13 Stupid-Easy Ways to Get a Flat Stomach

Visceral fat is the extra, solid fat around your midsection.

Individual fat cells increase when your waistline expands, which can contribute to reduced HDL (aka "good") cholesterol and greater levels of triglycerides, a kind of fatty acid in the blood associated with heart disease.

Most women's midsections do not become a hotspot for weight gain until they reach middle age.

As women's estrogen levels fall with age, their testosterone levels rise, causing them to develop belly fat—and increase in fat that is compounded by muscle loss and a slower metabolism.

But, and this is huge but, that doesn't imply you should sit back and let the fat creep into your waist. Use the following ways to permanently get rid of abdominal fat.

1. GO FOR 30-MINUTE WALKS IN THE DARK.

According to studies, the simplest strategy to get rid of your spare tire is to do at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular activity every day. What exactly does "moderate-intensity" imply? It's not a leisurely stroll. To be effective, you must huff and puff and work up a sweat. And, no, this does not imply that you must sprint like a track star. Brisk walking is OK.

Whether you're walking, jogging, or cycling, make sure you're working out at 50 to 70% of your maximum heart rate. The math is straightforward. To begin, subtract your age from 220 to determine your maximal heart rate (example: 220 – 40 = 180). Then take your maximum heart rate and divide it by 0.5 (180 x 0.5 = 90). Repeat the math, multiplying by 0.7 this time (180 x 0.7 = 126). In heartbeats per minute, the two values reflect your goal range. During exercising, make sure you're pushing yourself to your limits. Manually calculate your rate by counting pulse beats on your wrist for 10 seconds and multiplying by 6.

2. DO HIIT WORKOUTS

Speed interval training, which consists of short, strong bursts of activity followed by shorter "rest" intervals of moderate exertion, is even better than a half-hour run. Interval training may be done with any sort of exercise. Walking is an excellent place to begin. In Canadian research, exercisers who did 30-minute interval exercises burned three times as much fat as those who underwent gentler 45-minute steady-state workouts.

Another study discovered that exercisers who conducted brief, hard exercises had a 20% reduction in visceral fat (called abdominal fat) after 3 months. Those who conducted lengthier workouts at a slower pace showed no such difference. Intervals should be performed at a level of intensity where you can only say a few words at a time. This allows you to burn more calories while exercising, but the true advantage comes later. The longer it takes for your body to return to normal, the more difficult your workout is. The result is that you continue to burn calories even after you leave the gym. Begin by adding two or three interval sessions each week to your regular exercises.

3. ACCEPT RESISTANCE TRAINING

Even when you're not lugging groceries or propelling yourself up a flight of stairs, muscle burns calories. It's more metabolically active than fat, requiring more calories merely to keep your bones alive. Building muscle through resistance exercise is the key to keeping slim as you age. We're not talking about chiseled bodybuilder muscles here. Simply firm, toned, and appealing muscle. You may do it with bodyweight exercises, exercise bands, or lifting weights. Total-body resistance exercise has been found in studies to target visceral fat. Researchers at the University of Alberta discovered that persons who did a high-intensity resistance regimen in addition to their cardio dropped more than four times as much abdominal fat as cardio-only exercisers.

4. SLOWLY LIFT AND RESIST

When practicing weight training, add a "tempo exercise" to your workout to increase the fat-burning effects of the regimen. According to research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, tempo workouts, which include lifting weights with slow, consistent motions, prepare your body to burn more fat.

How to do it: Lower the weight for 3 seconds, then press it up for 3 seconds without pausing. This can help increase the number of mitochondria in your cells, which are the components of your cells that utilize fat to make fuel. The greater your mitochondrial count, the more abdominal fat you will burn. Use this method at least once a week to target all of the major muscle groups: arms, legs, shoulders, chest, back, hips, and core.

5. REMOVE ALCOHOL

Wine, wine spritzers, fruity drinks, and even plain vodka or whiskey will add inches to your waistline. This is due to the fact that alcohol reduces your body's capacity to burn fat. According to research done by the University of Alberta, alcohol reduces your metabolism by up to 36%. Furthermore, when your body breaks down the alcohol, it begins to produce fat as a byproduct of the process—a double whammy for your tummy.

6. QUIT BEING STRESSED

When you are stressed, your body produces a large amount of cortisol, a hormone that promotes your body to retain belly fat. The rationale is that the fat surrounding your midsection has more cortisol receptors and a larger blood supply, so the hormone can go there quickly.

7. DRINK A LOT OF GREEN TEA

Green tea's advantages are piling up—been it's proved to help fight cancer, make your skin sparkle, and even decrease belly fat! In recent research conducted by the University of Alberta, exercisers who consumed around four cups of green tea every day for three months lost eight times more belly fat than those who used another caffeinated beverage. Green tea is high in catechins, which are weight loss-promoting chemicals that have been found to speed up fat burning.

8. EXTEND YOUR SLEEPING TIME

A lack of sleep, like stress, raises cortisol levels, leading you to retain extra belly fat. According to Canadian experts, those who get only 5 to 6 hours of sleep every night are more likely to gain weight in their stomachs.

9. INCREASE YOUR CALCIUM CONSUMPTION

Milk isn't the only dairy product that needs a place in your fridge. According to a University of Tennessee research, overweight adults who drank three servings of calcium-rich dairy each day for six months shed more belly fat than dieters who consumed less. Calcium may reduce the probability of fat accumulating in your stomach. Aim for one serving of dairy with each meal, such as a glass of milk with breakfast, a piece of cheese with lunch, and yogurt as an after-dinner treat. Calcium supplements are unlikely to have the same effect since proteins in dairy improve calcium's fat-burning impact.

10. CONSUME MORE HEALTHY FATS

You do not become obese as a result of eating fat. Some folks have not received the message. Saturated fats, such as those found in meat and butter, can also aid in weight loss since they are satiating. However, monounsaturated fats are the finest since they are both heart-healthy and satiating, and they may even help you lose weight. A recent study discovered that insulin-resistant persons who ate a high-monounsaturated-fat diet had less belly flab than those who ate a high-carbohydrate or saturated-fat diet. Salmon, avocado, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, peanut butter, and olive oil are excellent sources of healthful fats.

11. GET RID OF REFINED CARBS

If you read the words "enriched flour" on a food's ingredient list, you've succumbed to processed carbohydrates, which have been stripped of their fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Switching to whole-grain bread, pasta, rice, and cereal not only supplies you with more nutrition but can also help you lose belly fat. Dieters who ate whole grains shed twice as much belly fat as those who ate refined carbohydrates, according to a University of Alberta research.

12. AVOID DIET SODA

You may believe that switching to diet Coke is a good idea for your waistline. Wrong—the only sensible course of action is to stop drinking soda totally. Researchers at the University of Texas discovered in 2009 that those who consume one diet soda per day have wider waists than those who drink no soda at all.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST... YOU SHOULD TRY THIS 10-SECOND "DAILY FIX" THAT BURNS UP TO 3 POUNDS OF BELLY FAT IN 3.5 DAYS...

Click here to see the 10-second "daily fix" that helped me drop 33.5 pounds in 30 days.