The best workout for flat abs isn’t about spending grueling hours at a gym; there are strategies you can do at home to get into shape.

It all starts with what you eat. Yes, you’ve heard it all before — but that’s because it’s true! We eat too much and move too little. To lose that rounded belly, we need to burn fat and build muscle. The best way to do that is to simply eat less and move more so that we start to burn more calories than we eat each day.

To begin your flat abs workout you need to take control of your diet. Eating 5 or 6 smaller meals a day helps you to avoid feeling hungry and keeps your metabolism working hard. Protein builds muscle, so a diet that includes plenty of lean protein is good for your flat belly. Eat chicken (no skin), canned or fresh fish, beans and lentils, nuts and no-fat dairy.

Balance is important in a healthy diet, so get your carbohydrates from fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, dried beans, nuts and non-fat dairy. Drink lots of water; snack on fruit smoothies, nuts and fruit; get enough sleep and avoid fried, fatty, fast and highly processed foods.

You need to start getting active to burn extra calories and fat. Make a decision to have 30 minutes of activity every day, but make 5 of these cardio sessions. Increased heart rate and breathing is what makes a cardio session, and you need to maintain this for 20 minutes, allowing time for a warm up and cool down. Cardio exercise burns extra fat and calories and builds muscle. What’s more, it makes you feel good!

When you are ready to move on to strength training, you focus on the muscles of the torso, also called the core. Here, you are preparing your muscles for harder exercises, improving your balance and coordination. It is important to warm up before strength training and cool down after, with a light walk or jog and some stretches.

Strength exercises can be using machines at a gym, but you can also use your own body weight as the resistance in strengthening exercises like The Plank, The Side Plank and Oblique Crunches. Research online and you will find lots of different abs strengthening exercises that don’t require specific equipment, but will be a great part of your best workout for flat abs.