What food am I suppose to eat?

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I really want a flat belly, not necessarily abs but just flat. i weigh around 130 now and im 27 and I just have no clue what to eat. I have been eating lean cuisines, bananas, strawberries, turkey hot dogs, and turkey sandwhiches with mayo and lettuce. I know people say you have to eat fruits and veggies but I want a meal, I don't want to just eat slices of green pepper or a cucumber, I want an actualy meal and I have no idea where to start and don't want to rely on lean cuisine. Plus I have no idea what kind of workout I should be doing to get my stomach flatter. I do zumba a couple times a week but that is all. No idea what workout I should do for flat stomach and I heard crunches really don't do anything. Please help with any advice.

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  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Doesn't matter what you eat. As long as you create a caloric deficit, you will lose weight.

    Exercises won't make you have a flat stomach. You need to lift heavy, and eat in a deficit.

  • Monklady123
    Monklady123 Posts: 512 Member
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    Crunches won't make your stomach flat but they will help tone up the muscles. And toned muscles stay "in place" more, don't jiggle, etc. lol. Although, according to a friend of mine who's an exercise trainer, many of us do crunches wrong. Many people sort of lurch their body up on each crunch, but my friend said we should be slowly and carefully pulling up and just part way, then slowly lowering our body back down not just "flopping" back to the floor.

    I tend more to the "lurch and flop" method because I'm so out of shape so I'm going to try her way even if I can only do two or three to start.

  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    Doesn't matter what you eat. As long as you create a caloric deficit, you will lose weight.

    Exercises won't make you have a flat stomach. You need to lift heavy, and eat in a deficit.

    This and patience. Visible abs take a while to show and by a while I don't mean a month or two.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    eat whatever you want.

    calorie deficit will help you lose weight, if thats your issue.

    lifting weights and eating a high protein diet (no calorie deficit) will build muscle.

    it takes a LONG time to achieve either goal.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    lean cuisines and pre-packed frozen meals are loaded with sodium, which isn't so good.

    go to budgetbytes.com you can make anything on there.

    but you need to be paitent, this takes months, if not longer, to achieve.
  • PorkyPies
    PorkyPies Posts: 2 Member
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    A good idea for meals is a magazine called "Cooking Light". I'm sort of stunned that no-one has taught you how to prepare healthy, nourishing food - LC are gross (and boring) and don't even get me started on turkey dogs. You can still prepare a proper meal within the confines of a diet to achieve a flat stomach.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    PorkyPies wrote: »
    A good idea for meals is a magazine called "Cooking Light". I'm sort of stunned that no-one has taught you how to prepare healthy, nourishing food - LC are gross (and boring) and don't even get me started on turkey dogs. You can still prepare a proper meal within the confines of a diet to achieve a flat stomach.

    I like (some) Lean Cuisines and turkey dogs. Lean Cuisines are usually about 25% of your daily sodium. I can make that fit in my day.

    You can eat anything you want as long as the calories you consume in a day are less than the calories you burn. Try sparkrecipes.com if you want to try and cook some meals.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I will assume you have the word deficit is beat into your head by now. You can have some really tasty food if you shop in the produce isle. I like to roast veggies in a pan with a touch of olive oil. Any steak, chicken or fish pan seared or grilled is lean and tastes great. You need to drop the lean cuisine, mayo, processed meats and cut back on bread, pasta, potatoes. Kick it up on the exercise because you can't target loss and usually the place you want it off the most is where you put it on first / take it off last.

    Edit: I really like to run and do 16 minutes of planks daily help strengthen my core, Just in case I lose the fat Abs will be there.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    rsclause wrote: »
    I will assume you have the word deficit is beat into your head by now. You can have some really tasty food if you shop in the produce isle. I like to roast veggies in a pan with a touch of olive oil. Any steak, chicken or fish pan seared or grilled is lean and tastes great. You need to drop the lean cuisine, mayo, processed meats and cut back on bread, pasta, potatoes. Kick it up on the exercise because you can't target loss and usually the place you want it off the most is where you put it on first / take it off last.

    No. You don't.
  • RedVonMunster
    RedVonMunster Posts: 18 Member
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    You can't spot reduce, sit ups, crunches, etc won't give you a flat belly. You need to lose fat and that's all about fuel intake and energy output.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,919 Member
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    Since I don't want to suffer while losing weight, I make sure I eat foods that will satisfy me and not lead to craving my problem foods.

    http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html

    Tips on how to feel fuller

    So how can we best try to enhance these feelings of fullness to help us control how much we eat? Here are some top tips for helping you feel fuller:
    1. Foods high in protein seem to make us feel fuller than foods high in fat or carbohydrate, so including some protein at every meal should help keep you satisfied. Foods high in protein include meats such as chicken, ham or beef, fish, eggs, beans and pulses.
    2. If you are watching your weight, opt for lower fat versions, using leaner cuts of meat, cutting off visible fat and avoiding the skin on poultry as this will help reduce the energy density of the diet, which can help to enhance satiety (see below).
    3. Foods that are high in fibre may also enhance feelings of fullness so try to include plenty of high-fibre foods in the diet such as wholegrain bread and cereals, beans and pulses and fruit and vegetables.
    4. Alcohol seems to stimulate appetite in the short-term and therefore drinking alcohol is likely to encourage us to eat more. Alcoholic beverages can make you forget about your intentions to eat healthily by making you lose your inhibitions. Alcoholic drinks are also calorific, so you should cut down on alcohol consumption if you are trying to control your weight.
    5. The ‘energy density’ of food has a strong influence on feelings of fullness or satiety. Energy density is the amount of energy (or calories) per gram of food. Lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food so you can eat more of them without consuming too many calories. Low energy density foods include fruit and vegetables, foods with lots of water added when cooking such as soups and stews, and lower fat foods. Click here for more information on energy density.
  • harpsdesire
    harpsdesire Posts: 190 Member
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    I tend more to the "lurch and flop" method because I'm so out of shape so I'm going to try her way even if I can only do two or three to start.

    This sounds like me, too! >_< Thanks for the useful and quite entertaining info!