Many people want to have a flat stomach or washboard abs. I hear that goal all the time at Habitat Health and Fitness in Lakeland, FL. You don't have to want washboard abs to appreciate getting rid of belly---visceral---fat. Belly fat is one of the most dangerous types of fat. It crowds the internal organs. It also makes toxins called cytokines that cause inflammation. That inflammation can lead to heart disease, increase insulin resistance that leads to diabetes, and link to colon, pancreas, and esophagus cancer.
Your diet makes a difference.
If you're overweight, shed those extra pounds. Cutting your calorie intake and eating healthy helps you get a flat stomach. Don't cut your calories too low or you could slow your metabolism or force your body to use lean muscle mass for energy. Increasing soluble fiber in your diet is also beneficial. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to create a gel. It slows digestion and keeps you feeling full. Beneficial microbes in your gut that help you lose weight. Fiber feeds them. Taking probiotics also helps. Limiting refined carbohydrates, increasing protein, and adding monounsaturated fatty acids to your diet also helps.
Do exercises that tone and tighten core muscles.
Whether you do a yoga pose like the cobra, go retro with crunches, or do a plank while you watch TV, you're strengthening your core muscles and working toward a flat stomach. Many exercises focus on core strength. Your core muscles are those in the back and abdomen that help keep you stable and upright. Strengthening core muscles makes your stomach look flat and gives you a narrower waistline. Other core exercises include burpees, scissor kicks, glute bridges, and leg lifts.
Increase your activity level.
Besides a formal exercise program, increasing your day-to-day movement also helps. Taking walks and riding your bike can improve the chances of a successful outcome of your stomach-flattening efforts. If you work at a desk, do seated leg lifts and flutter kicks while you work. Do strength-building exercises that burn fat as they build muscle tissue. When you're exercising, do more standing exercises than ones you do sitting. They engage muscles more, increase heart rate, improve breathing, and burn more calories.
- Try isometric exercises. They keep your muscles tight while you maintain a pose. The plank is one already mentioned. Suction exercises, bird-dog poses, upward-facing dogs, and V-sits are good ones.
- You can benefit from learning to focus on your abs. Do it by tightening your stomach muscles, and then relaxing them. Blow all the air out of your lungs and suck in your stomach as you visualize it touching your spine.
- Drink more water and avoid sugary drinks and diet drinks. One study showed that people who drank diet soft drinks had a bigger waist circumference and more belly fat than those who didn't. Drink water before eating and you'll eat less.
- Learn ways to control stress. Stress creates hormones like cortisol. There's a link between cortisol and belly fat. Learn deep breathing, meditation, or other relaxation techniques to reduce stress.
For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness
