Abs are made in the kitchen? Please explain!
Mindmovesbody
Posts: 399 Member
Hello! Three kids later I need a little work. I joined MFP in Feb. Lost 7.2 lbs so far and exercising every day. I am not looking for a perfect six pack, just a flat tummy that does not reflect 3 children (2 in the last 2.5 years!). I am happy with the way things are going and know that I need to keep at it and be patient, also I know spot reduction does not exist. I know cardio, calorie deficit and a lot of hard work make abs, well make them appear. I keep reading 'abs are made in the kitchen' but no one has actually said how/why. The statement is made, posts ends. So, can anyone tell me what foods are helpful with this and which are the worst for this?
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Replies
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High protein low carb/fat diets are where you will find your abs.
Many people with the beautiful defined stomachs you see will follow 'clean diets' so they won't eat anything processed - fresh meats/fish and vegetables/salad/fruit. no dressings etc. i believe wholegrain rice is fine but i'd read up on that!
Maybe try clean eating 2/3 days a week to get you started.0 -
Feel free to add/message me if you've got any questions xx0
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Eat healthy whole foods in the right PORTION. The rest will happen naturally.0
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Going clean seems to be so much work. And yes I realize the payoff is worth it but for those that started to eat clean how did you do it? How did you make the change over?
For instance - eating a salad I love to put ranch on it but I put light ranch and I measure it out. Or sometimes I use light honey mustard. I don't think i could eat a salad with nothing on it. What about bread. Do you eat bread but only eat wheat or what low carb bread only?
And do any of you who eat clean have a family who doesn't want to go 100% clean? How do you balance that?0 -
Bump to read later when more replies are posted. I'd like to know as well.0
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Going clean seems to be so much work. And yes I realize the payoff is worth it but for those that started to eat clean how did you do it? How did you make the change over?
For instance - eating a salad I love to put ranch on it but I put light ranch and I measure it out. Or sometimes I use light honey mustard. I don't think i could eat a salad with nothing on it. What about bread. Do you eat bread but only eat wheat or what low carb bread only?
And do any of you who eat clean have a family who doesn't want to go 100% clean? How do you balance that?
I'm also interested in knowing this?!0 -
Going clean seems to be so much work. And yes I realize the payoff is worth it but for those that started to eat clean how did you do it? How did you make the change over?
For instance - eating a salad I love to put ranch on it but I put light ranch and I measure it out. Or sometimes I use light honey mustard. I don't think i could eat a salad with nothing on it. What about bread. Do you eat bread but only eat wheat or what low carb bread only?
And do any of you who eat clean have a family who doesn't want to go 100% clean? How do you balance that?
as far as dressing, use vinager instead. Like a red wine vinager0 -
For me, eating clean/healthy was something I just had to commit to, every day. I used to put Ranch and a lot of it on my salads and I'd dip my fries and pizza crust in it. Now I used Low or Non fat Italian on my salads, measured, don't eat fries but maybe once a month and eat my pizza crust plain. There was and is still some resistance to my healthier life style, but it's been pretty easy getting things switched over, though I don't have kids. I found that just swapping stuff little by little made it fairly easy. Mix in whole grain pasta with your regular pasta until you've slowly replaced all the white, processed stuff with whole grain. Fresh veggies and fruit instead of canned.
Bread shouldn't just be wheat, but whole grain. You should be able to see the grains or nuts in it.0 -
I would like to read some of the advice as well0
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Another interested person! BUmp!0
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Abs are made in the kitchen just means that diet will help to lose the fat to reveal your abs. All the ab exercises in the world won't help if abs are covered by a layer of fat.0
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Hello! Three kids later I need a little work. I joined MFP in Feb. Lost 7.2 lbs so far and exercising every day. I am not looking for a perfect six pack, just a flat tummy that does not reflect 3 children (2 in the last 2.5 years!). I am happy with the way things are going and know that I need to keep at it and be patient, also I know spot reduction does not exist. I know cardio, calorie deficit and a lot of hard work make abs, well make them appear. I keep reading 'abs are made in the kitchen' but no one has actually said how/why. The statement is made, posts ends. So, can anyone tell me what foods are helpful with this and which are the worst for this?
Exercise is what creates size and definition in your abdominal muscles, but you'll never be able to see the muscles if you don't remove the layer of fat that covers them. The vast majority of fat loss is achieved by watching what you eat (particularly reducing calories). Basically, it means that the vast majority of getting really great looking abs comes down to what you eat, not how you work out.
It's intended as a counter to the fact that most people who are looking to get a 6 pack will decide that this is best achieved by doing 1000 crunches a day (literally).
(This doesn't necessarily mean eating any very specific kind of diet. Anything that results in fat loss will conceivably do the job.)0 -
Eating clean didn't happen over night for me, it was about constantly tweaking my foods each day to get the most out of the calories I had. I love Ranch dressed but I had to cut it out, now I make a healthy version of Ranch with plain greek yogurt. I started by logging everything I eat into my diary and then finding healthier replacements for it. Love cheddar cheese on salads but it's not all that healthy, just found some fat-free cheddar, love mayo but use mustard. Salsa is great on eggs and chicken. Your taste buds actually get re calibrated to where food tastes better and better.0
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I'm kind of transitioning into a clean diet right now. I'm going to be starting Jamie Eason's livefit program from bodybuilding.com, there's tonnes of nutritional info and recipes on eating clean there. My plan is to have 1 or 2 meal prep days, to make "special" food for myself to eat when I'm not making a clean meal for everyone, or just a couple of meals for the family. I'm lucky that DH is supportive and will eat pretty much anything, as for my two young daughters (ages 4 and almost 2) not so much. Everyone is right who says that eating clean is avoiding processed foods, eating whole natural foods. How much you want to do would be up to you, I hear lots of people say they eat 98% clean or whatever, but I know there's people who have occasional cheats too. It can be quite costly however, and finding some ingredients proves difficult.0
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What "abs are made in the kitchen" implies is that you can do as many crunches, buy an Ab Roller or an Ab Lounge or an Ab Chair (or whatever they call that stupid seat on a spring with the handlebars that I see in an infomercial) and you will create a beautifully toned set of abdominal muscles. However, they will be covered by a nice layer of fat and no one will see them if you don't eat right. In fact, if you eat right and get your bodyfat down to single digits (men) or mid-teens (women) you WILL have visible abs even if you don't do a single crunch.
Hence, "abs are made in the kitchen".0 -
It simply means eating whole, natural foods and avoiding processed foods. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store: fresh fruit & vegetables, lean proteins, dairy, eggs.
Frozen fruit and vegetables are OK if the ingredient list shows nothing else is added. Most items in the grocery aisles, including the frozen foods sections, are processed foods. There are a few exceptions liked canned tomatoes, beans, etc. Read the ingredient lists. If you can't identify something, it's processed and contains all kinds of chemicals and fillers. Of course, avoid (or limit) all the obvious things like cake, cookies, pastries, candy, etc.
For salads, I usually use light Italian dressing. It's low-cal and contains only good fats (poly & mono). I also use balsamic vinegar and olive oil.0 -
Eating clean didn't happen over night for me, it was about constantly tweaking my foods each day to get the most out of the calories I had. I love Ranch dressed but I had to cut it out, now I make a healthy version of Ranch with plain greek yogurt. I started by logging everything I eat into my diary and then finding healthier replacements for it. Love cheddar cheese on salads but it's not all that healthy, just found some fat-free cheddar, love mayo but use mustard. Salsa is great on eggs and chicken. Your taste buds actually get re calibrated to where food tastes better and better.
I agree with you on the taste buds. Growing up we were never made to eat veggies so in the last few years I've taught myself to eat all sorts of veggies in different ways and I love them. My husband is shocked at how well I've done in that area. I just can't seem to give up some of the junk like - a snack size bag of chips with my turkey sandwich. Or a soda or energy drink here and there. I like mayo too so I'm trying to find an alternative for that. I hate mustard - can't stand the taste so that will not work. I'm still a work in progress I guess.0 -
I'm kind of transitioning into a clean diet right now. I'm going to be starting Jamie Eason's livefit program from bodybuilding.com, there's tonnes of nutritional info and recipes on eating clean there. My plan is to have 1 or 2 meal prep days, to make "special" food for myself to eat when I'm not making a clean meal for everyone, or just a couple of meals for the family. I'm lucky that DH is supportive and will eat pretty much anything, as for my two young daughters (ages 4 and almost 2) not so much. Everyone is right who says that eating clean is avoiding processed foods, eating whole natural foods. How much you want to do would be up to you, I hear lots of people say they eat 98% clean or whatever, but I know there's people who have occasional cheats too. It can be quite costly however, and finding some ingredients proves difficult.
I'm doing the Jamie Eason plan right now. I started Phase 2 on Monday. It also doesn't help that I don't have a whole foods or trader joe's close to me. Finding some of these natural whole foods is hard.0 -
Belly fat is hard to lose, so to see those abs we have been working hard for, we must also eat the right foods in conjunction with the exercise to help burn that hard to burn fat.
I have found that by eating foods that have a low glycemic index, I am burning the belly fat faster than by just exercising. Now there are going to be some people that come in and say I am wrong because you can not choose where you burn your fat, but I know this to be true for me.
Instead of rice and pasta, I switched to quinoa. I eat sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes and added more greens (kale mostly) to my diet. I am 43 years old and just took my profile pic last Friday. Now although I have reached my goal weight, I am still working on some belly fat that I hope to have off by the time I go to Mexico in the fall. This does not happen fast but it is worth the wait.0 -
Easy explanation:
Abs hide under belly fat. You have a 6 pack right now, Its just hidden. 6 packs reveal themselves when a person reaches a certain % of body fat. In men this is generally 11%- 9% body fat. in women This is generally 15%-12% body fat. To reach that level of body fat it takes extremely careful diet. You cant cardio your way to 6 pack abs. Abs are built in the kitchen by being very careful with your diet.0 -
Going clean seems to be so much work. And yes I realize the payoff is worth it but for those that started to eat clean how did you do it? How did you make the change over?
For instance - eating a salad I love to put ranch on it but I put light ranch and I measure it out. Or sometimes I use light honey mustard. I don't think i could eat a salad with nothing on it. What about bread. Do you eat bread but only eat wheat or what low carb bread only?
And do any of you who eat clean have a family who doesn't want to go 100% clean? How do you balance that?
I actually like my salad without dressing, if you have enough good stuff on it, you won't notice! But, you could always squeeze some lemon juice over your salad as a dressing. I eat bread, but only the Ezekiel brand.0 -
Going clean seems to be so much work. And yes I realize the payoff is worth it but for those that started to eat clean how did you do it? How did you make the change over?
For instance - eating a salad I love to put ranch on it but I put light ranch and I measure it out. Or sometimes I use light honey mustard. I don't think i could eat a salad with nothing on it.
I love eating fresh salads with no dressing, but I wasn't always like this. I use to drown my salads in ranch dressing and then I slowly moved to non fat honey mustard, eventually dressing became optional. I truly like the taste of fresh vegetables on a bed of spinach leaves. I'll top it off with either some tuna or grilled chicken.
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The saying Abs are made in the kitchen simly refers to your diet Meaning yes exercise is great, but you'll see your greatest weightloss results be keeping a healthy diet and eating right. There is no food that will give you rock hard abs, but maintaning a very healthy diet along with a good workout routine will.
Ok on to the other questions, how do you eat clean, well there really isn't a secret here, you just need to force yourself to start making better decisions. Start small, maybe try an every other day thing, one day eat great the next let loose, and then work your way up from there. Light dressing is good, but portion control is more important, just keep checking those cal, and inputing them to MFP, and you will make the transition. It takes time, I wasn't perfect in the beginning, hell I'm not perfect now, but its all about making healthy choice, and building up your will power. just because you start eating healthy, doesn't mean you stil can't let loose now and then, I do it all the time, just have a cheat meal to allow myself to just relax, and then its right back into it.
Experiment, find healthy foods you like to eat, and then stick with those, then start looking for more and more, and before you know it you will have plenty of healthy choices to choose from. Again there is no secret here, only tips on how to do it, but really it just comes down to you, and how commited you want to be.0 -
Going clean seems to be so much work. And yes I realize the payoff is worth it but for those that started to eat clean how did you do it? How did you make the change over?
For instance - eating a salad I love to put ranch on it but I put light ranch and I measure it out. Or sometimes I use light honey mustard. I don't think i could eat a salad with nothing on it. What about bread. Do you eat bread but only eat wheat or what low carb bread only?
And do any of you who eat clean have a family who doesn't want to go 100% clean? How do you balance that?
I use a little honey as my salad dressing.0 -
It's not more work, it's just about making better choices. Cooking for yourself instead of letting manufacturers do the work. All I did was cut out the stuff that I used to eat that was pre-made. I still have dressing on my salad because you need good fats (choose wisely). Fresh meat, veg, fruit and smaller portions of grains like oatmeal.
Packaged and 'convenience' foods are forbidden in my house. If I can't pronounce or understand the ingredients on the label, I'm not eating it. Period.
The easiest way to accomplish this is to simply not bring it home.0 -
Bump to mark this thread.0
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I guess I am well on my way then. I kind of figured the answer was eating clean and caloric intake. I feel as though those seem obvious but I guess not to everyone! I wasnt sure if there was something i just was not aware of. I already eat really well. I have an occasional treat here and there and do not deprive myself but I stay within my calories. I exercise 6 days a week and I eat VERY low fat and mostly whole, raw and fresh. Im not big on processed foods. Again, I'm not looking for a total ripped six pack, just my tummy flat again after the babies. I will never have my pre- baby body back, just looking for a wonderful version of my post- baby self. Thanks for all the replies!0
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I'm currently "eating for abs" it is the reason I joined MFP. I used to be a raw foodist, i ate all raw fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds, and the occasional raw animal product. I lost excess weight but still couldn't see my abs and had a softness around my midsection. Recently I started working out pretty hard at an MMA gym so I thought it was about time to switch up my diet to compliment my workouts. My bikini bodybuilder friend recommend I try low carb, high protein. It's been almost 2 weeks since and my mid section has gotten noticeably leaner! I'm starting to see ab definition FINALLY!
I cut out almost the fruits (except on cheat days) I eat mostly veggies (steamed and raw) fish, shrimp, eggs, nuts, nut butters, and sometimes oatmeal or whole wheat bread. I cut my carbs down to 80-120. But i don't beat myself up if I have a 145 carb day. It's better than the amount of carbs I used to eat (3-400!!!)
also I allow myself a CHEAT DAY. 1 day a week, mine is on Saturday. And I allow myself to eat whatever I was craving throughout the week. It's a delayed satisfaction, and keeps the rest of my diet clean. Plus, the cheat day spikes my metabolism so my body doesn't get used to the intake I have throughout the week and it goes into fat burning mode for the next week! I was scared the first time I did cheat day, scared that I ruined all of my progress, but the next day I was working out hard, feeling great, and only getting leaner!
Abs truly are made in the kitchen.0 -
Also, I keep hearing low fat, don't be afraid of good healthy fat, you need it to burn fat. I used to keep my fat at around 25% of my daily foods and bumped it up to 30-35% and am losing faster. This is especially true if you have an office job in which you sit around a lot (like I do).0
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I'm currently "eating for abs" it is the reason I joined MFP. I used to be a raw foodist, i ate all raw fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds, and the occasional raw animal product. I lost excess weight but still couldn't see my abs and had a softness around my midsection. Recently I started working out pretty hard at an MMA gym so I thought it was about time to switch up my diet to compliment my workouts. My bikini bodybuilder friend recommend I try low carb, high protein. It's been almost 2 weeks since and my mid section has gotten noticeably leaner! I'm starting to see ab definition FINALLY!
I cut out almost the fruits (except on cheat days) I eat mostly veggies (steamed and raw) fish, shrimp, eggs, nuts, nut butters, and sometimes oatmeal or whole wheat bread. I cut my carbs down to 80-120. But i don't beat myself up if I have a 145 carb day. It's better than the amount of carbs I used to eat (3-400!!!)
also I allow myself a CHEAT DAY. 1 day a week, mine is on Saturday. And I allow myself to eat whatever I was craving throughout the week. It's a delayed satisfaction, and keeps the rest of my diet clean. Plus, the cheat day spikes my metabolism so my body doesn't get used to the intake I have throughout the week and it goes into fat burning mode for the next week! I was scared the first time I did cheat day, scared that I ruined all of my progress, but the next day I was working out hard, feeling great, and only getting leaner!
Abs truly are made in the kitchen.
I guess as I go along I will have to start reevaluating my carb and protein intakes. Thanks for all the info!0
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