How to Make My Tummy Appear Flatter?
Do you want to know how to make your tummy appear flatter than it really is? Here are some tips you might want to read about that spills the beans!
A common problem many women face is that slight bulge in the tummy that they want to eradicate because they think it makes them look fat in certain clothes.
When your figure is relatively slim but the tummy bulge is quite large, then of course it can be disheartening to put on a tight top or figure hugging dress and have someone remark.
"Oh, I didn't know you were pregnant?"
Problem, What Problem?
First of all, the thing to work out for yourself is whether or not your tummy bulge is even large enough to be a problem.
It exasperates me sometimes when really slim women with gorgeous figures to die for still ask if their tummy looks big in this or that outfit when clearly it does not.
The problem can actually be one of perspective rather than physical reality in some cases. We believe that we have to look as thin as catwalk models for the world to love us when the reality is that it is totally unnatural to have such a thin waist and non-existent tummy!
A slight bulge (if it can even be called that) is natural and normal and doesn't make us look fat or like we're like four months pregnant for heaven's sake! If you really have such a great figure and a normal belly, go flaunt it in a tight dress or skin hugging top and enjoy the positive attention you'll get.
Coping With a Bloated Tummy
Another problem that is easy enough to fix is bloating. This is not the same as having a fat tummy, because the extra size is not fat but gas!
This happens when you eat food that your body is not digesting correctly and some of the partially digested food ferments in your gut.
The result is a lot of gas that builds up in the small intestine and causes the tummy area to distend (bloat). For most people this isn't generally such a major problem as the gas finds its way out naturally, albeit in an unsocial way!
The problem many women face is they are afraid to let nature take this particular course because they don't want to pollute their immediate atmosphere and force the gas to stay inside. That leads to a build up that can be both unhealthy and even painful in extreme circumstances.
Dealing with the Causes of Flatulence
If you suffer from frequent bloating, see your doctor first to make sure there isn't a more serious problem lurking inside. Here are some of the causes of bloating in a nutshell:
- Incomplete digestion of food
- Dehydration
- Eating too much junk food
- Eating too many sugary foods
- Drinking too many fizzy drinks (this one is up for debate)
- Sedentary lifestyle combined with poor diet
- Medical condition (see your doctor)
If you get the all-clear from your doctor and the cause is not medically related, then you might want to adjust your diet to cut out one or more of the foods that are causing the digestive problem at its source.
Notice I didn't directly mention cutting out foods that are well know for creating excess gas, such as certain green vegetables (broccoli, kale, cabbage, turnip etc) or legumes (different varieties of bean). You need these in your diet for their health properties. What you do need to do is look at what you are eating with those vegetables (if indeed you are eating them).
Highly processed foods combined with soft drinks are major culprits of digestive problems that people often blame on accompanying veggies or beans they have in meals. Also, improperly hydrated bodies are less effective at digesting food high in fibre, because the fibre in food soaks up a lot of liquid in the gut.
Fixing the Problem of Gas
The first thing you need to do is cut out all that processed food and stop drinking soft drinks (soda)! Switching to fresh ingredients and cooking your own meals is absolutely the way to a slimmer, healthier body. No question!
Then the simple answer to most bloating problems is to actually drink a glass of plain water before every meal and sip another glass through out the meal. Ensure you drink around eight glasses of plain water every day under normal circumstances and your body will stay correctly hydrated and digest your food in the most efficient manner.
You should drink even more water (not isotonic sports drinks) when you exercise hard or work out so that you maintain the body's correct hydration levels. Try it, you might just surprise yourself!
A Fat to a Flat Tummy
If your problem is excess fat around your tummy area, you need to reduce it. The only natural way of doing that is to alter your diet to cut out sweet, sugary foods and that includes processed foods. Also you should stop drinking soft drinks as a matter of course.
The reason for this is that your body processes all that sugar and turns it into visceral fat that accumulates in the tummy and surrounds major organs. You can still have quite a slim figure but have excess visceral fat that gives you a bulging tummy. This fat is not only unsightly, too much of it can be positively dangerous to your health!
You can take steps to reduce the amount of visceral fat in your abdomen by literally starving the fat cells of the food they want: SUGAR!
As an affiliate of 30 Day Ketosis I earn from qualifying sales
Cut out foods and drinks that contain sugar (sucrose and fructose) and sugar substitute additives like HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup). You can also help the process along by taking a good, natural fat burning, or ketosis inducing supplement like the one featured below:
I prefer not to explain it all in great detail here, as it will probably just cause your eyes to glaze over and leave you reaching for the "get me out of here" button. Let's face it; most people just don't want to hear that what they're eating is bad for them!
- You can read all about the dangers of excess visceral fat and the medical science behind why you get it here:
www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it.shtml - If you want more in-depth information about diet and nutrition, here is an excellent resource:
www.womenshealth.gov/fitness-nutrition/index.html
But you still must reduce the belly fat even if all you really care about is it will make you look better in that skin tight top!
The Exercise Myth
There is a lot of weight behind the drive to exercise more to lose weight and look slim. While exercise is absolutely the right way to improve your fitness levels and steer you toward better health in general, it is not necessarily the way to lose weight.
OK, if you are an athlete training hard for several hours every day, then you are going to burn off every calorie you are consuming. No arguments there!
But if you think an hour in the gym three times a week is going to make you lose all your excess weight while you can eat what you like, think again! An hour workout on a treadmill for an average person will burn a whole 90 calories or so. That's not even as many calories as you get in a can of soda!
However, don't let that stop you working out. Do it because it is good for you!
Also, you can and should work on your tummy by doing exercises that target that area. By doing sit-ups, crunches and similar exercises that target the abdomen, you will strengthen the muscles in that area and pull in your tummy area to help you get a flatter tummy.
But don't think that a little exercise will compensate for eating too much of the wrong foods. It won't.
Eat less, eat right and stay away from sugar and you will see your fat levels coming down naturally. As the fat reduces, so will the size of your tummy!
A Last Resort Quick Fix
Of course, there is almost always going to be a time in your life when you are going to need a quick fix that will enable you to wear a figure hugging dress, top or outfit that you absolutely, positively must have a super flat tummy for.
Maybe you can't wait for the effects of your new diet to take effect, or your exercises to tighten up that flabby belly!
In these times, it helps to have a suitable remedy to hand to get you through the day or evening in an emergency. Such a remedy exists in underclothes such as corsets and girdles. Don't knock them; they've been successfully helping to shape women for centuries!
But many modern women are not so eager to squeeze their bodies into such restrictive and uncomfortable garments for the sake of appearances. We needed a better solution and we now have it.
Get a Flatter Tummy with Shapewear
Yes, I know, this site is focused on shapewear as its main theme and so it stands to reason I am going to mention this as a quick, temporary solution to many physical appearance problems that you might come across from time to time.
When you already have a fairly decent figure but want to get into a smaller size and not look like you really squeezed too much fat inside it, you can choose from a variety of modern shapewear undergarments to cinch you into them. There are garments that target specific areas such as the tummy and they do their job comfortably and without feeling quite as restrictive as their past incarnations (corsets and girdles).
The most highly recommended brand of the moment is Pelham and Strutt, a British company that makes cutting edge shapewear that is both comfortable to wear and non-restrictive. Better still is you can wear it beneath any clothes and it is invisible to the eye thanks to its clever design and sheer fabric.
This type of body smoothing and contouring undergarment actually improves blood flow to the areas targeted in completely the opposite way that old, constrictive corsets and girdles did. This can actually help to work with your diet to improve its effect!
You can read my big, detailed review of Pelham and Strutt shapewear I published here on this website by clicking that link. I think you'll agree it's a pretty effective short term solution to a bulging tummy, at least until your own efforts through diet and exercise have done their job and flattened your tummy for you naturally.