This year, you may have one fitness goal in mind: to add daily habits for a flatter stomach to your routine. Trimming your middle and getting into shape is a necessary step to take in order to improve your overall health. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, a large belly is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and certain forms of cancer. Dropping those extra pounds will help you sleep better, boost how your blood vessels function, and make you feel all-around better.

If you want a flat stomach, then you need to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. This means establishing a regular cardio and strength routine you’ll stick to. However, kickstarting a fitness regimen can seem daunting because you may feel like you have to do so much. Luckily, you don’t need to go all in 100% on a full program. Simply start off by adding some seamless habits to your daily routine.

When you get consistent with your habits, they stack up and will help you in your journey to achieving a lean midsection. Keep reading to learn all about these easy yet effective everyday habits for a flatter stomach. And next, don’t miss 7 Best Belly Fat Loss Tips for Women Over 40, Experts Say.

Get in daily walks.

mature woman on nature walk, demonstrating daily habits for a flatter stomachmature woman on nature walk, demonstrating daily habits for a flatter stomach
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Soak up the benefits of going on a good old-fashioned walk! Lacing up your sneakers and hitting the pavement for some cardio may not seem like much, but getting in daily steps plays an important role in achieving a flatter stomach.

Walking helps increase your metabolism, burn off calories, and relieve stress. Plus, according to the Mayo Clinic, by adding just a half hour of walking at a brisk pace to your day, you can torch around 150 additional calories. The faster you walk and the greater the distance, the greater number of calories you’ll torch.

Due to a modern, more sedentary lifestyle, many individuals don’t get enough steps. If you haven’t been getting in regular walks, start with a goal of 6k, working your way up to 10.

Eat lean protein with each meal.

Just like getting in your daily steps, adding lean protein to every meal is not a question—it’s a necessity to trim your middle. Eating enough protein helps keep your metabolism up, makes you feel full for a longer period of time, and helps you maintain your lean muscle mass.

With each of your meals, make sure to eat at least one serving size of protein (palm size for women, two palm sizes for men). According to Medical News Today, great sources of protein to aid in your weight loss efforts include salmon, halibut, tuna, eggs, legumes, oats, hemp seeds, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, almonds, nut butters, and more.

RELATED: 5 Best Foods To Eat Every Day To Burn Belly Fat, Dietitian Says

Eat vegetables with each meal.

salad with chickpeas, avocado, vegetables, and limesalad with chickpeas, avocado, vegetables, and lime
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Along with protein, you should also have vegetables with each meal. Veggies will fill you up and give you nutrients to help you maintain a good healthy gut. Research even shows that bumping up your veggie intake could help you lose weight. Plus, the phytochemicals in vegetables may lower your chances of developing diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and certain forms of cancer, according to Stanford Medicine.

Drink more water.

There’s solid science that links drinking water with weight loss, according to Hub At Work, Johns Hopkins University. Research indicates that revving up your hydration helps your body work more productively at torching excess fat. Drinking water can also kick up your metabolism, keep hunger levels at bay, and improve your workout experience.

RELATED: 5 Little Things You Can Do Every Day To Lose a Lot of Weight

Get enough good sleep.

happy man sleeping in his clean homehappy man sleeping in his clean home
Shutterstock

One part of your day-to-day that may need more TLC is sleep. When you don’t reap the benefits of getting enough solid sleep, it impacts you both physically and hormonally. Sleep deprivation can throw your hormones out of whack and lead to craving certain unhealthy foods. If you’re trying to maximize your health and your weight loss efforts, aim for a minimum of seven good hours of Z’s every night.

Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.

Tim Liu, CSCS, is an online fitness and nutrition coach based in Los Angeles Read more about Tim

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