Eating For Abs
Get shredded for summer with this diet plan
Maximize your Mid Section
The Abs
Diet is designed to maximize the amount of total fat lost and especially the
fat around the midsection. This is a high protein diet, which is something I
always promote, as high protein diets maximize both muscle growth and fat loss.
In fact, one study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise
Metabolism reported that subjects
eating 40% of total daily calories from protein while following a weight
lifting and cardio exercise program lost more than twice as much body fat and
more importantly more than twice as much abdominal fat as those eating 15-20%
of total daily calories from protein and following a cardio only exercise
program. So, as I’ve always promoted, a high protein diet along with weight
training not only helps you gain muscle but lose fat, particularly abdominal
fat. So as far as protein goes, this 6-week diet keeps a steadily high protein
intake, around 50% of total daily calories.
But that’s not all.
Keeping
protein high is a good way to shed body fat because it typically means you are
replacing some of your carbs with protein. Research shows that higher protein
diets significantly reduce hunger, maintain more steady insulin levels (insulin
spikes from carbohydrate intake enhances fat storage as most times of day) and
raises metabolic rate higher. Also when you replace some carbs with protein, it
forces your body to burn more body fat for fuel. The lower you drop carbs the
more fat you burn. So to maximize the amount of abdominal fat you are burning
for fuel, you will drop carbs very low on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Be
sure to train abs on these three days to help further reduce the fat from this
area. You will also keep carbs low on Sunday. On these days you will eat just
about 20% of total daily calories from carbs, or about 0.5 grams of carbs per
pound of body weight, that’s about 90 grams for the 180 pound bodybuilder.
Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturday will be considered your high carb days. Here
you’ll get about 40% of total daily calories from carbs, or about 1.5 grams per
pound of body weight. That’s about 270 grams of carbs for the 180 ound
bodybuilder. The one problem with low carb diets is that if you go low carb for
too long, your leptin levels drop and this drops your metabolic rate.
Staggering very low carb days with higher carb days will prevent this from
happening and will keep your metabolism revving while maximizing ab fat
melting.
Some Useful Tips to Remember
For both
low carb and high carb days calories stay about the same, around 14 calories
per pound of body weight, or about 2500 calories for the 180 pound bodybuilder.
Protein also stays the same regardless of what day it is at about 1.75 grams of
protein per pound of body weight, or about 300 grams of protein for the 180
pounder. So you will simply seesaw carbs and fat each day. When carbs are low
(Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) fat increases to 30% of total daily
calories with more healthy fats such as peanut butter, salmon, and more egg
yolks. When carbs are high (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) from mostly
slow-digesting carbs such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread and sweet potatoes, fat
decreases down to just 10% of total daily calories.
On weekend
days, when you are not training, consume your pre and postworkout shakes as
snacks on Saturday. On Sunday, drop the preworkout shake and have just the
postworkout shake, without the carbs.
Although
the sample diets are designed for the 180 pound bodybuilder, they will work
well for those between 160-220 pounds. If you are under or over this weight
range, use the calories per pound calculations and grams per pound
calculations, I give you to determine the amount of calories, protein, carbs
and fat you need.
The Abs Diet (Low Carb Days)
This sample
diet is designed for the 180 pound bodybuilder as the perfect menu for Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
Food Cal Prot Carb Fat
Breakfast
4 whole
eggs 296 24 2 20
4 egg
whites 68 16 0 0
(scramble eggs)
1Tbsp
Peanut butter 188 8 6 16
(eat plain on spoon)
Late morning snack
1 scoop
Whey Protein 85 20 1 0
1 scoop
casein 120 23 4 1
(mix proteins in water)
Lunch
1/2 can
white tuna 110 20 0 3
8oz lowfat
cottage cheese 163 28 6 2
(mix tuna in cottage cheese)
Mid-day snack
6 oz chicken
breast 185 39 0 2
10
asparagus spears 30 3 6 0
Preworkout snack
1 scoop
Whey Protein 85 20 1 0
Postworkout snack
1 scoop
Whey Protein 85 20 1 0
1 scoop
casein 120 23 4 1
(mix proteins in water)
1 med plain
bagel 289 11 56 2
Dinner
9 oz salmon
468 51 0 27
1/2 cup
mixed veggies 55 2 6 0
Nighttime snack
1 scoop
casein protein 120 23 4 1
(mix protein in water)
Totals: 2467 331 97 75
The Abs Diet (High Carb Days)
This sample
diet is designed for the 180 pound bodybuilder as the perfect menu for
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays
Food Cal Prot Carb Fat
Breakfast
2 whole
large eggs 148 12 1 10
4 egg
whites 68 16 0 0
1 cup
cooked oatmeal 130 5 22 2
1 banana 120 2 31 1
Late morning snack
1 scoop
Whey Protein 85 20 1 0
1 scoop
casein 120 23 4 1
1/2 cup
Oatmeal dry 145 6 25 2
(mix protein powders and dry oatmeal in
water in blender)
Lunch
6 oz
fat-free Turkey breast deli meat 156 33 3 0
2 slices
whole wheat bread 140 6 26 2
Mid-day snack
1 cup
cottage cheese 163 28 6 2
1/2 cup
sliced pineapple 40 1 10 0
(mix pineapple in cottage cheese)
Pre-workout snack
1 scoop
Whey Protein 85 20 1 0
1 large
orange 86 2 22 0
(mix vanilla protein and orange with
water in blender for orange Julius protein shake)
Postworkout snack
1 scoop
Whey Protein 85 20 1 0
1 scoop
casein protein 120 23 4 1
(mix protein powders in water)
3slices
white bread 198 6 39 3
2 Tbsp
Jelly 112 0 28 0
Dinner
8 oz
chicken breast 246 53 0 3
1 small
sweet potato 120 2 26 0
2 cups
cooked broccoli 60 6 12 0
Nigtime snack
1 scoop casein 120
