Why you need to follow a good ripped abs diet! There are four things needed to build great stomach muscles namely good ab exercises, fat burning circuits, weight trainingand most importantly the right diet. I say diet is the most important ingredient because in my experience this is the single biggest factor in building a rock solid stomach and without it you simply won't succeed.
The reason a ripped abs diet is so important is because for most people the ab muscles are hidden by a layer of fat that requires weight loss to remove. While ab exercises will build up the size of the stomach muscles and fat burning circuits and weight training speed up your metabolism The fact is unless you follow the right diet and consume less calories than you need to maintain your present bodyweight nothing will change. Although you might build big stomach muscles and become fitter and stronger as a result of your training you still will not have the low body fat percentage that is needed to display six pack abdominal definition.
How to ensure you follow the diet plan.
The first thing to do is find out the calories you need to maintain your present weight. Although not 100% accurate two ways to get a rough guide are either. times your bodyweight (in pounds) by the number 15 (for men) or 12 (for women). For example, a 140 pound man would require (15x140) = 2100 calories on a daily basis to allow him to maintain his weight. Or simply use one of the many free calculators found on the internet such aswww.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm.
Once you have an idea of how many calories you need per day to maintain your bodyweight you need to reduce it by 500 per day and because there are 3,500 calories in one pound of body fat this will put you on target for a fat loss of 1 pound per week which is the target to aim for.
Please note, it is never a good idea to lose more than one pound or a maximum of two pounds of fat per week. The reason is because the diet needed to lose more than this would be so restrictive that you would not get all the nutrients needed for good health. You would also probably lose a high % of muscle mass which can result in you looking both skinny and fat at the same time.
Also remember that because your skin can only shrink at a certain rate, if you lose too much weight too fast you might end up with lots of unsightly looking lose skin which does nothing to enhance the great abdominal definition that you are aiming for.
Once you have found your calorie maintenance level and put in place a diet that reduces it by 500 per day you should monitor the results by weighing yourself once per week. If you are on target and achieving the one pound of fat loss per week aim you simply keep doing what is working.
If on the other hand you are either losing weight to fast or to slow then you should alter your diet accordingly by either increasing or decreasing your daily calorie intake by a few hundred until you find the right balance.
The next consideration is what foods should your diet consist of?
Well despite our current love of fast foods and all things bad, the reality is a ripped abs diet should always consist of tried and tested wholesome foods such as green vegetables, brown rice, jacket potatoes, fish, white meat and eggs.
The reason such wholesome foods are essential is because this is the only way of ensuring that such a restrictive diet will give you the required nutrients for optimum health, stop you from feeling hungry and provide the right percentages of each food type.
How to ensure the right diet balance.
To ensure you ripped abs diet is as effective as possible and still provides all the essential nutrients your diet has to include three major components,
protein, needed for repairing everything from fingernails to hair and essential for ensuring the maintenance of muscle mass during dieting. Good sources are fish, lean meats, nuts, seeds, soya and the best single source eggs the only food to have a 100% rating.
Carbohydrates, needed to make glucose which is your body's main source of energy and without sufficient carbohydrates you will soon feel tired, irritable and suffer mood swings. Good sources are green vegetables, brown rice, jacket potatoes,
Fats, needed for energy and a carrier of soluble vitamins A,D,E and K as well as things such as immune function. Unsaturated fats are far healthier than saturated and good sources are sunflower, olive and sesame oil as well as oily fish and nuts and seeds.
There are many thoughts on the right percentage of protein, carbohydrates and fat a ripped abs diet should consist of and with new fashionable diets making the headlines all the time you can find ones that recommend just about any diet equation possible.
However, most nutritionists would recommend a diet ration of approximately 50% carbohydrates, 25% protein and 25% fat and although some people find a slightly higher protein and lower carbohydrate ratio better for them the 50% carbohydrates, 25% protein and 25% fat ratio is about right and although you can alter it slightly I wouldn't stray to far from this recommendation.
Conclusion
As mentioned the most effective way to obtain great abdominal definition is to combine good ab exercises, fat burning circuits and a muscle building program with the correct ripped abs diet. If you do that and have patience you will defiantly develop great abs.
This site provides proven information on the best ab exercises, fat burning circuits and muscle building routines if you combine them into a complete workout program and follow the diet advise here your success will be guaranteed.
Learn more about nutrition and nutrients at whatisnutritiontips.com
Find out more about why a fat burning diet is crucial for a great six pack and why so many people fail.
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