Having a flat stomach is a dream for men and women all over the world. It is one body part where people seem to be most unhappy with due to the ease in which the build up of fat can accumulate in this area.

The good news is that getting a flat stomach and even six pack abs is achievable with a little time and dedication. This hub contains links and information on how to get a flat stomach so make sure you explore them all.

A common myth of getting a flat stomach is to do hundreds of situps or crunches every day. These exercises may help you to strengthen your abs but they will not provide any definition because of the layer of fat over them.

Everyone has abdominal muscles, however big or small, but they are hidden because of fat. In order reveal your abs, you need to reduce your body fat. Body fat is often expressed as a percentage and the average body fat for a male is 16% and for females slightly higher at 21%. A body fat percentage of around 10% will reveal a flat stomach and any lower will show abdominal muscles is good definition.

Losing body fat can be done in 2 ways. The first is by dieting to reduce your intake of fatty foods and the second is to perform exercises to burn calories. Both of these will be explained in the next sections.

Sticking to a low fat diet can help you achieve a flat stomach much quicker and help you lose further body fat. The best thing to do is to avoid products high in sugar and saturated fat. You can make your own flat stomach diet plan use the suggested foods to eat and avoid below:

Examples of Foods to Avoid:

Potatoes
Candy
Ice Cream
Soda
Alcohol
Cheese
Fruit Juices (These are usually high in sugar)
Pizza
White Bread

Examples of Foods to Eat:

Fish
Eggs
Chicken
Turkey
Green vegetables
Tomatoes
Whole fresh fruit (less sugar than their juiced counterparts)

Contrary to popular belief, crunches and situps are not the most important exercises for a flat stomach. They are, however, good to add definition by strengthening muscles but we are probably not at that stage yet.

The first thing we need to do is burn fat and the way to do this is to burn calories through cardiovascular exercise. Not only does Cardio burn body and give you a flat stomach - it also helps you to maintain a healthy heart and reduces stress and high blood pressure.

There are many Cardio exercises that you can use - you should choose one that it most suitable for you. Good examples are jogging, swimming and cycling. Performing any of these exercises for around 30 minutes each day will help your burn body fat very quickly As an illustration, riding a bike for an hour each day can reduce up to 800 calories which is the equivalent of around 15lbs of fat a year!

This section focuses on how to get a six pack. The good news is that one you have a flat stomach, getting a six pack is easy. Assuming that you have followed all the advice up to now and have reduced your body fat - all you need to do now is strengthen your abs. You can do this by doing abdominal stretches and crunches daily. Videos of these exercises are provided below: