How to get a flat stomach?

Clean eating, calorie deficit, weight training and any form of HIIT should all help

Zig zagging your diet will be key here.
Full blown deficit triggers leptin levels to drop and in a lean person that means the fat stays.
Figure out your TDEE for the week.
Figure out what +20% of your TDEE is and what -20% of TDEE is.

On lifting days youll eat above TDEE but for only 3 days a week.
On rest days or Active rest days, walking only or HIIT, you eat -20% TDEE.

This keeps leptin at a good place throughout the week and allows the fat to burn off more.

Something else you can try.....

www.leangains.com

Read this entire website.

wow, learn something new everyday I log on here! I've just got to grips with the idea that I should eat below my TDEE and above my BMR and now I learn I might lose more belly fat (and I do have handfuls of fat that I can grab in that area, so it is something I am keen to lose!) if I eat above my TDEE on lifting days.

I have a couple of questions if I may. I do a little strength training. I'm not sure it's what you'd call lifting days. My strength/lifting routine consists of planks and side planks, superman, bicep and tricep work, squats and lunges. Everything except the bi and tricep work is just with my body weight (204lbs, and that's a challenge!), for the arm work I use 4kg dumbells. I usually do 3 sets of planks and superman, then go do 5 mintues interval training on a cardio machine, the arm work, followed by another 5 mins of interval training, and then the leg work and another 5 minutes of cardio. How would I eat around my TDEE if I mix in both cardio and lifting on the same day (the lifting seems to have the same cardio effect as I am puffing and sweating through the sets!)? Doing both on the same day means I can't do a day of +20% of my TDEE followed by a day of -20%.

Second question, would I be better off doing interval training and lifting on alternate days? If it affects the answer, at the moment I am not lifting so heavy that I suffer with DOMS too badly and haven't struggled to do my strength routine five days a week, back to back. I am due an update from my trainer at the gym next week and she did say that I could do a day of each if I preferred.

Zig zagging your diet will be key here.
Full blown deficit triggers leptin levels to drop and in a lean person that means the fat stays.
Figure out your TDEE for the week.
Figure out what +20% of your TDEE is and what -20% of TDEE is.

On lifting days youll eat above TDEE but for only 3 days a week.
On rest days or Active rest days, walking only or HIIT, you eat -20% TDEE.

This keeps leptin at a good place throughout the week and allows the fat to burn off more.

Something else you can try.....

www.leangains.com

Read this entire website.

wow, learn something new everyday I log on here! I've just got to grips with the idea that I should eat below my TDEE and above my BMR and now I learn I might lose more belly fat (and I do have handfuls of fat that I can grab in that area, so it is something I am keen to lose!) if I eat above my TDEE on lifting days.

I have a couple of questions if I may. I do a little strength training. I'm not sure it's what you'd call lifting days. My strength/lifting routine consists of planks and side planks, superman, bicep and tricep work, squats and lunges. Everything except the bi and tricep work is just with my body weight (204lbs, and that's a challenge!), for the arm work I use 4kg dumbells. I usually do 3 sets of planks and superman, then go do 5 mintues interval training on a cardio machine, the arm work, followed by another 5 mins of interval training, and then the leg work and another 5 minutes of cardio. How would I eat around my TDEE if I mix in both cardio and lifting on the same day (the lifting seems to have the same cardio effect as I am puffing and sweating through the sets!)? Doing both on the same day means I can't do a day of +20% of my TDEE followed by a day of -20%.

Second question, would I be better off doing interval training and lifting on alternate days? If it affects the answer, at the moment I am not lifting so heavy that I suffer with DOMS too badly and haven't struggled to do my strength routine five days a week, back to back. I am due an update from my trainer at the gym next week and she did say that I could do a day of each if I preferred.

bump

How many reps do you do with each exercise?

EDIT: to add:

the +20%/-20% is really for those who are eating near their maintenance. If you still have some weight loss to go you need to be at a deficit for the week.

Zig zagging your diet will be key here.
Full blown deficit triggers leptin levels to drop and in a lean person that means the fat stays.
Figure out your TDEE for the week.
Figure out what +20% of your TDEE is and what -20% of TDEE is.

On lifting days youll eat above TDEE but for only 3 days a week.
On rest days or Active rest days, walking only or HIIT, you eat -20% TDEE.

This keeps leptin at a good place throughout the week and allows the fat to burn off more.

Something else you can try.....

www.leangains.com

Read this entire website.

wow, learn something new everyday I log on here! I've just got to grips with the idea that I should eat below my TDEE and above my BMR and now I learn I might lose more belly fat (and I do have handfuls of fat that I can grab in that area, so it is something I am keen to lose!) if I eat above my TDEE on lifting days.

I have a couple of questions if I may. I do a little strength training. I'm not sure it's what you'd call lifting days. My strength/lifting routine consists of planks and side planks, superman, bicep and tricep work, squats and lunges. Everything except the bi and tricep work is just with my body weight (204lbs, and that's a challenge!), for the arm work I use 4kg dumbells. I usually do 3 sets of planks and superman, then go do 5 mintues interval training on a cardio machine, the arm work, followed by another 5 mins of interval training, and then the leg work and another 5 minutes of cardio. How would I eat around my TDEE if I mix in both cardio and lifting on the same day (the lifting seems to have the same cardio effect as I am puffing and sweating through the sets!)? Doing both on the same day means I can't do a day of +20% of my TDEE followed by a day of -20%.

Second question, would I be better off doing interval training and lifting on alternate days? If it affects the answer, at the moment I am not lifting so heavy that I suffer with DOMS too badly and haven't struggled to do my strength routine five days a week, back to back. I am due an update from my trainer at the gym next week and she did say that I could do a day of each if I preferred.

bump

How many reps do you do with each exercise?

EDIT: to add:

the +20%/-20% is really for those who are eating near their maintenance. If you still have some weight loss to go you need to be at a deficit for the week.

ah that's cool, I wasn't comfortable with adding 20% more. Thanks for clarifying.

I have been doing 12 reps of everything, and 20 seconds of superman, plank and sideplank (I can now do almost 60 secs with a plank, really pleased with that as I could hardly do anything 3 months ago!). I expect when I see my trainer for my monthly update on Tuesday she will change it all up again though.

A lot of trainers at gyms have high reps as they tend to do more endurance/circuit type of routines - these are all good for endurance and a higher 'burn' during a workout, but you should make sure you include lower reps/higher weights in your routine to build muscle.