How To Get A Flat Stomach Part 4: Mesomorph Nutrition and Workout Guideline

Mesomorphs! Here is your how to get a flat stomach nutrition and workout guideline. The details I will discuss are similar to the how to get skinny legs nutrition and workout guideline, so check that out if you haven’t already.

Mesomorph body type is somewhat between the ectomorph and endomorph so your workouts and nutrition will be quite balanced.

Your guidelines will focus on reducing your overall body fat and building lean muscle to get a flat and toned stomach.

If you’re still a bit unsure of your body type, you can take my free Body Type Quiz that will help you learn your body type in just 2 minutes. And if your sure you’re a mesomorph, here is your flat stomach guideline :)

NUTRITION GUIDE

Diet is the most important factor when it comes to getting a flat stomach, as I have discussed in my previous article on how to get rid of belly fat. 

Diet should be your main focus when it comes to both fat loss and getting a flat stomach. With the high level of exercise you will be doing, it is important to fuel your body and eat regularly as you will be hungry.

The most important thing is not to eat too many or too little calories. You need to get that balance right! 

You should be in a slight calorie deficit, but not too much otherwise you will be too hungry and this can lead to overeating or binge eating. This will prevent overeating and also help control your insulin levels.

MACRONUTRIENTS 

Your body type does best on a balanced diet meaning you should not restrict any certain food types and should have a diet consisting of balanced carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

A good macronutrient breakdown is:

• 35-40% carbohydrates
• 30-35% protein
• 30% fat

Your food intake should be consistent so eat the same on workout days as you do on your rest days. 

SHOULD I COUNT CALORIES AND MACRONUTRIENTS

I don’t think you have to always count your calories and macros religiously (I don’t). But when you’re starting a new diet, it’s good to know your daily macros and calorie intake.

Eating too little can actually backfire in terms of weight loss. By eating too little you can damage your metabolism which will then cause your body to store fat. 

And knowing your macros is also very important. At one point I was consuming enough calories for my body type and activity level but I was still hungry all the time. I then realised it was because my fibre intake was too low.

Once I increased my fibre intake, I actually noticed a significant difference in hunger, which made me feel great. :)

So I would suggest that you calculate your daily calorie and macros intake for a week or two so you can get a good idea of how much you should be eating.

If you don’t know how to calculate your daily calorie intake, read this blog post. And if you don’t know how to calculate your macronutrients, read this blog post.

CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE 

The majority of your carbs should be consumed around breakfast and post-workout when your body needs it most. Post workout, your body is in an anabolic state and needs the carbs to replenish your body, NOT store fat.

This is the absolute best time to consume carbs, whether it be morning or night. Make sure your carbs are coming from low GI carb sources such as sweet potato and oats, rather than high GI (sugary/processed carbs).

It would also be very beneficial for you to invest in a whey protein powder. To find out more about why protein is important, especially when it comes to weight loss, read this blog post.

DAILY DIET EXAMPLE

Here is an example of a daily diet for your body type. I have based the calorie and macronutrient intakes on a female aged between 18-30 years, who weighs 62kgs and exercises at a high intensity.

If you weigh more than this or exercise vigorously, you may need to eat more than this. If you weigh less than this or exercise less, you may need to eat less than this. 

• BREAKFAST: post workout protein smoothie made with 1 scoop of protein, 1 cup of light milk, 1 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup oats
• SNACK: 200g fat-free yoghurt with 1 serve of fruit
• LUNCH: toasted sandwich with 100g shaved chicken breast, 2/5 avocado and salads
• SNACK: 2 boiled eggs
• DINNER: chicken stir fry with 1 cup of chicken, 1 cup of steamed green vegetables and 1 cup brown rice

WORKOUT GUIDELINE 

If you have extra body fat, regular cardio will be the key factor in losing overall body fat and in keeping your body from gaining fat.

Resistance training and ab exercises will help you achieve ab definition and build lean muscle.

Here are some key guidelines:

• MODERATE CARDIO 3 times per week
• RESISTANCE TRAINING 3 times per week (it can include some HIIT SESSIONS)
• HIIT 1-2 times per week
• AB EXERCISES 3 times per week
• ONE REST DAY per week

RELATED POST: HOW TO LIFT WEIGHTS WITHOUT GETTING BULKY

CARDIO

As I always like to remind you guys, you cannot really spot reduce so if you need to lose some belly fat, you need to reduce your overall body fat. And when it comes to fat loss, cardio works great.

You should aim to have 3 cardio only days. Moderate intensity cardio works best for fat loss (find out more here) so power walking and jogging are great.

You can also do some power walking after your resistance training and regular HIIT sessions.

It is beneficial to do cardio after a resistance training session because this type of training uses up your glycogen stores.

This means your body will use more fat during your cardio workout (for more information on this, check out my previous blog post on cardio).

RESISTANCE TRAINING 

Resistance training is an extremely important part of any fitness routine. 

It will help you get lean and toned. If you want to get toned, you need to build muscle and you can’t build muscle if you avoid resistance training.

If you prefer to look leaner, I highly recommend bodyweight training or doing lighter weights with a high number of reps.

I wrote a detailed blog post on why I prefer bodyweight training over weightlifting. You can read it here. 

Bodyweight training should help you achieve that lean and toned look without making you bulky. 

You may not build strength as someone who lifts heavy weights but it can still be challenging. It will also help you improve balance, coordination and core strength.

If you want to make it more challenging, I recommend using light weights and resistance bands and keeping your repetitions high.

With this type of training, you should focus more on endurance rather than strength. This will help you prevent bulking.

Here are some of my full body resistance workouts that I do regularly:

• Full body resistance workout
• Full body resistance workout for a lean body
• Full body home workout

HIIT SESSIONS

HIIT workouts (high-intensity interval training) are also great for your body type so some of your resistance training sessions can be HIIT. 

HIIT will help you burn lots of calories in a very short period for time and it will boost your metabolism.

This metabolism boost will last even hours after you’re done working out which means you’ll continue to burn calories. 

If you want to keep your legs lean without building too much muscle, avoid weighted HIIT workouts and doing lots of leg focused exercises.

If your HIIT sessions have lots of squats, lunges and burpees, your legs may bulk up.

Here are some of my favourite HIIT workouts that will help you burn lots of calories without adding bulkiness to your lower body:

• HIIT for a slim and toned body
• Full body HIIT workout that won’t add bulk
• HIIT ab workout
• 15 minute HIIT ab workout

FAT BURNING HIIT

To challenge yourself and to achieve results quicker you can do fat burning HIIT. 

HIIT and resistance training are anaerobic activities which means your body uses glycogen (carbs) as the main fuel source, not fat. 

Cardio is an aerobic activity, which means your body uses glycogen (carbs) and fat as the main fuel source.

Note that HIIT and resistance training typically do not burn fat. But you can make HIIT a fat burning activity. 

My favourite type of fat burning HIIT is interval running. To learn what interval running is and how to do it, read this blog post. 

Interval running is an amazing workout that can help your body burn more fat and increase your fitness levels.

For some mesomorphs, it works great but for others, it may cause unwanted bulkiness.

If you tend to bulk up easily in your lower body and you prefer that your legs stay lean, while you’re working on your abs, I would advise you to skip it.

AB EXERCISES 

Once you have started to reduce your overall body fat, ab exercises will help you see ab definition.

Your abs are made up of four main muscles and in order to get great abs, you will need to work all of these muscles.

Remember that you won’t be able to see your ab definition until you have reached a certain body fat percentage. So your key goal should be fat loss!

And here are some of my favourite ab workouts that will engage all your abdominal muscles:

• My ab workout
• Favourite ab workout
• Lower ab workout – Gym based
• Lower ab workout – No gym required
• Oblique ab workout for women
• Oblique ab workout – Home based

REST

You MUST have at least one rest day. Everyone needs to have at least one rest day to allow your body to recover. It will help prevent overtraining and injury.

Keep in mind that you don’t get fitter and stronger during your workout, this happens afterwards during recovery.

You may notice muscle definition and strength before you notice significant fat loss. This is OK, however, make sure you’re keeping up with the cardio to reduce your body fat.

Remember that these are a guide only, and everyone’s bodies will be different and respond differently to exercise.

If I have suggested something that doesn’t seem to be working for you, then change it! If you’re gaining more muscle than you would like, then reduce your resistance training and increase your cardio.

It’s your body, so do what makes you look and feel your best! Overall though, I hope that I have been able to provide some information to help.

Ectomorphs, your how to get a flat stomach nutrition and workout guideline is ready! Go and give it a read to find out how to get those abs :)

MY PROGRAM

I should also mention my 3 Steps To Lean Legs Program. I designed it for women who want to get lean and toned body but without getting bulky legs in the process.

My program will help you lose overall body fat and build lean muscles without making you bulky.

And as you guys know, if you want to get a flat stomach doing just tons of abs workout won’t help you. You need to do cardio, resistance training and you need to eat right!

My program contains an 8-week workout that combines cardio, resistance training and HIIT specifically for your body type.

It also has a complete nutrition plan for each of the three body types. This way, you can be sure you’re eating a healthy diet that will help you achieve your fitness goals easier and faster.

Also, the resistance training part of my program now has FULL-LENGTH videos that you can follow from warm up to cool down.

To find out more about my 3 Steps to Lean Legs Program click the link below:

https://www.rachaelattard.com/skinny-legs-ebook/

To find out more about my FULL-LENGTH VIDEOS, follow this link: 

https://www.rachaelattard.com/lean-legs-video-course/

Love Rachael xx