10 rules for Flat belly

Most of us are so much concerned about the belly fat hanging over our waistbands. The frustrating reality here is that the midsection is one of the trickiest and difficult areas to tone. Even people dedicated to regular exercise often can't iron out their abs. You need to have some kind of tummy flattening plan. The "inch you can pinch” around your belly may be harmful. A moderate amount of fat is essential for life. It keeps you warm in the winter. But too much of it can be bad, starting with the fact that fat functions as a visible sign of being overweight or obese. Worse, it makes us lose confidence in our body image.
Excess fat has been linked to a long list of adverse health conditions, including:
High blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Breast cancer
Dementia
 
One of the main reasons fat is so deadly is because of its role in inflammation, a natural immune response that has lately been tied to almost every chronic disease there is. Fat also contributes to insulin resistance, an early precursor to diabetes.
In order to have a flat belly you can try out following:
Maintain calories level of your body: there is a calorie level which can be maintained in the way that you neither gain weight nor lose weight. Observe your body. You can find it out by trial and error method. You can also find it by multiplying your body weight (lbs) by 11. This gives you a rough estimate of your daily calorie requirements. Once you find out your maintenance calories level, start reducing your food consumption very gradually which must not be more than 10% of the calories.
You may be tempted to drastically cut down on food consumption but that will not prove to be effective in getting a flat stomach but then the body thinks that it is starving and it initiates the body’s starvation response.

Make an Exercise Regime focusing Weight Resistance Training Lifting weight to shed 'weight' is a good way out. Weight training tells you how fast you will burn fat. Strength training helps both building more muscles and increase the calories burning efficiency. For each pound of trained muscle on your body, you can burn 35 to 50 calories of energy per day. Each pound of fat requires only 7 to 10 calories to maintain it. When you lift weights, you need more calories to feed those hungry muscle cells. That's why it is key for trimming fat around the belly.
Add MUFA to your diet- Studies have shown that a core group of healthy fats--monounsaturated fat known as MUFAs can prove to be effective in shedding fat. Those good-for-you fats help to protect you from chronic disease and, according to new research, can help you to get a slim waistline.There are five major categories of MUFAs- oil, avacado, nuts and seeds, chocolates and olives. Eating one serving of any of these foods at every meal will help to reduce accumulation of dangerous belly fat.
Tighten up your abs- sit on the chair and pull your stomach inside as if you are trying to pull up a tight pair of jeans. Hold it for 10 seconds. Do atleast 25 times a day and you can see the results.
Include fat burning food in your diet: This includes bananas, apples, beans, citrus fruits, broccoli, grains and grain products, cabbage, melon, pasta, tomato, zucchini, pineapple, root vegetables and peppers.
Commit to your target- If you start a diet and exercise regime, make it for good. Eating healthy foods and exercising only until you hit your target weight. Getting healthy is a lifestyle choice that has to last.
Picture yourself- Stick a picture of yourself on your refrigerator door at both your original and current weight or you can have a picture of one who inspires you. This will help you to remind of why you should stick with healthy foods.

Meal Replacements for Weight Control: For losing weight, we need to reduce the intake of the calories below the daily activity needs. When we reduce the number of the calories, we draw from our fat stores to obtain energy. By replacing meals with specialized complete meal formula, we lose fat and weight.
Substituting meal replacement for regular snacks can increase your meal frequency and controls the weight, since the low-calorie meal replacements limit calorie intake. Meal replacements have become popular way for helping many people successfully start losing weight. Meal replacements can be a good therapeutic approach to weight loss but only if, they are used in combination with lifestyle and diet education and professional support.

Core strength training: It is very essential to have core strength training to eliminate fat around the belly. Become aware of your abdomen. This mental awareness helps you stay focused on your goal- to eliminate the excess inner abdominal fat and achieve your goal of a waist that is less than 35 inches for a women and less than 40 inches for men. Core training also builds a stronger calorie burning furnace when you build more muscles. Having a strong core is key to all kinds of daily activities like sitting down, picking things up, carrying groceries and even walking. The abs and the back work together as a team. The stronger the abs- the stronger is the back.
Have positive attitude: Instead of focusing on the failure of your past habits, consider focusing on 30 minutes to a flat stomach. Set attainable goals. This means goals that you have control over. If you set a goal to lose five pounds in a week, you have no control and set yourself up for failure. Instead, set a goal to exercise 30 minutes a day five days a week. Along with that set a goal to stay within your calorie count. As you achieve these goals each week, your motivation will increase. Other tips include:
Measure instead of weigh -- Measure your waist and stomach before you start and again each six weeks. Weight can fluctuate as fat is replaced by water or muscle. A tape measure shows the inches melting off your midsection.
Dont shop when hungry: Never go to shopping when you are hungry or you will end up buying more fattening food. Best thing is to eat before going for food shopping and always prepare a grocery list. Only buy food which relates to your each week diet program.

Source-http://citymasala.com/October2009/FlatBelly.pdf