Flat Tummy Foods: Greens
In addition to protecting your eyes from age-related macular degeneration, thanks to its carotenoids, spinach has high concentrations of vitamin K, which can help maintain bone density and prevent fractures. The green stuff is also a powerful source of potassium and magnesium as well as folate, all of which can keep blood pressure low, reducing the risk of stroke.
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Avoid Salt And Sneaky High
Salt causes gastrointestinal discomfort and excessive bloating to the midsection. “Sodium… attracts and retains water, giving you a puffy appearance,” says Lakatos.
Belly Buster: Stay away from prepackaged meats and processed foods with large amounts of seasoning. These are subtle sources of high sodium that can lead to a tubby tummy.
Achieving a flatter stomach is going to take some work, but the health benefits are totally worth it. Plus, showing off in a new bathing suit won’t be so bad either.
Flattening The Lower Stomach
Theres no way to lose weight in one part of the body without losing weight throughout the body. In order to flatten your lower stomach you need to reduce the amount of calories youre consuming enough to create a deficit, eating less calories daily than you burn. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 1 pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories. If you want to lose 2 pounds weekly, you need to reduce your caloric intake by 1,000 calories daily.
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What Is The Quickest Way To Flatten Your Lower Stomach
The quickest way to flatten your lower stomach is by reducing any present fatty tissue and strengthening the abdominal muscles. Although its commonly thought that doing more sit-ups will flatten the stomach, the truth is you need to reduce the top layer of fat thats covering your abdominal muscles.
Focus On Intense Total
Its nearly impossible to get abs with targeted exercises when there is a layer of fat on top. Its better to focus on total-body workouts, like those in theResults app, that recruit many muscle groups at the same time. This will result in more calories burned and more overall body fat lost. When you are working out at an intensity level that is challenging for you, you dont need to spend hours working out. Find out how to crank up the intensity and burn more calories during your next workout.
Having a hard time pushing yourself to train hard? Try recruiting a friend to join you for your workouts.
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Exercises To Engage Your Lower Abs
If you ask just about anybody who has worked out for a long time theyll tell you in a heartbeat there are certain exercises you can do that youll feel more in your lower abs.
Many bodybuilders who spend day in and day out trying to achieve the perfect physique know youre able to target your lower abdominals.
There are even some studies coming out proving youre able to target certain regions of one muscle with certain exercises.
This study found some exercises had more activity in the upper abs versus the lower abdominals.
The researchers found that crunches activated more the upper abs while posterior pelvic tilts would activate more of the lower abs.
In this study by the University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers found support for the concept you can target different regions of the abdominal muscles with specific exercises.
The researchers in this study found this evidence to be in contradiction of what many so-called experts have been saying that you cant target specific regions of a muscle group.
And in this study researchers found changes in body position exercise intensity would create different demands on different portions of the rectus abdominis muscle.
Here too is a more recent study from 2017 found exercises activated more in differing regions of the rectus abdominis.
So the science is starting to catch up proving its at the very least quite possible you can target your lower ab region.
Take Control Of Your Eating Habits
I say this all the time, but you cant outtrain a bad diet. In fact, your eating habits are the key here. Check out the steps you can take:
- Get rid of all the processed foods, microwave dinners, fast food, chips, soda, etc. All the extra sugar and sodium will surely prevent you from getting rid of the belly pooch. Dont forget sugar is hidden in many foods where you wouldnt expect it.
- Think whole foods: fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and heart-healthy fats! Thisfruity quinoa salad is perfect for summer and, when that sweet tooth starts calling, sink your teeth into thesedeliciously moist brownies made with kidney beans!
- Drink plenty of water. This will prevent that extra bloat and help boost your metabolism. Some other drinks can help you reduce your belly bloat, too.
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Increase Protein And Fiber Intake
In order to lose weight, including from your lower belly, you should consume an adequate amount of fiber and protein.
Fiber has a wide range of benefits, including aiding weight loss. Some types of fiber slow the absorption of nutrients, allowing you to feel full longer, therefore consuming less calories throughout the day and helping achieve a deficit.
Men need between 30 and 38 grams of fiber per day, and women need between 21 and 25 grams per day.
Some good sources of fiber include: avocados, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.
Protein is made up of amino acids and helps feed and repair our muscles, among other parts of our body. However, its where you are getting your protein that matters most.
Choose good sources of animal protein, like fish, poultry, eggs and low-fat dairy. Vegetables also provide ample amounts of protein look for dark, leafy greens like kale, spinach, broccoli and asparagus.
And dont forget quinoa, a grain that mimics the same amino acid profile as an animal protein. A good choice for vegetarians and vegans.
Be Patient And Stick With It
Achieving a flat stomach takes time. Go in with a long-term outlook. “Going for the immediately perfect result is unrealistic and, when you fail, you will likely quit,” says Quebbemann.
Instead, commit to these lifestyle changes for a period of several weeks or months and enlist the support of a friend who can help hold you accountable.
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Flat Tummy Foods: Leeks
A landmark clinical trial done in North Dakota in the 1990s showed that women who ate high amounts of manganese in their daily diet had fewer mood swings and crampsthan those who consumed the least. The onion family contains this essential mineral: Just a ½ cup of leeks has 13 percent of your daily needs of manganese, which will help beat bloat.
Go Without Processed Grains
Processed grains, like white bread and pasta, take less time to digest and are quickly converted into sugar and eventually fat.
“By frequently eating highly processed grain products, even in moderate amounts, you will be signaling to your body to store the high levels of sugar as fat,” Quebbemann says.
What the research says: A 2010 study found that people who limit refined grains and eat more whole grains have lower levels of visceral fat, which is located around abdominal organs.
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Stay Away From Alcohol
This might get a BOOO! from the crowd, but its really important. Not only is alcohol full of empty calories, it also releases estrogen into the bloodstream which, in excess, can cause you to put on weight. If youre really serious about getting a flat belly for summer, keep your alcohol intake to a minimum.
Lazy Ways To Flatten Your Belly
Who doesnt want a flat belly, stat?
Yet hours of crunches, cardio, and superstrict dieting arent realisticor a whole lot of funfor many of us. Luckily, it is possible to flatten your belly and look slimmer almost immediately.
Your stomach is the one part of your body that reacts quickly to dietary changesgood and bad. If you want to look thinner fast, avoid gassy veggies, chewing gum, salt, carbonated beverages, and any foods with sugar alcohols, says Erin Palinski, registered dietitian and certified personal trainer.
These foods will lead to water retention and bloating, she explains. If you normally eat three larger meals a day, Palinski recommends cutting those portions in half and eating smaller meals every two to three hours. Want more instant fixes for a flatter belly?
Here are 8 ways you can feel trimmer and slimmer in your bellyin some cases, nearly overnight.
1. Stand up straight Standing up taller can make you look 5 pounds slimmer, says Deborah L. Mullen, a certified strength and conditioning specialist in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
How can you make it a habit? Try Pilates. According to a 6-month pilot study of 18 chronic back pain sufferers, Pilates is one of the best ways to improve posture and strengthen your ab and back muscles.
Jessica Cassity, Preventions senior fitness editor and a certified Pilates instructor, suggests two moves you can actually do while youre still in bed that will set you straight for the day:
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Only Drink Water Or Tea
When people are bloated, they tend to skimp on water because they think it will make their bloating worse. Since water retention is the body’s way of holding onto fluid so it doesn’t dehydrate, the opposite is true. Drinking lots of water signals the body that it no longer needs to hold onto every last drop to stay hydrated. “Fluids, specifically water, are absolutely key for optimal digestion,” says Isabel Smith, MS, RD, CDN, registered dietitian and founder of Isabel Smith Nutrition.
Flat Tummy Foods: Olive Oil
The main benefit of olive oil, and there are many, is that it lowers bad LDL cholesterol and raises good HDL cholesterol, thanks to its monounsaturated fats. Olive oil is also packed with antioxidants called phenols, which may protect artery walls from cholesterol buildup.
Researchers even discovered recently that olive oil acts as an anti-inflammatory, which further protects your heart, and the rest of your body, too.
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Bonus Round: Losing Belly Fat After Having A Baby
Its totally normal for your belly to feel loose or jiggly in the early days and weeks after giving birth. In addition to pregnancy weight gain, your abdominal muscles were stretched to the max to accommodate your growing bundle of joy.
Losing belly fat postpartum starts with the same strategies youd use to lose belly fat at any other time: Eat a little less and exercise more.
It may not happen overnight, but its reasonable to be back to your prepregnancy weight by the time your baby reaches their first birthday.
Does that mean your lower belly will look the same as it did before you got pregnant? Not necessarily. For some women, pregnancy causes the abdominal muscles to separate and create a noticeable bulge, even after theyve fully recovered from giving birth.
This condition, called diastasis recti, is fixable with abdominal exercises. A physical therapist can help you get the hang of them. Just ask your healthcare provider for a recommendation they can point you in the right direction.
How To Build The Best Lower Ab Workout
The term “lower abs” is actually a misnomeryour rectus abdominis muscle, or abdominal wall, actually covers your entire midsection and connects to your pelvis. Still, women are constantly searching for the best lower ab exercises that will help flatten lower belly fat . PSA: No amount of lower-abs workouts will magically make your abs pop or offer the ultimate solution for how to get rid of lower belly flab.
However, these effective exercises target multiple abdominal muscles, so you’ll strengthen your entire midsectionincluding your lower abswith every rep.
Here’s a pro tip for getting the most out of these best lower ab exercises: Focusing on the activation of your core is the key to success with these moves . In fact, one study from Hull University found that people who mentally focused on their muscles and how they were moving experienced greater muscle activity, which can result in greater strength gains over time. We’ve included “mind your muscle” tips with every lower ab exercise to help you maximize the results of your low ab workout.
How it works: Do the prescribed number of sets and reps for each lower ab exercise consecutively, taking a 45- to 60-second rest between sets. Perform the full lower ab workout on 3 or 4 nonconsecutive days each week.
You’ll need: A mat or towel
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How To Get A Flat Stomach In 10 Minutes
Moms everywhere know the struggle of post-baby bulge, or that extra bit of flab that leaves their bellies wiggly and jiggly. It seems like all of the crunches in the world cant flatten their stomachs again.
Still, few know the scientific term behind this common complaint. Also called diastasis recti, it occurs during pregnancy as the growing baby pushes the mothers abdominal muscles apart in the space around her belly button. The lucky moms will watch this spot stretch back on its own, but in others, the gap often stays open after birth. As a result, organs and tissue bulge out of your middle, causing the mummy tummy.
Simply realigning those abdominal muscles will cause the stomach to flatten again, experts say. But to get results fast, theres one simple, 10-minute exercise for a slimmer waistlineand you wont even need to leave your home to do it.
First, sit cross-legged on the floor with your hands on your belly and take a deep breath, letting your stomach fully expand. Then, as you exhale, suck in your belly muscles as far back as you can toward the ground.
With your stomach flattened against your spine, start taking deep breaths and push your stomach back further and further with each exhale. Do so for 10 minutes.
We had patients that were even one year out from giving birth, and they still had such great benefit from the exercises, Sharma says. We love to see that there is something we can do to help women.
The 3 Exercises That Flatten Your Belly
The key to turning your body into a fat-burning machine isnt more time in the gymits enlisting more muscles. The more muscles you work, the more calories you burn, says B.J. Gaddour, C.S.C.S., owner of StreamFit.com. Instead of splitting up your workouts by individual body partslike legs or chest train your entire body at once. Done at a high-speed, these 3 total-body exercises from Gaddour will blast more calories per minute than a typical weight-training exercise or cardio drill. Swap them into your current routine for bigger strength gains and a smaller waistline in less time. And if you want more fat-loss moves like these, try the brand-new Men’s Health Bodyweight Cardio Burners. Designed by Gaddour, the DVD routine contains workouts that will help you burn roughly 30 percent more calories per minute than running on a treadmill.
DIRECTIONS
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How To Get A Flat Stomach
This article was co-authored by Laura Flinn. Laura Flinn is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, USA Olympic Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach and Certified Fitness Nutritionist, with an additional qualification as a TRX Suspension Trainer. Laura runs her own personal training program based in the San Francisco Bay Area and specializes in topics such as weight loss, muscle growth, cardiovascular training, and strength training.There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 92 testimonials and 86% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 9,463,516 times.
Contrary to popular belief, getting a flat stomach doesn’t depend solely on exercise in fact, eating healthy and practicing good lifestyle habits might have an even bigger effect on your stomach! If your goal is to get tighter abs and a stronger core, try spending some time toning your stomach with a few key exercises, then supplement your workout with healthy eating to reduce some of the fat around your middle. Just keep in mind that the most important thing is to be healthy and happy with the way you look!
To Perform The Goblet Squat:
The movement is challenging because the weight forces your core to work to keep yourself from rounding over. So, not only do you work the legs, but you are also getting a nice tummy workout!
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Flat Tummy Foods: Legumes
Legumes are among our most nutritious plant foods, high in protein, B-complex vitamins, iron, potassium, and other minerals. They provide large amounts of fiber, including the soluble type that is important in controlling blood cholesterol levels. If youre trying to lose weight, the fibre helps give legumes a one-two punch. First it helps you feel full faster. Then, the blood sugar effect helps stave off hunger for longer.
Why Do You Get A Bloated Stomach
Bloat sneaks up on you in surprising ways, depending on what you eat, certain habits you have, and even specific medical conditions. For example, bloating can be a result of digestive distress from eating certain foods , eating habits that cause you to take in more air, and even certain conditions such as a weak heart or being pregnant can all contribute to water retention.
Women can also retain water while they’re menstruating. Those who have irritable bowel syndrome can also experience uncomfortable bouts of bloating after eating foods that contain FODMAPS or during moments of stress.
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