Has anyone read The Abs Diet?

holly55555

I'm reading the one for women and the recipes are awesome! It's not really a diet, it's a nutrition book on how to lower body fat percentage (and hopefully get abs!).

But the recipes involve incorporating what he calls "power foods":
* Almonds and other nuts
* Beans and legumes
* Spinach and veggies
* Dairy
* Instant Oatmeal (unflavored)
* Eggs
* Turkey and other lean meat
* Peanut Butter
* Olive Oil
* Whole Grain breads and cereals
* Extra (whey) protein
* Raspberries and other berries

And all the recipes are low calorie and high protein!

I was just wondering if anyone else has tried this plan, as I have a hard time meeting my nutrition goals and I like his recipe ideas and smoothies a lot. He doesn't require calorie counting but I obviously will keep it up, as if I don't, I lie to myself. haha

dieselbyte

Caloric deficit, either through diet, training, or both, is the key to lower body fat percentage, not some magical list of foods. Everyone has abs. Your body percentage needs to be low enough to visibly see them. All the crunches in the world won't do it. Overloading on all of the foods on that list, won't do it. You'll gain weight and spin in circles.

If your avatar is any indication of what your activity level is, continue to lift heavy, eat at a deficit, and track your progress.

holly55555

dieselbyte wrote: »

Caloric deficit, either through diet, training, or both, is the key to lower body fat percentage, not some magical list of foods. Everyone has abs. Your body percentage needs to be low enough to visibly see them. All the crunches in the world won't do it. Overloading on all of the foods on that list, won't do it. You'll gain weight and spin in circles.

If your avatar is any indication of what your activity level is, continue to lift heavy, eat at a deficit, and track your progress.

Yes, I lift heavy and I'm already thin - 5'8, 137lbs. I'm just trying to lean out.

I don't expect these to be magic foods, but as a guide to help me reach my nutrition goals, while still eating at my same calorie deficit. I'm a recovering skinny fat person who could live primarily off white bread and sugar if left to my own devices

Thanks for the advice!

ndj1979

holly55555 wrote: »

dieselbyte wrote: »

Caloric deficit, either through diet, training, or both, is the key to lower body fat percentage, not some magical list of foods. Everyone has abs. Your body percentage needs to be low enough to visibly see them. All the crunches in the world won't do it. Overloading on all of the foods on that list, won't do it. You'll gain weight and spin in circles.

If your avatar is any indication of what your activity level is, continue to lift heavy, eat at a deficit, and track your progress.

Yes, I lift heavy and I'm already thin - 5'8, 137lbs. I'm just trying to lean out.

I don't expect these to be magic foods, but as a guide to help me reach my nutrition goals, while still eating at my same calorie deficit. I'm a recovering skinny fat person who could live primarily off white bread and sugar if left to my own devices

Thanks for the advice!

like diesel said ...keep eating in a deficit and lifting ...

at some point you are doing to get to a point where you may want to bulk ...

Also, getting abs is the same for men and woman ...so I am not sure why they would have one for woman ..interesting...

ETA - it is not the type of food, but making sure that in your overall diet you are hitting your macro/micro/calorie goal ...

dieselbyte

ndj1979 wrote: »

holly55555 wrote: »

dieselbyte wrote: »

Caloric deficit, either through diet, training, or both, is the key to lower body fat percentage, not some magical list of foods. Everyone has abs. Your body percentage needs to be low enough to visibly see them. All the crunches in the world won't do it. Overloading on all of the foods on that list, won't do it. You'll gain weight and spin in circles.

If your avatar is any indication of what your activity level is, continue to lift heavy, eat at a deficit, and track your progress.

Yes, I lift heavy and I'm already thin - 5'8, 137lbs. I'm just trying to lean out.

I don't expect these to be magic foods, but as a guide to help me reach my nutrition goals, while still eating at my same calorie deficit. I'm a recovering skinny fat person who could live primarily off white bread and sugar if left to my own devices

Thanks for the advice!

like diesel said ...keep eating in a deficit and lifting ...

at some point you are doing to get to a point where you may want to bulk ...

Also, getting abs is the same for men and woman ...so I am not sure why they would have one for woman ..interesting...

Yes. If you are underweight, there really isn't anything special about being MORE underweight and having abs. And having abs year round really isn't the most healthy thing a person can do. You may want to continue at a deficit for a bit, but then bulk to add muscle. Yes, your abs will disappear. But with increased weight comes heavier lifting. Focusing on compound lifts will strengthen your core. When you cut back down, you may have more defined abs.

ActuarialChef

Haven't read any other responses, but the Chili Con Turkey from that book is AMAZING (with a few modifications, of course). Just had to throw that out there!

holly55555

hmmm I'm not really underweight I don't think? I may be close to it based on BMI, but I'm small framed and I have a pretty high body fat %. Probably around 25% and I'd like to be 18%. I don't want six pack abs, just some nice ab definition and of course tightness.


I haven't tried the Chili Con Turkey yet, I'll have to get on that

dieselbyte

holly55555 wrote: »

hmmm I'm not really underweight I don't think? I may be close to it based on BMI, but I'm small framed and I have a pretty high body fat %. Probably around 25% and I'd like to be 18%. I don't want six pack abs, just some nice ab definition and of course tightness.


I haven't tried the Chili Con Turkey yet, I'll have to get on that

Meant thin, not underweight. If you feel you have a high bf%, continue to eat in a deficit and lift to retain as much muscle as possible. For women, depending on your genetics of where you tend to store the most body fat, abs usually start to be noticeable around 17%. Outlines below 20%

Sam_I_Am77

It sounds like as far as carbs go they're focused on low-glycemic and / or high-fiber. Those are definitely good and there is definitely research indicating that low-glycemic carbs are better in-relation to body-fat, however; it still boils down to you overall nutrition and caloric consumption. That still needs to be managed properly, hopefully the book touched-upon that. There's nothing really new or special being introduced here, the author just took basic knowledge that's been out there for a while now and attached a buzzword to it.

dieselbyte

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

It sounds like as far as carbs go they're focused on low-glycemic and / or high-fiber. Those are definitely good and there is definitely research indicating that low-glycemic carbs are better in-relation to body-fat, however; it still boils down to you overall nutrition and caloric consumption. That still needs to be managed properly, hopefully the book touched-upon that. There's nothing really new or special being introduced here, the author just took basic knowledge that's been out there for a while now and attached a buzzword to it.

Pleas post this "research". Glycemic index has been deemed bunk and has no relation to weight loss. Calories in vs out

jacksonpt

I tried the original one several years back. It was the first book I read when I wanted to start getting into shape, and it was the first approach I tried. I had pretty good luck with it.

aplcr0331

dieselbyte wrote: »

For women, depending on your genetics of where you tend to store the most body fat, abs usually start to be noticeable around 17%. Outlines below 20%

Sorry for the hijack but that seems high for BF% to see abs? What is the ballpark number for men?

And again sorry for asking but why might it be less than healthy to have abs all year round?

5'8" and 137 seems pretty thin...wow.

jacksonpt

There is no ballpark number. A) tests are too variable. visibility will depend on body fat, body fat distribution, and "predominance" of muscle.

I've tested below 11% and never been close to having visible abs.

Sam_I_Am77

dieselbyte wrote: »

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

It sounds like as far as carbs go they're focused on low-glycemic and / or high-fiber. Those are definitely good and there is definitely research indicating that low-glycemic carbs are better in-relation to body-fat, however; it still boils down to you overall nutrition and caloric consumption. That still needs to be managed properly, hopefully the book touched-upon that. There's nothing really new or special being introduced here, the author just took basic knowledge that's been out there for a while now and attached a buzzword to it.

Pleas post this "research". Glycemic index has been deemed bunk and has no relation to weight loss. Calories in vs out

These are a mixed of peer-reviewed (not magazines, web-sites, or personal opinion papers) primary and secondary sources.

- Juanola-Falgarona, Martí1,2Salas-Salvado, Jordi1,2Ibarrola-Jurado, Núria1,2Rabassa-Soler, Antoni3Diaz-Lopez, Andres1,2Guasch-Ferré, Marta1,2Hernández-Alonso, Pablo1Balanza, Rafael1,2Bullo, Monica1,2 monica.bullo@urv.cat. Effect of the glycemic index of the diet on weight loss, modulation of satiety, inflammation, and other metabolic risk factors: a randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Jul2014, Vol. 100 Issue 1, p27-35.

- ong, Alice P. S.1 alicekong@cuhk.edu.hk, Kai Chow Choi2 kchoi@cuhk.edu.hk, Chan, Ruth S. M.1 ruthchansm@cuhk.edu.hk, Lok, Kris1 krislok@hku.hk, Ozaki, Risa1risaozaki@cuhk.edu.hk,Li, Albert M.3 albertmli@cuhk.edu.hk,Chung Shun Ho4 chungshunho@cuhk.edu.hk,Chan, Michael H. M.4 hmchan@ha.org.hk,Sea, Mandy1 mandysea@cuhk.edu.hk,Henry, C. Jeyakumar5 jeya_henry@sics.a-star.edu.sg,Chan, Juliana C. N.1,6 jchan@cuhk.edu.hk,Woo, Jean1 jeanwoowong@cuhk.edu.hk. A randomized controlled trial to investigate the impact of a low glycemic Index (GI) diet on body mass index in obese adolescents.BMC Public Health. 2014, Vol. 14 Issue 1, p1-19. 19p. 5 Charts

- G. Barbacorrespondenceemail, S. Sieri, M. Dello Russo, E. Donatiello, A. Formisano, F. Lauria, S. Sparano, A. Nappo, P. Russo, F. Brighenti, V. Krogh, A. Siani, on behalf of the ARCA Project Study Group. Glycaemic index and body fat distribution in children: The results of the ARCA project. Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases (2012) 22, 28e34

- Feliciano Pereira, Graças de Almeida, Crislaine das1, Gonçalves Alfenas, Rita de Cássia1. Glycemic index role on visceral obesity, subclinical inflammation and associated chronic diseases. Nutricion Hospitalaria. ago2014, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p237-243. 7p.

- da Silva, Ma. V. Lopes1,de Cássia Gonçalves Alfénas, R.1. Effect of the glycemic index on lipid oxidation and body composition.Nutricion Hospitalaria. ene/feb2011, Vol. 26 Issue 1, p48-55. 8p.

This is just a few published in my school's library, I could probably cite studies all day long as there are a lot.

This doesn't mean something like IIFYM's doesnt work or you can't have some higher glycemic carbs too, it just talks about the benefit of low-glycemic carb choices.

dieselbyte

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

dieselbyte wrote: »

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

It sounds like as far as carbs go they're focused on low-glycemic and / or high-fiber. Those are definitely good and there is definitely research indicating that low-glycemic carbs are better in-relation to body-fat, however; it still boils down to you overall nutrition and caloric consumption. That still needs to be managed properly, hopefully the book touched-upon that. There's nothing really new or special being introduced here, the author just took basic knowledge that's been out there for a while now and attached a buzzword to it.

Pleas post this "research". Glycemic index has been deemed bunk and has no relation to weight loss. Calories in vs out

These are a mixed of peer-reviewed (not magazines, web-sites, or personal opinion papers) primary and secondary sources.

- Juanola-Falgarona, Martí1,2Salas-Salvado, Jordi1,2Ibarrola-Jurado, Núria1,2Rabassa-Soler, Antoni3Diaz-Lopez, Andres1,2Guasch-Ferré, Marta1,2Hernández-Alonso, Pablo1Balanza, Rafael1,2Bullo, Monica1,2 monica.bullo@urv.cat. Effect of the glycemic index of the diet on weight loss, modulation of satiety, inflammation, and other metabolic risk factors: a randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Jul2014, Vol. 100 Issue 1, p27-35.

- ong, Alice P. S.1 alicekong@cuhk.edu.hk, Kai Chow Choi2 kchoi@cuhk.edu.hk, Chan, Ruth S. M.1 ruthchansm@cuhk.edu.hk, Lok, Kris1 krislok@hku.hk, Ozaki, Risa1risaozaki@cuhk.edu.hk,Li, Albert M.3 albertmli@cuhk.edu.hk,Chung Shun Ho4 chungshunho@cuhk.edu.hk,Chan, Michael H. M.4 hmchan@ha.org.hk,Sea, Mandy1 mandysea@cuhk.edu.hk,Henry, C. Jeyakumar5 jeya_henry@sics.a-star.edu.sg,Chan, Juliana C. N.1,6 jchan@cuhk.edu.hk,Woo, Jean1 jeanwoowong@cuhk.edu.hk. A randomized controlled trial to investigate the impact of a low glycemic Index (GI) diet on body mass index in obese adolescents.BMC Public Health. 2014, Vol. 14 Issue 1, p1-19. 19p. 5 Charts

- G. Barbacorrespondenceemail, S. Sieri, M. Dello Russo, E. Donatiello, A. Formisano, F. Lauria, S. Sparano, A. Nappo, P. Russo, F. Brighenti, V. Krogh, A. Siani, on behalf of the ARCA Project Study Group. Glycaemic index and body fat distribution in children: The results of the ARCA project. Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases (2012) 22, 28e34

- Feliciano Pereira, Graças de Almeida, Crislaine das1, Gonçalves Alfenas, Rita de Cássia1. Glycemic index role on visceral obesity, subclinical inflammation and associated chronic diseases. Nutricion Hospitalaria. ago2014, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p237-243. 7p.

- da Silva, Ma. V. Lopes1,de Cássia Gonçalves Alfénas, R.1. Effect of the glycemic index on lipid oxidation and body composition.Nutricion Hospitalaria. ene/feb2011, Vol. 26 Issue 1, p48-55. 8p.

This is just a few published in my school's library, I could probably cite studies all day long as there are a lot.

This doesn't mean something like IIFYM's doesnt work or you can't have some higher glycemic carbs too, it just talks about the benefit of low-glycemic carb choices.

The first paper indicated in an iso-caloric diet, there was no statistical difference in body weight between the low gi moderate cho and high gi moderate cho diets in measured weight loss. It is hypothesized that lower dietary fat intake for obese individuals leads to lower overall fat oxidation, which could be one reason the low fat group was studied at higher weight and fat levels.

The second study wasn't iso caloric. Over a six month period, the groups had "significantly lower total daily intakes"

I honestly didn't even read the third study, as it pertained to children.

The fourth study was an analysis of many studies, both human and animal. In human analysis, there was an argument both for and against lower gi studies results.

Sam_I_Am77

I honestly didn't even read the third study, as it pertained to children.

If the results weren't similar to other studies I could see your point, but there's consistency there and relevant.

holly55555

aplcr0331 wrote: »

dieselbyte wrote: »

For women, depending on your genetics of where you tend to store the most body fat, abs usually start to be noticeable around 17%. Outlines below 20%

Sorry for the hijack but that seems high for BF% to see abs? What is the ballpark number for men?

And again sorry for asking but why might it be less than healthy to have abs all year round?

5'8" and 137 seems pretty thin...wow.

I'm a woman and definitely thin, but as I said, the issue is my body composition and fat%. I was looking for some nutrition help to go along with my calorie deficit and found this book helpful and wanted to see what others thought of it.