A sizable chunk of my youth was consumed with the goal “get abs.” I wanted mine to pop like those on magazine covers and I dreamed of owning an impressive physique.

Vain?

Sure, but at least I’m honest.  And after years of trial and error, I’m happy to say I achieved my goal and am fortunate enough to help others do the same!

Today I’m going to share with you an EASY to follow guide on how you can unveil your abs and see more definition around your midsection.

What to Eat to get Abs

If you’ve been following me for long enough, you know calories are the king of fat loss. 

Eat more than you burn and you’ll gain fat.

Eat less and you’ll lose fat. 

But today I want to dig deeper. I want to go beyond calories and give you something more concrete. Specific examples of what my clients and I eat every day to trim the fat, get visible abs, and keep them year round.

Protein – Is essentially the slayer of excess fat due to its thermic effect and ability to help blunt hunger. 

There are 3 major reasons why protein is the best macronutrient for rapid and sustainable fat loss:

• Protein has the highest thermic effect (TEF) of all macronutrients. At risk of geeking out too hard, that basically means in order for your body to process protein, it burns more calories than it does for equal amounts of carbs or fat. In other words, the more protein you eat the more calories your body will naturally burn.

• Protein is the only macronutrient that can build muscle. And considering the more muscle, you have the more calories you burn at rest…emphasizing protein will, in no uncertain terms, keep your metabolism “revved up” for longer.

• Protein has the highest rating on what’s called the “satiety index” which means protein is the most filling of all macronutrients and will keep you from getting so damn hungry all the time – especially when you shouldn’t be hungry.

My Favorite Protein Foods

You know I’m a “list guy”, so here’s a list of my personal favorite high protein, low calorie, fat abolishing foods:

All meat (chicken, turkey, beef are my favourites) Are always in my refrigerator – simple, easy, and ready to eat. All fish (tuna, salmon, barramundi, etc)

Greek yogurt – always in my fridge Cottage cheese Beef jerky –> my “secret weapon” for long days of traveling

How Much Protein?

If you want to count grams, I usually recommend 1g of protein per pound of your current body weight. So if you weigh 150lbs you should eat 150g of protein every day. But if you aren’t counting just make sure you emphasise protein at EVERY single meal. That means for breakfast, lunch, and dinner you should have a minimum of 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein. Any less than that and you’re only going to make getting abs harder on yourself.

Carbohydrates – unjustly made out to be the evil foe of fat loss, carbs (in the right amounts) can legitimately help you burn more fat.

The Best Time to Eat Carbs?

I prefer to “sandwich” my training sessions with carbs (and protein) to fuel my workouts and improve my performance. So instead of having lot’s of carbs at every meal (that’s where a lot of people go wrong), I have 1-2 palm-sized portions of carbs before training and another equal sized portion of carbs after training.

My Favorite Carbohydrate Foods

There’s no such thing as a “bad” carb – it just doesn’t exist – but here are my personal favorite, go-to carbohydrates that give me tons of energy and fill me up for very few calories.

Oatmeal (mix with chocolate protein powder for taste)PotatoesQuinoaBeansRice

Fat – Somehow people often have the misconception that eating fat will make you fat and that is simply not the case. The right types and amounts of fats are not only helpful but actually essential for your hormonal health (which seriously impacts fat loss).

My Favorite Fat Foods

I don’t emphasize fat in my diet. Instead of going out of my way to eat more fat, I just make sure the fats I do eat are high quality. My favorite higher fat foods are:

Whole Eggs, Fish, Greek Yogurt, Olives/Olive Oil, Avocado

Keep in mind, a little fat goes a long way so you shouldn’t be pounding tons at every meal. Have bits here and there (a solid portion is slightly larger than your thumb) and emphasise quality every time.

Fruits & Veggies – I’m not talking about these for obvious reasons. If you want abs, make these a staple in your diet. Moving on…

What Exercises Help You Get Abs?

Contrary to the late-night infomercial I saw last night for the “ab carver,” a truly historic abomination of exercise equipment, there is not a single exercise that will sculpt your abs.

However, the right exercise program (coupled with a solid diet and consistent effort) can. And the base of a solid exercise program includes:

• Full body, compound movements like squats, presses, deadlifts, lunges, and rows

• An emphasis on strength

• And quick, smart, effective metabolic conditioning

But metabolic conditioning is a different beast; it’s something I haven’t written much about until recently and it’s, in my opinion, what most strength enthusiasts are missing in their programs.

A little strength-based metabolic conditioning goes a long way and even short bursts will:

• Ramp your metabolism and keep it “revved” for hours after training

• Build more muscle to rapidly increase your strength and muscular endurance

• Improve your stamina

• Help you recover faster from heavy training

• Burn more calories in less time for faster fat loss

This blog is already longer than expected so I won’t go into detail just yet, but if you want my all-time best metabolic conditioning workouts you might want to check out. If you’re looking to accelerate your fat loss results, then I have good news!  

My 12 Week Fat Loss Challenge begins next Monday! CLICK HERE TO APPLY 

Spots are limited each month, so you will need to get in quick.

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD THE PHYSIQUE YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED WHILE ENJOYING LIFE?

Sign up now and let’s focus on what is going to get you results.