To get ripped abs you are going to have to burn off the layer of fat that currently inhabits your midsection. Obviously one way to accomplish this is by exercising and burning calories through weight lifting and cardiovascular activity. However, the best way to control your levels of body fat is through what you eat. Remember a great body starts in the kitchen and not the gym. With that in mind here are five changes or foods that you can add to your diet in order to see an increase in the amount of body fat you lose.
Green Tea
Green Tea is an awesome way to stay hydrated. In addition to being full of antioxidants green tea can provide you with an energy boost and increase your metabolism due to its ingredient EGCG. Now I’m not saying that drinking green tea is going to make you drop twenty pounds of fat but it can certainly help get you in the type of shape that you want to be in. If you for some reason don’t like green tea there are flavored green teas that taste great with zero calories and no sugar added but if you prefer look into buying a Green Tea Extract supplement to get the benefits of EGCG. The supplements usually run around ten bucks a bottle.
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Nuts
Nuts such as cashews and almonds amongst a few others are basically super foods. Not only do they provide lots of protein which we will need to build muscle (which also burns more fat) but also provide the fat that our body needs. Yes, you read that right a great way to burn more fat is to add fat! Don’t take this to mean you can scarf down burgers and pizza but your body does require fats to function properly and nuts are a great source of this healthy fat.
Water
I know that I hammer this home in like every article on this site but that’s because it is extremely important. Drink more water. When on a cutting diet really the only things I will drink are water, green tea, and fat free milk which I add to my whey protein shakes. Sodas, sports drinks, and most juices are banned when going after ripped abs.
Grapefruit
I personally cannot stand grapefruit so I don’t include this for myself. However, certain ingredients in grapefruit do significantly add to the amount of fat loss you can experience while cutting. Eating grapefruit in the morning or having a few glasses of pure grapefruit juice (not the stuff mixed with other things and loaded with extra sugar to make it taste good) has been shown in clinical studies to reduce body fat versus a control group. It may only add up to a few pounds over the span of a few months but since a pound of fat is roughly 3,500 calories then that certainly will save you many cardio sessions.
Carbohydrate Sources
You do want to include carbohydrates in your diet. The source of the carbohydrates is more important perhaps than the amount you intake (though you don’t want to go overboard obviously). There are simple carbohydrates and then there are complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates have a very basic chemical structure that is easily broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream which can give you a quick boost of energy followed by a crash. This type of carbohydrate is composed of sugar and artificial sweeteners. We want to avoid simple carbohydrates.
Complex carbohydrates are made of longer chains of sugar that are bound with fiber and take more time to be broken down by your body. These slow digesting carbohydrates are found in foods like brown rice and oats and help control sharp rises in insulin which can prevent fat loss from occurring and even store fat. We want complex carbohydrates in our diet. This is one reason we pair foods such as chicken breast (high in protein) with a complex carbohydrate laden food such as brown rice.
This five dietary changes can go a long way in helping you ramp up the fat loss necessary to get six pack abs. I think the two most important tips are the complex carbohydrates and the water but adding the others really will help you get ready for beach season as well as help your health both the short and long term.