Natalie Jill presents a rapid-fire FAQ on getting visible abs and a flat belly. Key claims: diet often determines visible abs (she suggests diet can be up to ~90% important unless one trains at elite/athlete level), cardio is optional and low-intensity steady-state may hinder progress for many, plank-based exercises are her recommended core move, loose skin and stretch marks may not fully resolve without surgery though muscle can improve appearance, there is no pill that specifically targets belly fat, and sustainable fat loss is gradual (she cites ~2 pounds of fat loss per week and the 3,500-calorie rule). She also highlights bloat (from processed foods, artificial sweeteners, sodium, allergens) and hydration as fast factors affecting belly appearance.
Questions this video answers
She states diet can be up to 90% important for visible abs for non-athletes.
Approximately two pounds of fat per week (citing the 3,500-calorie-per-pound rule).
About a 3,500-calorie deficit.
Chapters
Hi, guys. Natalie, Jill here. Back on happy, healthy and fit. And today I'm answering your questions about how to get abs, how to get that flat belly. That is the most common question I get. And a lot of you ask individual questions. So I put together a list of my most frequently asked ab questions, and I'm going to share the answers with you.
So we're talking about how to get abs and how to get that flat belly. Are you ready? The number one question, the first one is, are abs really made in the kitchen? And my answer might surprise you, but I'm going to say it depends. Why? Because if exercise is not your primary thing, if that is, if you are not performing at athlete level, and I mean athlete level, think Olympic athlete, not just going to the gym and putting in time on the elliptical, then yes, diet is hugely important. In fact, that could be up to 90% of importance. Now, if you're an athlete, if you're an extreme athlete or you're training at that level, high intensity diet does become less important. It's true. The stronger you're working out, the more intense you're working out. If you're training at athlete level, you can pretty much eat whatever you want and you're going to still have those abs and that flat belly. It's true. I'll tell you, too, there's a lot of controversy. Sometimes when you see an Olympic athlete and a nutritionist or somebody's criticizing what they eat, but you look at them when they're super lean, well, hello. If you're burning off those thousands of thousands of calories a day and, and you have that much muscle mass, you get a pass to eat what you want because it doesn't matter at that point, you're gonna still see those abs. It's true. So, yes, it matters. But the more intense you're working out, not the longer. The more intense you're working out, the less nutrition plays a role in seeing those abs. Second question I get. Is cardio important for having abs? Again, it depends. It is not necessary. It can work. Now, I'll tell you, me personally, I used to be the person that did the. The hour of cardio every day on an empty stomach, thinking, I'm tapping into fat now. Well, what that did, and it does to a lot of people, is it can make you hungrier and it's a slower process. When you're on an elliptical reading and taking your time, maybe you're burning a higher percentage of fat, but you're burning less calories overall. So it could literally Just make you hungrier and want to eat more later. I have taken out that kind of cardio and what I suggest is you need to do what works for you. If you like that cardio and it's working for you, keep at it. But if you're at a standstill and you want to see those abs, consider taking that out, upping the intensity in your other training and trying some high impact interval training versus the low steady cardio. Now, the same thing applies as the earlier question. If you are an athlete, you're doing triathlons, you're doing marathons, that is different. That's athlete level. If you're just on that elliptical, reading for an hour, putting in your time to get abs, it's not gonna work. It's not gonna work. I'm sorry, maybe you're the exception to the rule, but if it's not working for you now, think about changing it. The next one. Can I get abs after having a baby? Yes, you can. 100%. I'm telling you it's true because I'm sorry, but I do have abs and I did have a baby. So there you go. That's my proof. And I know lots of people that have done it too. Lots of people that have done it. Getting abs after a baby. So it is true. The next question is, if you have loose skin, what can you do now? Now I'm going to tell you this. If you've lost a lot of weight or you've had a baby, Downward dog is probably not going to ever be pretty again. I'm sorry. It's true. It's true. You have a loose skin and there's not a lot you can do about it. Now what you can do is change the appearance drastically when you develop muscle in your abdominals. When you develop that muscle and you lose the fat, it's going to show less of an appearance. And I want to show. I'm literally going to show you my skin because I going to show you that because it is different than you're thinking. It looks like somebody has a flat stomach and abs, but after you've had that loose skin, your skin is different. And that will not completely go back, unfortunately, without surgery or unless you are super young. But you can drastically change the appearance by developing that muscle and losing that fat. It's true. Do stretch marks ever go away or do you have to have a cosmetic procedure? Sometimes they will fade. There's no magic trick to just get rid of them. I'm sorry. So I know a lot of things claim to do it. But again, you could change the appearance, they become less obvious. But that's not something you can exercise away or just erase away the stretch marks. What's the best exercise for abs? There's a million exercises you can do, but I'm going to say hands down, I go for the plank in any plank variation. The reason is you're gonna work that entire core and you're also gonna involve your whole body. So you are gonna burn more calories, ultimately tap into more fat, develop that strong lean core which is gonna help those abs shine through. If you're doing just one exercise, I would say go for a plank based move. Are you a fan of crunches? How come you never talk about them? I will tell you that a few years ago, crunches were where it was at for me. I used to do 200 crunches a day. In fact, I think I wrote a blog about 200, 200 crunches a day. But I had lower back pain all the time and I didn't know why. Not a fan of crunches? Not anymore. I think there are much better exercises that will help your lower back be healthy, that will help you be functionally fit and will still get you that definition. So I like a lot of ab exercises, but plank based ones are my preference, not crunches. So it's not about doing 200 crunches a day or a thousand crunches a day or any of them. You don't have to do them now. If you don't have lower back pain and you like doing them, great, keep doing them. But if you're looking to change it up, I would say take them out, try some plank based things. Next question. Doesn't eating fat make you fat? Why do you suggest fat on all of your programs? Okay, let's get with the program here. It's not 1980 and eating fat does not get you fat. What gets people fat? Eating too much of the wrong foods and being sedentary, Period. If we eat more than we burn off and and we don't move enough, we are going to gain fat, period. I might get some hate mail, but it's true. I'm not Talking about the 1% that has an unusual metabolic issue. I get it. That's out there. Somebody this does not apply to. But for most people, eating fat is not the problem. It's eating the wrong foods, eating too much of them and being too sedentary. So fat is great. We need fat for skin, to fill us up, to make us feel good, to keep us full. Eat the fat. I'M a huge fan of it, especially coconut oil. Lots of good fats you can eat and it'll help keep you full. That is not what makes you fat. Is there a supplement or pill that targets body fat? No, there's not. I'm sorry, it's a lie. There's no supplement that's going to target belly fat alone. They might claim that there is, but it's not. It's always going to be diet, nutrition, exercise first. Supplements have a place. There is a place to supplement your diet and help you, but there's not a pill you can swallow that's going to make you lose belly fat. I call bs. If you have a C section, can you get abs back? Yes, you can. It all depends. But I'll show you a picture of my friend Courtney here. She's looking pretty darn good and she definitely had a C section. So you can get them back. What is the quickest way to lose fat and and get your fat belly back? Okay. Fat is going to be a process. I'm not going to lie to you. To lose fat correctly, you're talking about two pounds a week approximately of fat loss because it takes about a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose a pound of fat. So if you're going from a highly processed food diet and you're just starting out, you might lose more week one, that's fine. But on average, if you're going to keep that weight off, it's about two pounds per week that you're going to lose of fat. Now, what a lot of people mistake is that that lower belly might not be fat. Maybe it's another issue. Maybe it's bloat, maybe it's loose skin, maybe it's something else. If it's bloat, yes, you can get that away pretty quickly by changing up your diet, being more hydrated so you're not holding onto water in your body and also so you are going to get rid of it. You're going to get rid of it. And if you take out those artificial sweeteners, you're also going to retain less water. So by eating a more natural diet, you're going to get rid of that bloat, which may flatten that stomach. Also, last question. How do I get rid of the pooch? And I'm going to go back to the last question. I just answered that. Again, it depends on what that pooch is caused from. If it's caused from fat loss, it's everything I just went over. If it's caused from bloat water retention. You're going to go to an unprocessed food diet. That's key. You're going to take out added junk like artificial sweeteners, added sodium, lots of added sodium, and processed foods. And you're going to hydrate more to get rid of that excess water. Also, look at allergens. You may have an underlying allergy to wheat, to dairy, to all kinds of things. So taking time to track what you're eating and what makes you feel that way, that will change a lot. I've had a lot of people tell me that they were bloated and eating clean. I've come to find out they're chewing gum gum with artificial sweeteners that will absolutely bloat a huge amount of the population. Gum, diet sodas all have artificial sweeteners. Not a fan of those. Take them out. Get rid of the bloat. Okay, that was a lot. I hope I helped you shed some light on how to get abs and a flat belly. I do have a ton of workout videos on abs and a flat belly. You can check them out over here. Check out the whole playlist and learn more. Bye.
