THE ABS DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS

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The Abs Diet is a hugely popular diet plan written for both men and women. David Zinczenko, the author of the Abs Diet practices what he preaches and you would struggle to find a more perfect spokesperson. Tall, athletic, clean-cut and good-looking (imagine a Gillette commercial), he is also the editor or Men’s Health. But that isn’t why he is the ideal representative of the Abs Diet. It is the transformation of his child chubby physique into a svelte, ahtletic body that earns him that title. He wasn't born with it, he earned it. Having learned the negative eating habits of his parents (his father was approximately 100lb overweight for most of his adult life) as a child, he broke the cycle of obesity and is now passing on the information.

What’s the theory behind the Abs Diet?

The premise of the Abs Diet is that the more muscle you build, the more fat or calories you will burn. For every 1lb of muscle gain, your body will burn an additional 50 calories per day simply to maintain that muscle. This may not seem much, but if you were to gain, say 10lbs of muscle, that would be a staggering 500 additional calories! Over a period of 1 week, that would total 3500 calories or the loss of 1lb of fat. In other words, the Abs Diet promises to rev up your metabolism and get your body burning more calories.

The Abs Diet does not promise a silver bullet; instead it focuses on diet and exercise. The Abs Diet book contains a photo-illustrated section on exercise, showing how to build powerful abdominal muscles, as well as other large muscle groups, including your back, shoulders and legs.

Although it is called the Abs Diet, the author is cautious in suggesting that you can spot-reduce, i.e. lose weight specifically from your tummy. Spot-reduction has been dismissed by dieticians and personal trainers, though a study at The Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre, University of Copenhagen suggests that it might be possible to spot reduce with specific exercises. In any case, the Abs Diet does not try to imply that you can lose fat in particular areas of your body by eating particular foods. Instead, the Abs Diet suggests that by decreasing your body fat percentage overall, you will notice a flatter, tighter abdomen.

What’s the Abs Diet Weight Loss?

The Abs Diet suggests that you can expect to lose up to 12lb in the first two weeks followed by 5-8lb in the following fortnight.

How does the Abs Diet work?

The Abs Diet does not cut out or restrict entire food groups nor is there a central idea to the program. Instead the Abs Diet is a collation of the latest research on diet and exercise. If there is a predominant concept to the Abs Diet, it is the 12 "power foods".

The acronym "AbsDietPower", summarises the list of power foods and stands for:

• Almonds and other nuts;

• Beans and pulses;

• Spinach and other green vegetables;

• Dairy;

• Instant hot oat cereal;

• Eggs;

• Turkey and other lean meats;

• Peanut butter;

• Olive oil;

• Wholegrain breads and cereals;

• Extra-protein whey powder;

• Raspberries.

The Abs Diet stipulates that these 12 power foods are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, and increase metabolism naturally to strip away fat. All other foods are restricted. The Abs Diet suggests that these foods are able to:

• Build muscle

• Help promote weight loss

• Strengthen bone

• Lower blood pressure

• Fight cancer

• Improve immune function

• Fight heart disease

Although this may seem very restrictive, it isn’t as limiting as it may first appear. There is quite a bit a variety within these foods and there are plenty of recipes available to help you prepare interesting and wide-ranging dishes from the allowed ingredients. You should eat six meals a day (three meals and three snacks), made up of the 12 power foods, which will support muscle growth and fat burning. By eating 6 meals per day the Abs Diet suggests that you are sending a signal to your body that there is no famine looming. The authors of the Abs Diet believe that a significant reason restrictive diets fail to work is because your body is constantly bracing itself for starvation. The Abs Diet also suggests that if you are hungry on the Abs Diet, you are doing it wrong.

The Abs Diet advocates eating healthy fats (monosaturates and polyunsaturates) and complex carbohydrates, as well as calcium-rich foods, such as Parmesan cheese. The Abs Diet considers calcium the "miracle mineral" and research does show that calcium aids weight loss. The Abs Diet also requires that you workout for 20 minutes three times a week.

Abs Diet Verdict?

The Abs Diet targets eating and exercise habits and has easy-to-understand explanations of health problems. It has a good guide on basic nutrition, comprehensive information about the 12 power foods, a 7-day diet plan and illustrated exercises. Overall it is a sensible, realistic diet and exercise plan. The Abs Diet is achievable and will certainly help shift the flab and tone the

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