What do i eat to flatten my stomach more?

[bcruik]

I have been eating less and exercising alot more. Everything is more defined on my than before except my stomach. Any tips?

[ThatGreen · Accepted solution]

(Sadly,) you can't spot reduce. I don't know any of your stats, but if you keep it up you'll eventually see a change. If you're near a normal/healthy weight and looking for ab definition, the best advice is to lower body fat and build muscle. It's very hard to do simultaneously and is usually achieved by alternating cutting and bulking.

Additionally, the stomach is often the most 'stubborn' area for a man, while the hips, thighs and/or bottom is the same for a woman.

[bcruik]

Thank you for your reply. Do you use the calorie counter in the Fit Bit App?

[ThatGreen]

I currently use MyFitnessPal (which can be synced to Fitbit) to track my intake and Fitbit for everything related to activity and exercise.

[Dominique]

It’s not what you eat, but how much (or rather how little), in relation to your activity. No particular food is inherently fattening, and no special food will magically flatten your belly. However, some foods better promote weight loss than others: typically those that have a low caloric density (lot of volume/weight for the same amount of calories), e.g. most veggies. Eating enough of these will fill you up and make you less hungry, even if you’re undereating. 

[Horencio]

The only way to a flat stomach is mid- to low ideal body weight (or low body fat percentage), and do different variations of ab exercises.

Stop thinking of what to eat. Find excuses NOT to eat. They say you have to eat breakfast. There's a recent study where if you are not accustomed to eating breakfast, skipping breakfast is OK. I like that recent study.

[ThatGreen]

Edited post: I previously stated that @Horencio's advice could potentially be dangerous, which I still stand by, but as @Dominique pointed out, I did not make any specifications.
Please see my next post for specifications.

[Dominique]

@ThatGreen: @Horencio made several claims, and it is unclear which one(s) you object to, so let’s review them:

1. "do various ab exercises": they won’t flatten your belly, but they will strengthen your abdominal muscle and make them more visible once you’ve got rid of enough of the subcutaneous fat that covers them. Some exercises can be dangerous, if performed incorrectly (crunches come to mind), others tend to be safer.
2. "find excuses not to eat": well, if you want to lose fat and therefore need to be in a caloric deficit, it means you will probably be hungry at times. Nothing inherently dangerous in that either (as long as you’re not dieting in any crazy way)
3. "skipping breakfast is OK": it does go against the common thought that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For most people, it’s probably a good idea to have breakfast, but you can be fine skipping it too. If you are eating a balanced and nutritious diet, it doesn’t matter much how you spread it across the day. Here are a couple of interesting articles about breakfast from Precision Nutrition: All about breakfast (among other things, it compares the typical breakfast eaten in North America to that eaten in other parts of the world where the population tends to be healthier) and Skipping Breakfast: Will it really make you fat?

[wshaikh]

I am not sure if skipping breakfast is a good idea. Your body needs the energy to start the day and a good healthy breakfast is a right way to start your day. Dinner should be light and eat 4-5 hours before going to bed.

[Dominique]

If you’re a construction worker, or someone with similar requirements (heavy physical work), it’s probably a good idea to have a hefty breakfast. If you’re an office worker who’s going to spend most of his day sitting in front of a computer, you’d likely be just fine on an empty stomach until lunch (if that works well for you, of course). The human body is quite good at storing energy: it’s not like you’re going to faint if you don’t get a refill every 3-4 hours. As long as you’re getting your daily requirement, it’s really up to you (personal preferences, lifestyle etc.) how you split it between meals and at what time you’re having your meals.

[ThatGreen]

@DominiqueThanks for calling me out. (Great articles by the way.) I'm sorry for not specifying, but I was short on time and I know the damage the claim "do not eat" can do so I made a generalized, short-sighted and hasty comment.

Excuse this mountain of text, but to specify, I'd like to bring up these points:

- "The only way to a flat stomach is mid- to low ideal body weight (or low body fat percentage), and do different variations of ab exercises.":

Since there's no real definition of 'flat stomach', I would just like to say that there's no reason one can't have a flat stomach despite being overweight. Just saying.

Regarding abs, more specifically visible abs, I completely agree with @Dominique.

- "Stop thinking of what to eat. Find excuses NOT to eat.":

This is the phrase that made me post in the first place. This can be so damaging to hear, especially if someone's insecure about their apperance, trying to lose weight and/or is inexperienced with energy balance/nutrition.

I can barely deal with my emotions trying to convey the importance of teaching people that food is not some evil thing we need to be afraid of or stay away from.

Please, think of what you eat. This is beneficial for everything from our own bodies to the sustainability of the human race. But please eat.

- "They say you have to eat breakfast. There's a recent study where if you are not accustomed to eating breakfast, skipping breakfast is OK.":

My personal opinion is that breakfast is optional and should be based on preference (and energy expenditure plans) in adults. I also believe it's more about what you eat as you first meal rather than when you eat.

Studies(1, 2) have conclucded that it makes no discernable difference when it comes to weight loss as most people tend to "make up for" the lack of a meal in the morning throughout the day.

Eating breakfast does not "kick-start" metabolism as some people claim either, it simply starts dietary induced thermogenesis, which has no discernable difference on 24hr metabolism.(3)

Regarding children and adolecents, The CDC states that "Skipping breakfast is associated with decreased cognitive performance among students".(4)

The Food Research and Action Center research brief(5) is mentioned in source 4 and also states that "children and adolescents who eat breakfast have more favorable weight-related outcomes (e.g., lower BMI, lower waist circumference, lesser likelihood of being chronically obese, decreased risk of obesity) in the short term and long term than those who skip breakfast".

Sources for breakfast:

1 - The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition - The causal role of breakfast in energy balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in obese ad....

2 - The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition - The effectiveness of breakfast recommendations on weight loss: a randomized controlled trial.

3 - Obesity Research & Clinical Practice - Effect of breakfast skipping on diurnal variation of energy metabolism and blood glucose.

4 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Health and Academic Achievement (pdf).

5 - Food Research and Action Center - Research Brief: Breakfast for Learning (pdf).

[Dominique]

@ThatGreen: I think we interpreted what @Horencio wrote differently. For me, "find excuses NOT to eat" was more "find ways to deal with hunger" rather than "develop an eating disorder by suppressing all thoughts related to food". Otherwise I agreed with everything you said. 

[ThatGreen]

@Dominique  We probably did. I get jitters every time I see something like that because I know how it can be taken and overreacted a bit.

I completely agree that it's important to find ways to deal with hunger, especially during weight loss. And for everyone to find a plan they can sustain on.