In this article, I've posted
the "diet tips for six pack abs" portion of our interview we
recently did. Enjoy! Here it is...
CB: And finally Mike, 1 or 2
of your top secret nutrition tips for carving out those six
pack abs. Open your vault of info!
MG: Well Craig, I think you'd
agree that there has never been a more confusing time
regarding proper nutrition for consumers. Every so called
"expert" out there seems to disagree and contradict each
other on what's the best way to eat for fat loss and overall
good health.
One of the most important
messages I try to teach my readers in this world of heavy
confusion is that your diet doesn't need to conform to any
of the fad diets... you don't need to go "low carb" or "low
fat", or high or low anything for that matter to be
successful in losing enough body fat to get lean enough to
be able to see your abs. I like to try to simplify things
for my readers. I think that balance is the key to success
along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient dense
foods in their natural state (as unprocessed as possible).
In general, it is the heavy
processing of foods that makes it wreak havoc inside our
bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state are
inherently good for us. Of course there are always
exceptions... a salad of poison ivy leaves is "natural and
unprocessed" but certainly would not be good for us!
I'll leave your readers with
a couple of the most important aspects of nutrition and diet
that help to get you lean for life (and have any chance of
getting those abs to show)...
1. Get enough quality protein
in the daily diet - not only does it have a higher thermic
effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories
digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is
satisfied longer. Plus it's a building block for maintaining
and building lean muscle... And remember that the amount of
lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for
controlling your metabolism.
2. Think fiber! When it comes
to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate
intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits,
and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars
and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so
many people struggle with body fat. I personally don't eat
many grains as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies
and fruits, but I am a bit of a fan of sprouted grains. I
generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that
have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total
carbs. Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows
down the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all
beneficial for getting lean.
3. Don't be afraid to eat
fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake
in their diet and this can negatively affect hormone levels
in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat
enough healthy fats daily. Good sources are all nuts and
seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and
eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note,
saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood,
even by many nutritionists and other health professionals.
Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats, but are
actually beneficial (but that's way beyond the scope of this
article).
4. Avoid the two worst things
in our food supply at ALL COSTS:
*artificial trans fats from
margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in
most processed foods
*high fructose corn syrup,
which is in almost all sweetened products on the market
Again, if you avoid processed
foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in
our food supply.
I always contend that once
you get a handle on these 4 main points of your diet
detailed above, the rest starts to take care of itself as
you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels,
hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place, and you
eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get.
Gain control of this part of your life, and those abs may be
showing in no time!
