How To Get A Flat, Toned Stomach In 7 Easy Steps

If you are like most women, especially most women over 40, getting rid of belly fat seems like impossibility. As a woman over 40 myself, I’m here to tell you, it is not only possible but is much easier than you think. Follow these tips, toss away these myths and I guarantee a flatter, more toned mid section before you know it.

1. Pack in the Protein - Not only does Protein help to add body sculpting, butt lifting muscle but it helps you to feel fuller at each meal and helps to curb hunger. Our clients generally eat 20-30% of their daily calories from protein a day. Eat a protein source at EVERY meal and try to incorporate some into snacks.

You can check out my list of best protein sources. I've explained this is so important more detail in my article "Is Your Diet Making You Fatter?"

2. Ditch the boxed and pre packed foods (yes, even "diet" foods) - They are often loaded with chemicals and preservatives which can wreak havoc with your fat loss efforts, and are full of salt which causes bloat and puffiness. It's not about the calories but how your body stores them.

For a more detailed explanation of this you can read "Is THIS Why You Can't Lose Weight?" .

3. Don’t starve yourself - You can flatten your stomach and drop a full dress sizes or two in a month to 6 weeks without taking drastic measures like low calorie diets or crazy 6 day a week fitness programs.

Less than 1,200 calories is usually not enough to support your basal metabolism and thus will slow your body's calorie-burning ability and cause your body to burn muscle for energy. Very low calorie diets will help you lose weight in the short term but when your body has had enough of being starved, you will binge, gaining all of your weight back and looking down at a MORE bloated belly.

I've explained this in great detail including a graphic in my Special Report "22 Big Fat Lies Keeping You From The Body You Want" which you can grab FREE at the end of this article.

4. Avoid Sugar Free Foods - Artificially sweetened foods contain a lot of sugar alcohol which causes bloating

5. Eat your fruits & Veggies - Freshness Counts - The packaging and processing generally found in "convenience" foods generally reduce the nutrient values of foods and substantially raises the caloric content. The simple sugars found in processed foods generally leave people feeling hungry and craving more carbohydrates. Although fruits & vegetables are nutritionally dense and full of fiber leaving you fuller longer, you should try to avoid eating them without a quality protein or fat to keep your blood sugar even. Here is my list of Best & Worst Flat Belly Foods.

6. Follow the 90% to 10% rule. If you watch what you eat 90% of the time, the other 10% is not not going to effect your belly busting efforts. The influx in calories from that 10% will stoke your metabolism, keep you from feeling deprived and keep you on track.

7. Ditch These Myths:

Myth #1: You need to train your abs everyday.

Fact: When it comes to training, your abs are like every other muscle. In order to get the most benefit, you have to train them hard and allow sufficient rest between sessions. You also have to make them work harder. They also grow just like any other muscle and training them disproportionately will cause them to grow disproportionate to your other musculature which can cause muscle imbalances and other issues.

Myth #2 : Doing sit ups, twists & sidebends will trim your waistline.

Fact : You can’t reduce waistline fat simply by doing ab exercises. Spot reduction just does not happen! Yes, you need to do ab exercises to develop the abdominal muscles. They need to be strengthened just like your glutes or your biceps but in order to actually see those ab muscles, you need to strip the fat that's covering them.

Myth #3: You need to do many more reps for ab exercises.

Fact: This is just not so. The most common training mistake when it comes to the abs is ineffective exercises. The next is poor technique. Exercises like crunches, sit ups and leg lifts are old school and the majority of the time, the actual abdominals is not even being worked. Substitute old school, ineffective exercises like sit ups, crunches, leg lefts or , god forbid that archaic ab crunch machine for exercises like planks, ball rolls , burpees or even good old fashioned push ups and I will guarantee you flatter more defined abs in no time.

For more on the topic of "ab workouts" you can check out my article "Is Your Ab Workout Making Your Waist Bigger"?