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Abs Diet
The Abs Diet was created by David Zinczenko – the editor for fitness magazine “Men’s Health”. The book is written in a style aimed at men, but the principles can be applied to anyone.
For many years most athletes, fitness models, and bodybuilders have applied the same basic fundamentals to their diet. Principles like eating often (5-6 times per day), building muscle, eating lean proteins, and aiming to eat whole unrefined carbs.
Sadly many dieters have failed to take note of these techniques, often believing that calorie restriction is the only way to lose weight.
Useful Information
Hidden under the glossy marketing-speak in the Abs Diet, you will find sensible and workable ideas for fat loss. The principles are not new, but simply repackaged for a different market. In fact the program is quite similar to Body For Life.
Whilst the book is called “The Abs Diet” – having visible abdominal muscles is about attaining very low levels of fat – rather than any magic diet, special exercise, or special piece of equipment. Attaining defined abs is difficult and challenging – but it sells, and many men now consider visible abs to be the pinnacle of a good body.
The 12 Power Foods
The Abs diet contains a 7 day meal plan, made up of 12 ‘power foods’, along with recipes. One meal per week is designated as a ‘cheat’ meal – where you eat anything you want. The book advises avoiding foods like fatty meats, processed/refined carbs, high-sugar foods.
| The Power 12 Foods |
| 1. Almonds and Other Nuts eaten with skins intact. 2. Beans and Other Legumes 3. Spinach and Other Green Vegetables 4. Dairy: Fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese 5. Instant Oatmeal: Unsweetened, unflavored 6. Eggs 12. Raspberries and Other Berries If you are wondering why almonds, spinach, raspberries, and turkey were singled out — nothing scientific — it just helps to make a catchy acronym – absdietpower ! |
Cardio and Weights
Essential to the diet program is strength and interval training. This is based on the premise that building muscle increases metabolism which will assist in burning fat.
See a sample of the abs diet circuit training workout.
Do You Get A Flat Tummy?
This is what the author says in response to spot reducing:
“…you can’t spot reduce per se. That’s a myth. But if people lose weight – particularly if they’re doing some moderate exercise at the same time – they’ll lower their body fat and will likely notice that loss in their bellies since that’s where most of the fat lives…”
Unfortunately this isn’t quite true. Women, in particular, carry most of their fat deposits around the thighs and hips. Also, belly fat can quite often be the last place that fat disappears from. However the book does is aimed at men which may explain the authors comments.
Conclusion
The Abs Diet pretends to be something new. However it is simply a basic guide to strength training, good nutrition, and exercise. It provides good sensible nutritional advice, and, if followed correctly would result in weight loss and improved overall conditioning.
Check here for some videos showing proper Ab exercise technique
hi where i can buy that book in germany? can i have the complete name author of that book? THANK….
I love Men’s health and let me say David Zingthingping is a GENIUS, I mean the way he writes, he’s like a poet or something. It’s like he’s talking to you except he repeats everything at least five times. GENIUS and the book is only $30. It’s not like you can’t rip it off the net for free or get it in a second hand bookshop for a few bucks. And the food you can eat is awesome, it’s like taking regular food and making it taste like shit. Gotta go, I’m on day 6 – you know beat your meat then have a two minute break. AWESOME.
Jess, I am in the same shape as you, workout everyday watch what I eat, everything and if for some reason I stop exercising for 3 weeks (injury) I gain 5-7 lbs. So I decided to research and the big difference was my birthcontrol, hormons are really bad for you so look there maybe that could be also your problem. I will let you know how am I doing after stopping with that.
Absolutely it’s working.. i love it and even after eating so my i don’t put on weight at all .. that’s amazing. there are other Health tips that everyone should consider reading it.. very helpful..
I have been eating these foods for almost 4 days allowing me to have one unhealthy thing a day, whether it be a bowl of chips, a couple of squares of chocolate or a can of coke. From the second day onwards I felt and noticed a huge change in my abs. My stomach thinned down and my healthiness went up!
I tried the Abs Diet Plan about four years ago. I did the “diet” part but never got busy with the workout part. Using the eating philosophy I lost 52 pounds – I’m 5-11 and went from 210 to 158 in about seven months or so. So you can lose weight with the diet end of it though it does take some discipline. The “cheat” meal helped a lot.
I’ve been able to maintain my weight steady in the 170s. Probably been two years or more since my weight wandered out of the range of 170-179.
I recently picked the book up again to use the plan anew to drop about 10 pounds. This time I’ve decided to use the workout part of the book (I picked up a nice bench and weights off Craigslist). I’ve recruited a workout partner, grocery shopped based on the plan, picked up a large jar of whey and today will wrap up week 2 of a planned 20 week journey to not only learn to eat right again (and lose that 10 pounds).
I put myself on a bedtime that gives me 7 hours sleep per night, started on the “plan” again and working out. After two weeks I’ve lost no weight (I contribute that to the whey more than anything) but I do feel like I have slightly less fat on my body, I feel better already and the aches and pains of starting the workouts is quickly fading.
I’d recommend this book and plan to any male. It really is geared for men though the eating plan can work great for women too the whole book is geared towards men. It’s a great diet/workout plan for guys especially if you have a partner.
I have been on this diet for about a week and a half now. To be honest i haven’t seen much of a change (not expecting to in only a week and half) although my friends say they can see a diffrence. I’m not overweight I’m 5’5 and 130lb and I’m built big (big boned some people call it that) according to the book. Basically just want to see my abs and be able to find a diet plan that i can stick to for life not have to change it after 6 weeks. About the cheat meal I don’t plan out a day to have one because what if i always have it on saturday and my friends birthday is on sunday and were all going out to eat. I think i would rather have cake with my friends then some ice cream sandwitch from the fridge. I really do thing this is a good diet its simple. I don’t even feel like I’m on a diet. I reread the book cause i feel like I’m doing it wrong cause it’s so simple. I will write again with my progress
I’ going to check this book out from the library. For anymore who’s already tried this, does it really help you lose stomach fat? I’m not overweight, I’m 5’3 and 118 pounds, but I really want a flat stomach.
Don’t worry. Take the first couple of weeks and let the diet alone do it’s work and then jump into the exercise. I’ve lost a good deal of weight and did enjoy a cheat meal (on occasion two) a week. After you go into maintenance mode, you get a cheat DAY. This is practically required. The diet does not try to be so strict that you quit because of certain guilty pleasures that you love; just learn temperance. Remember, diet is good, but too much diet without exercise will cause you to loose muscle as well as fat. You may also find that after a few weeks, you want to do more as you may feel as you are not doing enough, but keep your weight training on their days and cardio on its. The workout / exercise routine was created in a certain way for a reason, losing weight. I have used the ABS diet to get down to the weight that I want but have now adjusted it slightly to more of a building routine. Don’t worry, give it a try, read the material so that you are not too strict on yourself (as most people tend to be and quit)and enjoy the new life and the results. BTW, my best friend started 10 days ago, diet only, and has lost 17 lbs (though he is a big boy). Good Luck!!
the diet is great its well balanced and easy. but this plan also allows for a lot of leniency, so i wonder are people still getting these great results being as flexible as the plans says you can be? For example it’s not required to exercise for the first 3 weeks, and you have the one cheat day. so to someone that has followed the plan and lost a decent amount of weight, did you go ahead and give yourself that leeway or did you just attack full on from the beginning? lol please enlighten me:)
Can someone help me. I want to buy this book in India. can someone guide me where to find it ? Thanks for the help..
I have tried a couple of other diet (adtkins, south beach, etc.) but none have worked as well as this. If you are going to try this, make sure to take time to read the material before starting. If not, you may not get the results that you are looking for. Exercise and diet MUST go together. I am 5’6″ and started at 197lbs. In 10 weeks, I am now at 159 lbs. I could have been further along but foolishly took about a week off. I can now, without thinking, pick out the foods that are best to eat wheh shopping and eating out and really have no desire to have cheat days with the exception of special occasions. Understand, this diet is a continous lifestyle and meant to be ongoing.
I’ve pretty much tried every diet out there. NOTHING WORKS. Here’s the thing, I have been working out 4-5 days per week for over a year. 1 hour of cardio each day, and weights 3 days a week. I watch what I eat. I’ve never been able to lose weight. No matter what I do, I just can’t. I’m starting to think there’s something wrong with me.
This is very good views.plz send other chart for abs
hey for all you people who’ve tried the diet and been successful, did you actually make use of the “cheat meal” every week or did you go on without it ? would like to know , thanks.
okay soo there are several things wrong with what you just said. first of all. if you have 20 pounds to lose…the last diet you need to try is the grapefruit diet. it’s not wise and all it’s going to do is burn your muscle and slow your metabolism down and result in more weight gain. and second of all your muscle cannot turn into fat and the other way around. they are completely different cells. when you lose weight or gain weight…your fat cells merely shrink or expand. you should really try the abs diet because if you’re as active as you say…this diet shouldn’t be a problem. it helps you gain lean muscle which revs up your resting metabolic rate like crazy and in turn lowers your body fat percentage.