For men and women, the waistline is an important part of their physical appearance. For guys, a slim waist can get you closer to that V-shape and for women, it can call attention to your more prominent features. A smaller waist is one feature that both genders find important when it comes to fitness and that is why it’s important to devote time and effort to it. Men tend to retain fat in their abdomen while women tend to retain fat around their waist. These sex-specific fat deposits are advantageous only when it’s in small proportions. On the female body, too much fat around the waist can take away that sexy look that it was supposed to provide.

Knocking a few inches off your waist is not particularly easy. Fat around the waist tends not to burn easily – after all fat is supposed to be there. If you want to burn waist fat, there is a need to drastically change your routine.

First off, you need to eat healthier. You need to get down with the idea of a greener, fruitier diet and stick to it, no more trans-fat and sugar-based foods and drinks. You also need to work on your abdominal muscles, targeting especially obliques and finally, do a lot of vacuums. Vacuums are the secrets to a slim, carved-out midsection. Improving your exercise routines and nutritional intake helps to get your body in that sweet spot that will let the effects of the vacuums really show.

Eating healthier

It’s popularly known that excess stomach fat can lead to heart-related diseases and obesity. So if you aren’t particularly interested in a smaller waistline, the probability of an early grave should prompt you to make some changes. Added sugar is incredibly unhealthy, it contains high concentrations of fructose and glucose. The body can’t use all those excess ingredients, so it tricks the body to store and form body fat. The key is to avoid foods and beverages that contain added sugar like soda and chips. Processed foods contain ridiculous amounts of sugar. It’s wise to cut back on them completely if you can, but if you can’t, you should always check the sugar content on the label so you know what you are up against. Make more healthy diet choices like fruits, whole grains and vegetables, and consume lots of protein. Protein could be beef, eggs, lentil, milk, etc. The gist is to avoid processed foods and always eat a balanced diet. Your change in food choice is bound to reflect on your waistline if you can stick to it!

Here comes the challenging part of the three-step plan. This part involves exercise, and I mean lots of it. Fat generally stores around the stomach and waist which means that you need to pay attention to your obliques, this means a lot of isolating exercises and cardio.

The plank

Planking is one of the most effective yet common exercises. It doesn’t exactly target the obliques but it focuses more on the entire core region or mid-section. It’s a good compound exercise that can get you closer to that smaller waist and work on your abs at the same time.

Russian Twists

Russian twists

Russian twists target the obliques, and it’s this part of the mid-section that houses most of the fat around the waist. It is more effective when executed with a light weight. It helps you develop balance in your core. It also focuses on the upper abdominals because part of the abdomen is active during the exercise.

Windshield Wipers

Windshield wipers

Don’t let the name fool you, this exercise will wipe your obliques. They target the core and the obliques simultaneously, and improve core strength.

Side Plank with Twist

Side plank with twist

This is a bit different from the usual plank. This variation targets the side of the oblique involved in the exercise at that time. Since the entire body rests on one side, the exercise ends up working that side extensively.

Ab Crunches

Ab Crunches

Ab crunches focus mainly on your upper abdominals and carve them out. It’s a filler exercise that is meant to ensure that more than one part of your abdomen is getting all the work.

Cardio

Never underestimate the power of excellent cardio. It helps the body burn fat and improves the health of the heart. Good cardio helps you maintain low body fat and keep your body toned.

Vacuums

This exercise is what everything has been about. It’s very important that it gets its own section! Vacuums are so effective that you can shave inches off your waist by just doing them every day for a month, but there’s a catch. Vacuums are somewhat temporary, once you stop, your waist goes back to its original size – well, not exactly. Aside from this little hiccup, the possibilities are endless. It is possible to lose 3 to 4 inches in little as 2 to 3 weeks. It’s crazy, right? Vacuums target the tranversus abdominus which involves an isometric movement of those muscles. As a result of doing this over and over again, a smaller waist will be noticeable.

To perform a stomach vacuum, you place both hands on your waists and exhale until your lungs are empty then inhale until you can’t anymore then hold it for a while and let it out again. That’s a single rep. To see significant results, you need to do this as much as you can. A fair warning though – they might take some getting used to. They feel weird and unnatural at first, but when done properly and consistently, you can expect results in a month or so. For vacuums to be fully effective, you need to develop a healthy diet and work towards a low body fat percentage. This exercise is the icing on the cake, that is why it’s recommended to first get used to other ab exercises so that they can also help chip away at overall waist fat. For newbies, you should try holding each set for 15 seconds.

Let us know how it goes!