First, there is the necessity to tone or harden the muscles that make up the abs. Second, you need to eliminate as much of the body fat covering the ab muscles as possible. You do not eliminate abdominal body fat with abdominal exercises. You eliminate excess torso fat with a proper eating plan. The first change most people need to make is to increase their daily intake of protein.
Protein is the key food fuel in eliminating body fat.
Those looking to shed body fat should increase their protein to be a bare minimum of one-third their total calories. You may need to substitute a good protein powder for breakfast or lunch. That will depend on how you commonly eat. Secondly , most people find that they need to limit their carbohydrates. Everyone who has ever achieved stage quality abs knows that the lower the carbs , the faster those great abs are attained.