As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’m now in hot pursuit of obtaining the coveted six pack abs! Since the birth of my beautiful daughter (a little less than 3 years ago), followed by my quest to get back into competing in strongman competitions, I ended up getting a little soft around the middle. Over the last several months I’ve started to tighten up my nutrition again, and introduce a slightly different style of training, and I’m certainly getting leaner… but I still have a ways to go. But this time I am determined to get ripped! Chiseled! Shredded! I WILL get a 6 pack! Heck, I’m a fitness expert for crying out loud… I damn well should be in excellent shape!
So I hope you will join me on my journey to uncover the much sought-after “washboard abs” … starting with today’s post!
This will be the first in a series of posts including video tutorials demonstrating how to get a lean, sculpted mid-section… as I document my journey on video! The topic of this first tutorial is NUTRITION. Your diet (nutrition plan) has to be a priority if you want to get your body fat low enough to see abs. In this episode I present some key nutritional strategies for getting lean… now, I admit my meals may not look as pretty as some of the pictures in this video (sometimes I’m eating salmon out of the can, or broccoli out of the bag!) but you get the idea.
Here are some of the basic nutritional guidelines I recommend observing:
- Track your calories using a free resource like MyFitnessPal.com
- Eating 4 or 5 frequent but smaller meals each day is not essential, but it can help you control portion sizes
- Eat a high protein, lower carb breakfast in the morning
- Drink adequate water (or green tea): about a liter for every 50 pounds of your body-weight, per day
- Consume some essential fats, from sources such as fish oil, flax oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, etc.
- Eat some protein in each meal. Aim for about 1 gram of protein/lb of bodyweight.
- Eat soon after exercise, but avoid eating right before your workout
- Consider food supplements such as whey protein, fish oil, and a Greens supplement.
- Avoid eating too late in the evening (do not eat right before going to sleep)
- Reduce intake of foods that can stress your digestive system such as wheat, dairy, and heavily processed foods.
- Reduce highly processed carbohydrates such as sugar, white bread, pastries, deserts, and other sweets.
- Consume more carbohydrate foods on days you train or exercise, and less on your less active days.
- Avoid: alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs, excess salt and sugar
Learn more at www.GetLeanBook.com.
I will be putting together some more detailed nutritional resources for you soon, but next time we’ll discuss one of the key methods of training for fat loss to reveal that 6 pack!
Until then, stay fit.
Josh
how long have you been in the gym 6 days a week ? if you have not lost fat after 2 weeks your diet sucks .endomorphs need to work harder it is true but its not like i got to the gym run 5 mins and loose ihgwet and you need to do a marathon every week and just eat 1 apple a day write out what you eat over a week and you will see it is your food ,unless you do what i see alot of people do in the gym , they got 6 times a week but walk slowly for 5 mins and stop when its hard
A marathon every week? Gym 6 days per week? Just eat 1 apple a day? Sorry, those are out-dated fat-loss methods and will result in a huge rebound weight gain. Shorter more intense training sessions are where it’s at now. Gotta eat smart, but not starve yourself. True, your diet is the key, but eating too little doing too much cardio is also a problem.
[…] 2) Nutrition – Reduce carbs (especially high GI carbs and starches like most grains), avoid processed foods, include healthy fats and proteins, stay hydrated, watch your portions, and pay attention to peri-workout nutrition. Check out my blog post on nutrition here => Nutrition Guidelines for 6 Pack Abs […]
[…] Pursuit of 6 Pack Abs – Nutrition […]
Josh,
Like you, I’m a big strong man at 43.
Nutrition is hard for guys our size and age.
I have another issue, which seems like it might be small, but it’s difficult to manage:
I work continental shiftwork… 12 hour shifts. Sometimes it’s 6:45am to 7pm. Sometimes it’s 6:45pm to 7am.
Basically it works like this: work mon/tues, off wed/thurs, work fri/sat/sun, off mon/tues, work wed/thurs, off fri/sat/sun.
The time I find to train is (on the days I work) immediately AFTER shift…so, either 7am or 7pm depending on the shift. On my days off, I try to maintain the same timing, or, slowly timeshift it to meet my upcoming schedule.
The issue is with eating.
On night shifts, how to maintain energy through the whole shift, without eating a big meal at midnight? I’ve found myself being hungry on my days off at midnight because of having to eat on shift at those times.
The simple solution: eat at first break (around 9-10pm). Easier said than done. If the line is running poorly, you may not get another break.
Is the solution to not train on days I work?
Smaller protein snacks?
There’s so much info out there… what can you suggest?
Hey Walter,
Ya that’s a tough one… when your sleep cycle is messed with, so goes your eating habits.
The main thing is to plan your larger meals right after training, then pack small snacks / servings of protein and vegetables to tie you over between meals.
I would keep a couple of plastic shaker cups with you, with a couple of scoops of whey protein (maybe add some greens, or carb powder, depending on your goals).
Then you can just add water anytime, shake it up and it’s ready in seconds.
There are quality protein bars also, like Quest bars, which are low carb and mostly natural ingredients.
Packing some hard boiled eggs, mixed raw nuts, washed n cut broccoli, and carrot sticks is also handy.
You can even keep most of that in your pocket or hip pack, and grab a snack while working if need be.
It’s a drag when work interferes with training and eating well, but it sounds like you’re on the right track with trying to find a balance.
Just remember, we got old man strength now!
Good luck!
Josh
I really do not bveleie in any of those miracle machines or exercises that will give you abs in just 10 minutes or a couple of weeks. They are just money making schemes. You have to lose body fat to have abs. Have a look at the nutrition video to get some ideas. You also have to do some aerobics to burn off the fat and there is a fat burn video you can have a look at too. If you need more help let me know. Baz
If you want to see your abs you will have to reduce your body fat. You can gain wgeiht but It is not going to be easy. You will have to really be very strict with your food and training. You do not have to do aerobics but that is the easiest way to lose body fat. Good luck with it my friend. Baz
Got it! Thanks a lot again for hepling me out!
4 week abs sucks. I’d rather work my life to get a STRONG, TRAINED mulcse than get a visually acceptable , but weak as shit ABS with pills. I’d like to see her taking off the bra that should make her fell more lighweight and comfortable