Glamour on a budget - Mattie Roberts

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She Wants a Flat Tummy
August 3, 2006

Sherri writes...

Dear Mattie,

I see where you used to be a personal trainer. Would you give me some advice on getting my abs flat? I do 300 sit-ups a day with weights but my abs are not getting flat. How do get a flat tummy?

Thanks,

Sherri

Oh, Sherri. You are going about it all wrong. You probably have totally rockin' abs with all that work, but you just can't see them. The secret to having great abs is low body fat. That's the only way you're ever going to see them. Sometimes you can even increase your waist size if you do too much abdominal work...which it sounds like you might be doing. Plus, using a weight can strain your back and neck.

You really only need to work abdominals three days a week. 100 good quality crunches (tummy pulled in, lift your shoulderblades off the floor, don't pull with your head) are better than 300 daily crunches done badly.

It's time for you to focus on getting lean. You want to lose fat and maintain all that great muscle mass you've built, aim for 20-24% body fat. The way to do that is to cut back on your calories a bit...try for a 300-400 calorie per day reduction and see if you don't get more definition. The caloric cuts should be in the area of sugars, refined wheat and nutritionally empty food. Keep the lean protein, veggies and whole grains in place.

Then add a little extra cardio...20 minutes a day should do it. You'll keep your metabolism boosted, maintain muscle and burn off the pad of fat that's been covering your abs.

You didn't say in your letter, but if you've had kids, sometimes your muscles get so stretched out that they simply can't go back in place, or there may be an issue with scar tissue. If this is the case, you may want to look into having a tummy tuck. Although a great diet and exercise program will make a big difference in how you feel, some mummy tummys simply cannot be eliminated with diet and exercise alone. Tummy tuck surgery surgery has been wonderful for the girls I've known who had to go this route when diet and exercise failed.