[sidebar]We won’t lie: You do have to eat right and exercise. But we’re here to maximize your efforts. Here are the very best moves, products, foods, clothes, and more for flattening your tummy fast. Some even give instant results!
Bad Back
Best Exercise: Lying chest raise. This ab-and back-strengthener is great for preventing lower back pain and for rehabilitation after an injury—as long as you have no pain and your doctor has given you the go-ahead. How it’s done: Lie on your stomach, keeping your hips and pelvis flat. With your hands under your chin (or in a pushup position to assist in lifting, if necessary), contract your lower back muscles and lift your chest about 30 to 35 degrees off the floor. Hold, then slowly lower. Worst Exercise: Crunches with your knees dropped to one side. This twists your spine, and when you lift up, it compresses the vertebrae—a sure recipe for aggravating or creating back pain.
At-Your-Desk
Best Exercise: Seated knee lift. This exercise not only tones your abs, but you can do it in a skirt and heels—without getting on the floor, says Willibald Nagler, MD, physiatrist-in-chief at New York Hospital’s Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City. How it’s done: Sit up straight in a firm, armless chair. Grab the chair’s edges just in front of your hips. While supporting yourself with your hands, slowly draw your knees up toward your chest while breathing out, keeping your lower back pressed against the chair. Hold, then slowly lower. Worst Exercise: Reaching for the candy bars in the bottom drawer.
Number of Reps
Best: Take this test to find out. Do as many perfect crunches as you can: feet flat, knees bent, elbows out, slow movement (3 seconds up, hold for 1 second, 3 seconds down), your upper back about 3 inches off the ground. If you can do between 1 and 5 perfect crunches, subtract 1 from that number; between 6 and 10, subtract 2; between 11 and 15, subtract 3; and for 16 or more crunches, subtract 4. This is the number of reps that you should do for each set. (For example, if you can do 10 perfect crunches, you should be doing sets of 8 reps each.) Do three sets, with 60-second breaks in between. Retest yourself regularly to update your workout. Crunches with your legs up or on a decline bench are more difficult, so you may not be able to do as many in the beginning, but that’s okay. Do as many as you comfortably can. As your abs get stronger, you’ll be able to do more. Worst: More than 50. And if you’re not seeing results from 50 reps, 100 or 200 won’t help either! Quality, not quantity, firms your midsection. Ten well-executed crunches are better than 50 sloppy ones. To stay challenged without adding reps, you should switch to a different kind of ab exercise every 6 weeks.[pagebreak]
Abs
Best Exercise: Legs-up crunch. Keeping your legs on a chair or bed or in the air helps to make a basic crunch more difficult—and more effective. It makes your abs, particularly the upper portion, do all the work because your hip and leg muscles are unable to provide assistance. How it’s done: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your lower legs placed horizontally on top of a chair. Your thighs should be vertical, your hips close to the chair. Curl up slowly, with your upper back about 30 degrees off the floor, and hold. Slowly return to the floor. For a more challenging workout, hold your legs straight up in the air. Worst Exercise: Fast, old-fashioned situps. These work your hip muscles; your abs do very little. It also doesn’t help that you’re more likely to use momentum, especially if your arms are straight overhead or pulling on your head, explains Prevention advisor Wayne Westcott, PhD, fitness research director for the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, MA. This move also places lots of stress on the lower back.
Waistline
Best Exercise: Crossover crunch. This exercise hits the obliques, which wrap around your sides and are key to creating a wispy waistline. How it’s done: Lie on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor, and place your left ankle on your right knee. Put your hands behind your head, with your elbows pointing out. Slowly raise your right shoulder toward your left knee, lifting your upper back and twisting slightly. Keep your elbow in line with your ear, not in front of you. Don’t pull on your head or neck. Hold, then slowly lower. Repeat to the other side. Worst Exercise: Twists with a broomstick. There’s no resistance, so your abs won’t get stronger or firmer. The only thing this will do is stretch and warm up your trunk muscles.
Lower Belly
Best Exercise: Reverse curl. This move works the lower portion of the abs, targeting that bulge below your belt. How it’s done: Lie on your back and place your hands, palms down, alongside your thighs. Bend your hips and knees to form a 90-degree angle: thighs vertical, lower legs horizontal. Now slowly contract your abdominal muscles, lifting your hips about 2 to 4 inches off the floor. Keep your upper body and arms relaxed. Hold, then slowly lower. Worst Exercise: Straight leg lift. Your legs and back are doing most of the work, so you’ll see few results in your midriff. And this move puts tremendous stress on the lower back, increasing your chances of injury.[pagebreak]
Sleeping Position
Best: On your back. Sleeping this way, with a pillow under your knees, prevents your back from arching. Sleeping on your back regularly can prevent back pain, so that you can keep building those abs. Worst: On your stomach. This position causes your back to arch. Do it for 8 hours every night and you may end up with workout-inhibiting back pain.
Foods
Best: Beans and berries. White beans, blackberries, dried apricots, and winter squash are high-fiber winners, says John Allred, PhD, professor of nutrition in the department of food science and technology at Ohio State University in Columbus. Not only is fiber great for weight loss because it makes you feel full, but it also prevents constipation, which can make your belly look larger. Aim for 25 to 35 grams (g) a day. Note: If you’re not used to eating high-fiber foods, increase your intake slowly and spread it throughout the day. Too much, too fast can cause bloating and discomfort. Worst: Anything eaten in excess. Eating too many calories—whether they’re fats, carbohydrates, or proteins—can expand your waistline.
Drinks
Best: Ice-cold water. It’s calorie-free and fills you up, so you eat less. It can also help flush away premenstrual bloating. Drink it ice chilled, and you’ll even burn a few extra calories as your body warms it up. Worst: Alcohol. Beer and liquor tend to raise levels of cortisol, a hormone that appears to steer fat toward the tummy. You’re also more likely to get the munchies when you’ve been drinking.
Supplement
Best: Calcium. This mineral is essential to keep your bones strong and prevent osteoporosis, which can lead to fractures in your spine. Those fractures produce a slumping posture and a protruding belly. (When vertebrae fracture, the spine and abdominal cavity shorten, pushing the stomach outward.) If you’re a woman age 50 or older, shoot for 1,500 milligrams (mg) of calcium a day. For women under 50 and men, the target is 1,000 mg. Worst: “Fat-burning” pills. These so-called wonder drugs promise a trimmer tummy without any mention of the words “exercise” and “nutrition.” Your money would be better spent on a good pair of walking shoes![pagebreak]
Sports
Best: Kickboxing, racquetball, swimming (crawl stroke), and tennis (singles). Any type of aerobic exercise will burn off belly fat. But these are rated best because they involve movements—rotating, pulling, and swinging—that use the waist muscles too. And they all burn more than 475 calories an hour. Worst: Bicycling. For abs, that is! Those muscles are not engaged at all. But you do have calorie burn: Biking at a moderate 12 mph pace burns 544 calories. So if you like it, stick with it—just focus on keeping your abs tight as you ride.
At-Home Devices
Best: Exercise ball. Crunches performed on these soft, bouncy balls (about 53 inches in circumference, inflated) improve upon the basic floor version in two ways. First, your abs work nonstop in order to stabilize you—even between crunches—and the closer together that your feet are, the harder you work. The balancing also helps improve coordination. Second, an exercise ball allows a greater range of movement so you can extend your body beyond horizontal along the ball’s curve, making the crunches more challenging. You can purchase exercise balls for about $20 to $30 at many major sporting goods stores. Caution: Avoid using an exercise ball if you suffer from lower back problems.
Gym Equipment
Best: Decline bench. This padded bench makes crunches more challenging because, with your upper body lower than your hips, you’re working against gravity. How to use it: Set the decline for no more than 30 degrees or you’ll get too much hip flexor involvement. Lie with your knees bent to prevent your legs from helping out. Slowly curl up about 30 degrees off the bench. Hold, then slowly lower.[pagebreak]
Habits
Best: Standing and sitting up straight. Slouching forward accentuates your belly. But good posture is an instant belly flattener—and over time, it will become second nature. Worst: Smoking. Those who puff tend to have larger waistlines than nonsmokers and former smokers. The culprit here seems to be cortisol, the hormone of stress (which may itself be fueling the habit). If want to hide your tummy fast, these debloating and camouflaging tricks can take an inch or more off your waistline in 12 hours.
Tummy Tips
Drink water. Carbonated drinks and those with lots of sugar can blow your belly up like a balloon, says Peter McNally, DO, spokesperson for the American College of Gastroenterology. Skip the chips. Salt makes you retain water, especially before your period. Processed and canned foods also tend to be high in sodium. Give your jaw a break. Chewing gum can cause you to swallow excess air. Get some java “to go.” If you’re feeling overdue for a bathroom session, studies show that a cup or two of coffee can get things moving. Shape up underneath. Body shapers, or high-waisted spandex waist nippers and panties, can take off an inch or more. The more spandex (Lycra) they contain, the more control you’ll get. Note: Excess bulge can squeeze up and over, so avoid clingy tops, says Jan Larkey, a Pittsburgh-based image consultant and author of Flatter Your Figure. Buy the dress that fits now. Forget sizes! No one will see the tag, but if it’s too snug around your middle, you might as well yell, “Hey, check out my belly!” Show off your strongest feature to draw attention away from your tummy. Great arms? Go sleeveless. Tina Turner legs? Wear a shorter hemline. Sexy shoulders? Choose thin—or no—straps. If you prefer a dressy suit, choose a long jacket worn over a straight, slim skirt.
