Eating for Six-Pack Abs

Who wouldn't love to have a flatter stomach or even six-pack abs? Six-pack abs in particular are the gold standard of health and fitness.

Most people know that for those ab muscles to show through you have to eat very clean. The truth is that getting six-pack abs is 80% diet and only 20% exercise. But exactly what to eat is still something of a mystery to many.

The best way to achieve anything is to find someone who has already done it. With that in mind, here are a few simple eating rules followed by fitness models who actually have six-pack abs:

• Don't eat foods made from white flour. Avoid eating white bread or white pasta. Foods made from white flour are usually "high glycemic" (high sugar index) which means they are easily changed by your body into fat. Instead, eat products made from "whole wheat" flour. Examples include whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta. Oatmeal is good too.
  
• Don't eat any flour products after 4:00 p.m. After 4:00 p.m. only eat vegetables (broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, etc.) as your carbs. Your metabolism slows in the evening, so starches consumed late in the day are more likely to be converted to fat.
  
• Eat protein every day to maintain muscle tone. Muscle requires a lot of energy to maintain, so it helps you burn fat 24 hours a day even when you are doing nothing. Eat lean sources of protein, such as beans (any type), peanuts, fish (salmon, tuna for example), and steak (the "round" varieties are lean). Get a tub of pure whey protein powder to mix in smoothies or water.
  
• Don't eat any food at all after 9:00 p.m. It's fine to drink water at night, but don't eat late in the evening. Especially avoid eating in the middle of the night. Midnight snacks are a great way to get fat! If you must have something, mix a little whey protein powder in water.
  
• Don't drink soft drinks. Do not drink fruit juice or energy drinks. Only drink water or tea, and maybe low-fat milk. Anything else has too much sugar and artificial ingredients, most of which will not help you lose fat.
  
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. You might think this will cause you to gain water weight but it's not so. Your body always wants to protect itself from thirst and starvation. If you drink lots of water, your body thinks, "Hey there must be a lot of water in this environment so I don't need store as much water." The more water you drink, the less you retain.
  
• Kick the junk food habit. Stop eating junk food like candy bars, cookies, pie, chips, cake, and ice cream. Have one "free meal" per week when you can eat those foods as a treat. The next time you want to eat a donut, remember that you will be wearing that donut around your middle a few hours from then.

It can be hard to change eating habits. But if you really want to lose that belly fat and those love handles, and maybe even get six-pack abs, you have to change what has not worked in the past. Follow the example of those who have already achieved what you want to achieve. Start eating the way they do!