A belly is soooo 2009!

1. Hydration. Don’t neglect the most important nutrient of all: WATER. If you are eating and exercising properly, and can’t figure out why your body is not changing, it is most likely because you are not drinking enough water. Drink eight glasses a day or even more if you are overweight, live in a hot climate, or work out regularly. Your body stores water when it is not getting enough, which leads to a more bloated you. When you start properly hydrating, all that old stored up water gets flushed right out of your hips, thighs, ankles, and around your waistline.

Trainer Tip: Think of drinking water as a flush… the more the better when you are exercising and focusing on a weight loss routine. It will also help to detox your body, which could increase your energy levels.

2. Pilates and Yoga. Poor posture can lead to an extra roll (or two!) Pilates focuses on strengthening your core muscles (or the muscles around your lower abdomen,) to keep the body balanced and provide support for the spine. Yoga poses not only strengthen your waist, abdomen and back muscles, but can also help to get your overall body working more efficiently.

3. Sweat it out. While you may be spending every morning doing 150 crunches, your tummy won’t be flat if there is too much mass hiding those strong muscles. Work some cardio into the mix. Go running, walking, dancing, or whatever it takes to get you to sweating. If you can get yourself to sweat for at least half an hour a day, 5 days a week, you will start to reduce your overall weight.

4. Eat more of the good stuff. You can eat more food and still get smaller as long as you choose the right foods. Add more fiber to your diet, and cut out the saturated fat. Make sure you are getting your daily dose of fruits and veggies, and choose whole grains. Also, don’t wait until you are hungry to eat. This will cause your stomach to shrink and then bloat when you finally sit down and have a huge meal. Rather, have several small meals throughout the day so that you have constant energy to burn. This will strengthen your metabolism.

5. Omega-3s. Foods rich in Omega-3s like fish, flaxseeds, strawberries, broccoli, and walnuts help to increase your circulation, and lower your cholesterol. Poor circulation and high cholesterol levels are commonly found in people that are overweight. Grass-fed beef has almost double the omega-3s as grain-fed beef. And milk and cheese that comes from grass-fed cows also contains more of these healthy fatty acids, (PLUS they are more humane and better for the environment!)

6. Protein. Protein is the building block of muscle, and an important part of a balanced diet. Remember that muscle burns more calories than fat, so as you begin to look more toned, your body is actually burning more calories as well. So go ahead…have a little steak.

7. Olive Oil. Like the Omega-3s, Olive oil is rich in the good kind of fatty acids. Replacing the bad fats with good fats in your diet can make a major difference in your results, and you probably won’t even be able to taste the difference. Try making your own dressing with olive oil & lemon instead of your usual bottled sauce, or using it instead of butter on your bread.

8. Just a spoonful of Yogurt can helps the bloating go down. That’s because the active cultures found in most yogurts help to reduce bloating and also aids digestion. Try having a bowl of plain yogurt with fruit after dinner instead of ice-cream for dessert. For best results get plain yogurt instead of the sugary kind, and make sure it has “live and active cultures.” Try Kefir which has almost double the amount of probiotics.