of exercise further develop the abdominal muscles and all the remaining muscles of the core. Refer to a local gym to find classes or check out a DVD from your local library and practice in the comfort of your living room.
References
- Harvard Health Publications: Abdominal Fat and What to Do About It
- "Shape": Healthy Snacks = Weight Loss
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines
- American Council on Exercise: Stability Ball Sit-ups/Crunches
- Unm.edu: SuperAbs Resource Manual; Len Kravitz, Ph.D.
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