How To Flatten Your Stomach In 3 Months
Three months time is an effective amount of time for working toward the goal of having a flatter stomach. During this time, you can lose between 12 and 24 pounds, including excess weight on your stomach. You can also tone your stomach muscles to reveal a flat, sculpted midsection. Plan on incorporating aerobic and strength training exercises to achieve your goal. Reducing the calories in your diet will also help you get rid of the fat that’s making your stomach round and jiggly, instead of flat and toned.
Food For Flat Abs: Lean Protein
To trim enough belly fat to reveal your developing abs, you’ll probably need to cut back on calories. But that doesn’t have to mean giving up meat. Lean cuts of pork, lamb, and beef are loaded with protein to help you stay full longer. Fish, beans, and nuts are also good protein sources. A healthy portion is about the size of your fist.
Can I Flatten My Stomach In Two Weeks
In just two weeks you want to slide into your bathing suit or work pants without your belly protruding over the waistband. You can drop a few pounds to look slimmer and reduce bloat in 14 days, but that’s no guarantee you’ll achieve a flat stomach. Belly fat takes time to lose â especially if you have a generous amount of it.
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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!
Reduce Your Stress Levels
Prolonged stress can have a variety of harmful effects on the body. While the stress response is supposed to give us the energy and heightened awareness to get us through a dangerous situation, modern life has conditioned our minds and bodies to interpret a wide range of circumstances as stressful, ranging from actual problems to minor inconveniences. This chronic stress keeps our bodies in a state of fight or flight, which is excellent for short bursts but can wear on our bodies as time goes on.
When under the effects of stress, our bodys priorities are increasing blood flow to the muscles, heart, lungs, and brain, diverting blood away from the digestive organs. Stress also triggers an adrenal response, causing a burst of energy and sugar retention to help fuel the body.
Under normal conditions where you need to actually fight or flight, this gives your body the energy it needs in a pinch. Since most stress is more emotional and based on life circumstances, though, rather than something like outrunning a bear, the prolonged stress leads to slower digestion, lower metabolism, and the conversion of unused sugars retained thanks to the stress response being converted into fat.
Your cortisol levels are also kept lower, which also helps keep your weight down. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can lead to increased appetite and fat retention.
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How Can I Get A Flat Stomach Or Make My Stomach Flatter
First off, if you’re looking to make strength gains you probably don’t want a flat stomach. Strong abdominals if your body fat is low enough have a naturally muscular look.
However, and this is an important point to make strengthening your stomach muscles alone won’t help you achieve the strong and lean aesthetic you’re after.
That comes down to lowering your body fat percentage to a point where abdominal muscles are visible that’s between 14 24% for women. However, common thinking suggests that most women should not dip below 18% body fat, at the risk of interfering with their hormones.
Also, if abs come at the cost of your mental health or you find yourself feeling preoccupied with fat loss, take a step back and ease off for a little while. Fuelling your body well with regular exercise, enough sleep and minimising stress is far more important than any body fat percentile.
We’ve collated a mega list of both bodyweight and weighted stomach exercises for women… keep scrolling for the best tummy exercises with and without weights, then watch the video at the top of the page for more.
Simple Exercises To Flatten Your Belly
Belly fat is not only unattractive but can also be worse for your health than overall obesity!
Many studies have found that abdominal fat is particularly damaging. It increases the risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, certain cancers and even mortality.
A 2015 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine reports that normal-weight central obesity defined by the waist-to-hip ratio is associated with higher mortality than obesity defined by body mass index , particularly in the absence of central fat distribution.
Belly fat can be stubborn and hard to get rid of. Much like any overall weight loss plan, two factors are key to flattening your tummy diet and exercise.
Diet is very important. Pay attention to portion size. Eat more lean protein. Stick to complex carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, instead of simple carbohydrates like white bread, refined-grain pasta and sugary drinks. Replace saturated and trans fats with polyunsaturated fats in your diet.
Exercise burns calories and boosts your metabolism to help you lose weight. Also, certain moderate-intensity and strength-training exercises are particularly effective at fighting abdominal fat.
Many of the exercises require lying on the floor. Using an exercise or yoga mat is a good idea. Doing them on a hard floor will take a toll on your back.
Here are 10 simple exercises that will help flatten your belly.
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Habits That Will Shrink Your Middle
1. Calm down. Too much stress can contribute to a potbelly. Stress increases levels of cortisol, a hormone that seems to direct fat to our middle, says Jacob Seidell, PhD, of the National Institute of Public Health in Bilthoven, Netherlands. To keep levels low, try this 5- to 10-minute stress reducer: Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit. Next, take several slow, deep breaths to help clear your mind. Continue breathing deeply and repeat the word “one” to yourself as you exhale. Practice this for 5 to 10 minutes once or twice a day.
2. Skip the alcohol. That glass of wine with dinner may be part of the reason your jeans are too tight. Alcohol also tends to raise cortisol levels, sending fat to your belly, Dr. Seidell says.
3. Stop smoking.“It keeps me thin,” proclaim many smokers. But the truth is that smokers tend to have more abdominal fat than nonsmokers, says Dr. Seidell. “When people stop smoking, the amount of abdominal fat actually decreases,” he says.
4. Eat more fiber. Not only is fiber great for overall weight loss , it also prevents constipation, which can cause your tummy to bulge, says Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center in Baltimore. To stay regular, aim for 22 to 25 g of fiber a day by eating more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables or try a fiber supplement such as Metamucil.
Try High Intensity Interval Training
High intensity interval training is a type of exercise that usually involves performing intervals of very intense activity, such as sprinting, rowing, or jumping, with short breaks in between.
This method of exercising helps your body burn more fat and temporarily increases your metabolic rate, even after youve finished your workout (
How much protein you need depends on many factors, such as your age, sex, and activity level.
For an easy way to meet your protein needs, be sure include a good such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, tofu, or legumes in every meal.
Summary
High protein diets may increase your metabolic rate, reduce your appetite, and help you retain muscle mass during weight loss.
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Weighted Obliques For Flat Abs
A. Lie on your back with feet on the ground, and squeeze the dumbbell between your bent knees. Place your hands lightly behind your head with elbows wide. Move your knees up with shins parallel to the floor, and tighten your abs.
B. Drop knees toward your left side. Lift your right shoulder and cross your right elbow toward your knees, keeping your left elbow on the floor.
C. To complete one repetition, return to the starting position. Do 20 repetitions, then switch sides.
Do Exercises Standing Instead Of Sitting
If youre able, performing exercises while standing up may benefit your health more than performing the same exercises while sitting or using weight machines.
A 2013 study comparing the effects of standing and sitting exercises showed that some standing exercises increased muscle activation by 725%, compared to sitting .
Another study suggested that standing may improve your breathing and slightly increase your heart rate compared to sitting .
Although this might seem like a minor alteration, for individuals who are able to, standing can be an easy way to strengthen the midsection and maximize your results.
Summary
If youre physically able to, doing exercises while standing instead of sitting may burn more calories, increase muscle activation, improve your breathing, and increase your heart rate.
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Eating To Flatten Your Stomach
Walk For 30 Minutes A Day
On top of other exercises, adding a 30-minute walk each day can help a person burn more calories, reduce stress, and sneak in extra movement.
Taking 30 minutes to walk at lunchtime can help reduce stubborn fat, and it can also help a person feel more productive in the afternoon.
A 30-minute walk after dinner can aid digestion and stop someone from spending this time being sedentary in front of the television.
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How To Get Lower Abs
So whats the difference between your lower abs and upper abs?
The 6-pack muscle is really just made up one muscle called the rectus abdominis. Even though it looks like there are multiple muscles in a 6-pack theres really just one.
The reason it looks like they have a 6-pack is that there is connective tissue running across the muscle holding it in.
Youll hear a lot of people out there telling you cant isolate just your lower abs since its one muscle. Kinda like how you cant work in your lower and upper hamstring.
But there is some truth you can use certain exercises to work your entire abs better. And its possible to place more tension to target the lower region of your abs so they can be more emphasized.
Using specific exercises can help you to emphasize and target your lower abs so you can better tone up the area.
The know-it-alls might say lower ab exercises are a complete myth. Ill show you some evidence finding its at the very least quite plausible you can train and target your lower abs.
Although Ill admit it may not be quite as drastic as you hope for. Youll still be able to better target your lower abs with these exercises.
But youre going to need to get rid of the layer of fat on top of your abs to see any real definition.
Getting a toned flat stomach or 6-pack abs is 90% about having low body fat and the rest is having some muscle there.
How To Flatten Your Stomach If You Are Over 50 Years Old
Fifty may be the new 40, but convincing your abdominal muscles of that may take some work. Although it’s possible to flatten your abs over 50, you do lose muscle mass at the rate of about 3 to 8 percent each decade after the age of 30 and at a rate even faster than that once you’ve passed 60. With that comes an increasing tendency to accumulate fat, especially around your middle.
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The good news is that muscle â at any age â does eventually respond to exercise. Additionally, the benefits of flattening the abdominal muscles for people who are 50-plus years old are far greater than cosmetic. Building abdominal muscle and reducing fat around your middle also helps to protect you from developing insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.
Tip
Before you get started, take the measurements around your middle and record them in a convenient spot. Every week or two, take and record them again. Stay accountable.
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Perfect Posture = Flat Tummy: 6 Tips
1. Stand up straight. Heeding Mom’s advice can make you look 5 pounds thinner instantly. To straighten up, imagine a string tugging you from the top of your head toward the ceiling.
2. Sit like a royal. Slumping accentuates your stomach. To improve your posture while sitting, start with your chair. If your chair seat is too high to let your feet touch the ground without slumping, find a footstool about 4 inches high to let you sit up straight. Or place a pillow at the small of your back to help bring you forward in your chair.
3. Strengthen your shoulders. Strong shoulders will prevent you from hunching forward. To target this area, try the overhead press. Start with dumbbells at shoulder height, feet firmly on the floor. Slowly press the dumbbells straight up until your arms are fully extended. Don’t arch your back. Hold, and then lower.
4. Build your chest. Good posture is easier when you have strong upper body muscles. For the chest, do the bench press: Lie on an exercise bench with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor or on the bench. Hold dumbbells or a barbell at chest height with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Slowly press the weight straight up until your arms are fully extended, elbows almost locked. Hold, and then lower.
How To Implement These Exercises
Weve given you the exercises now you need to go and try them out.
To help get you started pick 3 exercises from each list and do 20 reps of each.
Alternatively, you could try our 5 minute abs workout below. It targets your entire core for tighter and more toned abs and obliques.
Have some fun with it.
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Core Stability Exercise: Marching
For those just building a fitness routine and a foundation for more complex moves, Brent Locey, a certified personal trainer and SoulCycle instructor in Chicago, IL, recommends core stability exercises like marching. To complete this exercise, lie on the floor with your knees together and bent, feet flat and arms by your side. Lift one leg at a time, maintaining the bend, and draw the knee as close to the abdomen as possible. Locey says its important to practice the drawing-in maneuver during all core exercises. To draw-in, pull the area below your navel towards your spine, while maintaining a neutral spine. I often coach this by placing your hand on that area and noticing as you inhale how your stomach draws toward your back, Locey says. The most important thing to focus on, especially for beginners, is making sure they have adequate balance and stability you could easily injury yourself immediately, or develop long-term injury because your body starts to overcompensate in the wrong areas. Here are 16 ways to lose weight by just walking.
Why Focus On Flat Abs
Yes, you want a six-pack. But thatâs not all you get when working on your abs. The abs are some of the core muscles that support all of your body’s motions. Firm abs will raise your overall fitness level and help your athletic performance. What’s more, reducing your waist size may cut your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
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Eat More Soluble Fiber
Eating fiber is good for your digestive health and also helps you get a flat tummy. Studies show that fiber slows down stomach emptying. As a result, the stomach expands, making you feel full for a longer time.
So, you do not get hungry as often.
Soluble fiber is also known to lower calorie absorption from food. Thus, if you’re eating plenty of fiber-rich foods, they will reduce the number of calories your body absorbs from other foods.
Fiber also helps prevent fat from accumulating around your waist and other body organs. It helps reduce your waistline and also keeps you safe from several diseases.
To Perform The Bicycle Crunch:
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Modified Side Plank Crunch
Perform 10-12 crunches on one side, then switch sides and repeat.