How to Get a Flat Tummy in a Month

When you're trying to lose weight and tone up, the tendency is to want everything to happen quickly. Unfortunately, a fit, trim stomach doesn't get that way overnight, or in a week, or sometimes even in a month. While four weeks is enough time to get some people's abs raging, it's not enough to turn a potbelly into a staggering six-pack. But don't let that deter you. The improvements you'll see and feel in this short period of time can provide more than enough motivation to keep working toward your goal.

Instructions

1

Talk to your doctor. Flattening your stomach will require a combination of diet and exercise, and it is best to seek your doctor's advice before attempting either. Your doctor can help you develop a healthy diet and tell you which exercises you are healthy enough to perform.

2

Eat smaller and more frequent meals and snacks. Your stomach stretches when it's full and shrinks when it's empty. Eating small and frequent meals -- just to the point of fullness, never more -- is a healthy way to reduce the size of your stomach, and it's a good weight loss strategy as well.

3

Cut calories from your diet. Excess sugar and alcohol are two major sources of empty calories, or calories that have little or no nutritional value. Eliminate regular soda, candy, ice cream and other well-known junk foods. Reduce your alcohol intake or give up drinking altogether. If you drink heavily, speak to your doctor about reducing alcohol. Quitting too abruptly may cause adverse withdrawal symptoms.

4

Perform abdominal exercises. The Mayo Clinic recommends abdominal hollowing, pelvic tilts and pelvic lifts. Weight machines that isolate the abdominal muscles can also help, as can activities such as swimming.

5

Perform cardiovascular exercise. Burning more calories equals greater weight loss, and fat in the midsection often is the first to burn away. Cardiovascular exercise such as walking, running and using an elliptical trainer will boost your calorie burning. As a general exercise guideline, the Mayo Clinic recommends at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week.

6

Limit weight loss to a pound or two every week. If you fall 500 calories short of your basic needs every day, you will lose a pound of fat in a week. If you complement that with a daily workout that burns 500 calories, you'll boost your weight loss to two pounds a week. Find out your basic calorie needs and the calorie-burning potential of your workout, and plan your workout accordingly.