How can I improve my abs through diet?
To allow you obliques and stomach muscles to emerge you should avoid eating big fatty meals. The first thing is lower your calories. No chocolate, fried food or cake. For a beginner I recommend around three to four meals a day and you should always combine carbs with protein.

How can I target my obliques with exercise?
Every ab exercise also works your obliques, especially if you side twist at the end of each movement. Try to train your abs and obliques three times a week. Warm up with sit ups, around 30 reps. Then lie on your side and do 15 to 20 side crunches each side on a Swiss ball. Try to hold it at the top for one or two seconds and keep your back straight and controlled moving slowly up and down. Then on the ab machine you can train with a weight, doing no more than one set of 20 reps for three or four different exercises until you feel the burn.

I’m trying to get trim for the beach and get a flat stomach. Should I do cardio?
Absolutely. Do cardio two to three time as week for at least 20 minutes and get yourself working between 60% to 80% of your max heart rate. In this zone you’ll be sweating but still able to talk. If you keep on eating your healthy, low fat food thee to four times a day you will not lose muscle. You’ll look great and will have lots more energy to enjoy your life.