Abs are made in the kitchen? Please explain!

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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?

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?!

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.

Another interested person! BUmp!

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bump to mark this thread.

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.