Nutrition

 EATING THE HEALTHY ABS WAY:

 What if we told you that you could go off your diet, lose your rumbling stomach, be less irritable, eat more calories, eat six times a day, actually lose body fat, and feel great? You’d think it was another scam diet claim. Well, it isn’t. We recommended the simple lifestyle change of eating six small meals a day. Eating this way will helps stabilize blood sugar, prevent mood swings and energy lulls throughout the day, and provide increased energy to really burn fat. Skipping meals sends the body into starvation fat-storage mode, and most low-calorie diets do not jump-start metabolism at all.  After three weeks of eating six quality meals each day, you would discover the greasy foods and rich desserts are not to die for. They actually will not be as desirable, and you will soon lose your addictive cravings. You will desire exactly your body needs.

When your diet, you lose muscle , water, and fat. If you cut your calories to less than your metabolism needs to support your muscle, 4 to 6 of every 10 pounds you lose will be muscle. Each time you go on a deprivation diet, your body finds it easier to conserve fat because it actually thinks you are starving.  Skipping calories usually means skipping breakfast. If you miss breakfast, your body will definitely fall into starvation mode, holding on to fat. When you finally eat, you may eat too fast or too much, causing an increase in your fat storage.  Eating frequently and slowly is an effective eating plan for an ultradistance cyclist, a bodybuilder, and you. Make sure one of your meals is after your workout. Your muscles can store about twice as many grams of carbohydrates twice as fast if you consume them within 30 minutes of your workout. This window of opportunity is the best time to replenish muscle and liver glycogen stores for your next workout. When you increase your training intensity, add calories to each meal.

EATING LOW FAT

Your newly found abdominal muscles ( all muscles, for that matter) need calories to move and grow. Muscles prefer to burn carbohydrates for energy and to use protein for growth and repair. Consuming starchy carbohydrates increases you metabolic furnace, but too much is simply stored. At first, fat enhances palatability; most people would choose a calorically equivalent piece of apple pie rather than an apple. After three weeks of correctly eating, your “fat tooth” may disappear. 

Ten years ago it was difficult to eat low fat. Now there is fat-free everything. But be careful. Low fat is not always low calorie. Your body really needs a natural level of fat intake. Too much fat avoidance causes fat storage and a confused metabolism. Be aware that when fat  decreases in an off-the-shell product, sugar is likely to increase. Read the label. If it is fat-free, but the first three ingredients are sugar, corn syrup, and fructose, you are about to bite into a significant number of calories and a significant mood-altering, energy swinging experience that will eventually work against you.  

Initially, it may be difficult fitting meals between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. Eventually, you will need a mere five minutes to scarf down precut vegetables and chicken and some non-fat yogurt. Keep healthy convenience foods, such as organic carrots or almonds, in your car or desk to snack on. Eat a variety of different protein combinations, complex carbohydrates, and a small amount of monounsaturated and unsaturated fat. Be creative. Fuel your muscles while starving the fat.