In this age where obesity makes news headlines every day, more and more people are looking to become fitter and healthier.
Not only does this choice make you healthier, but you feel better about yourself when the results of this exercise start to show, and nowhere is this truer than having that flat stomach you've always wanted.
There are many ways to do this, but the 10 most popular ways for flattening your stomach are: - Go for a 30-minute jog, or even just a brisk walk, three times a week.
This is a good way of flattening your stomach, since it burns fat by boosting your metabolism.
- As well as a healthy breakfast, eat a half dozen or so almonds.
They're rich in protein, and this is excellent for burning fat.
- Eat a diet that's rich in fibre.
For example, instead of white rice, eat brown rice.
Similarly, instead of white bread, eat whole wheat bread.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are also excellent fibre-rich foods, and again this will do nothing but good when it comes to flattening your stomach.
- Pilates is an excellent way of flattening your stomach.
Not only that, but the exercises work on the rest of your body as well as your stomach, giving you a healthy and toned look that anyone would be proud of.
You can even do it from your own home with a DVD workout, if you're shy or embarrassed about going to a dedicated class.
- Reduce your dairy intake, such as butter and cheese, and instead of drinking whole milk, change to skimmed, or at the very least, semi-skimmed.
This will help you reduce gas and the feeling of being bloated.
- Drink lots of water.
This works in tow ways - it helps with digestion, and the more water you drink, the less hungry you'll feel.
The less hungry, the less you eat, and obviously this will go a long way to flattening your stomach.
A good average to aim for is 6-8 glasses a day.
- Do abs crunches three times a week at least.
This will shape your stomach muscles.
Don't mistake abs crunches for sit-ups, since sit-ups actually work more for the hips than they do your stomach.
- Have a cut-off point for your last meal.
Since the body slows down as it gets tired, eating a lot of food before you go to bed only makes it harder for your digestive system to break a late meal down.
One of the best ways of flattening your stomach is to not eat at all for up to three hours before you go to bed, or at least if you do have to eat, snack on a piece of fruit or vegetable.
- As opposed to eating three large meals every day, try and eat more frequent yet smaller meals.
Not only will this stop you feeling hungry between meals, it'll also help your metabolism work quicker, therefore burning off fat more effectively.
- Treat yourself now and again.
One of the hardest things to do when it comes to flattening your stomach is to give up on all the foods you used to love, so treat yourself to a dessert or bar of chocolate.
Not only will this taste good, it will also stop you from becoming jaded with your new diet, and this will ensure you see it through to a new you.