The 21st Century Holy Grail....... How to Flatten Your Stomach!

One of the most common questions I get asked on a daily basis is "How do I flatten my stomach?" or variations on this theme, and like the search for the Holy Grail it's a subject that is full of twists and turns, dead ends, and misinformation.

Firstly, for all you postnatal question askers let's start by asking you all a question. "Did you have a flat, tight, toned stomach before you got pregnant?" You see, the majority of people who crave the above look have never had a stomach approaching anything like washboard!! You are all looking at models and celebrities in magazines and wondering why you don't look like they do in swimwear!!!

Let's be completely honest here, for the fitness models especially it's their job to look the way they do, and for the celebrities you see looking buff they are usually not very honest about how they achieved the 'six-pack' look.

Now, back in the real world it's not impossible to achieve the look you desire, in actual fact it's quite simple, however simple doesn't mean it's easy. Far from it. There are so many factors involved in flattening your stomach that it usually takes a huge mindset shift to achieve.

People underestimate the role the mind plays in fat loss (or indeed anything we choose to change be it weight, finances, success, relationships etc) and as a result don't really undertake to change lifelong habits.
You see, habits are behaviours that are held subconsciously, just like computer software that causes us to repeat certain behaviours over and over again with no real reason why. This is the law of cause and effect in action. You eat a cream slice (cause) and you store bodyfat (effect). The question you have to address is 'why did I eat a cream slice?'

You can begin to see that in order to burn belly fat permenantly it takes a huge mindshift to make it successful and this is why so few people are able to achieve their desired outcome.

When we are talking to clients about fat loss this is where we always start. By finding out the real reason you want to get in shape, and getting emotionally involved with both the process and the outcome, we stand a much greater chance of hitting our goals.

In our next post we will talk about the second part of belly fat blasting.... nutrition.