Tuesday, August 23, 2011

What to Eat to Get a Flat Stomach

In our last post we talked about how to get a flat stomach at home. Now we are going to discuss what are the kinda foods you should eat to get those killer abs.

Do you know what to eat to get a flat stomach? There are lots of different fad diets and bestselling books that come and go and claim to teach you what to eat to get a flat stomach. But the truth is there is no magic bullet or instant cure. Knowing what to eat to get a flat stomach is half the battle, the other half is implementing those strategies over time to see the results you want to see and not slip back in the wrong direction. Getting a flat stomach takes a lifestyle change to be successful.

What to Eat to Get a Flat Stomach Rule 1 – Total Calories is Key

The first rule for knowing what to eat to get a flat stomach is watching your total calorie count. Too often people stress about what specific foods they eat at each and every meal or snack. While there are certainly foods you want to eat more than others, which we'll get into below, the most important factor is how many calories you eat altogether.

You need to restrict your total calorie count but you don't want to go too low. Eating too little actually slows down your metabolism and forces your body to start conserving energy and storing fat. When you are trying to lose weight and figure out what to eat to get a flat stomach, begin by eating 10% less calories than you normally would every day. If you can eat 2,000 calories and keep your weight constant shift that to 1,800 calories. After a week observe the results. If you haven't seen any progress, take off another 10% from the original, or in this example down to 1,600 calories.

What to Eat to Get a Flat Stomach Rule 2 – Watch When You Eat

There's more at play than just knowing what to eat to get a flat stomach. You also have to watch when you eat. Eating only two or three large meals a deal bogs your metabolism down. It also leads to overeating since you go so long between meals your body likely gets very hungry by the time you eat.

You actually want to eat between five and six small meals throughout the day. This will keep your metabolism constantly going at a high pace. You won't overeat because you never let your body get that hungry. Eating smaller meals will leave you feeling energetic all day long rather than sluggish and drained at various stages after you eat a big meal. It takes more than knowing what to eat to get a flat stomach to succeed, you need to follow the rules of when and how much to eat.

What to Eat to Get a Flat Stomach Rule 3 – Lean Protein

More than anything else you want to focus on eating lean proteins. Lean protein has to be a major component of your diet. Protein is what helps you build and maintain muscle mass. Lean protein foods are also low in calories and low in fat, meaning that they are easy and all around healthy as part of your diet. In a day to day lifestyle without knowing what to eat to get a flat stomach protein probably consists of about 20-25% of your caloric intake. You want to raise that figure to about 40%. Eat protein in every meal that you have throughout the day. Protein can be found in places besides meat and fish that you might not realize, including nuts and cheese.

What to Eat to Get a Flat Stomach Rule 4 – Cut Down on Saturated Fat

High fat foods are the killer of your flat stomach dreams. If your overall goal is just to lose weight than people often focus on carbs. That's because it's so easy to snack on carbs or include them in meals and end up with so many excess calories. But since you already know how many calories you need to eat, fitting your carbs into that plan shouldn't be difficult.

You do however want to cut down on your fat intake, especially the amount of saturated fats you eat. Processed foods and sweets are the most likely to be high in this area and you have to limit the amount you eat. They store a lot of calories in a small quantity and they have no healthy use in your body.

What to Eat to Get a Flat Stomach Rule 5 – Enjoy Your Meals

Learning what to eat to get a flat stomach is not about going on a no-fun diet. When you take away all of the tasty foods that you enjoy the most, you are going to be making your diet extremely difficult to follow. Depriving yourself of your favorites is just going to make you crave them even more, and it will likely lead to lapses.

What you want to do instead is effectively limit and control how much of your favorites you eat. Incorporating them into your nutritional plan in small quantities allows you to savor them and enjoy them. You won't be tempted to cheat on your diet or your plan because you will have had a taste, and a little bit of anything won't kill you. If pizza is your weak spot, have a slice or two once a week. But end it there and don't have it on multiple occasions.

There is much to learn besides just exactly what you should eat to get a flat stomach. You have to consider how much you eat, when you eat, the types of foods you eat and overall success strategies that will lead to you getting the body you have dreamt about. The above 5 rules can help you hone your techniques and turn you into a healthier person. The result will be that flat stomach you have been working towards, and improved health from head to toe.

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