Day 3: 7 Ways to Eat Your Way to a Six Pack!…

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’298′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE9vpv3pZKo[/youtube]

Click Here for the 3 Foods to NEVER Eat!
Beware of the foods that you think are “healthy”
that can actually INCREASE your body fat…

 

“Abs are made in the kitchen“. A quote well-known by many fitness experts for one reason: it’s true! It all starts with what you eat. So today, I’ll share with you the 7 keys to successfully eating for six pack abs.

But let’s first clear our plates and talk about that four letter word that everyone hates: D-I-E-T!

Dieting is one of the most misunderstood aspects of fitness. Many people equate the idea of a diet as an effective, long term nutrition plan that will help them lose weight.

Yet diets are only temporary – and worse, they are often more damaging to your ability to lose weight than eating healthy.

Diets often involve losing out on important nutrients. When you lose weight through a poorly planned diet, your weight loss becomes only temporary. Over time your metabolism will slow in order to compensate for the loss of food, and it will become not only harder to lose weight – but also harder to keep the weight off.

Does this sound familiar?

What you really need is an eating strategy. You need to plan your meals in a way that is both healthy and increases your metabolism in order to burn fat, and one that you can continue over the rest of your life.

 

1) Eat MORE Often, Burn MORE Fat…

If you truly want to eat healthy while burning fat and keeping the fat off, you need to change the way you currently think of meals. Eating is important.

Skipping even one meal of the day can slow your metabolism, making fat loss harder.

Rather than skipping meals and missing out on delicious foods, you should consider changing your eating plan to six smaller meals, rather than 2 or 3 large meals.

For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, eat a medium sized meal that is nutritionally balanced and healthy. In between these meals, add small snacks to help stave off hunger so that you can limit the amount of food you eat during your larger meals.

Meals should be placed apart every 2 or 3 hours. By increasing the frequency that you eat (healthy foods, of course), you actually increase your metabolism as your body works harder to process the nutrients.

This will lead to both a healthier body and long term weight reduction that is less likely to be affected by blips in your diet.

NOTE: It is especially important not to skip your breakfast. Skipping breakfast can reduce your metabolism by as much as 10%, while eating a high protein breakfast within 60 minutes of waking up can stimulate your metabolism and boost your energy during the day.

 

2) Avoid High Glycemic Carbohydrates!…

In addition to changing your meal schedule, you should also be avoiding foods that are known to cause fat storage and weight gain, such as high glycemic carbohydrates.

Your blood has a specific, ideal balance of blood sugar designed to keep your body working properly. The foods you eat affect your blood sugar level according to a method of measurement known as the “glycemic index.”

The glycemic index measures how quickly the carbohydrates you eat affect your blood sugar level. The faster carbs break down, the higher the spike in your blood sugar, the higher the glycemic index. Low glycemic foods tend to break down more slowly, avoiding this large spike.

When your body experiences a spike in blood sugar, it triggers a series of responses in your body that lead to an increase in fat storage. So when your goal is to burn fat, you need to avoid these high glycemic carbs, otherwise you are generating more body fat than you can burn.

 

White Carbs and Sugars

The most famous example of high glycemic carbohydrates include the so called “White carbs” and most processed sugar. Examples of white carbs include:

• White Bread
• White Pasta
• White Potatoes

 

White bread and white pasta are both made with bleached grains that no longer have the fiber of unbleached grains. It’s fiber that makes natural, unbleached grains so low on the glycemic index. Take out the fiber, and the grains immediately become worse for your weight.  Foods like potatoes can vary in their glycemic index, but the level of starch tends to leave them somewhere between medium and high. These types of carbs generate considerable spikes in your blood sugar.

Sugar itself needs to be avoided as well. Bleached white sugar, honey, and high fructose corn syrup are all known to create huge spikes in blood sugar.

You will also need to be on the lookout for “hidden sugars” found in things like sauces, condiments, dairy products and processed fruit juices.

Many of them have added sugars that turn generally harmless foods into foods that are high on the glycemic index. It is always a good idea to check the labels of products before you buy them.

 

3) Avoid (or at least drastically limit) Alcohol Consumption…

Alcohol is also known to affect your blood sugar level and cause you to gain weight. Alcohol suffers from three separate problems that are known to cause weight gain.

1. Alcohol tends to be consumed in large quantities.
2. Alcohol has twice the calories as sugar.
3. Alcohol slows down your body’s natural fat burning processes.

Combining all three of those factors causes alcohol to be one of the leading factors of weight gain, and one of the biggest enemies of someone trying to build six pack abs.

 

4) Eat the “Right” Carbs to Keep You Energized…

Despite what many nutrition gurus tried to tell you, carbs are actually a very valuable part of your diet. Carbs provide you with energy, and energy is needed if you hope to stay active and burn fat. You simply need to integrate good, low glycemic carbs (carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic index) into your diet.

Examples include:

• Oatmeal
• Sweet potatoes
• Whole grains
• Fresh Vegetables
• Brown Rice

In addition to benefiting your blood sugar, these carbs also have the natural ability to reduce hunger. That will make it easier for you to prevent overeating.

What Else to Eat

In addition to low glycemic foods, you should also be integrating healthier food into your diet. Try to find delicious, healthy foods that contain the following nutrients:

 

5) Eat the “Right” Fats…

Fat has a bad reputation. Good fats are actually required for proper brain and heart function. As long as you stay away from saturated fats and trans fats, your body will be healthier and weight loss will still occur. You can find good fats in things like:

• salmon
• almonds
• walnuts
• pecans
• olive oil

6) Eat Lots of Lean Proteins…

Good proteins are also very important. Proteins act as food for your muscles. Strong muscles mean more physical energy to help you stay active throughout your day, and large muscles are known to burn more calories, which will help you burn fat. Try to stay away from processed meats and fatty meats like bacon. Instead, eat healthy and lean meats like:

• salmon
• tuna
• lean chicken breast
• lean turkey breast
• and every athlete’s favorite – whey protein.

7) Keep it Simple – Look for Single Ingredient Foods…

Finally, a useful tip for eating healthy is to try to eat only single-ingredient foods (e.g. oatmeal, chicken breast, vegetables, etc.). The more ingredients in a packaged food product, the more likely things like high glycemic carbs and trans fat are being introduced to your diet. When the food you’re eating is made of only one ingredient, you will know exactly what you are putting into your body at all times.

Always, read the nutritional labels (it’s the fine print)…

 

Bottom Line: Maintain a Healthy Diet to Reveal Your Abs…

Despite what the infomercials try to make you believe, eating several meals a day of healthy foods that include carbs, fats, and protein is the best way to initiate long term weight loss.

Your best bet is to eat six meals a day (3 smaller meals, 3 snacks), eat only single ingredient foods, and always read the nutritional label of the foods you buy to avoid any hidden sugars or high glycemic ingredients.

I hope you’ve learned some valuable information today. Go out and integrate this eating strategy in your lifestyle!

 

Now It’s Time To Take Action: Here’s a 7-Day Meal Plan…

Day 1:

1. 5 Egg whites, 1 whole egg, ½ cup oatmeal with banana, green tea
2. Protein shake, strawberries
3. Grilled turkey breast on whole-wheat, steamed spinach
4. ¼ cup walnuts, apple
5. 6oz baked salmon and green raw salad
6. Protein Shake

 

Day 2:

1. 5 Egg whites, 1 whole egg, slice of wheat toast, almonds
2. Protein shake, apple
3. Whole-wheat Spaghetti made with lean ground turkey, spinach salad
4. ¼ cup almonds, ½ cup mixed berries
5. Baked chicken breast, ½ baked sweet potato, steamed broccoli
6. Protein Shake

 

Day 3:

1. 5 Egg whites, 1 whole egg, ½ cup oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts.
2. Protein shake, veggie sticks
3. Grilled chicken breast, brown rice, green beans
4. ¼ cup pecans, banana
5. Low-sodium light tuna, ½ black beans, steamed asparagus
6. Protein Shake

 

Day 4:

1. 5 Egg whites, 1 whole egg, ½ cup oatmeal with banana and walnuts.
2. Protein shake, 1 low-fat mozzarella stick
3. Grilled chicken breast, brown rice, green beans
4. ¼ cup pecans, banana
5. Low sodium tuna, ½ black beans, steamed asparagus
6. Cup of cottage cheese

 

Day 5:

1. 5 Egg whites, 1 whole egg, 2 slices of whole-wheat toast
2. Protein shake with banana
3. Grilled chicken breast, brown rice, steamed broccoli
4. ¼ cup pecans, veggies
5. Baked Chicken breast, ½ black beans, steamed spinach
6. Protein Shake

 

Day 6:

1. ½ cup oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries and almond slices, protein shake
2. Cottage cheese, veggie sticks
3. Grilled turkey breast, brown rice, green beans
4. ¼ cup walnuts, banana
5. Ground turkey tacos on whole-wheat tortilla, ½ black beans, steamed broccoli
6. Protein Shake, ¼ cup almonds

 

Day 7:

1. 5 Egg whites, 1 whole egg, ½ cup oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts.
2. Protein shake, veggie sticks
3. Grilled chicken breast, brown rice, green beans
4. ¼ cup pecans, banana
5. Turkey chilli, raw green salad
6. Protein Shake, ¼ cup walnuts

Be on the look out for Day 4 tomorrow:
How to Turn Your Body Into an Automatic Fat-Burning Machine…24 hours a Day!…

Previous Days:

• Day 1: Three Outstanding Tools to Sculpt Ripped, Attention-Grabbing Abs!…
• Day 2: Fat Burning- The First CRUCIAL Step to Getting Abs…

 

Got a question or comment? Got something to add? Let me know below…I respond to all comments…