Everybody wants six pack abs and a gorgeous body. But just like so many other things in life, it takes take time, hard work and persistence to get them. There is no ‘secret’ to getting six pack abs and I’ll bet you already know how to get them. Yes, that’s right. Diet and exercise are the only ways to get not only great six pack abs, but a gorgeous body and lifelong health.
Both controlling what you eat and doing exercise are necessary if you want to be successful. This article will be mainly about diet, since of the two, diet is much harder to control. First, though, just a few thoughts on exercise.
The conventional wisdom is that you must do billions of crunches, sit ups and other assorted exercises of your mid section in order to have six pack abs. Nonsense! In order to get rid of the fat you have in your mid section now, you need to exercise all the large major muscle groups. That means you need to do exercises that work your legs, back, shoulders and chest. By working the large muscle groups you will increase your metabolism much faster and thereby getting rid of fat from all over your body, including your face, neck, abs, hips and arms. You will not only loose fat, but your body will also begin to look more proportioned.
Diet is a much harder variable to control, but it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, impossible. What you need to remember though, as a general rule, is that you need to eat natural foods and not processed foods. The problem is though, that we are almost addicted to the taste and convenience of processed foods.
Here are some tips on how to break your taste for processed foods:
1. Cut back slowly on the soda and high calorie drinks.
This is the easiest way to start cutting completely unnecessary calories from your diet. If you drink 3 sodas a day, cut back to two the first week, then cut another one the second week and so on until you slowly ween yourself from them. For each soda you cut,replace it with a glass of water.
2. Start to eliminate the processed foods you eat in the same way you eliminate the soda. You know what I mean. Potato chips, cheese crackers, puddings, candy bars, etc… For each one that you eliminate, replace it with a healthy snack food like apples, pears, peaches, melons or any other fruit. You can (and should) also eat a variety of nuts, which contain healthy fats.
3. Never drink anything with high fructose corn syrup.
4. Reduce your amount of sugar intake. If you load up on sugar in coffee or tea, slowly reduce it until you can drink it with a maximum of one teaspoon.
5. Cut out desserts.
The above suggestions are ways to ‘cut out’ unhealthy eating habits, but that is only half the battle. The next few tips are changes you should make to add nutritious foods to your diet.
1. Eat more vegetables (I sound like your mother, don’t I?)
2. Eat more salads, but slowly cut out all the high fat dressings and get to the place where you actually love Olive Oil and Vinegar (or Lemon Juice) and then use that exclusively.
3. Try to eat organically raised meats. The reason is that these animals weren’t given the hormones to produce unnaturally meaty animals. If you can’t or there isn’t a ready affordable supply, then try to choose lean meats, such as chicken or turkey.
4. Eat healthy proteins such as fish, eggs and black beans.
5. Last, but not least, drink water all day long.
People tell me all the time that they don’t like the taste of water. Well, think of all the drinks you have that you had to ‘acquire’ a taste for…can you say coffee, whiskey, vermouth or any other alcoholic beverage? Eventually you get to the place where you love it. It’s the same with water. Add lemon or lime to it. The point is, your body needs water even if you don’t realize it.
The main principle here is to eat a healthy balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, providing the fats are healthy fats (i.e. olive oil, avocados, coconut milk, etc…), the proteins are lean, and the carbohydrates are vegetables, fruits or whole grains. Please do not get enamored with a diet that tells you to eat only grapefruit or cut out all carbs or any other gimmick.
If you follow these general guidelines and learn how to exercise right, you simply cannot help but develop the kind of body and abs that you’ve always wanted. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘Slow and steady wins the race’. It’s true.
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