Wanting flat abs is a seasonless pursuit, and feeling your best often starts in your belly. Get rid of the bloat and sculpt a strong core with five daily must-dos to get flat abs!
Morning Workout
Start the day with a little toning that targets your core. Strong ab muscles not only create definition, but those inner core muscles also act like an inner corset, helping define your waist. For an effective ab workout when you wake up, look to the midriff-baring experts; this core workout from Victoria's Secret [1] model trainer Justin Gelband will help get you ready to bare it all, no matter what the weather.
Eat This For Breakfast
For flatter abs, remember to eat breakfast. Your first meal will help jumpstart your fat-melting metabolism, and eating a healthy breakfast will also prevent you from making bad midmorning decisions that involve donuts. If you're already feeling bloated, sometimes of dairy are often a common culprit; cut it out of your breakfast with these healthy, de-bloating, and dairy-free breakfast ideas [2].
Avoid These Foods
Besides dairy, other types of foods commonly cause you to feel bloated — not ideal if you're looking for flat abs. When planning your meals, stay away from foods that cause bloat, like fatty or salty foods, soda, or certain types of fruits and vegetables [3], and instead opt for belly-shrinking foods like cucumbers, asparagus, and oatmeal. Find more de-bloating foods here [4].
Cut Calories
It's not all about what you eat and when — it's also about how much if you want to be able to see abs that you've been working on. Make healthy swaps throughout the day so you are still providing your body with enough energy and nutrition while still cutting calories. These 25 filling foods [5] can help naturally curb your appetite and keep you feeling full so you don't overeat.
Up Your Cardio
Any exercise is good exercise, but if you want to melt fat fast it's time to get serious. High-intensity exercise burns calories the fastest, especially when it's in the form of intervals. Mix up your normal cardio workout with high-intensity intervals in between your normal pace; here's a 45-minute fat-blasting pyramid treadmill interval workout [6] to print out and try today.