How to Get a Tight, Flat Stomach
A tight, flat stomach is a product of two things: diet and exercise. What's more, the former is much more important than the latter, as a tight, flat stomach is really just the product of shedding the fat on top of your stomach. However, you can hasten this process by meeting the fat loss halfway by building the muscle underneath. If you don't lose fat, though, your stomach will still be flabby regardless of what your muscles are like. They won't replace the fat; they'll just grow underneath it. You'll be strong, but you'll actually look fatter.
Instructions
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Reduce your calorie consumption. This is the point upon which the entire process rests. If you expend more calories than you consume, you will lose fat off your entire body, including your stomach. Burning 500 calories in the gym takes a lot of time, but reducing 500 calories from your diet is just a matter of eating less. A good place to start is to cut out soda and reduce your alcohol consumption.
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Eliminate processed foods such as ready-to-eat meals and fast food. These foods carry a lot of calories but do not have much nutritional value, and you will have to eat more later to fill yourself up.
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Increase your raw and whole food consumption. Vegetables are key, as are whole-grain carbs such as wheat bread and brown rice. These fill you up easily without giving as many calories.
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Exercise at least 30 minutes a day. This does not have to be--and indeed should not be--endless abdominal exercises. Rather, you should perform a full-body workout that alternates between weight lifting and cardiovascular work such as running or swimming.
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Perform regular compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts and bench presses. These burn calories and build muscle all over, including in your abs, which you need to engage to stabilize yourself.
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Perform some abdominal isolation exercises, such as sit-ups, crunches and planks. Oddly, these are the least important--the fat loss steps mentioned above will play a much larger role in giving you a lean, flat stomach.
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