How do you determine how much stomach is too much? Here is the test for you: stand up and pinch the roll of skin under your belly button. If your weight is normal, this roll of skin will be very slight. Sometimes it is even difficult to notice. If you are carrying little extra weight on your tummy, this roll of flesh gets bigger. If you can only pinch 10 millimeters you should be able to get rid of the roll with regular sporting activity. More than that and you will have to implement an emergency plan comprising exercise, diet and an anti-stress strategy.

Some rules to follow to have a flat tummy:
• Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. It’s always better, does your figure good too, to eat more in the morning and less in the evening because in the evenings, you are less active and insulin secretion predominates, so more of the energy in food gets stored as fat.

• Dividing your daily intake of food into five or even six meals reduces the risk of putting on weight.

• Cut back on sugars and fats; eat complex carbohydrates, fiber and plenty of protein. Radically changing what you eat from one day to the next and suddenly ingesting high quantities of fiber will make you vulnerable to unheard of levels of bloating. So, make gradual changes, taking care to eat a little of each food group every day.

• All vegetables and cereals have high complex sugar content. Rich in variety of elements, they are valuable allies in the slimming process. Eat fruits, vegetables and whole cereals. You should also reduce the intake of factory made foods like sweets, cakes, ice cream and refined products like pasta, bread, rice, etc.

• All light colored foods are to be looked upon kindly, skimmed milk, white fish, poultry, cereals and all fruits and vegetables, these foods are low in calories and very easy to digest. Be extremely wary, on the other hand, of fatty meats, fried eggs, some shellfish, pizza, quiches and the majority of industrially prepared products.

• Stock up on vitamin c, it plays a key role in the body functions that are important when you’re on diet. Vitamin C is a simple sugar and a powerful reducing agent. Vitamin C helps your body work faster and harder. Fresh fruits and vegetables have plenty of these vitamins.

• Downing a lot of liquids, especially aerated drinks, sparkling water, etc. is responsible for excess air in the digestive system. Drinking too much at the dinner table is inadvisable, even if it’s water.

• Many people complain of weight gain and bloating and assume that it is due to water retention. Fresh vegetables are rich in potassium, the rival of sodium which means that they have natural diuretic properties, and they work as internal cleansers.

• Alcohol intake should be restricted for more reasons than just the stomach. It may have a few good qualities, but has great many drawbacks. Also, when consumed, it is transformed into fat and stored in the tummy area.

• It is commonly thought that giving up smoking can make you put on weight, but very few people know that cigarettes are the enemies of a flat stomach. Smoking interferes with the digestive juices, particularly when you smoke during or just after a meal. Bloating and flatulence are inevitable.