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Fat Tummy - Diet to Flatten Tummy

How to Get a Flat Tummy (part 2)

In part 1 of our "how to lose tummy fat" guide, we covered some key information and ideas on losing belly fat. In this article, we will cover the key points concerning diet and nutrition, and what you need to know to about dieting to flatten your tummy. However, please keep in mind to read this five part guide in its entirety to get the complete picture on getting a flat tummy and burning off body fat.

One of the key elements of a successful fat loss program is a good diet and nutrition program. Take a step back and evaluate how good your current diet is. Are you eating the right foods? Are your calories coming from healthy sources? Are you eating enough meals each day, or are you skipping meals? These are all factors that can prevent you from getting rid of your tummy fat. I'm sure you've probably heard this numerous times, but I'll mention it again here - you can't spot reduce. Meaning you can simply remove tummy fat without losing overall body fat. Hence, your diet program must be designed to create a calorie deficit that will allow slow and steady weight loss.

While some individuals are genetically pre-disposed to become fat, for most people, bad eating habits and eating fatty foods, especially bad fats, will make you fat. I think most people already know that, yet the lure of bad foods that taste so good keeps luring you. Consuming lots of fat and becoming fat is unhealthy, and obesity is one of the most common health problems in America - such as high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, diabetes, and heart diseases.

It is important to reduce and limit the amount of daily fat you consume in your diet; however, an important distinction needs to be made between good fats and bad fats. There are 3 basic classifications of fats: monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and saturated fat. The saturated fats are the "bad fats" that you want to avoid, and the unsaturated fats are the "good fats" which should make up most of your daily fat intake. Food sources of good fats include foods such as olive oil, nuts, and fish oil.

>> Click here to learn more about the Fat Loss for Idiots Diet

Burn Fat to Get a Flat Tummy

For a diet to help you burn fat and lose weight, it needs to create a calorie deficit where the amount of calories you consume is less than the amount of calories you burn. Below is a general rule of thumb on estimating how much calories you will need each day for weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight gain:

For weight loss:
Your body weight X 10 to 12 = The range of your daily caloric intake
For maintaining: 
Your body weight X 13 to 15 = The range of your daily caloric intake
For bulking up:
Your body weight X 16 to 18 = The range of your daily caloric intake

For example, for a 150lb person, the weight loss caloric intake range would be about 1500 to 1800 calories per day. A more precise way to determine how much calories you burn on a daily basis is to use a BMR / RMR calculator.

Creating a daily calorie deficit is only the first step. Where you calories come from also plays a critical role in determining how successful your fat loss is, and how well you will be able to burn off the fat to get a flat tummy. Not all calories are created equal! The 30/50/20 diet is a popular diet where you get 30% calories from proteins, 50% calories from carbs, and 20% from fats. My personal preference is for a slightly higher protein ratio with a 40/40/20 diet, where both protein and carbs make up 40% of the calories each.

Calculating your Protein, Carbs, and Fats intake

We'll use the 40/40/20 calorie split to calculate the daily protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake for a 150 pound person.

  • 1g protein = 4 calories
  • 1g carbohydrates = 4 calories
  • 1g fat = 9 calories

The above just shows how much calories you will get from consuming 1gram of each, and notice that 1g of fat gives more than double the calories of proteins and carbs.

Calculate your daily protein and carbohydrate caloric intake:

  • Your daily calories X 40% = calories coming from proteins
  • Your daily calories X 40% = calories coming from carbohydrates

To achieve weight loss for a 150 pound person, his daily calorie intake should roughly be: 150 x 10 = 1500 to 150 x 12 = 1800 calories.

  • 1800 X 40% = 720 calories from proteins
  • 1800 X 40% = 720 calories from carbs
  • 1800 X 20% = 360 calories from fats

Now that you know how much calories you need from proteins, carbs, and fats, you can figure out how many grams of each you need to conume each day:

  • Protein: 720 calories / 4 calories per gram of protein = 180g protein
  • Carbs: 720 cals / 4 cals per gram of carbohydrate = 180g carbs
  • Fat: 360 calories / 9 calories per gram of fat = 40g fat

The above is a general guideline on figuring out how much calories you should consume each day, where your calories should come from, and how much of each protein, carbs, and fats you should consume that would lead to weight loss and help you get rid of your fat tummy.

How to Get a Flatter Tummy - Foods that Burn Fat

There are also foods that you can choose to eat that will actually help you burn body fat and get a flatter tummy. Many of the foods listed below will have "negative calories" - meaning your body uses more calories to process and absorb these foods than the amount of calories the food provides. We will also list good sources of lean protein and good carbohydrates.

Vegetables

  • Lettuce
  • Tomatoes
  • Broccoli
  • Cucumbers
  • Bell peppers
  • Spinach
  • Asparagus
  • Celery

Fruits

  • Strawberries
  • Raspberries
  • Blueberries
  • Grapefruit
  • Oranges
  • Grapes
  • Cantaloupe
  • Bananas

Lean Proteins and Good Carbohydrates

  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Egg whites
  • Salmon
  • Trout
  • Oatmeal
  • Brown rice
  • Yams and sweet potatoes
  • Lean beef
  • Whole bread and whole pastas

The above is a list of just some of the foods that help burn fat. The important thing to remember is that you need to enjoy the foods you prepare, otherwise, you will not be able to stick to your diet. Avoid going to fast food restaurants, and avoid eating junk foods that make you fat as we listed above. However, once awhile, give yourself an "off day", let yourself enjoy some of the foods that you crave, but in moderation.

While its true to a certain extent that eating fat makes you fat, you still need to consume some healthy fats each day. Avoid saturate fats and try to get most of your daily fat intake from good fat sources such as nuts, olive oil, and fish oils. It is important that you find fat burning foods that you will enjoy and can stick with.

Calorie shifting is a dieting method that aims to help you maintain a higher metabolism where you constantly increase or decrease the amount of calories you consume each day to keep your body guessing on how much calories it expects to get. Fat Loss for Idiots is a diet plan that's based on the calorie shifting principle, and many users have found success with it for fat loss and getting rid of tummy fat.

>> Click here to learn more about the Fat Loss for Idiots Diet

>> Click here for Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program

 

Part 3: Flat Tummy Exercises >>