I get asked by a lot of people what the best exercise is to get a flat tummy, well first of all there is no one best exercise that’s going to get you the six pack that your looking for and endless amounts of sit ups and long boring cardio sessions aren’t the answer either. Here are my tips for a flat tummy:-

1. Eat your way to a flat tummy! Your diet will be around 80% of the results that you will get. You’ve probably heard the saying ‘you can’t out train a bad diet’ and this is perfectly true, ab’s are made in the kitchen not in the gym!! I get my clients to cut out wheat, sugar and processed foods. Wheat is the single biggest cause of excess belly fat and muffin tops!  Wheat is the biggest appetite stimulator and cause of food addiction. Two slices of wholegrain bread will raise your blood sugar more than 2 tables spoons of table sugar!  And it’s sugar that is making us fat so if you really want a flat tummy start with cutting out chocolate, sugar and bread and that flat tummy will be well on it’s way!
2. Increasing your protein intake at each meal can rev up your metabolism by as much as 12%!  Including some lean quality proteins such as turkey, fish or chicken at every meal will keep cravings at bay. People who eat more protein naturally consume less calories yet still feel full! When your hunger and cravings are in check your body will happily shed it’s excess fat stores!
3. Stay away from long boring cardio machines!!  Excess cardio acts as a stress to the body.  Most people are wrongly led to believe that they must do hours of cardio to banish belly fat!  This is a myth and can actually make belly fat worse! Ditch the long duration cardio and do some weight based exercises instead, this can even include using your own bodyweight for resistance. A few sets of squats, dead lifts, push-ups, lunges and plank holds will torch the fat from your belly and thighs! Being lean will ensure you are a super charged fat burning machine all day, every day! Exercise smarter not harder!
4. Ditch the sugary fizzy drinks For every can of pop a person drinks daily, their risk of being overweight increases by 41%. Every metabolic function in the body relies upon the cells being properly hydrated. Dehydration will actually cause bloating and fake hunger signals.  Drinking water throughout the day will keep you energised and less likely to reach for the dehydrating sugary coffees!
5. Walking is one the most underrated forms of exercise.  Low intensity walking lowers stress hormones responsible for storing belly fat and carb cravings.  Take your walks outside to increase your intake of Vitamin D from daylight.  This coupled with a few good quality training sessions in the gym or at bootcamp will encourage fat burning by preserving your precious muscle tissue.
6. Sleep your way to a flatter tummy!  YES!  Getting a good 8 – 10 hours is key to a tiny tummy.  The hours between 10 and 4am is the prime time for fat burning and hormonal reset.  Lack of sleep raises stress hormones that lead us to the biscuits, coffee and chocolate and will lock fat in the belly!
7. Ditch the sit-ups!  Yep ditch those crunches actually burn very few calories and simply does not burn fat from the belly!  Add in some super charged metabolic moves instead that will ramp up fat metabolism. A few sets of burpees or squat jumps will switch up your fat burning hormones for up to 48 hours after the workout has finished!
8. Get thinner, happier friends!  Being surrounded by naturally thin and positive friends will encourage a similar mindset.  Socialising with heavy drinking and takeaway loving friends will scupper your best intentions.  They will do their very best to keep you from achieving your flat belly. After all, who wants their best friend to be thinner than them?.
9. Including plenty of fibre encourages healthy digestion and helps avoid tummy bloating constipation.  We are wrongly led to believe that whole grains are a good choice for fibre.  However, vegetables have 8 times more fibre in per serving and they aren’t packed full of belly bloating wheat or sugars.  Vegetables will also keep us regular, more full and give us an extra dose of health giving, fat burning antioxidants.
10. Eat fat to burn fat!  Ditch the bad fats found in processed foods.  Opt for natural fats such as extra virgin and coconut oil.  Take a fish oil supplement to obtain extra omega 3s.  These essential fatty acids aid fat burning by reducing inflammation and increasing cell sensitivity and therefore fat burning efficiency and blood sugar regulation.
11. Eat slowly!  Eating too quickly causes us to take in more food than we need.  Digestion actually begins in our mouths and it can take up to 20 mins for our brains and hunger hormones to recognise fullness.  Plus taking in excess air or not chewing properly can cause excess wind and bloating.
12. Include raw, live foods in each meal.  A small salad, grapefruit or some raw vegetables can really help the gut digest food.  Cooking food, even steaming can destroy or reduce the natural enzymes present causing bloating and food sensitivities. Plus a small salad will fill you up and you will eat less calories over all!
13. Skipping meals and going on low calorie diets is a sure fire way of ensuring your body becomes an efficient fat storing machine!  Our bodies are programmed to survive calorie restriction and will burn muscle in an attempt to slow the metabolism.  Over 95% of diets fail for this reason and our genetic blueprint has evolved over millions of years making fat storing easier than fat burning.  The key is to never get hungry and to eat more of the right foods such as plenty of lean proteins, good fats and vegetables.  So ditch the scales and the diets.  It’s not about eating less, it’s about eating more and smarter!