1 Eat well. Before you start thinking of tightening your abs, you’ve got to work on shedding the fat above them. One of most important ways to do this is to make sure you keep a healthy diet. You don’t have to count calories, but you should focus on eating three healthy meals a day and cutting down on the fatty foods you eat. Here’s how to do it:^[1].Replace the foods you eat that are high in fat and sugar, like fast food, ice cream, or buttery foods, with healthier foods, like frozen yogurt, grilled chicken, and fruits.

If you’re not burning enough fat by eating three healthy meals a day, try eating 4-5 smaller meals a day to speed up your metabolism.

Don’t skip meals. This will make you feel unbalanced and much more likely to binge eat.

Tone down your alcohol intake. Alcohol slows down your metabolism and makes it harder for you to burn fat.

2 Get cardiovascular exercise. Another important part of shedding tummy fat is regular cardiovascular exercise. Anything that speeds up your heart rate and gives you a workout will make you shed some of that tummy fat. This doesn’t mean you have to run everyday—if running isn’t your thing, you can try walking, dancing, cycling, or swimming.

You can also go for long fast-paced walks, climb stairs, go hiking, or even do circuit training at your local gym.

Hula hooping or jump roping are other great ways to get some cardiovascular exercise.

Jumping jacks are another great way to speed up your heart rate.