Did you know that you all ready have six pack abs? Everybody does, in point of fact. The difference between you and the guy on the beach with the stomach that looks like a washboard might not necessarily be the amount of exercise you do, although exercise does play a huge role in getting a six pack. What makes a critical difference on whether you're showing a six pack or simply one huge single pack is in your diet.
Men hear the word diet and the first thing that comes to mind is all the fussy 'chick' food that dieting seems to entail. While you could go that route, and lose weight, there are ways to get a solid six pack abs diet going without having to live on salad and tuna fish.
Diet is a matter of putting the correct amount of calories into your system at the correct times of day. It really is that simple. Getting there will take a little bit of preparation, and will include a green salad, or so, but you can eat real food and still lose the extra weight that is hiding your six pack.
Overall, men's caloric needs are vastly different from women's- men burn calories faster due to overall differences in metabolism and size. A normal diet to maintain weight can range from 2000 calories for a sedentary older man to 2400 calories per day for an active man 18-33. To lose a pound of fat, you simply need to decrease overall consumption by 3500 calories. For an active man 18-33 years old, this means reducing caloric intake to between 1800-2000 calories per day and using a combination of strength training and aerobic training. According to all legitimate sources, you should never go below 1500 calories/day as this will lead to your body going into starvation mode-it is extremely unhealthy and you will lose muscle instead of fat.
So, how exactly should you eat? It's simple Breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus two snacks-one mid morning between breakfast and lunch, and another part way through the afternoon, before dinner, is usually the best route to go. Your meals should be protein-rich and loaded with complex carbs. For protein, all meats and seafood are fine as long as they are lean and not fried. Complex carbs include green salads, fresh veggies and fresh fruits. You should try to stay away from white potatoes (sweet potato is fine), pasta, corn (a starch-NOT a veggie) bread, and the like. Occasional treats along these lines are fine after you've reached your target, but for the most part, you should avoid them while trying to lose weight. If you work out daily, you could add an occasional extra meal of protein and carbs for a recovery meal, but again, to start, you want to avoid extra calories. Yogurt, for example, might seem like a 'chick' food but it is an important source of protein and vitamins so don't rule it out completely. You get serious protein for very few calories and it is a good post workout food to add. Other good choices are hummus and peanut butter. These both provide good fats that you need as well.
Portion control is also important. Won't do you a bit of good to eat healthily, but stuff yourself full five times per day. Get to know the calorie counts in your foods and get to know what a normal portion size is. To start, you won't want to go too far over the recommended amounts.
Avoid alcohol, soda (even the diet/reduced calorie soda), and fruit juice. These will all sabotage your efforts to reclaim your six pack. Water, coffee, tea are all good as long as you don't put sugar in them. If you must, use a small amount of real sugar to sweeten your drinks-the sugar in the cute little colored packages is no good for anyone.
Most of all, stick to it. You will notice results pretty quickly and soon you too will have visible six pack abs to show off on the beach.
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