Abs Diet Commandments

If you're on a mission this summer to get cut and achieve that ripped set of six pack abs or just flatten your stomach out, there are some important abs diet commandments that you must follow. Failure to account for the foods you eat on a daily basis will quickly short-circuit your results and leave you continually wondering when progress is going to take place.

If you really want to get results quickly, you must take control of your abs diet and only feed your body the foods that will prime it for fat burning.

Let's go over some of the top abs diet commandments that you must know.

1- Thou shalt not skip post-workout meals

Without question, the single most important meal that you must eat during the day is the post-workout meal. Many people make the mistake of skipping this meal, thinking that it will allow them to continue to burn off body fat after the workout.

Immediately after a workout is when that food will be used to stoke the metabolic rate and when it's going to get sucked right up into the muscle tissues.

If you want to really boost your ability to get lean, load up a higher percentage of your daily calorie intake right after the workout and keep the other meals during the day lower in overall calories.

2- Thou shall eat protein with each meal or snack

The second abs diet commandment to follow is to make sure you get some protein with each and every meal or snack you eat. When on a strict fat-loss diet, protein is the single macronutrient that will spare your lean muscle mass.

If it's a rock-solid physique you're after, this will be essential. Focus on proteins that are naturally leaner, such as chicken, fish, egg whites, as well as extra-lean cuts of red meat.
3- Thou shall include at least one high-carb day a week
Third, don't forgo carbs altogether. Many people who are attempting to get a ripped stomach are quick to remove virtually all carbs from their diet except fibrous vegetables.

When all carbohydrates are removed like this, your metabolism is going to plummet making fat loss extremely difficult -- if not impossible.

Having at least one higher carb day in the diet is going to prevent this and keep that metabolism running faster. If you can have two or three high-carb days on your hardest workout days, it will be all the better.

4- Thou shall include casein protein before bed

Having some casein protein right before bed is another key issue that you must make sure you're doing. This is the slowest form of protein available, so by placing it before you enter the long nightly fast you ensure your muscles have a constant stream of amino acids to feed upon.

If you're currently in a calorie deficit and go to bed without protein, you will definitely be at a higher risk for muscle mass tissue loss.

5- Thou shall include 3 to 6 grams of fish oil

When it comes to fats on your abs diet plan, you do want to be limiting them. At nine calories per gram, they contain twice as much as either protein or carbohydrates do. However, one particular type of fat that you should take in daily is fish oil.

Fish oil will improve your insulin sensitivity so that when you do decide to add carbohydrates to your diet your body can handle them better and has a reduced risk of turning them into body fat.

Aim to take three grams to six grams of fish oil caps per day unless you're eating a larger serving of fatty fish in one of your particular meals. Salmon and mackerel are both great sources of essential fatty acids, so those are the types to focus on.

6- Thou shall limit sodium intake

Finally, the last abs diet commandment is that you must make sure that you're limiting your sodium intake. While sodium isn't going to play a role in actually gaining or losing body fat, if you take in too much, it's definitely going to play a role in how you look.

If you really want to get that shredded look, you must be avoiding water retention. Just a few hundred milligrams of sodium can easily throw off your leanness factor -- so definitely do keep tight reins on this as you get leaner and leaner.

The less body fat you have, the more of a difference you'll notice the impacts of fluctuations of your sodium intake.

absolute abs
Don't mindlessly go about your diet any longer. If you want ripped abs, you must be following all six of these commandments to achieve success.

First published by Shannon Clark

Shannon Clark is a certified personal trainer focusing primarily on fat loss and muscle-building nutrition.