10 tips to help you lose your spare tyre

1) A varied, balanced diet is key to achieving shapely curves

This is our number one tip. It’s often said that diet is the best remedy and it’s certainly the case when it comes to achieving or maintaining a slender figure. Apply the basic principles: eat a varied, balanced diet, limiting your intake of high-sugar, high-fat and high-salt foods and ensuring you drink enough water. In this way, you’ll lay the best possible foundations for achieving a flat stomach.

2) Eat slowly to promote satiety

Taking the time to chew and appreciate your food allows the feeling of fullness to be triggered more quickly. And as a result, you’ll eat less … So sit comfortably at the table and take the time to put your fork down between each mouthful.

To help control your appetite, you can also take an extract of the fruit Garcinia Cambogia (such as in the supplement Garcinia Cambogia), or an extract of carob (such as in CSAT®). These natural substances play a role in increasing the feeling of satiety and can thus help you to maintain a healthy body weight (1-2).

3) Restrict foods that induce bloating

Good transit is paramount! So consign all those foods that cause bloating to the back of the cupboard, starting with ready-meals and other processed foods. Frequently high in salt and fat, they often slow down the digestive process which can cause bloating and swelling of the stomach.

Make sure you cook vegetables properly, especially those that ferment: cabbage and artichokes in particular. Prevent the bloating caused by dried pulses by soaking them for at least 24 hours before cooking. And make sure you minimise your intake of fizzy drinks.

4) Plants to help eliminate fats and control weight

Have you heard of Ascophyllum Nodosum ? This brown seaweed is recognised for promoting good gastrointestinal health. It also helps to reduce fat absorption and eliminate fat stores in the body. (3) The excellent supplement Fat & Carb Blocker is made from an extract of this very specific algae.

You can also take advantage of the effects of Capsicum Annuum, also known as sweet pepper or chilli pepper. This natural aid to metabolism supports good weight management(4) and is one of the key ingredients in the formulation Metadrine™.

5) Keep away from alcohol if you want to stay in trim

Excessive alcohol intake not only poses a risk to health, but also sabotages your efforts to achieve a flat stomach! Alcohol is a major source of empty calories which are rapidly stored in the body’s adipose tissue: around the bottom, thighs and stomach (5).

You can still enjoy socialising while maintaining your figure by swapping alcohol for a tomato juice or a mocktail, but make sure the latter is not too high in sugar.

6) If you want a flat stomach, eat plenty of fibre!

Dietary fibre is invaluable for good intestinal transit. Load up on wholegrains, cooked vegetables, fresh and dried fruits as well as almonds and walnuts.

You can also benefit from an excellent intake of 100% organic soluble fibre by taking the supplement Organic Acacia.

7) Reduce your waistline with specific toning exercises

Strengthening your abdominal muscles will also help you achieve a flat tummy. You could, for example, go for the classic sit-ups and scissor kicks, which work all the abdominal muscles. For a little variation, you could try core strength exercises such as the plank, supporting your body with your hands or elbows, or wall-sits …

Yoga and pilates are also good starting points for learning the moves that combat midriff bulge! Doing these types of exercise every day will improve your performance and help you overcome your complexes a little more each day.

8) Cardio is also great for a flat stomach

Still on the subject of physical activity, cardio-type exercise will burn your fat reserves and is an effective way of helping to control your weight (6).

By cardio, we mean swimming, running, cycling, as well as rhythmic dance classes or power-walking. There’s a wealth of options available to you for reducing your fat reserves and gradually sculpting your figure.

9) Learn to breathe properly for a flatter tummy

You can also try hypopressive exercises. These basically consist of pulling in the stomach really hard at the end of a complete exhale of all inhaled air. Abdominal breathing is an invaluable aid to trimming your waistline.

Breathing properly is also an essential element in reducing one of the key obstacles to staying in shape: stress(7). Stress has a particularly bad effect on digestion, which encourages swelling of the stomach.

10) Ensure you get enough sleep, it’s a ‘friend to your figure’

Last but not least, good quality sleep is crucial for maintaining your figure. It’s important to sleep soundly and for long enough in order to regulate your metabolism in general and so prevent fat and sugar being stored in your body, and ensure good protein absorption (8).

To help reduce the time it takes you to fall asleep, try adopting a few simple measures: eat a light dinner early, avoid looking at a screen just before going to sleep, take a melatonin supplement (such as Melatonin), do some gentle stretches ...

In short, to maintain a flat stomach and slender figure, you need to apply a few simple, everyday rules, and at the same time, take targeted dietary supplements.