Ask someone the one thing they would like to change about themselves and a large percentage will say they want to have a flat stomach. If people manage to workout they usually spend a lot of time doing cardio and hundreds of sit-ups in hopes of achieving six-pack abs. In the past I have examined the ineffectiveness of these ideas; long steady state cardio doesn’t work nor does spot reducing exercises. Instead of wasting your precious time performing pointless exercises why not become more educated and apply the effort towards something that will really work.

The major factor in having six-pack abs is body fat. If you have a high body fat percentage, no matter how many sit-ups you do, you won’t have the desired look you are after. In order to reduce your body fat through exercise it’s important to lift progressively heavier weights because that adds muscle and muscle is very metabolically active, meaning the more muscle you have the more calories you will naturally burn. For the women out there don’t worry, you don’t have to look like Arnold in his prime to get metabolic results. Also supplementing your resistance training with interval style cardio will help fire up your metabolism to help burn body fat. But all of that is old news; I’ve covered all of that before. What happens for the people whose workouts are near perfect, but they still don’t have the desired six-pack? Are they doomed to have a mediocre looking midsection? The good news is that there are a few things you can do on top of the exercise to help reduce your abdominal body fat.

Apart from exercise it is extremely important to have an adequate diet that maintains a properly calorie balance. No matter what, if you consume more calories than you burn on a daily basis you won’t lose body fat. Hopefully you have already dropped the Twinkies and have instituted a diet full of protein and natural carbohydrates. Again most of that should be common sense at this point. What else is there to do?

Let’s examine the cause of excess abdominal fat. Anyone who spends any amount of time watching television has most likely seen the commercials for various supplements that supposedly reduce your levels of body fat by reducing your levels of cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that your body releases whenever your body is under stress, whether perceived or not. Even though the products have the right idea I don’t recommend taking them. There are more effective and healthier ways to achieve the same results.

Charles Poliquin has confirmed this idea through years of testing people’s body fat using skinfold calipers and correlating the readings to hormone levels within the body. He has found that increased levels of cortisol result in an increased level of abdominal body fat. So, all you have to do is lower your levels of cortisol and your abdominal body fat will slowly decrease. This is the one kind of spot reduction that actually works.

The important step to take is eliminating as much stress out of your life as possible. I have written a three part series on stress in the past, http://www.higher-endeavors.com/blog/2006/12/06/the-negative-affects-of-stress-part-1/. Refer to this article to assess the various places in your life where there may be undue stress. Once you locate the stressors in your life it’s time to take action and reduce the impact they have on you.

To reduce the levels of cortisol and therefore reduce the levels of abdominal body fat there are a few minor changes and additions into your nutritional and supplementation regimen that will have a dramatic impact. The first step is to completely eliminate all of the processed carbohydrates and grains in your diet. This may seem difficult but the results will definitely be worth it. Grains and other processed carbohydrates have an adverse affect on your insulin levels which result in increased levels of cortisol. This simple step alone will get you close to the six-pack you desire if not all the way there.

If you are one who doesn’t want to wait to see if the elimination of carbs alone will work there are a few supplements you can add to your diet which will have a big impact. The most important supplement to take regardless of your goal is fish oil. There are more benefits than I care to list, but they all are based upon fish oils ability to reduce inflammation in your body. Stress causes inflammation, so taking fish oil will help reverse the negative affects of stress. Take a minimum of 3 grams a day of high quality fish oil.

Another supplement to take, ideally with your post-workout shake since cortisol levels are elevate post-workout, is phosphatydylserine. It has been shown to reduce the levels of circulating cortisol along with other beneficial health affects. The other supplement that you can try is licorice root. Licorice root helps regulate the production of cortisol.

On top of the supplements, make sure as previously stated to minimize the consumption of processed carbohydrates and grains. You may also want to minimize the consumption of simple sugars and caffeine as much as possible until you get your abdominal fat to a respectable level. Both negatively affect your insulin levels which will affect your cortisol production. Lastly you want to make sure you are getting plenty of sleep every night, ideally anywhere from seven to nine and a half hours of sleep. This will provide adequate time for your body to flush the cortisol out of it’s system.

The six-pack of your dreams isn’t beyond your reach. By perfecting your workouts, improving you nutrition, and supplementing where necessary you will be able to reduce your abdominal body fat levels to the point where you can proudly take your shirt off at the beach. A little knowledge and effort will go a long way.

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