ABS diet is a widely popular diet, both for men and women. David Zinczenko, the author of this diet, practice what he propagates and you will hardly find a more convincing person. Tall, athletic, perfect muscle and incredibly handsome, is also the editor of the Men’s Health magazine. That is why the ideal “example” of the result of the ABS diet.
It’s about transformation – from obese child to a slim, graceful and athletic body that has celebrated him. He was not born that way, but he did it himself. He adopted unhealthy eating habits of his parents in his childhood. His father was obese almost a lifetime, that is, in his adult life, he had about 100 pounds of excess. So he decided to end the “vicious circle” and now spreads his own doctrine.
BASICS OF THE ABS DIET
The starting point for an ABS diet is to exercise as many muscles as you can, burning more calories and fat. On every pound of muscles you “pump”, the body consumes an additional 50 calories a day just to “keep” those muscles. This does not sound impressive at first glance, but if you reach a muscle mass of 10 pounds, that’s an extra 500 calories! During one week you lose 3,500 calories or about a pound of excess fat. In other words, this diet puts the metabolism into a “full-fledged” and “pushes” organism to burn as many calories as possible.
Of course, an ABS diet is not an instant solution – it’s important to focus on diet and exercise. The ABS Diet book is a full of illustration of exercises that show the abdominal muscles increase as well as other larger muscle groups, including the back, shoulders, and legs.
Although called ABS diet, the author is somewhat frozen when he says that you can lose weight only in a certain part of the body, for example in the stomach area. This opinion is also advocated by many nutritionists and fitness instructors. Although some studies have shown that it is possible to lose excess fat only from a certain part of the body.
In any case, this diet does not indicate that you can lose fat deposits only in certain parts of the body by eating certain foods. Instead, the basis of this diet is that you will achieve a flat and firm stomach by losing excess pounds from all parts of your body.
HOW MANY POUNDS CAN YOU LOSE WITH THIS DIET?
Advocates of the ABS diet claim that in the first two weeks you can lose up to 12 pounds, and in the next two 5 to 8 pounds.
HOW DOES THE ABS DIET WORK?
One of the main goals of this diet is the consumption of healthy food. It is the basis of any good nutrition and exercise plan. Saturated fats are also avoided on ABS diet. Saturated fats are a major problem for the stomach. So as to reduce fat around the abdominal muscles, saturated fat must be omitted from the diet. There are 12 foods that this diet promotes and you can eat them. They will make it easier to lose weight and fat around the stomach. Some of these foods are fruits, whole grains, and green vegetables.
This diet is made with focus only on the abdomen and stomach. It can be a disadvantage for some people who need help in the area of the abdomen, but they still want a diet that which repair the whole body. When you conduct ABS Diet, you have to do the additional work to get the transformation of the whole body.
David’s magazine focuses on the body of a man and how to keep him healthy. Women who have a lot of fat on hips and butts also see their stomach as a problem zone and want a diet to help them in the area.
NUTRITION ON ABS DIET
While you are on ABS diet, you should have 6 meals a day, to drink at least eight glasses of water. For increasing the intake of fluids you can drink low-fat milk and green tea without sugar.
Alcohol should not be used and especially beer that is in many cases guilty for a beer-stomach. Calories should not be counted and every day you choose from the following foods:
- nut fruits like walnut, hazelnut, almond
- beans
- green vegetables
- foods of a low energy value
- oat meal
- eggs
- lean meat, turkey and chicken breasts, fish and non-fat beef
- peanut butter
- olive oil
- integral bread and whole grains cereals
- proteins in powder
- berry fruits
According to the research, these foods help in:
- building muscle mass
- weight loss
- strengthening the bones
- reducing blood pressure
- prevention of cancer
- improving the state of immunity
- prevention and fight against heart disease.
Foods that you can use for occasional consumption: apples, avocado, bananas, whole-grain brown rice, freshly squeezed sugar-free juices, onion, garlic, mushrooms, melon, watermelon, pasta of integral flour, peach, peanuts, peas, lentils, bell peppers, popcorn, sesame oil, shellfish and seafood, soups, sunflower and pumpkins seeds, sweet potatoes, tomatoes.
ABS DIET
Although at first glance this seems like a pretty strict diet, it’s not that much “limiting” at all. There are many different ways to prepare this food and recipes for various dishes that you can make from the permitted foods. You should eat six meals a day (three main and three snacks) made of these 12 foods that help to build and strengthen muscle mass and burn fat.
If you eat 6 meals a day, you send a signal to your organism that you do not starve. The advocates of this diet consider that the main reason for the inefficiency of restrictive diets is that you starve and thus slow down the metabolism. Also, if you feel hungry while you are on ABS diet, you are doing something wrong.
ABS diet promotes the intake of healthy fats and complex carbohydrates, as well as foods rich in calcium, such as Parmesan. When this diet is concerned, calcium is considered a “miraculous mineral”. Research has proven that calcium really helps in weight loss.
TRAINING
One component of an ABS diet is a nutrition and the other is exercise. There are no effects of this diet without exercise. The diet prescribes strength training three times a week, abdominal exercises three times a week and optional aerobics. The basic rules of exercise are: after exercising one part of the body, during the next two days you do not need to exercise again this part. This does not apply to abdominal muscles that you should practice every second day. Instead of strength training, you can do cardio exercises likerunning or cycling. One day in the week you’re resting (without exercise).
CONCLUSION
ABS diet includes a change in eating habits and exercise. It is easy to understand when it comes to explaining how it works and what its impact on health. It is based on foods containing essential nutrients. The book provides detailed information on each of the 12 “powerful foods”, a seven-day diet plan and illustrations as a guide for exercises. Basically, this is a reasonable and realistic diet and exercise plan. ABS diet is not hard to keep and will definitely help in weight loss, toning and body shaping.