The single most complaint I hear every day, from men and women, is “why can’t I lose the gut?”  Are you like many people who just can’t seem to get rid of the  flabby stomach?  Even though you do so many sit-ups and crunches that you’re ready to collapse. Assuming that you are already physically active and have a good diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and low in fat and your abdmen is still bigger than you wish, then this is how I’m going to get you from fat to fit abs.  Remember, to see positive results, what you eat is just as important as how, or how much you work out.

Tip 1.  Eat more fiber.

Not eating enough fiber may be a major reason women are getting fatter and flabbier. To get rid of the fat and show off firm, beautiful abs, you need to eat at least 25 grams of fiber daily.  Fiber, which is the indigestible part of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain foods, helps you achieve flat abs.

So, how can you add fiber to your diet comfortably?  It’s important to add fiber slowly but consistently to prevent gas. This is particularly important with viscous fiber – a type of soluble fiber found in beans, oats and barley that also has the benefit of lowering blood cholesterol.

For the best results, it’s important to increase your fiber intake slowly over the course of one month and drink plenty of water to keep food moving through your system as quickly as possible.

Tip 2.  Include high-quality carbs at a sensible level.

For flatter abs, make carbs 35–40 percent (based on an 1,500-calorie diet) of your total daily calories. Balance is the key!  Don’t go below 35 percent, and be more careful not to go above 40 percent, which can lead to water retention, bloating and temporary weight gain that shows up in your middle.

When you eat carbs, they break down into glucose, which is stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. When glycogen is stored, it carries with it three times its own weight as water, compared to no water at all for protein and fat. If you eat an extremely high-carb diet, you may begin to store excess water, experience bloating and gain temporary water weight.  This is why people who go on no or very low-carb diets can initially lose weight so quickly. They’re really just losing water.

Stay focused on a balanced diet. For the best results, eat at least three to five 4-ounce servings of vegetables (15 – 25 grams of carbs); two to four 4-ounce servings of fruit (30–60 grams of carbs) and about 1 cup (8 ounces cooked or 2 ounces dry, or 2 slices of bread) of whole grains per meal (90 grams per day).

Tip 3.  Drink lots of water.

A lot of women I train believe that drinking too much water will give them puffy abs, but just the opposite is true.  Drinking lots of water can help to flush sodium out of the body, and that reduces the bloating.

It’s important to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. Beverages with little or no calories, caffeine or sodium, including herbal teas, are the best. Avoid soft drinks and soups with lots of sodium. If you are eating plenty of water-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables and low-sodium soups, you can get half of your water requirements from foods.

Avoid carbonated drinks which can cause bloating and because the carbon dioxide trapped in the bubbles creates gas, which slows digestion from the stomach.

Tip 4.  Watch the sodium.

Sodium is essential for regulating body fluids and blood pressure as well as for nerve transmission, muscle function and absorption of important nutrients.  But be careful how much sodium you consume on a daily basis.  Even a small amount of excess sodium causes bloating.

The American Heart Association recommends you consume no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium daily, which is about 1 teaspoon of table salt. That’s enough sodium to replenish your supply even if you work up a major sweat while exercising.

I see a lot of you coming to the studio with bottles of Gatorade and similar drinks.  The best drink while working out is water.  Save your money and limit your sodium intake by making the change to water and leave the Gatorade at Publix.  I have a new water cooler in the studio right outside the training room.  Bring a bottle of water and fill it up as often as you need to while exercising. 

It’s better to choose fresh, natural foods over fast, commercial or packaged foods. Instead of ordering french fries (265 milligrams of sodium), have a baked potato (8 milligrams). Instead of a pickle (1,730 milligrams), have a fresh cucumber (6 milligrams). And careful with those cured meats: Three ounces of ham has nearly 1,009 milligrams of sodium, compared to just 48 milligrams for the same amount of roast pork. Soups are also very high in sodium; some canned soups contain more than 1,100 milligrams per cup. Read the labels carefully and stick with low-sodium brands like Healthy Choice.

Tip 5.  Eat light at night.

Avoid the late night eating.  After dinner, shut your mouth to food but not conversation.  It never fails and I see it and hear it every day.  You have a heavier than normal evening meal or snack, and when you weigh yourself the next morning, you’re up by several pounds. But as depressing as it seems to you scale addicts (you know who you are!), such a quick gain is always water weight.  You can’t gain that much fat overnight.

Also, did you know that people who skip breakfast or lunch and eat their largest meal later in the day had lower metabolisms than those who eat all of their meals? So by eating light at night, you’ll receive a double benefit.  You’ll wake up with a flatter stomach and you’ll also have a better appetite for a fiber-rich breakfast, which sets you up for a day of healthy eating. 

Here are some tips to get you started:

Eat five times a day. Your body needs food every three to four hours.  So, instead of eating three large meals, try to schedule five smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day (breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-dinner). By staying full and energized, you’ll avoid hunger pangs, maintain an even energy flow, make better, healthier food choices (no binging or craving) and enjoy the most efficient burning of calories.

Make protein and fiber the higher parts of your diet.  Limit your carb intake to about 35 – 40% of your total food intake during the day. 

Make sure you are getting at least 30 minutes of exercise each and every single day.  Make the time to do it.  You give your time to your job and your friends and family every day.  Make time for yourself!  Thirty minutes is very easy to do.  I know all of you are busting your butts when you come to the studio 2 or 3 times per week.  But, for many of you, that’s all of your weekly exercise.  NOT ENOUGH if you want to achieve your goals. 

Tip 6.  Reduce stress.

Do you know why a lot of people eat excessively during times of stress?  Research shows that stress triggers the hormone cortisol.  Cortisol increases your appetite and deposits fat around the organs in your abdomen. This excessive weight is also associated with heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Most people enjoy sports of one kind or another, so it makes sense to incorporate that pleasure into your workout program.   All to often people start workout programs with the best of intentions but end up quitting because they don’t enjoy them.

There are two ways of incorporating the sports you like into your fitness program. The first is simply to do them – join a football team, sign up at the local tennis club, whatever you really enjoy.

The second way to include your love of sports into your workouts is to add dynamics and some sports specific workouts to your overall training program.   At F.I.R.S.T., as most of you have already discovered, we try to incorporate as much dynamic exercise into every exercise we have you perform.   And, as many of you may not be aware, we also incorporate a lot of sport’s specific workouts into all of your routines.   For example, our plexiglass program incorporates a lot of training techniques utilized by collegiate and Olympic wrestlers, sprinters, gymnasts, hockey players, and downhill skiiers.   And, I’m quite certain that those of you who have experienced our plexiglass training methods will agree that they are very effective. 

These workouts can include a variety of activities – from weight training to cardio to flexibility work – all designed to help you improve your performance in your chosen activity.

This will make a difference in two ways. Firstly, because you now have a very clear goal in mind – improve your performance – your gym workouts will be more fun. When you are climbing the stairs, running around the lake, sliding across the floor, swinging the sledgehammers or cranking out the weights, you’ll know it’s going to help you play better, feel and look better.

Secondly, the increased fitness from these targeted workouts will improve your performance. You’ll be quicker, stronger, faster, have more stamina at the end of a game, and as a result you’ll play better.

So now you see, there is a method to my madness!  My goal is for you to reach your goal.  And, to do it in a manner that is fun and always changing.