Are you doing crunches until you turn red in the face and still have belly fat? Take a deep centered breath and keep in mind the culprit may be your diet or high stress lifestyle. The truth is you need to align your nutrition to go with your crunches to rid that belly jiggle. In order to go from FLAB abs to FAB abs, pay attention to what’s going into your mouth and kick up the cardio. Your belly will thank you later!

Bye bye belly bloat!! Feeling sluggish and bloated can make you feel like a blimp versus a babe. Some ways to eliminate that belly bloat is to eat more fiber, fruits and veggies and avoid sugar and foods with gluten. Fruits and veggies like bell pepper, cucumber, watermelon and celery are high in water content and make great snacks. Speaking of water, drink up! Drinking water throughout the day will flush sodium out of your body to reduce bloat. Aim for at least 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water daily. And no, your morning grind of coffee doesn’t count as water intake and back away from that soda pop and no one will get hurt!

Kick the salt shaker habit! Choose fresh foods over processed or packaged which are loaded with sodium. Read labels, since many foods we consume already have sodium added, so there is no need to add more salt with our seeming addiction to the salt shaker. Reducing salt intake will not only decrease dreaded bloat, but can help prevent cardio vascular problems down the road. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium daily, which is less than a teaspoon of table salt. Fresh basil and cilantro can be used to spice things up and are some of my favorites to add to any meal. Try adding chili powder, chili flakes, cayenne or ginger to a meal to up your metabolism and burn fat.

Alcohol = empty calories and beer belly bloat. Limit your alcohol intake to avoid consuming empty calories. Keep in mind, moderation is your motivation. If you know you have a special event coming up don’t deprive yourself from the beverages you enjoy. Plan ahead and manage your calorie intake and add in extra cardio to your day to allow for that tasty treat you deserve.

Super charged cardio creates shredded abs. Remember abdominal exercises alone do not remove belly fat. They build and tone the waistline. In order to see the tone and definition effectively, it’s a must to eat clean and kick up the cardio. Cardiovascular exercise will help to burn the layer of unwanted fat off your belly so that stellar abs can shine through. If you already have a cardio plan, kick up the intensity to power up your results. Also mix it up to keep it fun and challenging.

Feel the burn. Of course in order to get chiseled looking abs, incorporate variations of crunches to work all angles of the abdominal muscles. There are many modifications to the basic crunch or sit-up and you must mix things up to achieve the burn you love to “hate on” your abs. Come in and learn a few new ab burning exercises to compliment your current repertoire, so you can better show off your efforts. Intensity and variation are key.

Incorporating clean eating, limits on salt and alcohol, kicking up your cardio, and using a variety of ab exercises will have you saying “bye bye belly bloat” and “hello stellar abs of steel.”