TIP#3.9 - 5 Six-Pack Abs Nutrition Habits
For abs to show, you must be lean - fact. This means getting to a low body fat percentage, and more importantly staying there indefinitely. The best and easiest way to do this is through the manipulation of your diet, this is what gives truth to the phrase, 'Abs are made in the kitchen.' It is our second greatest tool when it comes to us achieving optimal body composition, the first of course being Training Approach. Burning fat is nothing to do with calories, but with optimal nutrition. Here we are going to talk about the 5 nutritional habits that will help you burn body fat to the 'Ab Level' and stay there:
1. Eat Refined Sugar (... Moderately)
When we think to the future, the worst thing we can do is deny ourselves something we like indefinitely - it's unrealistic. The best thing to do is incorporate treats into our diet - this doesn't mean adding them on top of the good stuff, but including them within our diet requirements. Sugar is Carbohydrate, a non-essential nutrient - it will not help you build muscle, but it will give you a little more energy for training, and most of all it will keep you sane. On a fat burning diet we can still eat a litte Carbohydrate, albeit at the correct times. First, hold off on the treats as long as you can, but when you crave something sweet start to incorporate treats as substitutes for your Carb requirement on 1-2 meals per week. See below the article for best Macro Nutrient Ratios.
2. Protein Is Your Best Friend
Protein is used to build and maintain muscle. To burn fat you must maximise your existing muscle mass, and build even more. Muscle cells are an incredibly expensive metabolic tissue - they need lots of energy and nutrients to run/maintain. The more muscle you have the more fat you will burn at rest. Eating plenty of high quality protein will help this process. Not only is protein vital to burning body fat metabolically, but also mechanically; Protein is 'Thermogenic', meaning your body must burn energy to digest it. This is very powerful when this burned energy comes from our fat stores. Protein must come from animals if you wish to maximise this process, it contains whole essential proteins needed for muscle growth/maintenance - meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy. Protein powders can help but they are not 'Thermogenic'.
3. Learn To Use Your Own Fat As Fuel - At Rest!
One gram of Fat holds 9kcals of energy, one gram of Carbs only 4kcals. Fat is a superior energy source to glucose. Using Fuel from fat in the diet, and fat from your body fat stores is the goal. To begin with, reducing your Carb intake will leave you a little sluggish for a couple days, even up to a week. Your body has to learn to metabolise your own fat on a regular basis, but once the change happens your blood sugar levels will normalise and energy levels recover to beyond what they were before. The reason Carbs are non-essential to obtain from your diet is that glucose (Carbs) can be made in the body from either Fat or Protein, and this is what will happen if your body needs glucose at any particular time.
4. Only Eat Carbohydrates At Night
You've probably read elsewhere that say you should eat Carbs when your metabolism is at its highest (during the day) to prevent fat gain. The reality is that you can gain fat at anytime of the day depending on Insulin sensitivity, muscle glucose levels, what you eat with the Carbs, how many Carbs you eat and current activity and hormone levels. The smarter and more effective way to approach bodyfat reduction is to make your body get energy from your Fat stores during this higher rate of metabolism phase of the day, so even more Fat can be burned. If you eat Carbs later in the day you've managed to do two things, metabolise Fat for energy - and deplete your muscle glucose levels a bit, ready to be filled back up with your dietary glucose (carb) later, instead of filling up fat stores.
5. Recover Your Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin Sensitivity refers to the way your body releases the hormone 'Insulin' in response to foods you eat. Carb rich foods elevate Insulin very high, known as a 'spike', and continued Carb consumption throughout the day keeps it elevated, promoting Fat Storage. Most of the time your muscles will be full of glucose, so any extra Carbs you eat during the day are likely to be stored as Fat. Eating small amounts of Carbs later in the day leaves the rest of your day Carb free, allowing Insulin levels to recover and stabilise. Prolonged elevated Insulin levels are therefore a huge problem when it comes to keeping body fat down - they must be controlled for you to maintain and get to low body fat levels.
See Below for a Bodyfat burning nutrition approach.
Macro Nutrients: Protein 50% - Fat 30% - Carbs 20%
Total Calories: 1.8g of Protein/ lb of body weight.
E.g. 180lbs x 1.8= 324g Protein, 1,296kcals (50%). 108g Carb, 432kcal (20%), 72g Fat, 648kcals (30%).
Nutrient Calorie Breakdown: 1g Protein= 4kcals, 1g Fat= 9kcals, 1g Carb= 4kcals.
Cycle Lean Meats
Eat 2 Apples a Day as Snacks
Eat Green Watery Vegetables Every Meal
Use Sea Salt Instead of Table Salt
Only Eat Carbs Rich Foods Later In The Day
Eat Almonds And Walnuts
Take Fish Oil Twice a Day
Divide Your Daily Food over 4-5 Seperate Meals
Leave At Least 3hrs inbetween meals
Drink 3 Litres Of Water Per Day, Inbetween meals
Thanks So Much For Reading! Eat Smart To Get Those Abs!
Matt The Trainer
Personal Trainer London
P.S. Once desired body fat levels have been achieved, changes to the diet can be made while still maintaining low body fat. Further reductions in Carbohydrate can be made, and increases in fat consumption added to raise overall calories. More Info on this here.
NOTE: These diet principles are directed at people participating in regular weight training activity. For more info on Training please click here.
