Flat Abs In 6 Weeks?

Beach time is coming fast and that always sparks the desire for people to shed the winter weight. What if it’s not just winter weight? What if it’s lifetime weight. If you have a rather thick layer of fat around your belly, it’s going to take some time to take that off.

image sxc.hu (user: Tombre)

Most people think that the key to flat abs is exercises that target the abdominal muscles and they are partially correct. While doing abdominal exercise will strengthen your abs, the exercise alone won’t be enough to stimulate your body in to burning energy, in turn using fat as the source.

All those people you see in the commercials using the ab exercise equipment didn’t get that ripped washboard by using that equipment. They got that flat tummy by eating properly and doing more than simple ab exercises. They either have always had that body or they used a combination of hard work, discipline and determination.

It takes a lot of time and drive to get the six pack abs. That’s one of the hardest places on the body to shed weight from, so if you want to get it before beach time you better start working hard on it during the Fall season before. I have some winter weight to shed and a little bit of last summer weight that I want to get rid of too.

Proper eating, as I said, is a huge part of it. You have to eat foods that your body is going to use for energy and not store for energy. Here are some tips to proper eating to get you started. I’m NOT a nutritionist. These are tips from my own personal experience that I learned through reading and utilizing.

• Processed sugars are always the first thing that I try to drastically reduce when I diet. Unless I need a quick pick-me-up, I cut as much as I can.
• I also try to reduce processed cheese and fatty condiments such as mayonaisse. Mayo is nothing but egg yokes and salad oil.
• Anything fried should be a no-no. Go for grilled or baked.
• Vegetables are always good and should be steamed for the best nutritional value.
• Carbs are not the enemy…if you’re eating the right carbs. Fast digesting carbs (or simple carbs) such as mashed Potatoes, rice and processed flour products such as white bread should be reduced or replaced with slow digesting carbs (or complex carbs) such as Legunes (beans), whole wheat products, Oatmeals, and the various vegetables like eggplant, brocolli and asparagus that have complex carbs.
• If you snack, grab an apple, banana or other piece of fruit and/or maybe a small hand full of almonds.
• Find things to occupy your mind instead of eating while watching TV. We have a tendency to feed our faces while we watch TV. Sometimes a big stick of gum can help curb you appetite.
• Fruit juices and iced teas are normally loaded with sugar. Try unsweetened tea. It takes a little getting used to and if all else fails, throw a little Splenda in there. Green Tea in it’s unsweetened state is absolutely horrible, but it’s supposed to help you lose weight. Water is good too.
• Speaking of water; water intake should be increased as your body may start to shed some water weight.
• Multi-vitamins. We can get most of the vitamins our body needs from the foods we eat, if we eat a well balanced diet. A good multi-vitamin can help supplement what you don’t get.
• Last tip and perhaps the most important, rest. A good night of sleep will help your body get used to the fact that it’s not being fed extra energy and being the adaptive product that we are, it will adjust and you won’t feel so tired and hungry, craving energy foods during the day.