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1 rule to a flat stomach:OBEY!!!!!!!!

(... Has anyone seen those ads? I hate them. xd )

Uh, anyway, cruches will make your stomach look really good once you lose the fat off of it, but it won't really do too much to actually burn the fat off. For that you need to get plenty of cardio exercise (running, swimming, DDR, jumprope, anything that gets your heart rate up). I reccomend half an hour of it every day.

Crunches do help, though. They build muscle, and the more muscle you have, the more effective your cardio exercise is at burning fat. 3nodding

tl;dr: 30 minutes of cardio exercise every day works wonders.

I'll keep you my dirty little secret...

Unfortunately, you can't spot reduce. By exercising and eating well, you do lose weight; but your body picks where that weight comes off of. You know how some people diet and can't lose their tummy, yet with others (like me) their tummy disappears and their ghetto booty won't budge? That's basically why.

Oh, but one thing that does help to try and figure out what foods make you bloated, and to avoid those foods. Being bloated makes your tummy look bigger than it actually is.

There is some evidence that whole grains help reduce belly rolls but i think its through decreasing inflammation. You canr ead a bit about it here http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/whole-foods-lifestyle/134959-whole-grains-help-deflate-belly-rolls-article.html

Other than that, you just have to lose fat overall, like everyone else said you cant spot reduce, you can only really spot tone. So anything that burns fat will help you

the abbs is a small muscle. it takes longer to get toned. but however to get a flatter tummy, you need to do a verity of abb exercises. crunches for me don't work. whats works for me is getting to squeeze those stomach muscles. try placing ur legs up, as if you were sitting in a chair, allowing your legs to hang down in a L shape, then when you come up, pull your legs to your chest, hold for 1 second then go down. a lot of people don't know this but whenever you come up for the stomach exercises, breath in before you go up, hold for 1 second and go down. this tenses everything up. be sure to also do cardio. cardio is a fat burner. but do abbs first then cardio. the reason why is because when you do cardio it is burning calories and fat. you are making the skin loose. working a muscle group pulls the fat and skin closer to the muscle. so if you do cardio first your not getting anywhere if you do abbs afterwards.

for cardio i would try to stay away from the tredmil, because it's actually bad for your legs. you are running in pace, and your entire body weight is being slammed down on your knees, and ankles. this may not effect some but if it bothers you, i would stay away from the tredmil and just run outside for your certain distance. a good fat burner cardio is the cross ramp, or the stair stepper.

also diet plays a role with weight loss as well. you should try to drink 1 gallon of water a day. this keeps the muscles healthy, and washes out fat cells in the body. starches, as in breads, and flours, should be ate from when you wake up, to 12pm. after 5pm, you should no longer have fruits or starches, if you work out a lot. reason why is because at 5pm your metabolism begins to slow down. you eat starches, or fruits, your body will just then store that food as fat. you should have little meats after 5 pm. meats should be like lean meats. chicken, turkey, fish. and also green vegi's. green vegi's, burn fat just by them selves, they don't need the help of your metabolism.

One should always take metabolism into account though. I mean, eating cake after 5 isn't a good idea unless you're going for a 30-minute run at 6. Otherwise you go into sleepytime mode and don't burn the processed foods and they turn into fat. As a general rule though, typical meal foods are good for that meal.

English muffins (whole grain), fruit, eggs, etc. are good for breakfasts because the carbs get you up and going, and the proteins help you feel full..

Lean meats and fruits/veg are good for lunch to maintain.

Your classic roast + green beans + a glass of wine (if you're of age) and a light carb are good for dinners, and it's better if you eat more during breakfast and then a little lighter lunch and then a light dinner.

Also snack! They're very good for you, keeps the engine going!

A combination of cardio and strength training would be your best bet. I believe the most effective way to go about this is to alternate between the cardio exercises and strength training. 3nodding