Six Pack Diet - Part 2
In Part 1 of the Six Pack Diet we looked at the best kinds of food to eat & how often you should be eating. In Part 2 we'll look at calorie counting, making sure that you have energy for your day & are dropping fat at the same time! How Much Should You Eat? This is the key to losing fat and showing off those washboard abs. The six pack abs diet is about, simply, eating a little less than you need to maintain your body-weight. Eating way less than you need will slow down your metabolism, since your body will think food has become scarce. And eating too much, well, will just pack on those pounds. A bit less than you need to eat. And make it good stuff - fresh and natural!  There are 3 components to this in the six pack diet: how much you weigh, which you use to determine your base-metabolic rate (BMR), and then vary it depending on how active you are. 1. How Much You Weigh This is pretty simple. Get an accurate bathroom scale, weigh yourself, and write down how many kilograms you weigh. Actually, get your weight in pounds and then multiply it by 0.453 to get the number of kilograms. So, a 180 pound guy weighs 81.5 Kg (180 x 0.453 = 81.5). And if you don't have a scale, well, grab your car keys and go out and buy one right now. What are you waiting for? Shoo! 2. Base Metabolic Rate Your base metabolic rate (BMR) is how many calories you need to eat to keep you body fueled. Keeping the right balance is important to being healthy, and by dropping a little below this rate you can lose fat. Simple. The best method to use is the Harris-Benedict Formula, which uses your height, weight, age, and sex to determine your BMR. Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) - (6.8 X age in years) Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years) So, plug in your stats and get your BMR. This tells you exactly how many calories you need to eat per day to stay like you are right now. 3. How Active Are You? Obviously, if you're exercising you'll need more food on the six pack diet that if you're just watching TV and pumping your mouse. That means more calories to run around and have fun! Sedentary: BMR x 1.2 Little or no exercise.Lightly Active: BMR x 1.375 Light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week. Moderately Active: BMR x 1.55 Moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week. Very Active: BMR x 1.725 Hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week. Extra Active: BMR x 1.9 Very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training. Here's the key to dropping the pounds: consistently eat slightly less than you need, slightly under your BMR, while working out and staying active. Dropping Fat & Showing Off Those Ripped Abs! Drop fat by maintaining you level of exercise and simply dropping the number of calories you're eating slightly below your BMR. The six pack diet works on the idea that slightly less calories than you need will drop your body-fat gradually. Expect to drop about 1 pound a week on the six pack diet. Any more than this is unhealthy and unsafe - take the long view; slowly, little by little, you make your body into one you want. Yea, it's a drag if you want results next week, but just learn patience. It's a rare commodity these days, just like a six pack, so work them together and you WILL reach your goal. Drop drop the number of calories you eat by 15 - 20% for 3 days, go back to your regular amount for 1 day, then back at the lower rate for another 3 days. Take one day every week, weight yourself and reassess where you are, and calculate your BMR again. It's also good to take photos so you can see your progress and how much more defined your abs are getting. This is it. Keep track of the math and eat slightly less than you need to. Since you're already exercising and have a six pack workout going (you do, don't you?) you'll keep your muscle and be dropping a pound or two of fat every week. That's the whole six pack diet. Conclusion This is simple, but it isn't easy. Eat right, eat when you should, keep track of your calories, and lose a healthy 1 to 2 pounds of fat a week. It sounds slow, but after a month you will definitely notice a change. This plan is about being fit over the long-term and building a truly healthier you. Check out my review of The Truth About Six Pack Abs if you want to see a book that brings together the different components for getting six pack abs into one plan. It isn't perfect, but it can really help you drop fat & get a six pack fast.
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References: Brungardt, Kurt. 1993. The Complete Book of Abs. New York: Villard Books.
Geary, Michael D. 2006. The Truth About Six Pack Abs. S.l: s.n. Venuto, Tom. 2003. Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. Fitness Renaissance, LLC.

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