7 Nutrition Secrets for Great Abs

<<Tom Venuto: SIX PACK ABS REVEALED>>

Many people say that “abdominals are made in the kitchen, not in the gym,” and there’s a lot of truth to that. You can do thousands of reps of ab work every week, but if your nutrition is not in order, you can forget about getting a great set of 6-pack abs.

Here are my 7 nutrition secrets for great abs:

1. Eat about 15-20% below your calorie maintenance
level. If you use a more aggressive calorie deficit of
25-30%, then do not keep calories too low for too
long; increase your calories to maintenance or
maintenance +10-15% 1-2 days per week.

2. Spread your calories into 5-6 smaller meals instead
of 2-3 big ones. Be very conscious of portion size. If
you eat too much of anything (even “healthy” food),
you can say goodbye to your abs. Period.

3. Eat a source of complete, high quality lean protein
with each meal (egg whites, lean meat, fish, protein
powder, etc.)

4. Choose natural, complex carbs such as vegetables,
oatmeal, yams, potatoes, beans, brown rice and
whole grains. Start with approximately 50% of your
calories from natural carbs and reduce carbs slightly
(especially late in the day) if you are not losing fat.

5. Avoid refined, simple carbs that contain white flour
or white sugar.

6. Keep total fats low and saturated fats low. Aim for
20% of your total calories from fat (and no more
than 30%). A little bit of “good fat” like flaxseed oil,
fish fat, nuts and seeds, and so on, is better than a
no-fat diet. Essential fatty acids actually assist the
fat burning process.

7. Drink plenty of water—a gallon a day is a good ballpark
to shoot for if you are physically active.

1000 or more reps of daily ab work is an amazing feat
of endurance, but that’s not how you get visible, 6-pack
abs! If you were to do 1,000 reps of ab exercises every
day, you would have outstanding development in your
abdominal muscles and you would definitely have great
muscular endurance. Unfortunately, if your abs are
covered up with a layer of fat, you will never see them
even if you do 10,000 reps a day!