Getting the abs you’ve always wanted doesn’t have to be a goal that you spend your entire life chasing. Most people can craft a sleek, shredded abdomen if they just train hard and eat right. It is always the latter of these two components that keeps people from getting there. Sometimes, it’s for a pure lack of discipline. For others, it’s a matter of information—too much or too little of it can send your six-pack spiraling into a no-shred zone. These five nutrition tips can help keep you ab-focused.
<img decoding="async" width="150" height="84" src="/uploadfile/2024/1211/20241211192413810.jpg">
Nutrition
<h3 class="article__title">
10 Fittest Foods
</h3>
<p class="article__subtitle">Build muscle outside of the gym, and add these foods into your diet for premium results.</p>
Read article <p class='slide-count'>1 of 5</p><img width="1109" height="614" src="/uploadfile/2024/1211/20241211192416610.jpg"><p class="photo-credit">Kostyantyn Manzhura / EyeEm / Getty</p>Focus on Protein
This sounds like a mass gain tip. However, it is also a get lean tip. Focusing on protein is a proven method to melt away fat. Protein raises your metabolic rate higher than carbs or fat. This means that every meal you eat gives you a boost in calorie burning. Protein has also been found to increase the release of natural chemicals produced by the stomach and brain that decrease hunger. Be sure that most meals include at least 30 grams of protein and at least 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day.
Eugene Mymrin / Getty
Time Your Carbs
When trying to get a ripped middle, you need to watch your carb intake. We’re not saying to eliminate all carbs sincee they keep your muscles “full.” You just need to time your carb intake so that when you do consume them they go straight to your muscles and not your gut.
There are three times of day when this is possible: first thing in the morning, pre- and post-workout. Keep your carb intake under one gram per pound of body weight or less on workout days. If you weigh 200 pounds, that means you need to keep your carbs under 200 grams per day or less. Try eating half the amount over three meals. For the 200 pounder, have 40 grams when you wake, 20 grams before workouts, and 40 grams after. This prevents the hidden carbs in the foods you eat the rest of the day from adding up to more than your limit. On rest days, keep your carbs to just 40 grams in the morning and only have minimal intake throughout the remainder of the day.
Klaus Vedfelt / Getty
Feed Frequently
Every time you eat a meal, especially a high-protein meal, you boost your metabolic rate. So eating smaller meals every two to three hours means you have six to eight periods of boosting your calorie burning every day. Eating smaller, more frequent meals also helps you get lean, because you’re not as hungry, so there is less chance of overeating. Eating smaller meals also means there are fewer calories spilling over to fat storage. The calories you eat are more likely to get used for fuel and bodily processes like muscle recovery and growth.
A. Chederros / Getty
Dish Out The Dairy
Research confirms that eating dairy can help to drop fat, especially the fat around the abs. Several studies have shown that a higher calcium intake from dairy consumption leads to greater fat loss. One study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that subjects who consumed more calcium and low-fat dairy products had a smaller waist-to-hip ratio, meaning they had less abdominal fat.
Hoxton/Sam Edwards / Getty
Use Ab-Fat Melting Supps
There are several supplements that have been shown to target ab fat. A 2005 report in an issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that exercise, in addition to green tea extract reduced fat in the abdominal region by more than 85 percent than just exercise alone. Take 500 mg of green tea extract, standardized for EGCG, three times per day between meals.
CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is a healthy fat that can help you drop ab fat while helping to add muscle mass and boost strength. One study presented at the 2006 Experimental Biology Conference (San Francisco) reported that subjects taking CLA without dieting or exercising for six months not only lost about five pounds more body fat than the subjects who consumed olive oil, but their fat loss came primarily from the abdominal region. Take 2 grams of CLA with breakfast, lunch and dinner while following this program and consider taking it after you’re done, as CLA benefits increase with time of use.
For the same reason you should eat dairy as a protein source, you should supplement with 1000 mg of calcium per day, as it will augment your ab-specific fat-loss.