How does one achieve a tight and flat stomach? Is there a human being on the planet who doesn’t want to know the answer to this question? I see articles all the time that discuss abdominal exercises, infomercials that make false promises about a machine that will give you abs to die for and 10,000 other diet aids and gadgets that never tell you the truth.
Having studied human anatomy, nothing disgusts me more than watching one of those dumb ab machine infomercials make promises that their product will give a person a flat stomach. A lying abdominal machine will not give you a flat stomach, a seated abdominal machine will not give you a flat stomach and 1,000 crunches per day will not give you a flat stomach.
I’m here to tell you the truth.
There will be work to do on your part, but I’ll provide the basic formula for achieving the look you’ve always thought was reserved for other people. It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 or 70. This formula works for everyone.
Here then is my eight-point plan to get tight abs and a flat mid-section:
1. NUTRITION: This is the most important component to achieving a flat stomach. Nothing is more important than food.
First, you’ll need to control blood sugar levels in order to lose body fat. This is best accomplished by consuming four to six meals per day. Don’t mistake the definition of a meal for a six-course extravaganza. A meal might be an egg white omelet (with vegetables) and oatmeal with some blueberries in it, chicken with one-half cup of rice and a large salad with some oil and vinegar, an apple with a scoop of protein powder or cottage cheese with some fruit.
Get the picture? I’m referring to them as meals, but they’re actually feedings. Each of the meals is comprised of protein, a little carbohydrate and a little fat. In some cases, the fat is built into the protein. In other cases, it’s added to the meal. For eDiets members, this is already accomplished in your meal plan.
2. RATIOS: It’s unlikely that you’ll get tight abs and a flat stomach by consuming 80 percent of your calories from carbohydrates. Ratios can vary quite a bit, but consuming more than 55 percent of your calories from carbohydrate will not be optimal for fat loss. Many people do quite well on extremely low carbohydrate plans and others on more moderate plans. As long as you follow the no more than 55 percent of calories from carbohydrate rule, you’ll be at a good starting point.
3. TIMING: I realize four to six meals sounds like a lot, but you must keep in mind that the body is always seeking to store body fat. It (the body) doesn’t care if you want to lose fat. In fact, your body would prefer to keep fat in order to accomplish its number one goal of keeping you alive in case of a future famine or drought.
Always consider the body from the inside out and not the other way around. In order to control blood sugar, eat every two to three hours throughout the day. When using the most effective nutrient ratios, this helps to control blood sugar (which, in turn, assists in body fat loss).
4. CALORIES: I’ve received emails from people telling me that they do all of the above, but they still can’t lose body fat in order to flatten the stomach. In every case, they are still consuming too many calories. It doesn’t matter how healthy your nutrition program is if you’re eating too much.
It’s important that you find maintenance calories first. Maintenance represents the amount of food you consume without any change in your weight. This will take some experimentation and some effort. You’ll also need to document your foods: total calories as well as grams of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
Sounds like a lot of work? Yes, it is! However, you only have to do a few weeks of hard work. After that, you’ll have your personal formula for success.
5. SLIGHT CALORIC DEFICIT: After you have found maintenance, simply reduce your calories by 200. Our goal is to have you eating as much as possible and still losing fat and retaining muscle. I don’t want you eating as little as possible (thereby slowing the metabolism and losing valuable muscle tissue).
The first week, you may lose four to six pounds of water. After the first week, you should only lose about 1.5 pounds per week. The goal is to preserve muscle and make your body a metabolic inferno. If you’re not losing up to 1.5 pounds per week (it will fluctuate week to week), then reduce calories by another 100. Then, monitor your progress after one week. You’ll probably be right on track.
6. CONSISTENCY: You’ll need to be on this nutrition program six days a week with one day being somewhat of a cheat day. Unlike many, I’m not a big fan of the “cheat” day. I find that people tend to use it as an excuse to gorge themselves.
So, on Sunday for example, you’re allowed to have some pizza, a bit of ice cream, etc. But nothing extreme! When you pig out, blood sugar levels can be elevated for seven hours or more. This will absolutely halt your body fat loss and actually backfire.
7. WEIGHT TRAIN: At this point, you should be aware of the importance of resistance training. Just three to four workout sessions lasting no more than 35 minutes to an hour will do the trick. For every pound of muscle on your body, you’ll burn 30-50 additional calories per day.
Part of your program should include abdominal exercises to strengthen and build the abs. That way, when you achieve your low body fat level, your abs will be tight.
8. CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE: Perform three to five days per week of moderate cardio exercise for approximately 30-40 minutes. During two of the days, you can exercise at a higher intensity level to accelerate fat loss — but, only if you reach a sticking point. If you’re a beginner, then remember to increase gradually.
Is this easy? No, it’s not easy. That’s why so few people have flat and tight abs. Is it fulfilling when you achieve your goal of a flatter stomach? Definitely! As in most cases in life, the things we want and desire usually take some degree of sacrifice. It doesn’t matter if you have 5 pounds or 50 pounds to lose, the formula works. So the question is, How bad do you want it?
Tags: abdominal exercises, abdominals, abs, anatomy, blood sugar, body fat, carbohydrates, cardio, cardio exercise, diet, exercise, fat, fat loss, flat stomach, human anatomy, lose fat, nutrition, resistance training, weight training
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[...] Flat Stomach « Joe Tong [...]
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Most people have this wrong perception that in order to get 6 pack abs, they will just need to strengthen their abdominal muscles. Well, I would say that they are only 50% right. The fact is, in order to exhibit the 6 pack abs, you will have to first strip away that irritating abdominal fats that is covering your abdominal muscles. Only after you have stripped away that irritating abdominal fats then can u start the process of strengthening your abdominal muscles,and losing the abdominal fats is what the abs machines have failed to achieve.
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Remember, when it comes to losing abdominal fat, you have to adopt a holistic, whole-body approach – there are absolutely no shortcuts. A surgical shortcut like liposuction also becomes meaningless if you are not going to control to your diet, because removing fat cells from the abdomen by liposuction will lead to excess fat storage elsewhere – perhaps under the chin or on knees or shoulders – where it may look even worse than at the abdomen.
The most effective, easiest, and quickest metabolism boosting diet that I highly recommend is the Calorie Shifting Diet from Fat Loss 4 Idiots. This all natural diet works by manipulating your fat burning hormones by EATING real foods and eating MORE (no starvation or depriving)! The end result is EXTREMELY fast fat loss!
People who are not used to exercising and need all the motivation and drive that they can get will probably find the Ab Circle Pro more useful. First of all, it’s great to have a machine at home which constantly reminds you to workout if you’re not used to. Second, even if you do outgrow this machine in time, you need to start out somewhere.
You do see the people with eating disorders that are thin but generally the rule is if you don’t eat enough your body will go into starvation mode and all that you do eat will immedialty be stored as sugar and fat.
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There is no better way of abdominal fat loss than to eat balanced foods as well as a nourishing diet. Indulge yourself in to activities that will let you sweat. Do cardio exercises or try walking, walking or walking. There’s so lots of things that you can do to encourage fat loss. Weight training has the ability to increase lean muscle mass as well as your metabolic rate. This means that you can burn fat even when you are resting. So now, try to look for activities that may encourage flatter abdomen.
The Ab Coaster is a fitness machine that simulates the hanging leg raise exercise. You get on the machine, place your knees on the pads and pull them toward your chest with your abs. It is a traditional way to workout and can be effective in strengthening your abs. The Contour Abs is an electric belt that you place around your midsection and turn on to send an electric current through your stomach which is supposed to provide you with a workout like experience. You can use this belt while sitting down, watching TV, and so on.
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Documenting the weight loss procedure through a diet plan diary or journal can truly assist you to to know whats working and whats not And it can help keep you motivated and successful.