But what if your busy schedule leaves you with no time what-so-ever to go to the gym, and you have an upcoming party where you need to look great in your trusted LBD, but your bulging paunch is giving you nightmares?

While you must try and get back to the gym as soon as you can to reduce your overall body fat percentage, there are a few ways to get flatter abs even when you are really short on time. It’s simple – rather than working hard to achieve that sexy midriff, you need to work smart! Here are a few simple tips to get flat abs in no time.

Smart Workouts

Try HIIT training; it gives you a complete workout in limited time while busting away tons of calories so you burn fat and build muscle! All you really need is 15-20 minutes to do full body exercises like push-ups, lunges, squats, pull ups, sit ups etc. The goal is to do 15 repetitions of one exercise, and then move on to the next with little or no rest in between sets. To make it more challenging, do 1 minute of skipping after every exercise and then move to the next set. You will end up burning around 500-600 calories in just 15 minutes every day.

Work Those Muscles

Now while HIIT will help you burn calories, you need to tone your abdominal muscles to get a sleek midriff. For that, work on your abs 3 times per week with exercises that target these specific muscles, like – crunches, sit ups, leg raises, planks etc. Do 20 reps and 3 sets for each. It shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes and you can make use of the commercial breaks while watching your favourite TV show!

Eat Right

Without tweaking your diet, you can exercise yourself into a coma and still see no results! The right diet for flat abs is one that is – high in fibre to prevent bloat, high in antioxidants to boost your energy, and also high in quality proteins to keep your metabolism revved up. Choose natural foods like whole grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, lean cuts of meats like turkey and chicken, oily fish, eggs and low fat dairy products.

It is very important to cut back on sodium intake to prevent bloating when you want flat abs. Rather, use herbs like parsley and basil to flavour your food; these also are great for banishing bloat.

Say Hello To Mini-Meals

To keep your metabolism revved up and your blood sugar stabilized so that you don’t start craving for processed sugary foods that tempt you in to straying from your diet, you need to eat mini-meals. Rather than 3 large meals, break up your caloric intake in to 6 to 8 mini-meals, eaten every 2 to 3 hours. The plus point is that you stay full and temptation-free, while you also keep bloat and acidity at bay.

Stay Stress-Free

Cortisol, otherwise known as the ‘Stress hormone’, can undo all your hard work and add bulk to your waistline. It can encourage weight gain, which is the last thing you need right now! When you feel a panic attack looming over your head, try deep breathing exercises to calm yourself down and think more rationally.

Forget those lose t-shirts you favour because they hide your bulging belly; with these waist-whittling tips you no longer have an excuse to not work on getting flatter abs only because you have a busy schedule. But remember, fitness is not just about looking good but it’s about feeling great as well. So meditate for 15 min daily, do your affirmations and stay aligned with your goals and desires, no matter what. Taking care of yourself is non negotiable so make the changes that you have been planning.

Need some help with workout? Checkout this awesome HIIT video!