These were the 4 things I needed achieve & maintain a flat, toned stomach.
1. MENTAL STATEMy mental state I believe is above all the most important factor to achieving anything I set goals for. It determines where you go, what you achieve & how you achieve it. Sit down & write down exactly what you want to achieve & what date you want to achieve it by, if you don’t have an end date you don’t have a finish line to become focused on. create a motivation/vision board (This is a canvas of inspiring images of things you want to achieve in the future) and what I found to be one of the biggest motivators that kept me on track was list of 50 reasons WHY I want a flat and toned stomach (you can use these lists for anything you want to achieve).
2. EDUCATION (FOOD, FLUIDS & EXERCISE )
You can’t have a nice flat, toned stomach or healthy body if you don’t fuel your body with the foods & exercise it needs to thrive. From my experience of achieving a nice toned stomach I have found I need a reasonable amount of cardio/aerobic exercise. I found long distance running (230mins a day), 45 mins to an hour on the cross-trainer, cardio-kickboxing class, skipping, weighted sit ups, gym ball sit ups, core focused bridge exercises & bike riding are fantastic exercises to help strengthen my core, shrink my waistline & tone my stomach.
A major lesson I learned about exercise when I first had a personal trainer was not to over-do my workouts. If I try and do a heavy exercise routine every day of the week, that will be too much for my body. It won’t allow my muscles anytime to recover from what they’ve been through & actually grow & strengthen. The body needs about a day or two to actually recover from the workout (depending on the type of work out).
MY EATING PLAN
Meal 1 – 7:00am – Breakfast
Meal 2 – 9:30am – Snack
Meal 3 – 12:30pm – Lunch
Meal 4 – 3:30pm – Snack
Supplement Pre Workout Shake (20 mins before workout)
Supplement During Workout Shake (Consume during workout)
Supplement Post Workout Shake – 6pm (Straight after workout)
Meal 5 – 7pm – Dinner
– MY BIKINI BODY PACK –
Alternative to ice cream? You can make it!
MY NATURAL DETOXS TO KICK START HEALTHY HABITS & MAINTAIN THEM –
○ Drink ginger tea, Green tea & fresh juices with no additives or preservatives
○ Every morning before anything else squeeze half a lemon into a glass of warm water & drink. This helps alkalize your body (Like wheatgrass does) It also kick starts your metabolism for the day!
○ Drink only water, fresh juice and tea the entire week – Avoid store bought juices, coffee, milk & no sugary drinks at all! These are full of sugar, fat, ACID, hormones & a lot of other horrible additives.
○ Ever wondered why most smokers are slender? Well, besides the cigarette smoke decreasing your appetite – They are taking big deep breaths in & out which enhances the circulation of your body! Remove the cigarette from the equation & take big breaths of air as MUCH as you possibly can! Breathe in and out through your nose & out through your mouth. This will ensure constant circulation through the body.
So, with the nutrition side tuned-in (in a simple & straight forward way) & doses of realistic cardio for your body at that time – you will set yourself up for metabolic synchronization – By then adding the right types of core & ab exercises this will give you the steps for getting rid of that excess stomach fat – & resulting in achieving a tightly toned stomach!
3. ACCOUNTABILITY
No matter what journey you are on in life, you always need to be held accountable for your actions. This is having your surrounding circle of influence ensuring are you on track, checking your doing your action steps & being the person helping keep you in check.. and also telling you the things you don’t necessarily want to hear, but HAVE to hear!
Learning to also help keep myself accountable & maintain mental strength is also something I have really enjoyed doing over these past few years. Sometimes, you may not have that correct circle of influence & this is where your own mental strength comes in to play.
4. SUPPORT
Lets be honest, it doesn’t really help when all your friends or family want to do is eat junk food & be a couch potato does it? No.
At the end of the day, you don’t need people telling you how to do things – You need role models & desire to want something so badly you will do anything to achieve it.
All of the information is at your fingertips, so it’s time to stop procrastinating & get out there to make it happen. Never sit around and say things are too hard or you are not educated enough because many people in your same position in the world have done it before you;
– You may hear a BIG voice interrupting your plan to be fit, healthy, happy & full of energy.. It may sound something like this – “You can’t do it, its unachievable, eat something else because it’s easier & more convenient, keep drinking alcohol because your friends are, wait for Monday to come & start.. WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!” I think we can all call ourselves procrastinators from time to time but it is the action that speaks louder than the words my friends… Tell the little voice in your head GOODBYE, because there is truly nothing holding you back from your ideal figure & mental state but your decision & action to do it. The end result is truly worth it.
Healthy living is ultimately your own choice….
2. EDUCATION (FOOD, FLUIDS & EXERCISE)
3. ACCOUNTABILITY
4. SUPPORT
I have been really excited to share this with everyone, especially after the feedback I received on my social media channels about this post in particular! Learning, understanding & implementing these 4 tools is something that is a long term action for me. Not a short term. This post is not about my ‘secrets’ to getting flat abs in 10 minutes.. It is factual, realistic & I am speaking from experience – You won’t find any opinions, I’m not a personal trainer or a nutritionist so I am simply sharing what has worked for me.
– 1 piece of organic gluten-free light rye toast + squeeze of lemon + ¼ Avocado (No Butter) + banana
OR
-A shake with half a cup of natural fresh mixed berries (no added sugar), 1 cup of raw oats + 1 scoop of protein + 1 cup of water..
– Warm water with lemon & freshly sliced ginger
– 1 scoop of Pharma-Greens with water
– 1 medium apple + 15g natural almonds
50g of chick peas or 4 bean mix + salad
OR
– Salad + gluten free light rye bread made into a sandwich (Use small amount of avocado as a substitute for butter if you need it)
OR
Organic lentil pattie with sliced zucchini, carrot, garlic & onion
– 1 cup of organic green tea with freshly sliced ginger
– 1 cup of steamed vegetables + tofu + lentils + 4 bean mix
– 1 cup of organic green tea with squeeze of lemon with freshly sliced
Vegetarian stiryfry + lentils + chickpeas+ vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, carrot, baby corn, organic tofu, squash & spinach) with garlic, chives, chilli, coriander, lemongrass & onion
OR
Veggie pattie with cooked spinach, chickpeas in an organic wrap with a side of tofu
OR
Mediterranean salad (Lentils, chick peas, leafy greens, tomatoes, spinach, spanish onion with steamed vegetables)
– 1 cup of organic chamomile tea before bed
Notes:
I stay away from coffee & dairy products – Milk, cheese ect..
I drink 2- 3 litres of water per day + 1 litre for every hour of exercise done
For best results on this plan – No Alcohol is the way to go!
I allow myself 1 meal off per week.
Stick to this plan 100%.
Avoid store bought juices, coffee, milk & sugary drinks/energy drinks
Great alternative to milk:
Almond milk; How do I make my own?
Throw natural almonds in a blender with water! Or alternatively you can buy organic almond milk, soy milk, rice milk which are all still great if you still love your milk but want to replace it with something healthier!
Throw a frozen banana in the blender with water & you have a healthier, dairy-free option.
awesome!