How to Flatten the Bottom of Your Tummy

If you had enough of people asking you when the baby is due, maybe it is time to eliminate your lower belly pooch. That extra fat at the bottom of your tummy does not serve your appearance or your health. Flattening your belly will demand more than just doing lower abdominal exercises since these just strengthen your tummy muscles and will not affect that flabby layer of fat covering them. To eventually say goodbye to that tubby tummy, give your workout and diet routine a complete makeover.

Step 1

Modify your eating habits to avoid extra caloric intake. Substitute those morning doughnuts, afternoon treats and late-night munchies with low-calorie, healthy foods, such as vegetables and fruits, dairy, and whole grains. Decrease your portion sizes by at least 10 percent and eat monounsaturated fats (olive oil and nuts). According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, these foods fight belly fat. Dodge foods such as margarine, cookies and crackers since these include trans fats, which, according to the American Council on Exercise, initiate fat storage in your belly.

Step 2

Program at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise on 5 days of the week to burn calories. Work up a sweat, exercising at a pace that still enables you to have a discussion. Go jogging, ride a bike or run on cardio machines in the gym. For optimal caloric burn, extend your workout duration to 1 hour.

Step 3

Lift weights at least 2 times per week, targeting your shoulders, arms, legs, abdominals, hips, back and chest. Strength training excites muscle tissue, which promote your metabolism and burns more calories than fat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends utilising a resistance that is challenging enough so that after the last repetition of each set, you can not do another repetition.

Step 4

Introduce static presses in your abdominal strengthening routine to aim the lower part of your rectus abdominis. Lie face up on the floor, lift your feet to the ceiling and bend the knees 90 degrees. Put your palms on your thighs and suck your tummy in to reduce the space between the floor and your lower back. Push your hands against your thighs for 1 second and hold the pressure with your thighs. Don't enable your hands to move your thighs. Finish 10 repetitions and 3 sets.

Step 5

Work the lower abdominals with reverse crunches. Lie on your back with the arms at the sides. Bend the knees and bring them straight over your hips. Curl the pelvis up toward the ribs so the tailbone lifts off the floor. Avoid swinging the legs and using momentum -- only utilize the lower abdominals to perform the motion. Pause 1 second before lowering the tailbone to the floor. Work your way up to making 3 sets of 20 reverse crunches.

Step 6

Stretch the hip flexors. Seldom, tight hip flexors can tilt the pelvis forward and raise the arch in the back, producing a belly pooch. Step forward with the right foot and lower down as if you are doing a lunge. Place the left knee on the floor and tighten your tush, pushing it gently forward so you feel a stretch in your hips. Extend the left arm to the ceiling and lean to the right to emphasize the stretch in the hips. Keep this position for 30 seconds and repeat it 3 times before switching legs.