Sunday, December 21, 2008

How to get a Flat Stomach?

By Jose Loni

The formula for a flat stomach is not difficult. However, in order to be successful with the flat stomach formula, we need to understand three basic factors that will determine how flat our stomach will get. Those factors are: monitoring the frequency and quality of our food intake, increasing our energy expenditure and decreasing stress in our lives.

As we strive for a flat stomach, we must also monitor the quality and frequency of our food intake. We can begin by increasing our food intake to 5-6 meals throughout the day. Each meal should be made up of foods from the different basic food groups. Water intake is very important, which is a better alternative to sodas. Making healthier food choices will help give our bodies the necessary fuel for our daily lives and our workouts.

The exercises to flatten our stomach should begin gradually, walking for at least 20 minutes and progressing to 30 minutes. The intensity should be challenging so the body will utilize energy from fat.

Stomach flattening exercises are basically exercises that involve multiple joints that allow our bodies to reduce overall fat and at the same time allow for muscle growth and development. When we increase our muscle size, it also increases our metabolism and requires more fuel to be converted from fat, thereby getting the fat from the stomach area. Ab exercises are also good to help tone and increase core strength.

Our bodies have a way of surviving and maintaining energy supplies when it feels it is in danger. When we have high levels of stress, our bodies produce the Cortisol hormone, which stores fat in our stomach area. Stress causes the body to hold onto the fat, so that it can be used as an energy source for survival.

A stress coping mechanism that is greatly used and very easy to do in any environment is deep breathing. Taking a deep breath through our nose and deep into our abdomen, then slowly exhaling and releasing the air through our mouth. This method allows for a greater exchange of oxygen into our bodies and carbon dioxide to be expelled.

The flat stomach formula just takes some discipline to commit to making changes in and monitoring our food intake, increasing our energy expenditure and managing our stress. This formula is just a simple guideline to help us achieve our goal to have a flat stomach. - 16004

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