Abs Diet: Get a 6 pack in 6 weeks

[Mike86]

Has anyone else tried this diet with success? I have lost 20lbs on this diet in the last month. So for me its the only diet that works. Best of all I don't have to take pills or spend two hours in the gym.

 

Anyway I was wondering if this diet works as well for others as it has for me. I know everyone's body / metabolism works slightly differently and what works for me might not work for you.

[Dexter Morgan]

Has anyone else tried this diet with success? I have lost 20lbs on this diet in the last month. So for me its the only diet that works. Best of all I don't have to take pills or spend two hours in the gym.

 

Anyway I was wondering if this diet works as well for others as it has for me. I know everyone's body / metabolism works slightly differently and what works for me might not work for you.

 

Yup, I have the book. Its great. But it really doesn't work with some of the things they say you can eat.

 

Like almonds...A small handfull is almost 200 calories and loaded with fat. And the protein content you get with them is small...compared to 1 cup of cottage cheese at 180 calories and a whopping 26grams of protein.

 

I like the smoothies too.

 

But this diet doesn't do much for you if you don't pump the iron. Its all about building muscle so that the added muscle burns more calories while at rest.

[Soul-Searcher]

What is this diet? I am a girl so I don't want an obvious six pack, just to lose weight around my stomach.

[Mike86]

There is an abs diet book for women. The diet can help you get a six-pack but you don't have to go that far if you don't want to. It mostly gives you the ability.

 

I always take a quick look over the power foods listed in the book before going grocery shopping.

[Soul-Searcher]

I have never had a problem with my stomach until last year. I used to have a very muscly stomach, but that has gone out the window.

 

What is this book called?

[xpaperxcutx]

I have never had a problem with my stomach until last year. I used to have a very muscly stomach, but that has gone out the window.

 

What is this book called?

 

The Abs Diet for Women. I found it once at my local library and gave it a read. It mostly focus on nutrition but also gives you step by step exercises to follow with pics attach.

 

I thought it was an interesting read but I didn't follow the diet simply because most of the nutrition consisted of food that I don't really eat.

[EddieN]

I have a tip for all you guys - there's no secret to getting good abs or any defined part of the body. Any one who can write an entire book on something like this is going to be spewing a lot of bull****.

 

How to get good abs? Most important thing to do is burn body fat. That's the hard part. The easy part is actually doing ab exercises, but all the crunches in the world aren't going to make your define if you have too much stomach fat.

 

I don't have a six pack like body builders, but I'm pretty damn define if I do say so myself. I did this by burning my overall body fat. Here is how I burn fat:

 

-Heavy lifts 3 times a week, every other day. Also combine ~30 minutes of high heart rate cardio. The more muscle you have, the more energy your body needs, so it's going to use some of your stored fat to compensate for your extra muscle mass. Also, make sure to exercise every muscle in your body at some point in the week. If you add just a bit more muscle tissue in a place where you normally wouldn't exercise, then you will put on that much more muscle mass.

-In between the lifts, at least an hour of hard cardio. One day a week I like to do a 30 minutes of 3 exercises - running, swimming, and rowing. Sometimes I throw biking in there too. Vary your cardio exercises - it's more efficient. Don't just run every day.

-Whey protein. Best thing you can have after lifts. The stuff is packed with protein and has minimal fat. If you start making protein shakes with 150-200 calories of whey per shake, you're going to notice that you get much stronger in just a few weeks.

-Eat something at least every 2 hours. The more you spread out your food ingestion throughout the day, the more efficient your metabolism is. There were times when I could only eat 2 meals a day - 10 am brunch and 6 pm dinner. This was during training weeks when we'd have morning and afternoon practices. Despite all my exercise, I hardly noticed a change in my body fat. This is because at breakfast I would eat a ton, have a lot of food wasted, have my metabolism practically stop until 6 pm when I'd load up again. Now I eat cereal at 7 am, a yogurt at 8 am, some toast and jam 10 am, sandwich at 12, nature valley bar at 1-2 pm, workout for 2-3 hours, have 200 calories of whey at around 4 pm, eat dinner at 6-7 pm, usually do a second small cardio workout, and then have <100 calories of whey or a small snack. It's working out great for me.

 

Personally, I'm more into function than looks. My goal is not to LOOK good, but rather to be able to do more with my body. Being able to run a mile a few seconds faster is a lot more important to me than looking good. However, in my sport, every pound matters, so every pound of body fat is a pound of extra weight. That's how I learned to cut down on body fat and up my muscle.

[xpaperxcutx]

I have a tip for all you guys - there's no secret to getting good abs or any defined part of the body. Any one who can write an entire book on something like this is going to be spewing a lot of bull****.

 

How to get good abs? Most important thing to do is burn body fat. That's the hard part. The easy part is actually doing ab exercises, but all the crunches in the world aren't going to make your define if you have too much stomach fat.

 

I don't have a six pack like body builders, but I'm pretty damn define if I do say so myself. I did this by burning my overall body fat. Here is how I burn fat:

 

-Heavy lifts 3 times a week, every other day. Also combine ~30 minutes of high heart rate cardio. The more muscle you have, the more energy your body needs, so it's going to use some of your stored fat to compensate for your extra muscle mass. Also, make sure to exercise every muscle in your body at some point in the week. If you add just a bit more muscle tissue in a place where you normally wouldn't exercise, then you will put on that much more muscle mass.

-In between the lifts, at least an hour of hard cardio. One day a week I like to do a 30 minutes of 3 exercises - running, swimming, and rowing. Sometimes I throw biking in there too. Vary your cardio exercises - it's more efficient. Don't just run every day.

-Whey protein. Best thing you can have after lifts. The stuff is packed with protein and has minimal fat. If you start making protein shakes with 150-200 calories of whey per shake, you're going to notice that you get much stronger in just a few weeks.

-Eat something at least every 2 hours. The more you spread out your food ingestion throughout the day, the more efficient your metabolism is. There were times when I could only eat 2 meals a day - 10 am brunch and 6 pm dinner. This was during training weeks when we'd have morning and afternoon practices. Despite all my exercise, I hardly noticed a change in my body fat. This is because at breakfast I would eat a ton, have a lot of food wasted, have my metabolism practically stop until 6 pm when I'd load up again. Now I eat cereal at 7 am, a yogurt at 8 am, some toast and jam 10 am, sandwich at 12, nature valley bar at 1-2 pm, workout for 2-3 hours, have 200 calories of whey at around 4 pm, eat dinner at 6-7 pm, usually do a second small cardio workout, and then have <100 calories of whey or a small snack. It's working out great for me.

 

Personally, I'm more into function than looks. My goal is not to LOOK good, but rather to be able to do more with my body. Being able to run a mile a few seconds faster is a lot more important to me than looking good. However, in my sport, every pound matters, so every pound of body fat is a pound of extra weight. That's how I learned to cut down on body fat and up my muscle.

 

But see, most of these plans are for Men to cut their fat preserves, and might not be 100% appropriate for women.

 

I do have several questions.

 

How do you combine cardio and weight training if there's a chance that cardio might burn lean muscle mass? Should you do cardio first and then work on weights to build back the muscle?

 

Isn't whey protein a little strong? They do have the benefits of building muscle mass in general, but how well do they actually play on lean muscles?

 

These are are from a woman's perspective. Most women would want to look lean and toned as oppose to buff. If you have any insights let me know.

[EddieN]

But see, most of these plans are for Men to cut their fat preserves, and might not be 100% appropriate for women.

 

I do have several questions.

 

How do you combine cardio and weight training if there's a chance that cardio might burn lean muscle mass? Should you do cardio first and then work on weights to build back the muscle?

 

Isn't whey protein a little strong? They do have the benefits of building muscle mass in general, but how well do they actually play on lean muscles?

 

These are are from a woman's perspective. Most women would want to look lean and toned as oppose to buff. If you have any insights let me know.

 

I'm not an expert at any of this...I just know what works for me. I can't imagine it's that's much different for women though, just maybe a bit less weight training and more cardio. Maybe focus on weight training in the legs so you can put on a bit of muscle but look hardly more buff, if that's what you're concerned about. Hip abduction/adduction are good exercises, as you never really work those muscles and you can really add some muscle there. It's one of the few machines I see women frequently use in the gym. Never really see men use it besides me...I think they're self-conscious about spreading their legs out...really.

 

Anyway, to answer your other questions - yes, due cardio first. Even though you burn a small portion of muscle, you have to realize that you're going to gain a lot more from lifting AND from exercising your muscles during cardio. Best cardio machine to use, IMO, is the ergometer (rowing machine). You have to learn the right technique or else it will be ineffective, but it works out your legs, abs, back, chest, and arms...pretty much your whole body. It burns fat like a mo'fo and builds muscle in all those different parts. If you use it right then it WILL suck and you will get mad tired pretty quickly, but keep on going! It's good for you.

 

Whey might be too much if you don't want to put on a lot of muscle. Then again, you can just use smaller doses of it after each workout. No idea if women use it though.

 

The diet thing I said still can be applied to women, where you spread out your meals.

[lovestruck818]

To have a 6-pack a person needs 12% of body fat or less. That is virtually impossible. A very small percentage of the population actually have 6-packs...and it's even harder to obtain for a woman than it is for a man. Normal BMI is 19%. I currently have 17%...I just don't see how people can really be that thin (12% BMI) and be able to survive. You need body fat to live!

[2sure]

Read the book, did the diet. Actually, I read a lot of diet books and find that just about any work for me. I lose interest in the recipes, etc. This one put me on target as far as the exercise program and I have since found that the exercise alone while eating reasonably has improved my body and probably my health. I still use diet/nutrition books for info and recipes and kick starts but find that for me - its all about the exercise.

[norajane]

You can't spot reduce. Cardio and building muscles will burn fat all over your body, according to the way your body naturally stores fat. For women, that's hips, thighs, ass, belly, breasts. For men, it's mostly belly.

 

That's why diets work for men to get "six packs"...because they naturally store fat mostly in their belly, so that's the place they will lose fat from. For women, they store more fat in their bodies in general and it's stored all over their body, so you can gradually lose fat all over, but not in only one place. That's why women get pissed when they lose cup size at the same time they lose weight.

 

Also, because women's bodies are programmed to store more fat, unless you're weight lifting like it's your job, you're not going to look like a body builder. Your 3 to 4 times a week of weight lifting is not going to make you look like a body builder. It's just not.

 

You shouldn't do heavy cardio before weight lifting. You will get far more tired lifting weights when you do that, which drastically increases your chance of injury. A little light cardio to warm up is ok. Weights first, then cardio. Which actually, will help with the fat burning, because you don't really start to deplete your stores of energy from the food you've eaten (sugar, carbs) and begin to deplete your stored fat until about 20-30 minutes into your exercises.

[EddieN]

You shouldn't do heavy cardio before weight lifting. You will get far more tired lifting weights when you do that, which drastically increases your chance of injury. A little light cardio to warm up is ok. Weights first, then cardio. Which actually, will help with the fat burning, because you don't really start to deplete your stores of energy from the food you've eaten (sugar, carbs) and begin to deplete your stored fat until about 20-30 minutes into your exercises.

 

Depends on what you mean by light and heavy cardio. Light cardio for me is 20-30 minutes on the ergometer. Heavy cardio is an hour on the ergometer, 12 mile run, or about an hour of freestyle swimming.

[norajane]

Depends on what you mean by light and heavy cardio. Light cardio for me is 20-30 minutes on the ergometer. Heavy cardio is an hour on the ergometer, 12 mile run, or about an hour of freestyle swimming.

 

Everyone has different fitness levels. For a couch potato just starting out, 20-30 minutes of cardio is heavy - that's how they will perceive the exertion and their body/muscles/lungs will fatigue quickly. For you, that's a light day.

[EddieN]

Ok, point understood, but it's still good to get some blood flowing before you lift, even if it's just an easy 10 min on the bike. I also think it makes you more ready to lift psychologically. I feel a lot more pumped covered in sweat than clean out of the locker room.

[norajane]

Ok, point understood, but it's still good to get some blood flowing before you lift, even if it's just an easy 10 min on the bike. I also think it makes you more ready to lift psychologically. I feel a lot more pumped covered in sweat than clean out of the locker room.

 

I agree, which is why I said a little light cardio as a warm-up before lifting is fine. You don't want to ever start lifting before you've warmed up somehow.

 

I just don't recommend heavy cardio, like your 12 mile run or hour of swimming, before lifting. Not that beginners are likely to try that! But cramming two workouts into one day isn't good for your body and puts you at risk of getting hurt.

[EddieN]

I agree, which is why I said a little light cardio as a warm-up before lifting is fine. You don't want to ever start lifting before you've warmed up somehow.

 

I just don't recommend heavy cardio, like your 12 mile run or hour of swimming, before lifting. Not that beginners are likely to try that! But cramming two workouts into one day isn't good for your body and puts you at risk of getting hurt.

 

Hey, I've gotta do it at certain points in the year, mainly March-May. All the other guys we're going up against are doing 2 workouts a day, so we have to do the same to keep up...and then surpass them.

[shoesies05]

okay, since when does cardio burn muscle? I do believe if you work your body too much during cardio THEN it burns lean muscle rather than fat... but doing cardio doesnt always burn lean muscle... am i wrong?

 

 

Also- i agree... warming the body up before doing weights is always best. Whatever degree of fitness you are at- its pretty much when you start feeling "warm", thats when i tell myself im good to lift.

 

Also- havent done the diet. I really believe in having a diet that one can live with for the rest of their lives... if its working for you though, deff. keep at it!

[kahn2154]

okay, since when does cardio burn muscle? I do believe if you work your body too much during cardio THEN it burns lean muscle rather than fat... but doing cardio doesnt always burn lean muscle... am i wrong?

 

I always heard too much cardio does burn muscle (it burns muscle and fat) that is why you never see a muscular marathon runner. Most bodybuilders also recommend HIIT (Sprints) over running for this reason.