If you're like most women, the thought of swim season is enough to make you feel downright cranky. But there's no need for a mood meltdown. Culling the most cutting-edge research, we designed a three-pronged ab plan to tighten your midsection from the inside out. And you don't have to quit your job to make it happen: Work out for 15 to 20 minutes a day, eat more ab-flab reducing foods (you'll be surprised how scrumptious they are), and you'll be ready for your reveal just in time to suit up for a dip.
Step 1: Get on the ball
Unlike other ab workouts that merely address your superficial six-pack muscles, this plan uses an inflated stability ball to tighten your tummy right down to the core. The result: a strong inner corset of muscles that pulls in your belly automatically. "When you use the ball, your body has to work harder to keep steady, which means you engage more muscle fibers, especially those deep, stabilizing abdominal muscles," says plan designer and author of the Buff workout books, Sue Fleming, whose moves were part of Katie Holmes' post-baby shape-up. "You also activate all your important posture muscles, so you have a more balanced body and carry yourself straighter, which helps you look slimmer."
More proof the ball works. Researchers at California State University, Sacramento, hooked up 18 men and women to muscle-sensing electrodes and asked them to perform a series of belly-flattening moves. They discovered that abdominal exercises done on the stability ball activated twice as many core muscles as classic belly toners like the crunch and the sit-up.
Step 2: Burn off belly fat
Strengthening your core muscles will give you a trimmer, more shapely profile, but for the flattest belly, you also need to do cardiovascular activities that regularly raise your heart rate and burn calories, says Fleming.
Aerobic exercise has been scientifically shown to shrink belly fat. In a recent study from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, researchers divided a group of 45 obese women into three groups: One adopted a reduced-calorie diet without exercising; one followed the diet and walked slowly (1 to 2 mph) on a treadmill for 55 minutes three days a week; and one dieted and walked more quickly (3 to 4 mph) for just 30 minutes three days a week. After five months, all the women dropped about 20 pounds and three to four inches off their waists and hips. However, when the researchers performed body-composition and belly-fat biopsies, they found that only the two exercise groups saw their belly fat actually shrink; by 18 percent in both fast and slow walkers. The best part: The exercisers reaped these benefits while burning only 400 calories a week; about 135 calories per bout.
Step 3: Eat belly-flattening foods
True, nothing you eat can magically burn away belly fat. But there are certain foods that may speed up the process. Ironically, many of these foods are the same yummy treats we've been chasing off our plates for years for fear they'd contribute to weight gain. "Weight loss is not a matter of how low you can go with regard to fat and calories," says Leslie Bonci, R.D., at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "It's about eating the right types of fat and calories. What you put in your stomach will ultimately help you trim your tummy." Scientific evidence suggests these five foods, plus water, will help beat belly fat.
Yogurt. Evidence has been accumulating that calcium-packed foods, like low-fat yogurt and milk, can crank up the body's fat-burning machinery. The latest study indicates that they may whittle your waist by reducing the amount of fat you absorb from food. When Danish researchers fed volunteers four different meals, they found that those eating medium- to high-calcium meals had 17 to 19 percent lower levels of fat in their blood than those taking calcium supplements or eating low-calcium meals. Previous research from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that obese adults who ate a high-dairy diet (1200 to 1300 mg calcium/day) lost 60 percent more weight and nearly three times as much belly fat as dieters eating the same number of calories with less calcium. "You can get enough by drinking skim milk with your meals," says Bonci.
Veggies. If there's a new buzzword in weight loss, it's fiber — and veggies are loaded with it. Fiber is great for belly-flattening because it fills you up, for fewer calories. It also helps keep the flow of sugar into your bloodstream slow and steady, so less insulin is released. (Insulin promotes the storage of body fat.) Plus, researchers have found that women who skimp on green and yellow veggies tend to have larger middles. Replace a cup of pasta with colorful steamed veggies to get more fiber and shave off about 150 calories per meal. Go beyond broccoli and experiment with bok choy and Swiss chard.
Water. German researchers have estimated that drinking six cups of water daily can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories a day; enough to shed five pounds in a year. Fill a big bottle, and sip all day. Try adding slices of orange or lime for flavor.
Nuts. They contain healthy fatty acids, protein and fiber, all of which help control appetite and seem to promote weight loss, especially in the abdominal area. In a study of 65 overweight men and women eating a low-calorie diet, California researchers found that those who included about three ounces of almonds (about 70) a day shrank their waistlines 14 percent — almost seven inches — after 24 weeks compared to just 9 percent, or about five inches, among dieters who didn't eat the nuts. "Almonds are a good snack because they're a little higher in fiber than other nuts, so your body absorbs fewer calories from them," says Bonci.
Avocados. Spanish researchers found that foods like avocados, olives and nuts, which are packed with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs for short), help decrease belly fat. When the scientists fed people diets enriched with either carbohydrates or MUFAs, they found that the carbohydrate-heavy diet actually encouraged the accumulation of abdominal fat while MUFAs decreased it, even without exercise. "Spread a little guacamole on your sandwich instead of mayo, or use pesto instead of vodka sauce on pasta," suggests Bonci. One serving of avocado is two or three thin slices.
Whole grains. Trading white bread and white pasta for whole-grain breads, cereals and rice may help you fight fat and lower your risk of heart disease. A Pennsylvania State University study of 50 obese volunteers found that after 12 weeks those who ate whole grains lost more belly fat and lowered their C-reactive protein (a sign of inflammation linked to heart disease) by 38 percent.
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Step 1: Get on the ball
Unlike other ab workouts that merely address your superficial six-pack muscles, this plan uses an inflated stability ball to tighten your tummy right down to the core. The result: a strong inner corset of muscles that pulls in your belly automatically. "When you use the ball, your body has to work harder to keep steady, which means you engage more muscle fibers, especially those deep, stabilizing abdominal muscles," says plan designer and author of the Buff workout books, Sue Fleming, whose moves were part of Katie Holmes' post-baby shape-up. "You also activate all your important posture muscles, so you have a more balanced body and carry yourself straighter, which helps you look slimmer."
More proof the ball works. Researchers at California State University, Sacramento, hooked up 18 men and women to muscle-sensing electrodes and asked them to perform a series of belly-flattening moves. They discovered that abdominal exercises done on the stability ball activated twice as many core muscles as classic belly toners like the crunch and the sit-up.
Step 2: Burn off belly fat
Strengthening your core muscles will give you a trimmer, more shapely profile, but for the flattest belly, you also need to do cardiovascular activities that regularly raise your heart rate and burn calories, says Fleming.
Aerobic exercise has been scientifically shown to shrink belly fat. In a recent study from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, researchers divided a group of 45 obese women into three groups: One adopted a reduced-calorie diet without exercising; one followed the diet and walked slowly (1 to 2 mph) on a treadmill for 55 minutes three days a week; and one dieted and walked more quickly (3 to 4 mph) for just 30 minutes three days a week. After five months, all the women dropped about 20 pounds and three to four inches off their waists and hips. However, when the researchers performed body-composition and belly-fat biopsies, they found that only the two exercise groups saw their belly fat actually shrink; by 18 percent in both fast and slow walkers. The best part: The exercisers reaped these benefits while burning only 400 calories a week; about 135 calories per bout.
Step 3: Eat belly-flattening foods
True, nothing you eat can magically burn away belly fat. But there are certain foods that may speed up the process. Ironically, many of these foods are the same yummy treats we've been chasing off our plates for years for fear they'd contribute to weight gain. "Weight loss is not a matter of how low you can go with regard to fat and calories," says Leslie Bonci, R.D., at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "It's about eating the right types of fat and calories. What you put in your stomach will ultimately help you trim your tummy." Scientific evidence suggests these five foods, plus water, will help beat belly fat.
Yogurt. Evidence has been accumulating that calcium-packed foods, like low-fat yogurt and milk, can crank up the body's fat-burning machinery. The latest study indicates that they may whittle your waist by reducing the amount of fat you absorb from food. When Danish researchers fed volunteers four different meals, they found that those eating medium- to high-calcium meals had 17 to 19 percent lower levels of fat in their blood than those taking calcium supplements or eating low-calcium meals. Previous research from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that obese adults who ate a high-dairy diet (1200 to 1300 mg calcium/day) lost 60 percent more weight and nearly three times as much belly fat as dieters eating the same number of calories with less calcium. "You can get enough by drinking skim milk with your meals," says Bonci.
Veggies. If there's a new buzzword in weight loss, it's fiber — and veggies are loaded with it. Fiber is great for belly-flattening because it fills you up, for fewer calories. It also helps keep the flow of sugar into your bloodstream slow and steady, so less insulin is released. (Insulin promotes the storage of body fat.) Plus, researchers have found that women who skimp on green and yellow veggies tend to have larger middles. Replace a cup of pasta with colorful steamed veggies to get more fiber and shave off about 150 calories per meal. Go beyond broccoli and experiment with bok choy and Swiss chard.
Water. German researchers have estimated that drinking six cups of water daily can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories a day; enough to shed five pounds in a year. Fill a big bottle, and sip all day. Try adding slices of orange or lime for flavor.
Nuts. They contain healthy fatty acids, protein and fiber, all of which help control appetite and seem to promote weight loss, especially in the abdominal area. In a study of 65 overweight men and women eating a low-calorie diet, California researchers found that those who included about three ounces of almonds (about 70) a day shrank their waistlines 14 percent — almost seven inches — after 24 weeks compared to just 9 percent, or about five inches, among dieters who didn't eat the nuts. "Almonds are a good snack because they're a little higher in fiber than other nuts, so your body absorbs fewer calories from them," says Bonci.
Avocados. Spanish researchers found that foods like avocados, olives and nuts, which are packed with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs for short), help decrease belly fat. When the scientists fed people diets enriched with either carbohydrates or MUFAs, they found that the carbohydrate-heavy diet actually encouraged the accumulation of abdominal fat while MUFAs decreased it, even without exercise. "Spread a little guacamole on your sandwich instead of mayo, or use pesto instead of vodka sauce on pasta," suggests Bonci. One serving of avocado is two or three thin slices.
Whole grains. Trading white bread and white pasta for whole-grain breads, cereals and rice may help you fight fat and lower your risk of heart disease. A Pennsylvania State University study of 50 obese volunteers found that after 12 weeks those who ate whole grains lost more belly fat and lowered their C-reactive protein (a sign of inflammation linked to heart disease) by 38 percent.
Content brought to you by GOOD HOUSEKEEPING.
If this Article has been helpful to you, please leave your comments below.
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