When you want to to flatten your stomach remember the three keys - good nutrition, regular exercise and core/abdominal training. If you rely solely on abdominal training you will end up with a washboard stomach with an nice big layer of fat over it.

The key to flattening your stomach is to reduce the fat that covers your abdominal muscles, and that takes a nutritionally balanced diet and regular exercise. Your abs can be strengthened even before you lose the fat.

The abdominals are core muscles stabilise your spine, give you good posture and balance and help you move smoothly and gracefully.

Anatomy

There are three layers of abdominal muscles. They run in three different directions. The outermost layer contains the outer oblique muscles, which run diagonally along the sides of your abdomen, connecting the posterior ribs, spine and pelvis.

The middle layer contains the internal oblique, which run just under the external ones, and the rectus abdominus. The "rectus" is a broad, flat muscle that runs vertically down the front of your abdomen from the ribs to your pelvis. It is crossed by several horizontal tendons.

These give you that six-pack look. The bottom layer contains the transverse abdominus (TVA), which runs horizontally across your abdomen from side to side. The TVA is part of your "core" muscles and is important for breathing, posture and everyday movement.

The function of each of the muscles is:
* The rectus flexes your spine.
* The transverse abdominus is used for abdominal breathing.
* The external oblique rotates your body toward the opposite side (contracting the left external oblique causes you to rotate toward the right.)
* The internal oblique rotates your body toward the same side.

Protect Your Spine

While doing abs training, you should not forget that these muscles are attached to your spine. Make sure that you are doing exercises correctly - check with a trainer if you're not sure how to perform them.

Full sit ups are not recommended anymore by anyone because they 1) aren't necessary for exercising your abs and 2) can injure your spine. Do crunches instead and only come halfway up.

Whenever you are doing ab training, place your hands behind your neck and press your back toward the floor. Keep your knees bent. This protects the natural curves of your spine.

For more info, see www.vitalise.net.au

Now I know that you probably don't live in Victoria, Australia where I do but these stats are just as likely to be representative of your home state as well. More than three quarters of Victorian adults could be overweight or obese by 2025!

This is very saddening as obesity is a risk factor for many serious diseases including diabetes and heart disease.

On the upside, being your ideal weight feels fantastic! Generally you have more energy, better health, less trips to the doctor, lower disease risk, higher self esteem and longer life. The benefits are endless!

And the great news is that obesity is preventable and reversible. The fact that you're reading this means you're interesting in living a long and happy life and recognize the benefits of being healthy. So you have the power to control your own health and can also help people around you to stop these scary predictions becoming a reality!

Here are some easy steps you can take to maximize the quality of your life and help those around you live life to the fullest:

1. Increase Activities of Daily Living

Primitive human beings had to labor for their food. They would hunt and gather and prepare lean meals of meat, grains, vegetables and fruits. Now days we just drive to the store where we can purchase foods high in fat and sugar! We no longer have to do physical exercise to get food so it's very easy to gain weight.

We can compensate our sedentary, computer-based lifestyles by maximizing our Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). That means:

1.Always taking the stairs
2.Walking or riding to the shops
3.Going to see people at work, rather than emailing
4.Walking or riding to work, or getting off the tram/train/bus early and walking
5.Walking at lunchtime or when you need a break
6.Hang out the washing rather than putting it in the dryer
7.Going for a walk after dinner

2.Organise Social Activities That Involve Being Active

Remember the days of family picnics in the park with a bit of cricket or footy? Why not do that now with your friends? Rather than catch up for dinner and drinks, organize daytime events with a healthy bring-your-own picnic. It's a makes for a great day out and leaves you feeling energized rather than hung-over! You could go for a walk along the beach, kick the footy (that's auusie for football!) around the park, jog around the lake, or head out to one of your citys' beautiful outer state parks.

3.Make Lunch and Dinner 1/2 Veggies, 1/4 Carbs and 1/4 Protein

To get the right balance of nutrients in your diet and to maintain a healthy weight divide your lunch and dinner plates into roughly ½ veggies, ¼ carbs (such as pasta, basmati rice or whole grain bread) and ¼ protein (such as lean meat, eggs or low fat dairy).

Eating the right foods makes you feel great and full of energy. Yet many people find it hard to do - which leads to poor health, weight gain and potential serious illnesses and diseases. Below are some simple ideas to help you eat right and feel great.

1. Stay between "slightly hungry" and "satisfied". Don't allow yourself to become "very hungry" as this can lead to overeating and eating what ever you can get your hands on - usually something fast and unhealthy.

To avoid this plan ahead and always having something you can snack on in between meals like fruit or nuts. Also, don't let yourself get to "full" or "stuffed" as this is a sign that you've overeaten.

2. Do not eat fried foods. This means using low fat cooking methods like dry roasting, dry frying, grilling, steaming and my favorite - BBQing. It is OK to use a little olive oil when cooking but only enough to just coat the pan. Try using olive oil spray.

Instead of fried foods, like battered fish, try grilled and instead of chips have baked sweet potato, rice or pasta.

3. Eat real foods. This means eating minimally processed foods like fruit, veggies, meats, cereals, nuts, fish, eggs, etc. Processed foods like chips, biscuits, chocolate, cakes, pastries, pies and most desserts are high in fat and/or sugar. These high energy foods are the main cause of being overweight so avoid them.

4. Eat low GI, high fibre carbohydrates. Glycaemic Index (GI) is a measure of how quickly carbohydrates are broken down in your body. Low GI foods break down slowly which helps you feel fuller for longer and gives you longer lasting energy.

5. Listen to your body. Work out what food suits you most. Some people perform better on a high protein diet while others do best on a high carbohydrate diet.

If you feel full and sluggish after a high protein, low carb meal such as steak and salad, you should include carbohydrates (like rice, bread, pasta, sweet potato) in every meal to keep you body happy and your energy levels up.

If you don't feel satisfied after a high carb meal like vegetarian pasta or get headaches or jittery, you should include some protein (like lean meat, eggs, nuts) in every meal to be satisfied.

6. Be realistic and good to yourself. Some people give up on a healthy diet because they think it's too hard and means never having the things you love. Allow yourself an occasional treat as part of your healthy diet to help keep you on track and stop bingeing.

Follow these six steps and you will be on your way to eating right and feeling great! If you are in Melbourne, attend our next free seminar to find out more about better health eating great food.