To develop a six pack or ripped abs we need to make a two pronged attack. Sounds drastic and painful but by this we mean we need two pillars to support our lean abs program. Engaging in the right exercise plan and also the right diet or eating plan is essential. You may be surprised however that your diet choices are by far the most important of the two pillars.
Unfortunately many people put in a huge amount of time diligently training with the best ripped abs exercises for very little results. The reason for this is usually that their diet is poor and because of this, they never manage to get their body fat low enough to reveal their abs.
We’re going to give you 8 important diet tips to help you get lean ripped abs:
1. Your diet should contain mostly food that is basically unprocessed or unrefined. Food that’s been left in it’s natural state or at least “less tampered with” by manufacturers is better. This subject is a major topic on it’s own and could fill many books. Eating the right types of fat, the healthy fats, does not make you fat. This has been well proven with many cultures that have high fat diets also having lower incidences of health and heart problems.
The healthy fats can actually assist you in losing weight. It’s the processed foods and the unnatural additives that cause weight gain and other health problems, even though they may they may show as 99% fat free on the labelling.
2. For the majority of your meals, include carbohydrates that have a lower glycemic index or GI. This will give you a more steady, and lower, blood sugar and insulin response, which is good. Steady energy levels are the best for fat burning as your food cravings are lessened. This also allows your body to better burn fat for it’s energy needs.
3. Avoid fad diets as they usually cause you to miss out on some important food group (carbs, fat or protein) that your body needs. Fad diets come and go but your body’s basic nutritional needs don’t. Include portions of lean meat, healthy fats and carbohydrates with each meal (except morning).
4. You may have heard this before, but that’s because it works. Each day eat 5 to 6 small meals of a similar size, instead of the typical 3 meals. That’s because you use more calories when you digest a meal, so your metabolism is running faster. It’s also important to eat breakfast because that gets your metabolism going in the morning.
5. Whatever you do, avoid the nasties! By that we mean stuff like high fructose corn syrup, which is found in many processed food items. Those bad trans fats and also refined oils.
6. It’s a great idea to know (plan) in advance what meals you’re going to eat for the week. The reason being that you’ll shop better at the supermarket, and you’ll leave the junk food where it belongs. Back at the store and not in your pantry to cause temptation.
7. This may sound counter-productive, but believe me it works. If you’re sticking with your calculated calorie intake for fat loss, then you should have one “overfeeding” day each week. The reason for this is that it not only boosts your metabolism, but it greatly you in the challenge of sticking with your low calorie diet for the remainder of the week.
8. Straight after your workout routine, eat some higher GI (glycemic index) carbs balanced with some protein. This combination of sugars and protein (in a ratio of about 3:1 of carbs to protein) helps you recover and replaces glycogen in your muscles. Muscle repair is then started.
So that’s a very condensed bunch of abs diet tips to help you get your abs development under way. We highly recommend you check out the “Truth about Six Pack Abs” which will give you a fully comprehensive analysis on dietary protein, carbohydrates, and fat, and how to compile all of this information into a diet that promotes a lean healthy body. It is THE most complete and honest guide to developing the ultimate set of six pack abs, or flat lean abdominals.
Richard Beale, founder of http://www.absguide.com has a passion for spreading the word on the benefits of healthy diet and fitness for all age groups. One of his goals is to help people make simple, healthy lifestyle changes, resulting in better health, increased fitness, more attractive appearance and increased confidence.
