I’ve been helping women become fitter, happier and healthier over the last 18 years and one thing I know for sure, is that most women want a flatter tummy. But when they strive to make changes to achieve that goal, they go about it completely the wrong way and then feel disheartened and frustrated.
Let me share the common 10 mistakes women make and how I tackle these to help my clients switch this up!
They still eat fruit – controversial I know but fruit is something I take out of women’s diets if they want a flatter tummy, especially if they eat a lot of it. Classed as ‘free food’ in weight watchers, fruit can be the classic go-to choice for women who want to lose weight. But eating too much fruit, fruit straight after a meal, eating fruit mixed with other fruit and fruit in the afternoon and evening can really negatively impact women’s gut health and bloating. Many women suffer from candida and fruit massively impacts that. You don’t need to take it out forever but if you want a flatter tummy and eat lots of fruit, you might want to change that. Women who do my Tummy ATTACK bootcamp often say they’ll never eat fruit in the same amounts again because they saw for themselves how much less bloated you can be by eating less of it and in a more clever way.
They think sit ups are the solution – You read about celebrities doing 300 sit ups before bed each night to get their washboard stomach. But the reality is that you can’t spot reduce. All the sit ups in the world won’t give you a six pack unless you focus on stripping the fat over it AND ensuring you aren’t bloated. Sit ups as part of a really good core program are absolutely fine to include but they won’t work your obliques (the sides of your abs) and your lower core (your transverse) which is where the magic happens! Doing an extra 10 minutes of Pilates a day (there are 90 minutes worth on the Tummy ATTACK on top of the 5 hours of Tummy ATTACK workouts) WILL however be a results booster!
They don’t work from the inside out – a flat tummy is an inside job. What I mean by this is most women’s excess ‘flab’ if you like isn’t actually fat but it’s an aggravated, bloated tummy that sits under the muscles and any fat women have that can often be the issue. Taking out gut aggravators (see next point), cleaning up your gut flora with pro and pre biotics, improving your nutrition and managing stress levels – stress impacts the gut in many ways (see points 5 & 6!) but if you only focus on the fat and the muscle side of things, you’re never going to get the results you want, nor will you feel fantastic too. My Tummy ATTACK clients don’t get the results they get (CLICK HERE for the fab testimonials!) without considering ALL the angles to getting a flat tummy!
They aren’t clear on the tummy bloating culprits – Your classic gut aggravators are wheat, dairy and sugar. But also fruit , night shades (tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes, aubergine, cayenne pepper and paprika and goji berries). We also have what’s called individual energy toxins – things that we have a personal reaction to. And these can also be healthy foods, I have clients who stopped eating bananas, avocados and sweetcorn and within days their tummies had completely changed shape. The rule of thumb is this… it is NOT normal to be bloated and it’s a sign that something needs to be looked at. The Tummy ATTACK bootcamp teaches women to be their own bloat detective and it’s incredible to see the changes women make by being ON their gut!
They don’t realise that stress shuts the blood supply down to the gut by about 80% – Yep when you’re stressed your body priorities muscles that need to get you away from a tiger! Which unfortunately isn’t your digestive system. The impact of this is huge for a number of reasons but the 3 top one are 1) when your blood supply is shut down you can’t digest food properly which means larger pieces of food go through your digestive tract which can make you bloated and sluggish 2) you can’t absorb your nutrients properly which means that overtime you’ll get lethargic and/or body will steal nutrients that it needs for other things in the body to cope. This can manifest in bad skin, dull hair and face 2) Your digestive tract is not able to function properly so isn’t able to get rid of excess toxins and estrogen which then stay in the body impacting hormone imbalance, mood, and excess fat storage. The Tummy ATTACK has daily emails and audios which tackle the impact of stress on women’s bodies and teaches women to really take this side of things seriously. LESS stress = a FLATTER tummy!
They haven’t heard of leaky gut syndrome – SO many women that work with me look at me with a funny face when I mention Leaky Gut.. “Leaky what?!?”. Leaky gut is caused by too many toxins being consumed (coffee, booze, sugar, processed foods etc.), too much stress which means foods aren’t digested properly and the function of the gut is impaired, so there’s a stagnation in the gut and also having too much of the wrong bacteria and an imbalanced gut flora. All of these combined mean that the gut walls can be damaged and then food and toxins in the gut can permeate through the walls and into the blood stream. All of this causes a wobbly tummy and bad skin / cell function around the middle / lower abdomen area. The Tummy ATTACK program is packed full of leaky gut advice, education and inspiration to tackle it if you think you suffer from it!
They don’t sleep enough – Sleep is one of the biggest secrets to a flat tummy for a variety of reasons. The more sleep you have the less crap you eat right? Typically lack of sleep is behind too much caffeine sugar and wheat consumption. Secondly your body repairs itself when you sleep and the more you sleep the more your body will function better. I know that when I’m tired, I feel it in my gut, my gut is tired. But after a great night’s sleep I can feel that better energy right into my core. Also the more sleep you have the more you’ll get out of your training sessions. And of course women who sleep well and better are less likely to suffer from hormone imbalance and stress. Encouraging women to sleep longer and better is a huge part of the Tummy ATTACK. I cannot stress how much sleep helps or hinders results depending on what yours is like!
The don’t know the gut soothers and helpers – From apple cider vinegar to Aloe Vera juice, pro and pre biotics, kefir and epsom salts. There is array of natural things you can add to your daily routine that means you can help your tummy out without getting your trainers on and hitting the gym! When a gut is calm and soothed, it can’t be bloated. And when you add these to a great nutrition plan and clever exercise, your lovely tummy will be having a little party of happiness and will respond you with what you want – those effortless results that so many of my Tummy ATTACK clients get!
They still want to be the smallest version of themselves – Women are so obsessed about becoming the smallest versions of themselves that they forget they can be a beautiful, strong, sculpted, shapely, healthy and happy version of themselves with a powerful and gorgeous body WITHOUT going for the extremes! The day I gave up wanting to be the smallest version of myself and focused on becoming the strongest / shapeliest version of myself, the game changed. This is what is so great about my Tummy ATTACK program – it helps women see themselves in a completely different light that’s utterly empowering 🙂
They go about change hating themselves – I hear it all the time “I hate my tummy!” and “My tummy is disgusting!” and perhaps for a few people this mindset can be a driver to create change. So another shift that women have, following my Tummy ATTACK bootcamp is the fact that they really do learnt to LOVE their tummies for all it does and all it stands for – yes stretch marks and all! When you go about change from a place of self-respect and self-care, your body will adapt much more.
If you’d like to transform your tummy and body once and for all, then come and join me on the Tummy ATTACK bootcamp – which you can start at anytime!
Get 50% off too, by joining my EXERCISE HATER TO FITNESS LOVER Facebook support group. Where I’m there to help anyone who’d like some fitness inspiration and support 🙂
In this group:
1) I will be posting what I do day in day out fitness and activity wise 7 days a week (including when I don’t want to exercise and how I get myself to and through my workouts!)
2) You’ll get daily gorgeous fitness inspiration quotes or articles to help you move with a smile on your face
3) I’ll be sharing lots of free fun workouts, fitness tips and mindset switches around fitness
4) I’ll be helping you by answering all the groups’ questions via inspirational audios, Facebook lives and videos
5) I’ll be providing you with support, inspiration and accountability so that you are not alone and feel that we’re all in this together!
Plus you’ll also get a 50% off code to use on any one of my online bootcamps including the Tummy ATTACK
This is a closed group that is now open and to join you can sign up here.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE EXERCISE HATER TO FITNESS LOVER GROUP!
And if you’d like to know the reasons behind me setting it up, especially if you dislike exercise and would like to hear how I’ve taught myself to become an exercise lover, then check out my EXERCISE HATER TO FITNESS LOVER blog!
Getting a flat tummy is completely possible and relatively effortless too, with the right approach. Don’t make these common mistakes and if I can help or you’ve got questions, please let me know!
Janey x