I’ve said it before – I hate crunches. They are probably one of the most popular exercises out there and they are a complete waste of time. If you’ve done any of my programs, you will note you never do crunches. That is for a very good reason. They don’t work. I do not know anyone who got a flat belly from doing crunches. I know people who have done up to 1000 crunches a day and still don’t have a flat belly. Why torture yourself with an exercise that is incredibly boring and does not work???
People hope there is a secret to flat abs – because that would make it easy. We like to think we just need to figure out the secret and then we can find our 6 pack. The secret is not more crunches. It’s not more cardio. It is not eating more of a certain food. And, no, there is no magic flat belly pill. I doubt there ever will be.
The secret to a flat belly is really not a secret. Everyone assumes it’s a secret because so few people actually have flat bellies. It is not easy to burn belly fat. Many lifestyle habits in our culture make it really difficult to keep a trim waistline. But lack of crunches is not the culprit here. The culprit is multi-pronged: poor diets (consisting of too much sugar and too many processed grains), inactivity (sitting for the better part of the day – Sitting Disease – yes, it’s a real thing) and doing the wrong kinds of workouts.
If you really want to flatten your belly I want you to vow you will never do another crunch. Never. Promise? If you promise to never do another crunch I will tell you how these Fit Healthy Moms flattened their abs in a matter of weeks:
Ok, since you have promised to divorce crunches forever, I will tell you exactly how these FHMs flattened their bellies.
1. Diet:
The biggest thing you can do to lose inches off your belly is clean up your diet. By minimizing your intake of processed foods, sugar and processed grains (yes, that includes many whole wheat items), you will dramatically reduce your waistline. Additionally, the more you eat carbs strategically, the more you improve your results. For example, eat grains (always unprocessed or minimally processed – like Ezekiel sprouted grain products and whole grains like steel cut oats, buckwheat and millet) early in the day.
Eliminate all grains after 3pm when your body no longer needs the influx of carbs to fuel you for the day. To curb your appetite for grains, make sure to get plenty of protein and some healthy fats at every meal. Additionally, load up on veggies and fruits (in that order). Tons and tons of veggies!
2. Water:
Water is your friend – in so many ways. Water will help you shed belly bloat. It will help you feel full and minimize cravings (sugar and salt). It will keep your metabolism revved up and running at optimal levels (dehydration slows your metabolism down!) It will help you detox and get rid of that junk leftover from when you *used to* eat processed foods. It will give you energy. It will help your skin glow. So many reasons to chug the stuff. Make sure to get at least half your body weight in ounces everyday.
3. The Right Cardio:
Long, steady state cardio has little to no impact on belly fat. In fact, running a marathon (26.2 miles in about 4-6 hours, after 3-6 months of training) will not give you flat abs. I know – I agree – it seems unfair. But it’s the truth. If you want to use cardio to burn belly fat, be smart about it and use what has been scientifically proven to work: SHORT, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Stop trudging along on the elliptical for hours each week. Get in some Tabatas or any of the Cardio Intervals we do in SuperMom Workouts.
I have never met a mom who lost her belly by doing more steady state cardio. The moms I work with who dramatically change their waistlines clean up their diets and cut out steady state cardio – utilizing HIIT and weight training instead.
4. Build Muscle:
Believe it or not, this is MORE IMPORTANT THAN CARDIO if you really want to flatten your belly. Do not let muscle scare you. Muscle is good. Lean muscle mass increases your metabolic rate (the rate at which you burn calories around the clock.) Women tend to be scared of “muscle mass”. They think that means bulk. I promise you it does not. The effort it would take you to bulk up is more than you can imagine. Think hours in the gym a couple times a day and a strict diet of huge amounts of protein around the clock. In fact, many body builders give up their body building goals because the get so sick of the the endless hours in the gym and the constant eating. It is really, really hard to bulk up.
On the other hand, building lean muscle mass (everywhere) will help you flatten your belly. This is because muscle is metabolically active – meaning it works for you all the time, around the clock. It helps you burn calories and fat.
See what I mean:
You can see here that you can actually GAIN weight as you build muscle and get SMALLER. Muscle ROCKS. Who cares what the scale says if you’re rockin a 6 pack and sporting smaller pants?!
5. Commit:
This may be the most significant factor in flattening your belly and keeping it that way. It’s not about starving yourself for a week and then binging for 3 days – or working out 5 days this week and 1 day next week. It’s about committing to a lifestyle of CONSISTENT clean eating and exercise. That does not mean you have to be perfect 100% of the time. But you have to be committed to the process. You will see little to no difference in just one week – and that is about the length of time I see women hold on to their goals. Commit to 3 months of clean eating and regular exercise (4-5 days a week, 20-30 minutes per session.) You will see a measurable difference in a matter of weeks, AND if you can maintain a new lifestyle for 3 months, you are much more likely to maintain your results and OWN your new body, not just borrow it for a few days, only to fall back into old habits shortly thereafter.
I can’t say enough about your mental commitment to your health. It will make all the difference in your long term results. You have to WANT it. You have to CHOOSE it. You have to OWN it. It is YOUR call and YOUR choice as to whether or not you meet your goals. It will not be easy everyday – but nothing worth having comes easy. If you work for it, you will take pride in your change and growth. You will honor yourself. You will stand taller, walk prouder and people WILL notice a new you.
If you don’t know how to get started on your own, I would highly recommend investing in our best selling program, SuperMom Workouts. Our SuperMoms dramatically change their waistlines in a matter of weeks, while setting up lifestyle habits they can use to maintain their SuperMom bodies forever.
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