There are many ways that you can alter your lifestyle habits to help you reduce belly fat and maintain a healthy body weight. We’ve gathered advice on how to lose body fat and get a flat stomach fast (Related: How long does it take to lose weight?). The topics we cover are include types of exercising, foods you eat and things you drink, and lifestyle changes.
How To Quickly Get A Flat Stomach?
You can improve body composition and get a flat belly by increasing your activity levels (doing aerobic exercises, HIIT, and resistance training), being mindful of your diet and drink intake and managing sleep and stress. You can also improve your posture, choose the right clothing fabrics and styles, and use shapewear to make your stomach look flatter.
How To Get A Flat Stomach Fast?
Exercise
- Aerobic Exercises: Exercise that elevates your heart rate for prolonged periods of time burns a lot of calories. This includes walking, running, biking, jumping rope, and playing sports. One study has shown[1] that about 45 minutes of aerobic exercise can burn around 400 calories which will significantly aid in reducing belly fat.
- HIIT: High intensity interval training is a type of workout where you have several rounds of short intense bursts of exercise followed by rest periods. This pattern is repeated for a set amount of time and the exercises can change throughout the workout. HIIT training has been shown to[2] help in losing weight better than just moderate intensity training alone.
- Resistance Training: Stronger muscles take more energy (aka calories) to survive. By increasing your muscle mass, you are increasing your body’s ability to burn calories. To get more defined abs, you should include abdominal exercises regularly which will increase the tone of your core muscles.
Diet Changes
- Reduce calorie intake: Losing weight can be simplified into the principle of “calories in, calories out.” This means that if you take more calories in than you burn, you will gain weight but if you burn more calories than you ingest you will lose weight. By eating less, you naturally take in fewer calories and therefore have fewer to burn to be in a calorie deficit.
- Increase fiber intake: Fiber has many health benefits such as helping regulate blood sugar and curbing appetite. It sticks in your digestive system longer than sugars or carbs to keep you feeling fuller for longer. This will reduce your overall food intake and will be less likely to binge eat.
- Increase protein intake: Protein is essential for muscle, bone, hair and skin health. Protein helps cells repair and rebuild and helps your body recover faster after a workout. Try to incorporate lean protein as it naturally contains less fat.
- Reduce sugar intake and simple carbs: Refined carbs, sugary drinks and foods get digested very quickly which will make you want to eat again shortly after. These types of foods make your blood sugar levels spike then crash which will also cause you to feel tired. Aim to eat more whole grains as they have more fiber to keep your blood levels stable.
- Eat the right fats: High fat foods are difficult to digest and if your body isn’t using the fat for fuel it will remain in the body long term. Healthy fats are good to ingest in moderation including monounsaturated fatty acids[3] from olive, peanut and canola oils, and omega-3s from fatty fish. Reduce fat intake such as trans and saturated fats.
- Limit high-sodium foods: High sodium intake can cause excess water weight to be held on the body. Make sure to drink water to flush out the excess sodium and help get rid of bloating. Processed foods tend to be high in sodium and are linked to heart disease so it’s important to avoid these unhealthy foods to support weight loss, a healthy heart and reduce bloating.
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals: By eating more frequently, you will create healthy eating patterns by regulating food delivery to the digestive tract therefore limiting food cravings. Start the day with a healthy breakfast and plan the meals you’re going to eat throughout the day so you can maintain a healthy digestive system.
- Drink lots of water: Sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger. People may eat more food when really their body needs water. It is suggested that men drink at least 15.5 cups and women drink at least 11.5 cups of water per day. The amount of water increases if you are working out or spending a lot of time in a hot environment.
- Try a detox: Detoxing your body of unwanted substances can kick start your body’s ability to burn fat. Check out this article on detoxing your body to lose weight.
Lifestyle Changes
- Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation can also cause increased hunger levels and increased snacking[4] which can cause retention of excess fat. Aim to get at between seven and nine hours of sleep per night to promote a healthy lifestyle.
- Manage stress levels: Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone and while it is necessary for some bodily functions, too much of it leads to more food intake and decreased activity levels.[5] Managing stress levels through exercise and a healthy diet will help reduce total body fat.
- Cut alcohol: Alcohol is full of empty calories meaning it has little to no nutritional value. By decreasing alcohol intake, you will improve sleeping patterns, decrease overal caloric intake and improve overall health.
Other Means For A Flat Stomach
- Improve your posture: Slouching can create an unflattering silhouette. By sitting or standing up straight you are stretching out the abdominal muscles and promoting the look of a slimmer figure.
- Choose the right clothing fabrics and styles: This may take some trial and error but finding the right shapes and colors for your specific body will help draw attention to your favorite parts of your body while hiding others.
- Use shapewear: Shapewear under clothing will help hold in some extra belly flat and make you look slimmer.
Conclusion
Having excess body fat can be uncomfortable, have negative effects on your overall health and self esteem. By increasing your activity levels, monitoring the foods you eat and drink and managing your lifestyle habits, you can be on the road to getting a flat tummy today!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a flat stomach fast at home?
Simply put, if you limit junk food, relieve stress, reduce calories, and exercise regularly you will naturally lose extra belly fat.
How can I change my habit of drinking a lot of soda?
Try reducing your sugar sweetened beverage consumption by substituting flavored sparkling water or no to low calorie powders that you can add to water.
I’m vegetarian, how to I get enough protein in my diet?
You don’t have to eat meat to get enough protein! Beans, nuts, tofu, lentils are just a few options for protein.
Can I include resistance training into my new routine?
Yes! Resistance training and aerobic training together is a great way to shed body fat.
Should men and women treat this journey differently?
How to get a flat stomach for men fast is no different than for women. Anyone can incorporate these tips!