How Drinking Water Will Help You Lose Stomach Fat

So when it comes to losing stomach fat there’s only one drink that should be in your arsenal. That drink is water. Sure you have heard how healthy water is but did you know that not drinking enough water will actually increase your stomach fat? Let’s see how water will help us keep the pounds off our belly.

One thing water does for us is keep us feeling full. Sometimes when we think we’re hungry we’re really just thirsty. Water also transports necessary nutrients to your muscles, it’s used to help digest food, and it keeps your metabolism revving. Lack of water means a slower metabolism which leads to packing on fat right around your stomach. Since water makes you feel more full, drinking some water before having a meal has been shown to help you consume less calories than without a glass of water.

Drinking eight glasses a day has been recommended for a very long time. Personally I like to aim for a gallon of water a day. You can find a happy medium in between 8 glasses a day or one gallon. If you’re having trouble downing water at all a nice way to give it some flavor is with a lime or lemon. Stay away from artificial sweeteners to give waters a better taste.

Lots of calories come from drinks or sodas so switching those to water is a simple way to cut your calorie intake. If you switch out your soda‘s and juices for just water the results will speak for themselves. It’s that simple.

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How to Flatten Your Stomach for Women

A flat stomach not only looks good in a swimsuit, but it makes all clothes look better. A woman with a flat, toned stomach doesn't have to worry about wearing a girdle or covering herself with a big, flowing blouse. You can do specific exercises that target the stomach to flatten and tone it over time.

Things You'll Need

• Two 5-lb. dumbbells
• Large stability ball

Tips For You

1. Walk 30 minutes per day. Some form of cardio each day helps to flatten your stomach.
2. Lie on your back and bring legs up so the soles of your feet face the ceiling.
3. Take a 5-lb. dumbbell in each hand.
4. Raise your hands so your arms are parallel to your legs, and raise your head off the ground.
5. Lower your legs so they are 6 inches off the ground. At the same time, bring your arms above your head so your entire body is stretched out. Never put your head down.
6. Go back to your original position. Repeat this exercise 30 times.
7. Lie face down, with your abdomen on top of a large stability ball.
8. Bring your arms straight out in front of you. You should be balancing with only your toes.
9. Lift your right foot off the ground and hold it for 5 seconds.
10. Lift your left foot off the ground and hold it for 5 seconds.
11. Do 15 reps on each side.

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10 Rules for a Flat Stomach

While you're alive you want to look and feel your healthiest and for many people, looking healthy means having a flat stomach. Having a flat stomach can make shopping for clothes more fun and provide an extra boost of confidence around swimsuit season. If you're looking to flatten your stomach, follow a few simple flat tummy rules.

Reduce Bloating

• If you want a flat stomach, the first thing you need to do is reduce bloating. You can do this by cutting down on food that causes gas, such as beans, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts. These nutritious vegetables are good for you and shouldn't be eliminated from your diet, but they should be consumed in moderation. Another way to reduce bloating is to chew less gum, which can increase bloating because air is swallowed as you chew it.

Increase Elimination

• Often, not having a flat stomach is caused by infrequent elimination. Regulate your bowel movements by increasing your intake of fruits, vegetables (except for the ones that cause more gas!), lean protein and whole grains.

Drink Lots of Water

• Water helps flush out toxins, impurities and fats from your system. Adults are advised to drink between eight and 10 eight-ounce glasses of water per day.

Say Goodbye to Fried Foods

• Fried foods are high in fat, the opposite of what you need to consume if you're trying to get a flat tummy. Substitute fried foods for grilled, baked or broiled dishes. Eat baked potatoes or baked sweet potato fries instead of french fries; try baked or broiled chicken instead of fried chicken. Choose a salad as a restaurant appetizer rather than the more popular options of fried cheese and vegetables.

Cut Down Calories

• In order to lose weight in your stomach, or in any other area of your body, you will have to cut down your caloric intake/ The average daily diet consists 2,000 to 2,500 calories. In order to lose weight, you should consume between 1,200 to 1,600 calories per day.

Eat Slowly

• Eating quickly causes your stomach to expand in two ways. When you consume your food at a rapid pace, you'll often swallow air, which causes bloating. This may also cause you to overeat because your body doesn't receive the signal that you're full so you tend to eat more than you need. If you eat slowly, you will not only reduce your air intake, you will also give your stomach a chance to send important signals to your brain indicating that you've had enough to eat.

Eat Smaller Meals

• To keep your stomach flat and your hunger at bay, break your calories up into 4 to 5 small 300- to 400-calorie meals per day. Eating frequent, smaller meals eliminates a bloated full feeling while maintaining your blood sugar levels and keeping hunger at bay.

Exercise

• Eating right is only half the battle when it comes to losing weight. You must exercise. In order to lose stomach fat, you may be tempted to only do exercises that isolate your stomach muscles. Resist the temptation; it's nearly impossible to lose weight in only one area of your body. If you exercise your entire body, your whole body will respond. Weight bearing exercises will strengthen your core and cardio exercises, such as jogging, power walking, swimming or kick boxing, will burn those calories and slim your body.

Eat Fresh Foods

• Highly processed foods can be low in fiber and high in sodium. According to Web-MD.com, you can eliminate uncomfortable stomach bloating by eating a healthy diet that doesn't include more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day.

Give Yourself Time

• Be patient with yourself. Your belly bulge didn't appear in a day, and it won't disappear in a week. Remember, you're making a lifestyle change, not searching for a quick fix.

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Getting a Flat Stomach Fast

Simple Tips On Getting a Flat Stomach Fast

Fat in the stomach is not a beautiful sight. However, removing the extra layer around your stomach is not impossible. It is even possible to do it fast. You are able to get toned abs which you can show off to the world. Here are some instructions on getting a flat stomach fast.

If you are thinking in getting a flat stomach fast, you need to make major changes to your diet. Avoid consuming fatty foods which you might consume for all these times. You need to remove sugar in your diet and eat whole grains like whole wheat bread and brown rice. You should remove white bread or white rice. Support your diet with proper exercise. It is necessary for you to have cardio exercise for three to four times per week. If you want to get quicker results, you need to have more exercises. Other exercises which you should do are including a long jog, swimming, aerobics class, or play a basketball games with friends. It helps you to get your heart rate up and start to shed the fat.

Another thing to do when you are planning in getting a flat stomach fast is doing crunches and sit-up every day. These exercises have the function to strengthen your abdominal muscles. You need to sign up for Pilates or yoga class close to you and go regularly. The classes help you to strengthen your abdominal muscles. You have to improve the amount and intensity of repetitions when you are progressing. It is a good idea to ask your friend to work out with you. Having a friend allows you to have more enjoyable exercise. You can hold each other accountable.

When you are getting a flat stomach fast, you need to change your habits and lifestyle. It is necessary for you to create the best diet plan. You are recommended to cut down calories to 1000 calories per day. You should eliminate junk and fast foods. Other foods which you should avoid are including aerated drinks, canned juices, sugar, chocolate, cake, and other sources of carbohydrates and saturated fats from your diet. You might want to go with liquid diet which is involving fresh fruit and vegetable juices. It is highly necessary for you to improve the protein consumption such as boiled chicken, turkey, fish, beef, egg white, and protein. These will make for 1000 calories. If you are eating salads and soups, you should avoid adding mayonnaise, cheese, and butter. For your diet, it is necessary for you to include cabbage, beans, lentil, and spinach soup. You might consume a bowl of oats and cornflakes with steamed milk for breakfast. However, you should not add sugar. Drink 8-10 glasses of water every day and green tea for refreshment. Avoid drinking milk tea, coffee, and alcohol.

Workout routine is important. Make sure you spend an hour to workout every day. You should spend the first 15 minutes to warm up exercises and cardio. Before you start to exercising, you should go for brisk walking, swimming, or jogging. After getting a flat stomach fast, you should not stop eating healthily and working out. You should change your habit and lifestyle so the fat does not make a way back to your stomach.

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How to Lose a Stomach That Hangs After Weight Loss When Over 60

After a period of weight loss, some people may be upset to find that their belly still overshadows the belt buckle. People who lose weight rapidly or have poor skin tone may suffer a sagging tummy after losing the fat that supported it. Anyone older than 60 who smokes, lost a significant amount of weight or spent time tanning in her youth might regret those decisions now because they all impact skin tone. But there are ways to reduce that hanging stomach.

Step 1

Stop smoking. The toxins in tobacco damage the collagen in the skin. Collagen is what keeps skin appearing smooth and firm. Although damage already done cannot be reversed by smoking cessation, those who quit will not continue to damage their skin tone.

Step 2

Start exercising. True -- there is no such thing as spot-reduction and you can't exercise off a sagging belly. However, exercise can tighten the muscles underneath the sagging skin and reinforce the connective tissues between the skin and the muscles.

Step 3

Continue a healthy diet. Although you may have experienced weight loss, body-fat storage is highly individual. Some people may have an otherwise thin figure with a rotund belly. Keep up with the weight loss, and eventually fat -- even stubborn belly fat -- will go away.

Step 4

Keep the skin moisturized from the inside and out. Almost 1/3 of people older than 60 are walking around dehydrated. Drink water throughout the day, and avoid beverages that dry out the body, such as those containing caffeine or alcohol. For each glass of water you drink, 80 percent is going straight to skin repairs. Apply thick moisturizers on the abdominal skin to keep it moist and pliant.

Step 5

Consider surgical options last, if at all. People with damaged skin or extremely rapid weight loss may not have another alternative but to get the skin cut off. A plastic surgeon can provide information on the procedure used to remove excess skin folds on the abdomen after weight loss, commonly referred to as a tummy tuck.

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How to Wrap Your Stomach With Plastic Wrap

If you have a special event coming up and want to lose several inches off your stomach, you can apply a stomach wrap. Beauty spas and salons offer a wide variety of body wraps, ranging from detoxing clay wraps to herbal and mineral wraps. Instead of paying to have your stomach wrapped, you can make your own homemade wrap. The wrapping method described below will result in inches lost from water. These results are temporary.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Towel
• Preparation H
• Plastic wrap

Tips For You

1. Measure your waist circumference. Locate the top of your hip bones and place a measuring tape around your waist at this height. Write down how many inches your waist measures.
2. Take a warm shower to open up the pores on your stomach. Dry your body with a towel.
3. Drink water before applying your wrap -- to promote flushing of toxins from the body -- and also drink water while you are wearing the wrap to avoid dehydration.
4. Spread a thin layer of Preparation H over your stomach. According to the Newsweek website, phenylephrine, the active ingredient in hemorrhoid ointments, constricts blood vessels making excess water leave the skin.
5. Wrap plastic cling-wrap around your waist, over the area of your stomach that you covered in Preparation H. Avoid wrapping the plastic too tight -- because you don't want to restrict circulation. Plastic wrap will create a thermal effect, that causes your stomach to perspire.
6. Wear the wrap overnight, so it can work while you are sleeping.
7. Remove the wrap upon waking up and take a shower to help remove any Preparation H residue. Your stomach should be smoother and tighter. Measure the circumference of your waist to see how many inches you have lost.

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How Much Do You Have to Exercise for a Flat Stomach?

Count Your Calories

• Calories are a measure of the energy you get from food. Weight gain is caused by consuming more calories each day than you expend. To lose 1 pound, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you consume. By burning an extra 250 calories per day, you can lose a pound in just two weeks, or 2 pounds a month. To figure out how much exercise you need to do each day to lose weight, record the calories you consume and expend each day.

Create a Calorie Deficit

• Use a journal to record what you eat and drink every day and calculate how many calories you're consuming. Record all physical activity you do each day for how much time and how many calories those activities burn. Or, you could wear a sports watch, heart rate monitor, pedometer or other device that more accurately measures how many calories you burn. At the end of the day, the calories you burn should exceed the number of calories you consumed. Reduce your caloric intake by opting for low-calorie foods like vegetables, whole grains and lean protein sources, and by keeping your portion sizes in check.

Type of Exercise Matters

• Cardio burns more calories than strength-training exercises. Some cardio exercises burn more calories than others. According to Harvard Medical School, running at 6 miles per hour torches 370 calories in just 30 minutes for a 155-pound person. For comparison, that's 110 more calories than high-impact aerobics and 35 more calories than the elliptical. Some strength-training exercises are more intense than others. Do compound exercises, like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pushups and pullups, which work multiple muscles at once. These burn more calories and build more muscle in less time. Though you can't spot-reduce stomach fat, you should still do ab exercises, such as crunches, reverse crunches and planks. This way, defined muscles will enhance the appearance of your stomach as the layer of fat covering them disappears.

Intensity Matters

• The higher your intensity, or the harder you work your heart and muscles, the more calories you burn. Intensity is measured not by speed or weight resistance, but by how much energy output the exercise requires. An effective way to measure intensity is going by the percentage of your maximum possible intensity, or the maximum heart rate you can reach during exercise. For example, exercising at 90 percent of your maximal intensity will burn more calories than exercising at 60 percent of your maximal intensity. To burn more fat in less time, incorporate high-intensity intervals into your cardio workouts. Do one- to two-minute bouts of intense cardio at 75 to 95 percent of your maximal intensity every few minutes while doing normal-paced cardio.

Recommendations

• As a general guideline, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends doing at least 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 150 minutes of vigorous exercise each week if you're serious about your health and fitness. Vary the cardio exercises you do to challenge your muscles and avoid boredom. Do two to three strength-training workouts a week for a balanced program and to avoid losing muscle mass. If you're just starting to exercise, go at a steady pace to avoid injuries. Start with at least two and a half hours per week of moderate-intensity exercise like brisk walking.

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Unusual Tips to Lose Stomach Fat & Get Flat Abs

Food and Drinks that Boost Metabolism

• The antioxidants in green tea have been found to reduce amounts of the body's fat absorption while stimulating metabolism. Drinking green tea every day can boost your metabolism. Chocolate also has metabolism-boosting antioxidants. Sprinkle cinnamon on your food whenever you have the opportunity, since it's been found to reduce blood glucose. If you like spicy foods, you're in luck. Eating hot peppers, as well as the spice turmeric, boosts your metabolism, and the spiciness can cause you to eat more slowly, helping you control how much you eat.

Eat to Curb Hunger

• Replace starchy carbohydrates with foods high in fiber because they make you feel fuller with fewer calories. High-fiber foods also take longer to digest and burn more calories in the digestion process. Try replacing your usual breakfast cereal with bran. Snack on cucumbers and celery. They're filling, hydrating and extremely low in calories. Also, choose legumes over meat as your meal's protein if you want to lower your cholesterol and lose weight. Legumes make you feel more full because they're high in fiber, and their effect on regulating your blood sugar helps you curb hunger for a longer period.

Exercise in Intervals

• You can't spot-reduce or do an exercise to reduce stomach fat alone; you have to lose fat all over to lose inches off your waist. If you're looking for the most effective, time-saving exercise for fat loss, include bursts of high-intensity intervals in your cardio exercise activity, such as running or cycling. You'll burn more calories and release more fat-burning hormones, according to physiologist Jason Talanian, PhD. Also, you'll have a longer "after-burn" period by including high-intensity intervals that really challenge your muscles, so you benefit from a metabolism boost hours after your workout.

Do Ab Exercises that Recruit More Muscle

• Ab exercises strengthen your abs so flat muscles grow beneath the stomach fat as you lose it. The Pilates roll-up is 30 percent more effective than crunches in giving you a six-pack since it's a wider motion range. The abdominal hold is also a more effective exercise in training your abs because it uses your lower body rather than your upper body as resistance, causing you to recruit your lower abs as well as your upper abs and giving you more weight resistance to challenge your muscles. To do it, sit on a chair with your hands on the edge, fingers facing forward. Pull in your abs and lift your body off the chair so your feet are 3 inches above the floor. Hold as long as you can and repeat. By working your arms and legs as well, this exercise burns more fat than the typical ab exercise.

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How to Tighten My Stomach Without Doing Crunches

Crunches can be effective for toning the muscles of the abdomen – the top-lying rectus abdominis, the deep-seated transversus abdominis and the side obliques – however, they are certainly not the only choice for tightening your stomach. Exercises that require a core engagement to keep your body stable and balanced can also effectively strengthen your abs. No equipment is needed for these exercises, and they can easily be incorporated into a gym or at-home workout plan.

Tips For You

1. Maintain proper form throughout each exercise to maximize the abdominal strength and toning benefits. Sustain the contraction in the abs during the workout by keeping your stomach continuously pulled in toward your lower back. Elongate the spine, lift your chest and push the shoulder blades down your back. Develop a steady breathing pattern to help oxygen flow to your muscles; breathe in and out of your nose for a count of five in each direction.
2. Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes with light cardio before performing your abdominal workout. Consider activities such as walking, jogging, jumping rope or riding a stationary bicycle to raise your body temperature and get the blood flowing to your muscles.
3. Tone and tighten your entire core with Plank pose. Come to your hands and knees on an exercise or yoga mat. Bend your arms and place your elbows directly beneath your shoulders with your forearms extended straight in front of you. Contract your stomach muscles and lift your hips toward the ceiling as you extend your legs behind you. There should be one straight line from your shoulders to your heels as you balance on your forearms, elbows and the balls of your feet. Hold the pose for 20 to 30 seconds and then release your body to the floor. Repeat for a total of three repetitions.
4. Challenge your stomach muscles with the single-leg balancing pose Warrior 3. Stand tall with your feet parallel and facing forward. Engage your abdominal muscles as you lift your arms out to the sides to shoulder height. Bend forward at your hips until your torso is parallel to the floor; simultaneously lift your right leg off of the ground and extend it straight behind you. Balance on your left leg as you use your core to help keep you stable. Hold for five breaths. Repeat on the other side.
5. Perform Cobra pose to stretch your abdominal muscles after your workout. Lie prone on an exercise or yoga mat with the tops of your feet on the floor and your hands placed under your shoulders. Tuck your elbows in toward your torso. Push through your hands to straighten your arms as you lift your head, shoulders and upper chest off of the floor. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds and then slowly lower your torso back to the floor.

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How to Shrink My Stomach With Eating

If you are a female with a waist circumference over 35 inches, or a man with a waist circumference greater than 40 inches, you are at an increased risk for conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart disease. Knowing which foods to avoid and which to eat is essential when trying to shrink your stomach. It is not just an excess of calories that can increase the size of your tummy; foods that cause bloating, water retention and gas can have a similar affect.

Tips For You

1. Consume fiber to promote digestive health and to avoid constipation, which can distend the belly. Eat foods that contain insoluble fiber and soluble fiber. Soluble fiber softens and moistens your stool and insoluble fiber speeds up the cleansing of the digestive wall. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, and consume whole-wheat bread, and wheat or bran cereals.
2. Reduce your sodium intake. Excess sodium triggers water retention and bloating, making the belly appear bigger. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a daily sodium consumption of no more than 1,500 mg.
3. Eat potassium-rich foods, because potassium rids your body of excess water that it is holding onto and therefore makes your stomach smaller. Eat foods such as bananas, cooked spinach, and papaya.
4. Eat at regular intervals during the day to stimulate your metabolism to burn the foods you consume, instead of storing them as fat. Eat up to six smaller meals over the day and avoid skipping meals.
5. Consume foods rich in monounsaturated fat. According to the Flat Belly Diet Plan, monounsaturated fats help reduce your stomach fat. Eat foods such as almonds, avocados, natural peanut butter, walnuts, and olive oil. Consume these foods in moderation, because they are high in calories.
6. Avoid alcohol because it is high in calories and has no nutrients. Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily. Water fills you up, so you eat less, which may contribute to a smaller stomach.
7. Eat plain, non-fat yogurt to increase the amount of friendly bacteria in your stomach. Probiotics aid in digestion and help prevent bloating caused by constipation.
8. Chew your food well, so that your body can easily absorb the nutrients from the foods you consume. Chewing well makes the digestion of carbohydrates, fats and protein easier. When large food particles get stuck in the gastrointestinal tract -- bloating may occur -- resulting in a larger stomach.

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Eating Tips & Exercises to Get Rid of Stomach Fat

Excess abdominal fat places you at an increased risk for major health issues, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Even if you're at a normal weight overall, carrying that excess fat around your weight elevates the risk, so taking measures to lose belly fat can give your health -- and your self-esteem -- a big boost. Although genetics determine where your body stores fat, and there's no way to spot reduce, there are still some things you can do to get rid of belly fat and prevent it from returning.

Reduce Caloric Intake

• You must create a caloric deficit to lose fat. Each pound is equal to 3,500 calories, which means you have to burn 3,500 more calories than you consume to lose 1 pound of fat. If you place yourself in a daily deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories, you can lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. Calculate your basal metabolic rate and then factor in your activities and exercises to determine how many calories you need to consume each day to break even. From there, reduce your intake to create your desired deficit. Remember, your body will lose fat from the places it wants in the order it wants to. If your stomach was the first place you put on extra fat, it will probably be the last place you lose it from. Don't let this be disheartening, though. Just understand you may have to work a little harder for a little longer to shed the fat around your waist.

Avoid Foods That Trigger Abdominal Fat Storage

• While genetics largely determine where your body stores fat, you can minimize the likelihood of gaining belly fat by avoiding foods known to trigger storage around your midsection. A 2010 study in "Nutrition Research" found that consumption of foods that are high on the glycemic index, such as those containing white sugars and flours, can cause the storage of abdominal fat. Researchers at the University of Buffalo found that alcohol consumption can also lead to belly fat accumulation. Their findings, published in the 2003 issue of the "Journal of Nutrition," revealed that wine drinkers had the least belly fat, while liquor drinkers had the most. The degree of participants' belly fat correlated with the amount of alcohol they regularly consumed.

Exercise Daily

• Regular exercise will help your body burn and keep off excess belly fat. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise each week. It doesn't matter how you break it down to squeeze cardio into your schedule, as long as you do it. If you're only able to exercise in 15-minute blocks, that's fine -- just do 10 blocks throughout the week. Resistance training will increase lean muscle mass and fire up your metabolism. This makes it easier for your body to burn fat and harder to gain it. ACSM suggests that adults train with weights two to three days each week, using a variety of equipment.

Keep Your Cortisol in Check

• The stress hormone, cortisol, has been strongly linked to abdominal fat. In a 2008 study in "Endocrinology and Metabolism," researchers found a strong correlation between the cortisol levels of overweight girls and excessive abdominal fat. Similarly, a 2011 study published in "Obesity" examined how stress affected cortisol levels and visceral fat in Hispanic girls. Participants who had high levels of school-related stress also had high levels of cortisol and abdominal fat. Proper diet, exercise and meditation are all effective ways to reduce cortisol.

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How to Keep a Flat Stomach

Belly fats are excess calories that settle on top of abdominal muscles. When you keep on consuming foods high in calories, these fats will build up and make your tummy appear bulgy or bloated. The next thing you know, your clothes won’t fit right anymore and your waist line is gone. Taking fats off the stomach area takes time to bring your tummy back to its usual size. Some people spend thousands of dollars just to get a tummy tuck (cosmetic surgery). But there are other natural, effective ways to deal with it that won’t cost you a lot of bucks. All you need is hard work and determination.

Things You'll Need

• Low-fat foods
• High fiber foods
• Water/tea
• Fruits
• Hula hoop
• Exercise mat

Food Choices

1. Watch your fat intake. If you want to have a bulge-free tummy, you might as well start consuming foods that are low in fat. Switch your chocolate ice cream and greasy potato chips into a low-fat yogurt and vegetable salad. It may take awhile to get used to it but it will help much in maintaining a flat belly. You may also want to check labels first before buying something to eat. This will help you keep track about the amount of fats present on it.
2. Try adding more fibers in your diet. Carbohydrates are excellent brain and muscle fuel, but you have to be wise in choosing the right kind that’s friendly for the shape of your tummy. Try to stick to brown bread and rice instead of the white kind. Consume more fiber by eating whole wheat and grain. These healthy kinds of carbs provide vitamins and minerals as well. Simple carbohydrates such as white rice, white bread, alcohol, sugared or carbonated drinks, and other foods that are highly processed, will only contribute to weight gain and a buildup of unwanted love handles.
3. Decrease salt intake and drink lots of fluid. Too much intake of salt will only cause your body to bloat, which is more prominent on your stomach area. So watch your salt consumption to prevent unwanted bulging of the stomach. As for fluids, plain water and green tea will do the trick. Water will help flush excess salt or sodium out of the body, making it free from being bloated. As for green tea, it contains substances that will help eliminate toxins, including unwanted fats out of your system.
4. Go for eating fruits. Fruits like pineapples and raspberries are rich in fiber. Adding these types of fruits will help in keeping your tummy healthy and lean. You can consume either of these fruits with one serving a day. These fruits help in easing up your digestive system and prevent constipation, giving you a flatter and healthier stomach.

Exercise to Help Keep a Flat Stomach

1. Do the double leg drop-and-hold. Start by lying supine (on your back) in an exercise mat. Arms on both sides of your body and both your legs extended. Inhale as you slowly lift both legs up as high as you can. Make sure to keep your back flat on the floor as you do this. Then exhale as you gradually bring both feet down; and hold it up just a few inches above the ground. Hold this position for 8 to 10 seconds, as you feel your stomach muscles contract, and then relax. Repeat this method 8 to 10 times.
2. Perform some aerobic exercises such as jogging, swimming, cycling, and brisk walking. These cardiovascular exercises utilize oxygen which means the source of energy would be coming from fatty acids and glycogen. In other words, these workouts are purely good fat burners. And it won’t only tighten up your tummy but the rest of body parts as well. Do this for 20 to 30 minutes, five days a week.
3. Do some hula hoops. This is one of the oldest ways to flatten and tighten up the belly area. Start by standing with one foot in front of the other to help with your balance. Then position the hula hoop slightly over the top of your waistline. Holding on to the hula hoop with both your hands, rotate it to whichever side you prefer. Then keep the hula hoop rotating around your body by shifting your weight back and forth between your leg positioned in front and the one at the back. You can also try to move your hips in circles as the hula hoop rotates around your body; but the back and forth motion is much easier. Go on hula hooping as much as you can handle. It will take a little while before you actually learn it, if it’s your first time doing the hoop. But don’t give up. This an excellent tummy workout that you will truly enjoy when you get the hang of it.
4. Execute the lying controlled abs curl. Start by lying supine (on your back) in an exercise mat. Tuck both your hands on the area of your lower back, with your left leg flexed (foot flat of the floor), and your right leg extended. Inhale as you lift your elbows; then exhale as you contract your abdomen, raise your head and neck, and elevate our shoulders a few inches off the surface, until you can feel your stomach area contract. Hold that contraction for 10 seconds and then relax. Repeat this procedure 8 to 10 times and then switch legs. When you get used to this, you can make it more challenging by lifting the extended leg up about a few inches from the surface; and just keep it that way as you raise and lower your shoulders.

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The Best Exercise Tips to Reduce Lower Stomach Fat

Losing stomach fat around your lower abdominals can be tricky. According to Deborah Mullen, abdominal exercises won't reduce fat from your belly area. Trained abdominal muscles, can, however, improve your posture, increase your core strength and help you burn more calories when you do cardiovascular exercises. Combining cardio and strength-training exercises will help you shed lower stomach fat quickest when paired with a proper diet.

All About Cardio

Cardio will help you see the results of strength training as it will help you burn fat you may be storing around your midsection. There are two types of cardiovascular exercises, low- and high-intensity. Low-intensity, low-impact cardio workouts typically last 45 minutes to an hour and help you burn fat. This includes exercises such as swimming and walking when completed at brisk, sustainable pace. High-intensity cardio workouts involve interval training, meaning you incorporate short bursts of increased speed or intensity. High-intensity workouts increase your metabolic burn rate as well as keep you pumped most of the day. You should do high-intensity cardio exercise between 20 minutes to 30 minutes each day. The top high-intensity workouts include step aerobics, bicycling, and running.

Kickboxing

Real Women's Fitness describes Kickboxing as the perfect lower abdominal cardiovascular workout. Kickboxing targets the lower abdominals for a killer workout because of the types of kicking involved (such as round house kicks, which involve movement from your hip to the top of your foot). The speed involved in kickboxing helps to really work your lower abs back into gear, combining fat-burning with strength training.

Reverse Curls and The Hanging Knee Raise

Reverse curls are the most popular lower abdominal exercise. Basically lay flat on your back and place your hand under your lower back. Straighten out your legs. Keeping your back on the floor, tense your abs. Curl your knees up to your chest. When you think can't bring them any closer rock back on your hand to bring them in further while you tighten your abs more. Slowly lower your legs (for an extra challenge without relaxing your abdominal muscles). Repeat up to 20 repetitions. Dr. Charles reminds exercise buffs that the key to the reverse crunch is lifting your pelvis off the floor. For an extra challenge, try doing these on a decline by laying down on equipment with your feet pointed to the floor and your arms overhead. The hanging knee raise works your entire abdominal section. While doing a chinup, straighten out your entire body. Breathe in and tense your abs and bring your knees in toward your chest. When you are at the top of the motion Real Women's Fitness recommends rocking your pelvis to give a "final crunch" by slamming your knees towards your chest.

Related Tips

Fitness experts, personal trainers and health care professionals recommend a balanced diet when exercising. Ultimately, you will see little change in body shape if you continue the poor nutrition habits that caused a flabby belly to begin with. The American Heart Association recommends exercising at least 30 minutes each day. Doing so decreases your risk of developing coronary artery disease. Mix slow and steady cardio with high-intensity cardio routines. Even when walking or swimming, incorporate intervals of short bursts of increased speed. This will increase your burn rate but make the exercise continue to work after you finish.

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How to Get a Flat Stomach in a Female

No matter how many crunches you do in the hopes to get a flat stomach, you will not be successful because the fat layer that is hiding your abdominals will always be in the way. You have to reduce your stomach fat to successfully work towards that flat tummy. Aside from liposuction, spot reducing fat is not possible. You will have to reduce your allover body fat to lower the fat in your stomach area. Adopting healthy eating habits and regular exercise is a good way to start.

Tips For You

1. Increase the amount of times that you eat daily, but consume smaller meals. Schedule meals three hours apart and eat five to six times per day to keep your metabolism running and burning fat.
2. Throw all fattening, unhealthy foods in the trash to avoid temptation and stock up on healthy fare such as brown rice, whole-grain breads, lean proteins, olive oil, chicken, fish, egg whites and fruits and vegetables.
3. Enjoy your food by chewing thoroughly and eating slowly, because it takes your brain 20 minutes before it alerts you that you are full.
4. Drink water to stay hydrated. According to the All Women's Talk website, dehydration leads to improper functioning of the liver and a less effective fat-burning process.
5. Sip hot green tea, which is believed to elevate the metabolism and promote fat burn at the same time as it adds to your hydration.
6. Monitor your sodium intake to less than 2,000 milligrams daily to prevent bloating and retaining excess water.
7. Take up a regular cardiovascular workout routine, three days per week. Run, walk briskly, swim or ride a bike to increase the heart rate and burn fat. Challenge your body by not sticking with just one kind of exercise. Look into aerobics classes or work out with a buddy for extra motivation.
8. Lift weights to build muscle tissue which accelerates fat burn. Work out all muscles of the body for all-over toning and fat loss. Work out with weights two to three times per week with a day in between workouts for rest.
9. Train your abdominals three days of the week and allow one rest day in between each workout. Target the lower abdominals by doing reverse crunches and leg lifts. Work the obliques by performing side bends and elbow-to-knee crunches, and incorporate crunches and sit-ups for upper abdominal training.
10. Perform the stomach vacuum exercise whenever and where ever you can. This exercise targets the transverse abdominals which act like a corset around the waist. While sitting up or standing up straight, breathe out all the air in your lungs and suck in your tummy. Pretend that the bellybutton is being pulled towards your spine. Hold the contraction in your stomach for as long as you can while breathing normally. Release it and repeat it as often as you are comfortable with.

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9 Flat Belly Tips: How to beat belly bloat and get a flat stomach?

Abdominal bloating is an inconvenience for many as it causes your stomach to look bigger and it is accompanied by physical discomfort. Bloating is not associated with weight gain but with sudden, temporary abdominal distension affecting men and women alike.It may sometimes be caused by an underlying medical condition, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

However, more often the cause will be less severe and the remedies will include something as simple as reducing the amount of fizzy drinks you consume. Although it is a temporary condition, you may want to look at ways of beating it, which depending on the cause should be very easy. So what causes belly bloat and how do you beat it?

Excess winds

This could be the cause if you notice that you often experience flatulence without any other symptoms. Whilst it is normal to produce gas on a daily basis, it is possible to reduce it considerably. Certain foods are known to cause wind and bloating and cutting down on them is one way of tackling this issue. These foods include broccoli, onions, milk, prunes, beans, cabbage and cauliflower. However, it is not advisable to avoid these completely.

The above foods are very nutritious, high in fibre and part of a balanced diet, which should only be limited to a certain extent. Your body will usually react negatively to them only if it is not used to them. Adding them to your diet gradually should limit excess flatulence. It is also possible to reduce bloating by consuming foods, which have the opposite effect to the ones named above. Foods such as ginger, probiotic yoghurt, peppermint and pineapple will help you de-bloat.

Constipation

Some of the causes of constipation include low-fibre diet, not enough fluids and too little exercise. This, in turn, will cause stomach bloating, which can easily be avoided by increasing the amount of fibre in your meals, drinking plenty of fluids (at least 6-8 glasses of water per day) and daily physical activity such as walking your dog for 30 minutes per day.

However, it is more advisable to do this gradually in order to allow your body to adjust.

Allergies and intolerance

Certain food allergies and lactose intolerance could be the reason for excess gas and stomach bloating when you are not emptying your bowel properly, too much gas is produced or if the food causes trapped gas. However, before you eliminate any ingredients, such as wheat, gluten or dairy from your diet, it is important to consult your doctor so he can confirm the condition. Self misdiagnosis can lead to an imbalanced diet, which could lead to other conditions.

Keeping a food diary of what you eat and when you experience bloating will give you an idea of whether there is any correlation. If your doctor confirms that you are suffering from allergies or lactose intolerance, it may be possible to replace the food in question with other products, or to simply limit the amount you consume.

Swallowing too much air

Not chewing your food properly and eating too fast will cause you to swallow too much air, which will contribute to bloating. As we eat, we swallow the same amount of air as food and so eating quickly will increase that amount even further. Other factors causing you to swallow air are chewing gum, talking during a meal, eating whilst standing or walking, chewing with your mouth open and drinking fizzy drinks. Every meal you eat should last at least 30 minutes, which could also make you enjoy your food more. Reducing carbonated drinks will also have a great impact as the fizz contained in them causes gas to be trapped in your stomach. Also, sugar contained in carbonated drinks may not digest properly and so it is better to reduce or eliminate them from your diet.

You should replace them with lemon water or de-bloating drinks such as herbal tea. Similarly, chewing gum will cause you to swallow more air, which should be avoided by limiting it even if it is a habit difficult to eliminate. Try substituting it with fruit or popcorn. If you find it difficult to stop chewing gum, avoid the sugar-free options, as these contain ingredients which may cause further bloating. This is similar for sugar-free drinks.

Fluctuating hormones

Numerous women complain about bloating during their menstrual cycle, which is normally down to hormonal changes happening in their bodies, namely the increased level of progesterone. Whilst it is difficult to control the hormonal fluctuations, it is possible to reduce the bloating by adding more fibre to your diet. In order to keep your hormones in balance, certain foods and a specific lifestyle are required.

In order to alleviate the bloating and balance out your hormones, you should reduce the consumption of tea, coffee, alcohol, cut out refined sugar, avoid soya and increase your intake of dark green vegetables and complex carbohydrates. Also, even though this may be the last thing you feel like doing in that moment, exercising will flush out any excess fluids, which can contribute to menstrual bloating.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

If the bloating occurs frequently and you also experience other symptoms such as diarrhoea, constipation or pain, you may be suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). 80%-90% of IBS sufferers report bloating as one of the symptoms. This is associated with erratic propulsion of contents through the bowel. As the gut is more sensitive in IBS sufferers, this can cause side effects associated with the syndrome, such as bloating. For those with IBS, excessive gas is rarely the reason behind bloating and distension. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for IBS but there are ways of managing the symptoms.

Increasing your intake of probiotic yoghurt and peppermint tea, and eliminating fatty and high-fibre foods will ease the bloating to a large extent. However, seeing your doctor is advisable as IBS is a condition, which can interfere with your daily life. The effects are more severe for IBS sufferers than with common bloating, as it normally occurs in the evening and it can increase your abdominal size considerably, thus interfering with your social life. Your doctor will be able to prescribe medication, which will ease the symptoms even further.

Coeliac disease

Your bloating may be due to coeliac disease if you often feel tired, gain weight, lose weight despite a large appetite, or get diarrhoea, constipation or abdominal pain. The disease is described as intolerance for gluten, wheat proteins, barley and rye. It is advisable that if you experience symptoms such as bloating and any IBS-related symptoms, you should have your blood tested for coeliac disease. Unfortunately there is currently no known cure for the disease.

Reducing the intake of foods such as pasta, bread or any other products containing gluten will alleviate the symptoms of the disease and will decrease the bloating considerably. Although it may be hard to avoid all products with gluten, untreated coeliac disease is likely to lead to further complications, such as anaemia, lactose intolerance and pancreatic insufficiency.

Stress

As the gut and the brain are normally related, stress can be a major cause for bloating. This is even more common in IBS sufferers but it can also occur in those with no other IBS-related symptoms. Due to stress the colon may experience spasms, which will cause bloating and distension. If you notice that your stomach is normally more bloated during a more stressful period, it is advisable to practice relaxation techniques, such as meditation or yoga, which amongst other various benefits will encourage a mental calm, or using calming breathing techniques in order to boost oxygen to your brain and regulate your breathing patterns.

Herbal medicine is also known to have a calming effect, which may relieve your digestive problems and help you sleep. You should also increase your consumption of wholegrain options in order to directly reduce the bloating.

Lack of exercise

Lack of physical activity can encourage your body to absorb gas, slow down digestion and cause constipation. This can be easily changed with limited exercise for 30 minutes five times a week, which will improve your frame of mind and will allow gas to pass through the digestive tract more quickly.

However, even a 10-minute walk will have a great impact on your digestion and gas, not to mention numerous other health benefits associated with it. Exercise will also reduce the amount of water retention absorbed by your body and will flush out any salt. After the exercise make sure you consume a meal which is high in protein as this will further eliminate the trapped air and minimise the swelling.

Summary

If you are experiencing any signs of bloating, it is important to check with your doctor that there is no underlying medical cause. Once you and your doctor have established the cause of your temporary distension and bloating, there are numerous ways of treating it, which will not only alleviate the discomfort but may also affect your social life in a positive way

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