The True Secret to a Flat Tummy

A flat stomach is one of the most sought after health and fitness goals, helping you to look and feel sexier and more comfortable in your body. While diet pills, ab machines and other products are marketed to you with the flat stomachs of fitness models, none of them provide the true secret to a flat tummy. The real secret to remove fat from your stomach and reveal your abs is a matter of simple science.

Factors

• Brad Pilon, weight loss expert and author of "Eat Stop Eat", recommends the 80/20 rule that suggests diet is responsible for 80 percent of your body's fat content, while training is responsible for only 20 percent. Therefore, you must look to safely cut the calories you consume and moderately increase your activity levels to burn more calories. To know how many calories you should cut to lose weight, you could calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which represents the number of calories you burn in a day. For women, this is 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years ). For men, this is 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year ). To steadily lose weight, consume less calories than your BMR calculation. For accurate and safe results, do this with the supervision of your doctor.

Misconceptions

• Many people will look to a particular diet, exercise machine or exercise regimen to flatten their stomachs. The truth is, no amount of exercise will negate a poor diet and poor eating habits. The size of your stomach depends on the fat content of your entire body. It is impossible to spot reduce, meaning that you cannot target your stomach alone when attempting to cut fat. Cutting calories safely and adequately through physical activity and calorie reduction will cause you to lose fat. This fat loss will eventually manifest in your stomach. Unfortunately, stomach fat is often the last to go.

Expert Insight

• Web MD suggests several reasons for a bloated, fat stomach that you may not think of straight away. Gastrointestinal issues may significantly effect the size of your stomach, the way it looks to you in the mirror and the uncomfortable way it feels. Web MD suggests avoiding constipation by drinking plenty of water, engaging in regular physical activity and consuming an adequate amount of fiber. Avoid foods that make you bloated, as you may have an allergy to these foods. It is common for people to be allergic to dairy and wheat, and you can assess this by noting how you feel after consuming these foods. If you feel heavy, lethargic or bloated, remove these foods from your diet for two weeks and reassess.