exercises for stomach/belly fat

Just eat a calorie deficit and workout. No matter how many crunches and situps you do, it would never target your belly fat. Abs = low body fat, if you want to get rid of your belly fat and eventually see your abs, you need less than 10-12% body fat.

OP is a woman, so she should be able to see abs at 15%, women should not go lower than 10-13% as that is the amount of essential fat, men's essential fat is only 3-5%.

wahhhh thats not fair

But this also means that you can have a 6 pack with a higher amount of fat then a guy. A guy with 15%BF will look less lean than a woman at 15%.

If it's your muscles you want to work planks are great. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you are working work back too, not just your "abs". Also, if you've had children you should check to make sure you don't have Diastasis recti, aka abdominal separation, some exercises will make it worse & cause further damage.

I will say my piece and then probably get slaughtered by the "calories in = calories out" people

What you choose to put in your mouth first and foremost...Google "fructose carbs and belly fat" - read and make your own conclusions... *please note all the people who think i am saying carbs and sugars are bad - I am NOT saying that...I am merely pointing out that this has been proven by a number of studies and well respected doctors and the overabundance of those two items in one's diet can cause belly fat ...(and in this day and age many people have an overabundance of these items in their everyday eating habits - if you have a well balanced diet and calories in = calories out works for you - wonderful don't change a thing).

Exercises to your core will help strengthen the muscles underneath

If it's your muscles you want to work planks are great. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you are working work back too, not just your "abs". Also, if you've had children you should check to make sure you don't have Diastasis recti, aka abdominal separation, some exercises will make it worse & cause further damage.

Exactly the points I was going to make!! Planks, Pilates and/or yoga with proper form -- these balance the abs work with back exercises.

And as you already noticed, proper posture makes a belly flatter / protrude less.

I will say my piece and then probably get slaughtered by the "calories in = calories out" people

What you choose to put in your mouth first and foremost...Google "fructose carbs and belly fat" - read and make your own conclusions... *please note all the people who think i am saying carbs and sugars are bad - I am NOT saying that...I am merely pointing out that this has been proven by a number of studies and well respected doctors and the overabundance of those two items in one's diet can cause belly fat ...(and in this day and age many people have an overabundance of these items in their everyday eating habits - if you have a well balanced diet and calories in = calories out works for you - wonderful don't change a thing).

Exercises to your core will help strengthen the muscles underneath

No slaughter becuse I agree with most of what you said. The part I'm not on board with is the direct fructose and belly fat correlation. There are studies that say yes it does and those that say no it doesn't and when you google it that's what you get. I am not a straight calories in/ calories out advocate. I think simple sugars and carbs are to be avoided and minimized and have negative health effects overall. But just like there is no way to spot lose, I don't think there is a way to spot gain. In the larger view, many people ahve lsot weight and improved heatlh without eliminating these items. For my, I chose to eliminate them as they cause cravings and insulin resistance IN ME. I'm sure they do in many others also or a strategy of cutting them wouldn't be reported as beneficial as often as it is.

I do believe in keeping carbs complex and fibrous and at levels at or lower than 150 grams per day for the above stated reasons. Then I am more able to reduce intake to a level that I lose weight. So, I do think there are ways to adjust macros and gravitate toward certain kinds of foods that are more dense nutritionally and away from those that aren't. I think the whole twinkie diet hypothesis and that you can eat whatever you want as long as you are in a deficit is a sementical debate that serves no real practical purpose. But conversely I don't believe in a "just eat this" or jsut eliminate this" approach. Eat whole nutritious foods in appropriate amounts and exercise to etiher maintain or at a deficit to lose.

Bottom line for me is that I don't beleive there is a way to spot reduce or spot gain. If you are not active enough and you eat too many calories of all kinds, you'll gain. If you workout and control calories, you'll lose.

Just eat a calorie deficit and workout. No matter how many crunches and situps you do, it would never target your belly fat. Abs = low body fat, if you want to get rid of your belly fat and eventually see your abs, you need less than 10-12% body fat.

OP is a woman, so she should be able to see abs at 15%, women should not go lower than 10-13% as that is the amount of essential fat, men's essential fat is only 3-5%.

I think you can see some definition before 15%. I am nowhere near 15%, but you can see some definition on my abs.

I found full body exercises (burpees,etc), plyometrics (squat jumps, tuck jumps, etc) and strength training to be the best at losing the fat.