flat stomach

[brittanny]

hi girls I was wondering what kind of exercises would be best to get a flat fem stomach I am afraid if I do sit ups or crunches I will just end up with a mucely stomach you know a six pack and I dont want that thanks for your help love
Brittanny

[Marla S]

Well dosed sit ups + diet.
or
Yoga + diet (needs a bit more time)

[Stephenie S]

I do crunches every day (250). That and diet. I am still struggeling with the last bit if love handles though. Can't seem to loose 'em. If I was willing to wear a girdle I am sure this would deal with the problem, but I'm not.

Steph

[Calliope]

Go vegetarian.

Take long walks.

Never eat before bed.

[Karren H]

I cheat.....corset!!

Love Karren

[Snookums]

it has been discovered that to much cortisol produced by the body causes the "gut".Excessive cortisol is caused by extreme nervousness,or a malfunction in the gland that creates the cortisol.Thats what I read when I looked up cortisol on the net.
You might want to consult your doctor about this.

[Nigella]

Exercise is the only answer to a flat stomach.

And now doctor - "take some of your own medicine" :heehee:

[julie w]

If you are over weight no amount of stomach exercise will help ,its the whole package diet eating healthy ,try walking and running up stairs

[Dominique Melt]

Well, the conventional wisdom is lots of ab and core exercises. While this is germaine, we fitness trainers have a maxim: abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym.
Just eating less calories won't induce long term and permanent weight loss. You need to add lean muscle mass, as this tissue is the most expensive -- calorie-wise -- to maintain. Going on a crash diet is absolutely not the way to go about losing weight and trimming the fat off your abs. When you drastically cut calories, your metabolism goes into famine mode by consuming the tissue that is most expedient to burn ... muscle tissue. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body will burn at rest; basal metabolic rate.
In a nutshell:
NO saturated fats. If it is solid at room temperature, walk away from it. This means most cheeses, animal products, butter.
NO refined or processed carbs. Eat whole grains, brown rice, fruit. Stay away from anything white or bleached.
NO high-fructose corn syrups.
NO partially hydrogenated oils. That is margarine, vegetable shortening such as used in deep friers.
Eat 5-6 small meals a day. Balance your caloric intake in the ratio of 3:2:1 [COUNTING CALORIES not weight of food,] per meal That is three parts good carbs; two parts protein, one part poly-unsaturated fat. Remember, the body needs fat. Use extra virgin olive oil for dressings and frying.
Rule of thumb-- Carbs = 4 calories/gram; Protein = 4 calories/gram; Fat = 9 calories/gram; Alcohol = 7 calories/gram.

There are some great books out there. Two good ones are:
[I]The Abs Diet (http://www.absdiet.com/uof/absdiet/?source=rodale) by David Zinkzenko
and
[I]Body for Life (http://www.bodyforlife.com/challenge/index.asp) by Bill Phillips [ISBN 0060193395]

[katie_m68]

i do 50 crunches everymorning before i even get out of bed and i still cant get rid of the ol love handles the not as noticable as before i started my morning crunchs lots of walking upo and down stairs and oooooo lots and lots of water,every sip of soda you take you'll have to work three times as hard to lose it so think before you guzzle that big gulp down.

[Nike]

Crystal Meth will help with your weight problem.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/20/earlyshow/contributors/melindamurphy/main710301.shtml

Well hell, I thought it was funny.

[keena]

Try a corset. I wear a very long, custom made corset. My tummy is as flat as a board in spite of my weight and uncorseted shape (40 pounds over weight). Besides, the sensation is indescribable.

[Honey Lynn]

How about double chocolate crunches, do those count????:D

[Kate Simmons]

I know the food tastes so good but to get a flat little round one, you just gotta stop eating. That's how I got mine. No exercising, just cut down on food. It's painful in the beginning (hunger pangs) but you get used to it after a while. Just have three meals a day with no snacks...and no cheating! Ericka Kay

[Michelle Ellis]

Dominique has good info a few posts back. I just want to add that this is something else that is of high interest to me of late, I've joined a health forum and educated myself this year... so far I've lost almost 50 pounds (dress size shrinking rapidly! :) )

First thing is you can't spot reduce fat! If you look into it you find it's the number one biggest misconception about health and health exercise products there is. You can build muscle or lose fat and your genes will decide where it goes or comes off your body.

I only wish there was a few exercises I could do to build my butt and boobs, I'd just do them and be looking great in no time :p

To be more specific to your question, I belive crunches to be the all around best form of exercise (for me anyhow), I do about 200-300 everyday... there's several kinds of crunch and you have to do them properly, go slow, make sure you burn your muscle, breath correctly... and never be in a hurry or you'll get sloppy and rush, then you're accomplishing very little. I don't cross over (left to right, right to left) nor do I lift my legs... while this is great form you'll build more muscle than tone the muscle (which is my goal).

Oh... you can't do just one thing... I do a lot of stretching and areobic exercises (physical therapy stuff from an old car wreck) and I get a lot of cardio at work by loading and unloading trucks and what not. Start walking or get a treadmill too.

M

[Sedona]

Yes,

Lots of good advice, and I especially think that Dominique Melt's is most appropriate. She's broken down the nitty gritty (my only add is that a pilates move called The Plank is superb), but my philosophical take is:

A flat stomach should be considered a by-product of healthy lifestyle choices. If you have a flat stomach, it means that your blood pressure/resting pulse rate are probably lower than previously. You'll move easier, get out of bed easier, make love with more vigor, have more energy to do good work, play better with the little kids in your family, and have more fitful sleep. Not to mention being fitter gives less of a reason for achy joints to hurt as we age.

And, think about how great you'll look in a size 12, or ten, or lower if you're slightly built!

That said, it isn't easy for everyone. I grew up in Lo Cal, where healthy living is a way of life for most. Much tougher to buck bad habits in much of the rest of the country.

Good luck!

[bob..bie?]

No... I'm not going to leave this wonderful BB and all you helpful girls, but I could use some good diet advice... I'm trying hard to diet but knowing EXACTLY what to eat to loose weight would be a big help.

Huggs again,

bob..bie?

[insearchofme]

Great advise by the experts here. The one thing I'd add is that your abs are a muscle like any other and only needs to be exercised 2-3 times pert week. Don't over do them.

[Sedona]

Hi Bob..bie?,

About abs specifically, try looking at Kalina's website http://www.transvamp.com/ask/index.html. There's a good download (costs some money) that is a nice primer on how to do your abs. But, as someone with bad lower back disks, if there's a lot of pain down there, make your crunches shallower but more.

Love the name BTW. For general help, you can start by reading books. Body for Life is really good. I've found lots of good information in The Zone diet books.

But, my humble advice is to know what kind of person you are. Are you a "team" type of person? Have you found inspiration when you join a group and liked a coach-type of person guiding you along? If so, perhaps something like The Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers approach is good for you. They map everything out for you and tell you what to eat (usually their products, which are very healthy by the way).

Are you reward motivated. If so, there are diet systems which mandate that you eat small portions of healthy food, and Friday is set aside to eat sweets if you want (provided you've been good the rest of the week!)

Are you a self starter? If so, perhaps joining a "food" club isn't neccessary, but it is going to be neccessary to join something, a gym, a pilates or kung fu class, a walking club. Some will set you back financially more than others, but it's so so tough to go it alone with making lifestyle changes.

If you join a gym, ask about the resident dietician, who can tell you exactly what types of food to eat.

My two cents on what EXACTLY to eat, if it's got more than a few ingredients, you're probably best to avoid it. Look at labels, if sugar in any form is near the top, it's a no go. Become an amateur dietician.

All that said, there's only one way to healthily lose weight, eat right and exercise. It's going to take A LOT of work, but it will improve EVERY part of your life.

Here are some websites to get you started:

www.diet.com (lots to sign up for and learn)

www.drweil.com (ideas might seem radical but there's a lot of wisdom within this site, so consider everything he talks about). Time magazine did a cover story on him recently, so you can find that online as well.

Cheers,

[Jennaie]

You can do as many crunches and sit-ups as you wish, Your not going to show a six pack of macho muscles. In order to really get that flat stomach, you have to combine diet with exercise. Do the diet, do the crunches and do aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week. Once you achieve your flat stomach, your six pack will only show for about 20 min after a workout. When your muscles are relaxed, chances are a six pack will not be visible.

[tv_rachael]

buy a slendertone belt !!!

get the girls - it will do it all for you - as long as ur not too fat