@behoove_me - good info... I definitely forgot to mention about drinking water... regards cardio I prefer it saying HIIT (high intense interval training) which is more effective and has better after burn effect than running 30-45 mins in a treadmil on same pace... If you wanna stick to treadmil do 30-60 where you'll run for 30 secs at fastest speed you can and walk for 60 secs and do it for 6-8 sets... to challenge yourself you can incline the treadmil...

I don't do lot of crunches... i do abs twice a week and I have mixed some abs exercises from P90X and Insanity... right after abs exercise I do intense cardio for 10-15 mins... One myth people have regarding abs is doing lot of abs exercise will get rid of the belly fat which is totally wrong... to burn fat you need to do full body workout, intense cardio and eat healthy... its not like you just want to get rid of your belly so will do lot of abs exercise... if you gonna loose fat you'll be losing it from the whole body....