Abs Diet: What to eat | The best diet for 6 pack abs
So you have understood the role of fighting fat for getting those sexy abs. Yes, a “fat free” appearance is what most people desire and hopefully you are able to appreciate the role of your diet. Your ultimate dietary goal is to limit your consumption of fat as much as possible.
It seems like the groceries store are full of packages after packages of “low fat” and “fat free” products lining the shelves. But is this “low fat” stuff going to do any good for you. Is it the perfect abs diet?
Although dietary fat is perceived as the major cause of a soft and flabby body, this may not be the truth in itself. In fact, consumption of dietary fat is actually at an all-time low in United States! Still we are facing the ultimate obesity crisis of all times.
Studies have shown that diets that focus on the extreme restriction of fat consumption are actually counterproductive to your fat burning results. There are several reasons that we can think of. Firstly, as you can see low-fat diets usually end up being higher in sugar, the reason being that to make up for the calories cut because of cutting on fatty foods, people start taking all sorts of foods rich in protein and carbohydrates - most individuals start piling up fruits, breads, pastas and other such items that, while low in fat, are very high in sugar. This results in excess glucose, energy which will have to be stored by your body as fat. An increase on carbohydrate consumption will make blood sugar levels high and insulin production high as well. Constant rising and falling of blood sugar not only lowers your energy and increases your appetite, but it increases your body’s rate of fat storage as well.
Besides, testosterone , as we all know plays a great role in building muscle tissues and having more muscle in the body itself aids in fat loss, is also something that has fat burning effects. Unfortunately, low-fat Diets have a considerable negative effect on testosterone production.
Another big problem is, if you cut your fat-intake , your body perceives it as “fat famine” i.e. a potential threat to its survival since fat is a primary source of energy. Thus, the body will automatically slow-down in the fat burning metabolism (to preserve its current fat stores) and a rise in hormones that promote fat storage.
Fats also have a lot of healthy benefits. They are needed for positive functions of the body, including brain and nerve tissue development, organ insulation, immune system strengthening, anti-inflammatory effects, controlling cell membrane fluids and regulating hemoglobin production just to name a small fraction. So try not to drop your fat intake below 10% of your total daily caloric intake. This is just a minimum, and 15-20% is probably ideal. Also, concentrate on healthy, unsaturated fats which are derived from plant sources and are liquid at room temperature.
You can consume these fats through solid food sources such as:
- salmon
- cod
- sardines
- mackerel
- avocado
- almonds
- flaxseeds
- olives
- peanuts
- pecans
Healthy fat containing oils:
- flaxseed oil
- extra virgin olive oil
- fish oil
- canola oil
- sunflower oil
- hemp oil