6 Pack Abs Diet Top 10 Foods

In order to get a flat stomach and six pack abs, you have to watch your diet very carefully. What you put in your mouth determines the amount of belly fat you will have and therefore your chances of having the six pack abs you desire. Most people believe that exercise plays the dominant role in determining whether you will have a flat stomach or not, but it's simply not true. Exercise is important, but without sticking to a correct flat stomach diet, you will never succeed.

Here are 10 Great 6 pack abs diet foods which you should have in your fridge and pantry

1. Vegetables -- Veggies provide a lot of vitamins and are a must have ingredient in any diet. I particularly like zucchinis, lettuce, peppers, carrots, and my ultimate favorite: tomatoes.

2. Cottage cheese -- cottage cheese is a lean cheese and contains a great deal of protein. It's also possible to chop some walnuts into it, and along with some raisins or a teaspoon of honey, it's delicious and healthy.

3. Whole eggs -- Egg whites are one of the top sources of high quality protein in nature. Most people throw away the yolks and that's a shame because they are highly nutritious despite containing cholesterol. I often make myself a triple omelette with three egg whites and one yolk. This way I get a ton of protein and have a tasty ommelette with little cholesterol.

4. Whole wheat and whole grain pasta -- These pastas contain a great deal of protein and provide and excellent source of calories.

5. Whole rice -- I never ever eat white rice because it's full of empty calories. But whole rice is an excellent source of nutrients.

6. Lean meat -- Chicken, turkey, ostrich, buffalo and other lean meats and fowl can be used in many delicious dishes and sandwiches, provide a lot of protein, iron and other nutrients. Make sure to include them in your diet.

7. Fish Oil -- Fish oil is a necessary part of any healthy abs diet. You can get fish oil in tuna, salmon, and other fish.

8. Walnuts and almonds -- These nuts contain a lot of healthy fats and other nutrients.

9. Green teas -- green tea contain a lot of antioxidants (which slow the aging process).

10. Raw honey -- A little honey can turn even the most bland dishes into a delicacy. It's a natural sugar and has many positive qualities. Don't overdo it, but a little honey will not harm your flat belly diet.

Incorporate these 10 flat stomach and 6 pack abs diet foods into your menu and you will see your energy levels increase, your belly fat decrease, and your overall health improve.

To discover 27 additional nutritional tips to boost your metabolism rate and more fitness tricks to take your workouts to a new level, click here: Tips and Secrets To Getting A Flat Stomach And Sexy Abs. John Davenport achieved his flat stomach and six pack abs. To read how he did it, click here How To Get A Flat Stomach Fast.

Flat Abs - Everything You Need To Know

Everyone wants flat abs, and if you're reading this now, my guess is you do too. But it's difficult to get flat abs though, right? Wrong. Flat abs are a combination of three key ingredients:

1. Eat right.

This is the crux of flat abs really. You see, the reason people don't have flat abs is because of the stored body fat that sits over their stomachs. For men, this is naturally where the body deposits long term energy storage (fat). For women, the body stores fat on the stomach, but mostly on the thighs and hips. Unfortunately for us, it's impossible to reduce fat in specific areas - your body will burn the fat evenly all over.

By reducing your levels of body fat, your abs will naturally flatten. The less fat you give your body the better. There's one surefire way to reduce your bodyfat levels, and that's eating low calorie foods. Aim for low fat foods, and avoid sugary and sweet foods as well

Secondly, eat lots. That might sound silly if you want flat abs, but bodyfat storage is the body's long term defense mechanism back from our days as cavemen when food was scarce. Cavemen didn't know when the next meal might be, so we developed a tendancy to stockpile energy in the form of fat. If you eat little and often (say, 4-5 small meals a day), your body will learn to stop holding onto the fat. As an added benefit, your metabolism will go up when you eat so your body will burn more calories off during the day!

2. Workout.

Flat abs are possible, but only if a) your body fat is low, and b) you have good muscle tone around your midsection. If your ab muscles aren't very strong, they may naturally push out and give your stomach a rounded look. By strengthening and firming up those muscles, your abs will be much flatter.

The second reason for working out is to help burn off excess body fat that you're already carrying. Try and do 30 minutes exercise a day, even if it's just walking (briskly) to the shops, taking the dog around the park or swapping the drive to work with a short bike ride. Once you work it into your lifestyle, flat abs will come naturally and stay forever!

3. Drink plenty of water.

This is a quick one really, but our bodies live on water. Without enough water, everything stops working properly. Drink 8 glasses of cold water a day, and see how your digestion improves, your skin tone improves, your alertness improves and so on. If your body is working in peak condition, you're much more likely to achieve flat abs quickly.

These tips for flat abs are taken from the many tips available inside possibly the best book on six pack abs (or just flat abs if you don't want a six pack), The Truth About Abs.

As the author shows, getting flat abs isn't hard, but it does take a bit of effort on your part, but so does everything else that's worth having. There isn't any magic button, single exercise or instant pill that will give you flat abs, but there are certain ways of doing everything to make sure you get the most out of what you put in. Follow the tips above, and you're halfway there - http://TheTruthAbout6PackAbs.com

Abdominal Training - ''Abs''

You can work your abs until hell freezes over, but if you still have a layer of fat, or in some cases even a beer belly, you will never be able to see the muscle. So, from a visual sense you must use proper diet & nutrition to actually be able to see your abs, and that is an entirely different article and beyond the scope of this one.

We all have abs, the technical name is Rectus Abdominis. It’s basically the “core” of your body and you could not really function without this muscle. Did I say muscle as in a single muscle? That’s right the Rectus Abdominis is a single muscle (see diagram) that attaches from along the rib cage down to the pelvis bone. However, there are two other muscle groups that complete the abdominals: the Transverse Abdominus, and the External and Internal Obliques, but these two muscles are not the visible portions of the abs that make up the “six pack” that we all desire. The Transverse Abdominus acts as a natural weight belt, keeping your insides in; and the Internal and External Obliques work to rotate the torso, and stabilize the abdomen essential for trunk stability.

Since the Rectus Abdominis is a single muscle it is physiologically impossible to work different parts of the abs. You often hear people say things like “I need to work my lower abs cause they’re lacking”, well they can try as hard as they want but when you train your abs you train the entire muscle. This does not mean you should not incorporate a wide variety of abdominal exercises (crunches, leg raises, trunk rotation, etc.) into your ab training, I just wanted to make the point that you are not going build or develop any one part of your “six pack” with different exercises. Now, remember that the lower area of the abs is a common problem in regards to excess fat storage for most people, especially males. So often the problem is not the abs per se, but extra body fat in that area that is covering the lower portion of the abs, again this requires dietary alterations not specific exercises.

So, you may say “how come I feel it more in my lower abs when I do hanging leg raises?” Well, this is another myth that we call the “I feel it syndrome”, which basically states that because you feel something working in a specific area it will make that area grow more. From a muscle physiology standpoint this is not possible. It’s possible that because of the angle more stress is being applied to a certain area of the muscle, which is often a result of that part of the muscle being stretched more, causing micro trauma in that specific area. However, this means absolutely nothing in regards to muscle growth and development. Do not confuse this with muscle groups that contain separate heads and tendon attachments, in those cases it is possible to stress individual heads to certain degrees, an example would be the deltoids. As far as our abs are concerned it is a single muscle and therefore it will grow as a whole. Think about it this way, if you could stimulate one area of a muscle and make it grow that would imply that you could actually change the shape of a muscle, which we know scientifically, that is not possible.

There are many exercises that can be used for the abs, the easiest and most common is a crunch, which essentially is bringing your hips and rib cage together, no more than just a flex of the mid-section. Do not confuse a crunch with a traditional sit-up; in a crunch you do not lift your lower back off the floor or bench. If you’re a beginner and are training abs for the first time I would recommend that you begin with a simple crunch on a flat surface, and some standing trunk rotation without any weight. Until you build up your abdominal muscles and flexibility do not try any advanced ab exercises such as weighted or incline crunches, or even sit-ups. Doing a sit-up has less of an effect on your abs, and more of an effect on your Iliopsoas or more commonly called the hip flexors. In fact, this is the muscle group that people often mistake for their lower abs because it’s a synergist muscle that helps stabilize the mid-section when working your abs. This is not to say that these synergist muscles are not important and do not need training, I am just pointing out that most likely that is why you think that you “feel it” in your lower abs.

Why is ab training necessary? Weak abs can contribute to lower back problems; the abdominal muscles help to improve the Erector Spinae by improving the mechanical positioning of the pelvis when it’s tilted forward. Also, if the abs are weak the lliopsoas can pull on spine during hip flexor activities causing injury. Weak abs can also be the cause of chronic low back pain, and can be responsible for hyperlordosis. So, no matter what your goals are, general fitness, bodybuilding or even power lifting it’s extremely important to have strong abdominals not just for aesthetic purposes, but functional and injury prevention reasons.

People often ask how often should you work your abs. Well, remember that the abdominals are a muscle and they require recovery just like any other muscle, although they do recover relatively quickly compared to other muscles due to their inherent fiber type. If you’re training your abs from an injury prevention perspective then you could train them 3-4 days per week using light loads, e.g. non-weighted crunches, performing 3-4 sets. However, if your goal is to develop your abs either for bodybuilding or sport performance, then you should only train them 2-3 days per week using more advanced techniques, e.g. weighted incline crunches performing 6-8 sets. As far as when to train the abs, it really does not matter; you could train them at the beginning of your workout if you’re prioritizing them. However if you plan to fatigue them it may be a better idea to work them last. Since the abs play a major role in stabilization it could hinder performance in compound lifts such as squats. An even better idea if feasible for you would be to train them on a day where you work smaller body parts and no compound lifts that involve the entire body.

Following you will find several links to animated pictures of some beginning and advanced abdominal training exercises from www.exrx.net. These are only a few of many exercises that can be used in your abdominal training.

Robert DiMaggio is first and foremost the founder and editor of IronMagazine.com LLC, an online bodybuilding and fitness magazine that has been dedicated to helping people achieve their bodybuilding and fitness goals. IronMagazine.com has been online since 2001 publishing new articles, content and a newsletter every month, along with a growing online community IronMagazine Forums.