Alternative Health Blog

The pursuit of flat abdominal muscles is an American tradition that, let's face it, is the subject of way too many infomercials. To save you money–and free up late-night or weekend TV time to, uh, maybe get some sleep or be more active, both of which will help you flatten your abs–here are ways to look and feel slimmer around the waist. Feel free to pick and choose what works in your life; there is no right order. 

Embrace your belly. With props to the late George Carlin\'s classic routine of the differences between football ("you play sudden death") and baseball ("the object is to get home safe"), people talk about "flattening" the stomach or "crunching" your abs.

That needs to stop. Yoga instructors encourage students to "breathe" from the belly and be OK with letting your belly relax outward on the exhale. Those instructors have the right idea. Deep breathing as part of a yoga practice or as simple morning/bedtime exercises will increase your energy level and reduce stress.

Both effects will contribute to feeling lighter, which is a good opening strategy.

Go easy on the alcohol. David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men's health magazine, wrote a sensible and results-oriented book, "The Abs Diet: The Six-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life" (Rodale). Zinczenko doesn't even require that readers perform any exercise in the first two weeks of the program. His first requirement: Get serious about reducing alcohol intake, consuming no more than two to three drinks per week. He writes that one strategy will jump-start your weight loss around the middle.

Mercer Island-based nutritionist Susan Kleiner, author of "The Good Mood Diet" (Springboard), a book I co-authored, said reducing alcohol is often the key to success when a smaller waist is the goal. Kleiner said many of her clients either don't lose much weight or plateau after a fast start, only to reach their slimmer ideal body weights by cutting back to just a couple of glasses of wine or beers per week.

Feel the need for speed--or at least some intensity in your workouts. Phil Campbell is a Tennessee-based conditioning coach who works with hundreds of young athletes hoping to gain college scholarships or professional sports careers. When running a speed camp, he asks students to think about the sprinter\'s body. Lots of muscles, yes, but fat around the middle, no.

Here's what Campbell has discovered, leading him to write the book, "Ready, Set, Go! Synergy Fitness" (Pristine): Adding some bursts of intensity to workouts for friends, neighbors, even his church pastor, can help the recreational athlete or sedentary person to reshape their midsections.

His basic routine consists of a two-minute warmup, then eight cycles of going hard (90 percent of capacity) for 30 seconds, followed by a recovery pace for 90 seconds that allows you to catch your breath. You can follow his routine as a walker, runner, cyclist or pretty much on any cardiovascular machine at the gym.

"What happens is a longer-lasting effect because you are firing up fast-twitch muscles that might have been dormant your whole adult life," said Campbell. "You might burn a fair number of calories on a long, slow run, but your calorie burn tends to drop off pretty soon after you are finished running.

"If you do the eight cycles, adding those 30-seconds of intensity, you can be burning fat and calories up to 24 hours after you finish exercising."

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.