How To Achieve A Flatter Stomach

If you approach one hundred strangers on the street and ask them “if you could improve one part of your body, what would it be?” Over 75% would say their stomach. What is it about having a flat stomach that is so appealing and attractive? Most people equate having a flat stomach with youth or beauty. Every female model or male model has flat abs. So, it must be important, right?

The answer to this question is YES, having flat abs or a trim waist is important but not because it makes you look young and attractive. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine stated over 2500 years ago that “all diseases begin in the gut.” It is estimated that 42% of Americans are obese and where do you think they carry most of their weight? In their gut and this is why chronic diseases are at an all-time high and when you factor in the pandemic, when most of us were told to stay indoors and shelter in place, we exercised less and ate more and the foods we ate were highly processed foods. Have you heard the term “Quarantine 15”? Well, I personally know people who gained 15 to 20 pounds during the pandemic.

There are two types of stomach fat: Subcutaneous and Visceral. Subcutaneous fat is the noticeable layer of fat that lies just below the skin. You can pinch or grab your subcutaneous fat. There was a saying back in the day, which went like this, “if you can pinch more than an inch then you’re fat.” It’s the type of body fat that makes us look softer in appearance.

As bad as subcutaneous fat appears to be, visceral fat is far worst. It is located beneath the muscles and typically surrounds your vital organs. It’s also referred to as intra-abdominal fat. Visceral fat is metabolized by the liver, which turns it into blood cholesterol and can lead to significant health risks. If you have visceral fat you are at greater risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, various types of cancer, and other chronic illnesses. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), a man with a waist circumference of 40 or above and a female with a waist circumference of 35 or above are more likely to have visceral fat. Have you checked your waistline lately?

If you fall into this category, I cannot stress how important it is for you to take the necessary steps to decrease your waist size. By doing this, you immediately increase your quality of life and longevity. You’ll look better, feel better, have considerably more energy, and will be much healthier after dropping a few pants sizes. Even if you don’t fall into this category, I can tell you that the smaller your waist, the healthier you will be in general.

Now that summer is fast approaching, we are becoming more conscious of how we look without having an extra layer of clothing on our bodies. In the winter, we can cover up a “multitude of sins”, but not in the summer.

Is it too late to flatten our stomach in time for the summer or for the summer vacation at the beach? Not if you’ve been following an exercise program for the past few months along with a good diet, but what if you’ve fallen off the wagon, is it too late to get back on track? No, it’s never too late and there is no time like the present to go after your fitness goals.

This is why I am a firm believer in always having a “summer ready body,” regardless of the time of year, but don’t worry, even if you’re not where you want to be now, there is still time to get that summer body. You can start with these few tips:

Step 1: Change Your Mindset from a negative to a positive mindset. A negative mindset will provide you with all the reasons why you can’t achieve your fitness goals.

Step 2: Know your Why. Your why has got to be deeply personal to you. Knowing your why will give you the intrinsic motivation you need to get up off the couch and take action!

Step 3: Realize that a flat stomach is made in the kitchen and start eating whole foods, preferably a low carb diet. Cutting refined and starchy carbs out of your diet will not only help you lose weight but steady your blood sugar. There are many other benefits associated with cutting down on your carbs, such as reduction and the elimination of acid reflux, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and dementia.

Step 4: Start an exercise program that consists of aerobic and strength training activities 4 to 5 days per week. You can find exercise videos on my Six Weeks to Fitness Youtube channel.

You will notice I didn’t mention sit-ups or crunches in my 4 steps. Crunches are important and they are considered strengthening exercises, but they’re not as important as proper nutrition. You can’t outrun your fork.

Crunches will help you build muscle tone in the stomach area, but it will not show until you change the way you eat. Start eating more fruits and vegetables if you want to flatten your stomach. You can do this in a relatively short amount of time, if you have a strong enough why and take action!

If you’re looking for guidance, direction and motivation with a community of like-minded individuals, then consider joining my next Six Weeks to Family Fitness program virtually on Zoom starting on June 21^st. Here is the link: https://www.bodysculpt.org/six-weeks-to-fitness