Flat Stomach and Sixpack Abs

Hello 2017! Is this the year for you to achieve those sixpack abs? With the start of the new year, I have seen so many magazine articles, ads, videos, pins, and posts about the best exercises to get six-pack abs, or how to get a flatter stomach in X number of days. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are absolutely no exercises that will target belly fat! You can do 100 sit-ups or crunches a day, or plank for five minutes, or complete a circuit of 10 abdominal exercise in 20 minutes, but the bottom line is these exercises will target the abdominal muscles, and not the layer of fat on top of the muscles. Yes, you should exercise to strengthen your muscles and define them, but that's not all you should do.

If you want a flatter stomach, and you want to be able to see the abdominal muscles, there is only one solution, and that is changing the way you eat. I am not talking about dieting, because dieting is temporary, and once you stop dieting, the belly fat will come back. I would much rather you stick to a clean eating way of life because that is sustainable. Be mindful that there are so many views on clean eating that trying to figure it out, can be stressful. Some people advocate vegetarian eating, or low carb diets, or paleo diets, etc. The easiest way to understand clean eating is to stick to eating whole foods that  you like and staying away from processed and refined foods. Clean eating means eating lean animal protein or plant based protein; eating unprocessed carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, seeds and nuts; eating healthy fats, such as coconut oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, and drinking a lot of water (half your body weight in ounces). There are definitely foods you should limit or avoid for a flat stomach. These foods include dairy products, too much alcohol, too much red meat, deli meats, and artificial sweeteners. Just think about how food is found in nature, and then prepare or cook it the way you like as long as you are not frying it. Think grilled chicken breasts, steamed broccoli, raw carrots, seared asparagus, baked fish, etc. I follow the Plate by Zumba™ meal program, and to ensure that I am getting enough vitamins and minerals, I have a meal replacement protein Zumba Shake every day. My personal training clients also use it, and have seen excellent results with losing belly fat. Do not be misled; it is not easy to change the way you eat overnight, but it can be done with proper planning and meal prep. Every month I start a 21-day Plate by Zumba™ and Zumba Shake Challenge, and the first week is usually the most difficult mainly because your food is different, and you are still figuring out what is safe to eat. However, after 21 days everyone who sticks to the plan loses five to 12 pounds and see a much flatter stomach. Check out my client, AJ Jones who participated in my January 2017 challenge.