Want to learn how to get a flat stomach? Getting toned abs doesn’t come easy, but a combination of strengthening and lengthening moves along with a healthy diet and cardio exercise can bring success. Not only will it help you feel your best, it will do wonders for your health—excess belly fat increases your risk for a number of health problems, including heart disease, cancer and hypertension.

Strengthen Your Abs
The obvious answer for how to get a flat stomach is to do crunches and other ab exercises. While it’s not the only thing you need to do, this is important. If you’re not familiar with ab exercises, buy an ab workout DVD or sign up for an abs class at your local gym or YMCA to get a lot of ideas. If not, try a combination of your favorites, such as crunches, planks, bicycle crunches, oblique twists and more.

Lengthen Your Body    
If you improve your posture your can look slimmer instantly. Give it try. If you’re slumped over right now, sit up straight and notice the difference in your midsection. Strengthen and lengthen your ab and back muscles with Pilates or yoga.

Eat Right
Don’t like dieting? Even cutting out 100 calories a day can help you trim your waistline. Leave a few bites of your dinner on your plate or skip that second glass of wine and you’re one step closer to getting a flat stomach. That said, you shouldn’t skip meals. It’ll only cause you to overeat at your next one. In fact, eating several small meals a day is better to keep your metabolism going. And when you do reach for a snack, try to stay away from refined carbs, processed foods and sugary treats. Better choices? Nuts, fruit, veggies, whole grains and low fat dairy.

Finish Your Workout
If flat abs is your motivation for exercise, don’t stop after you’ve completed your ab workout. Building muscle mass from head to toe can speed up your metabolism so you’ll burn more calories all day long. You’ll also need to do cardio exercise 3 to 4 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes. Running is the best exercise to beat belly fat, but brisk walking, playing sports, the elliptical machine or a traditional aerobics class will help, too. The important thing is to get moving.