If you’re trying to shrink belly fat then drinking a lot of water might sound like a bad way to start, but keeping yourself hydrated is an important step in smoothing out your stomach. Many people suffer from bloating without even realizing it, but as you begin to flush out your system you’ll find yourself losing water weight and replenishing your system with fresh water sources. This is also a good way of balancing your salt intake.

Focus On Whole Body Workouts

The popular theory on smaller stomachs aside, choosing exercises that will help you flatten out your midsection shouldn’t revolve around crunches and sit-ups. Sure, once you’ve got the fat levels lowered and you’re working with lean muscle, you can do crunches to get those abs showing through, but in the meantime, you need to use full body workouts to cut down fat. Jillian Michaels explains:

“Contrary to what many people believe, doing thousands of sit-ups or crunches all day, every day, will not get you closer to achieving those washboard abs.” – Jillian Michaels

Try doing cardio for 30 minutes followed by 20-30 minutes of weights or endurance training. If you’re looking for a full body muscle move that’s going to let you feel it all over, try a plank by lying on the floor and supporting your weight on your forearms. Push yourself to your tiptoes and keep your back and legs straight, and hold it for a count of 20.

Control Portion Size

When it comes time to eat, think about the size of your actual stomach before you load up your plate. Make a fist with your hand and look at it in comparison to what’s on your plate. Before you stretch your stomach out to accommodate all of that food it’s roughly the size of your fist. Shaun Chavis of Health Magazine writes:

“Eating portion-controlled meals that include whole-grain foods and monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) throughout the day is the best way to eat for a flat belly: People who eat whole grains lose more abdominal fat.” – Health Magazine

A good way to keep your portions smaller without going crazy is to simply switch to a smaller plate. Use a tea saucer or salad plate instead of a large dinner plate. Not only will it fool your brain into thinking you’re eating plenty because the plate will look fuller, but you’re serving yourself less without even worrying about weighing or measuring it. Just remember to make healthy choices as well, because a half of a slice of greasy cheese pizza is still a greasy cheese pizza going into your body. As explained in a bit more detail in my full Flat Belly Forever review, the main goal is to increase the amount of good bacteria in your stomach. This is done mainly through diet.

Eat Healthy Fats

Okay, so this may sound a little bit like the opposite of what you’re trying to do, but eating healthy fats like the omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish can actually help you control the size of your waistline. Unlike saturated fats which hang around and cause cellulite, these healthier fats are used by your body for many different purposes, until they’re burned off. You should also think about cutting out any refined sugar that you eat or drink, because a lot of the weight people carry can come from soda or that one spoon of sugar you put in your coffee cup each morning.