Six Pack Diet Review
Also known as “the abs diet”, the Six Pack Diet is meant to help you trim your stomach and tone your abs in just six weeks. The diet primarily emphasizes frequently meals, eating specific foods, and exercise. There are also 12 “powerfoods” that you should eat at least one of at every meal or snack.
What Is The Six Pack Abs Diet
The biggest claim of the abs diet is that you can potentially lose up to 12 pounds of belly fat in the first two weeks. Studies have shown that carrying weight (fat) in the midsection raises your risk of heart disease significantly. It also may increase the risk for diabetes and certain cancers, so getting rid of that muffin top may be more important than you think.
As you might expect, the Six Pack Diet comes loaded with protein to keep you feeling fuller for longer. Exercise is also a vital component to the diet because it is virtually impossible to get a six pack without working out and building your core.
David Zinczenko, editor in chief at Men’s Health, is the creator of this diet. He calls for one cheat meal a week, which he believes is vital to sticking to the diet. A cheat meal will stem off cravings and keep you focused on the prize – a ripped, toned six pack in six weeks.
Six Pack Diet Powerfoods
As we just stated, there are a dozen “powerfoods” to choose from, and a few of these foods should be eaten at every meal or snack.
You’ll quickly realize that many of these choices are rich in fiber, which has been shown to keep hunger at bay and help increase fat loss.
Zinceznko also claims meals should include a blend of protein, fat, and carbohydrates – although every meal needs to contain protein to rev up the fat burning process and to promote lean muscle growth.
So what are the 12 powerfoods? Here’s the complete list:
— Almonds Or Other Nuts Of Your Choice
— Leafy Green Vegetables Like Lettuce, Spinach, Or Kale
— Low Fat Or Fat Free-dairy Products Like Yogurt Or Milk
— Instant Oatmeal
— Eggs
— Beans And Legumes
— Lean Means Like Turkey, Fish, And Shellfish
— Natural Peanut, Cashew, Or Almond Butter
— Olive Oil
— Breads/cereals Made Entirely From Whole Grains
— Whey Protein Powder
— Raspberries, Blueberries, And Other Varieties Of Berries
Best of all, there is no need to count calories as long as you follow the guidelines. You should eat three snacks and three meals per day, and as long as you eat a variety of these foods, you will not go hungry, nor will you crave any unhealthy foods.
The diet recommends drinking at least several glasses of water per day, but you should limit alcohol consumption to 2 to 3 beverages a week.
Food To Avoid During Abs Diet
Now that you know the “powerfoods” you should eat, here is what you need to avoid:
— Baked Foods, Or Other Foods Using Refined Flour
— White Rouse And Pasta
— Sugar And High Fructose Corn Syrup
— Margarine, Butter, And Any Food With Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils
— Whole Fat Dairy Products
— Fatty Meats
— Fried Foods
If you commit to this diet, then you’ll have to ignore these foods for at least six weeks. Of course, you are granted a cheat meal, so you can take this into consideration when you’re picking what you want to “cheat with.” Just don’t go overboard or you’ll risk sabotaging yourself.
Exercise Habits
Zinczenko believes this diet and the “Power 12” list can keep you losing weight and help keep the weight off once you reach the target goal.
However, you’ll need to participate in strength and resistance training if you want to succeed, although Zinczenko claims you can skip the exercise part during the first two weeks. It’s not recommended that you skip it all together, but getting acclimated to exercising again may be a good idea.
As said before, strength and resistance training are very important to this program, and Zinczenko recommends waiting 48 hours in between sessions to allow your body to heal, to boost your metabolism, and to prevent overtraining.
Crunches and ab exercises only need to be performed twice per week, and fitting them into your training program should be easy. Zinczenko has a great workout plan to go along with the diet on the Men’s Health website, and he even includes options for men who aren’t going to a gym.
Cardio works are important, albeit not as important as strength and resistance training. Biking, swimming, or sports are all excellent ways to fulfill cardio requirements especially if you do not enjoy cardio on a treadmill.
Six Pack Abs Diet Health Benefits
The biggest benefit to following this diet is of course getting a slimmer, toned midsection. Using the combined approach of exercising along with the “Power 12” seems to be delivering some benefits to readers of Men’s Health.
There are numerous studies that have documented how important it is to follow a healthy diet AND exercise in order to lose weight. The trick is really keeping weight off, considering most dieters who stick with a weight loss plan tend to gain at least half of the weight they lose within a year of beginning a diet.
This diet plan helps keep fat gain at bay building muscle, which burns a significant more amount of calories than fat. If you continue on the path of strength training and dieting, then keeping weight off will be a breeze.
The generous amounts of fiber you’ll likely eat while on this diet will also help with weight loss by stemming hunger, improving insulin sensitivity, and regulating healthy bowel movements, which are just several of the other benefits to the abs diet.
Final Thoughts On The Six Pack Abs Diet
Overall, this diet is primarily aimed at men who finally want to trim down their stomach and get toned, ripped abs. This diet has helped hundreds of Men’s Health readers, most of which still use it today. Since it uses a diet and exercise approach to weight loss, we give the abs diet two thumbs up.