Get Your Six Pack On

In this issue’s column, I’d like to address a series of questions I get all the time: What can I do to lose weight in my stomach and get a six pack? I’ve been doing a lot of crunches and sit-ups but they don’t seem to help.  What can I do to make the fat go away?

Many people do hundreds of sit-ups and wonder why they still have belly fat and no six pack. The answer to this question is simple, but many of us don’t want to believe it.

There is no way to target weight loss to a specific area of the body because your body decides where it wants to put on weight and where it wants to take it off! It’s useless to perform hundreds and hundreds of crunches if there is a huge layer of fat on top covering up these muscles. It is also virtually impossible to achieve great abs development with exercise alone. So rather than doing that, let’s focus on attacking the fat with all the tools we have in our toolbox: weight training, cardiovascular exercise, proper nutrition and improved body composition.

Everyone has a six pack, but they are just hiding under varying degrees of fat. So how do we do the big reveal? It is based on two things: your overall body composition (body fat percentage) and the development of the abdominal muscles themselves. So, the first step sin revealing your abs are to improve your body composition by adding muscle, and decreasing your body fat.

The first place to start when you set out to improve your body composition is proper nutrition.  Proper nutrition is 50 to 80 percent of your success. Yes, it is that important. If I can help you realize this one concept, you will be well on your way to a six pack.  Some of the no-brainer foods to give up when trying to lose fat are: sweets, sodas (even diet) and refined grains. Get rid of breakfast foods like sugar cereal, pop tarts pastries, high sugar granola and every cookie, cake, donut and potato chip.

These foods are painfully processed and will spike your insulin mercilessly, forcing the body to store the sugar as fat.  Some of us also need to remember that alcohol does the same thing. Dairy foods can be tricky as well, because they have a greater potential for fat storage than many other foods. If you have to eat them stick with the low-fat versions and watch portions.

The good news is that some foods help maintain constant blood sugar levels; others can help with cravings; and still others help burn fat by affecting hormones. I’ve compiled a list of foods that, if eaten exclusively, can not only increase fat-burning, but help with cravings, and improve your overall health and immune system function. Do your best to eat from the following list of foods:

Chicken breasts, ground bison, egg whites, whey protein powder, turkey breast, lean ground turkey, white fish, wild Alaskan salmon, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, bell pepers, green beans, kale, collard greens, chard, berries, apples, old-fashioned oatmeal, sweet potatoes, brown rice, low fat yogurt, raw almonds, natural peanut butter or almond butter (limit to two tablespoons per serving), chunky salsa, green tea, unsweetened cocoa and water.

Remember, this is not an end to life as you know it. This is a plan to get you to your goal and you can relax when your body composition has changed.  With increased muscle mass you will increase your fat and calorie burning capabilities.

I tell myself a goal is just a wish unless it is written down. Use a food journal every day to keep track of what you eat including the total carbohydrates, fat, protein grams and total caloric intake. Using a journal will be your best tool to ensure your success.

The second place to start changing your body composition is with resistance training. Resistance training is actually 40 percent of your success. I know what you are thinking now: “What about cardio?” But let me explain.

Every pound of muscle you build burns an additional 50 calories. Adding ten pounds of muscle will burn 500 calories a day which equals 3500 calories a week. 3500 calories is equal to one pound of fat.  It only takes two calories a day to maintain one pound of fat. Therefore, we want to take away the fat and add muscle so that you become a fat burning machine. Think of your body like a car engine: The bigger the engine, the more fuel it takes to keep that motor running. Once you have the engine burning, it is burning fuel for you all the time — while you go about your daily activities and while you sleep.

When it comes to cardio, it takes seven hours of cardio to burn 3,500 calories.  You can do a whole week’s worth of cardio and only burn one pound of fat.  When you step of the cardio machine it is like turning off the motor. Now, I’m not saying that cardio doesn’t have its place, but as far as maintaining permanent weight loss, changing your body composition by adding muscle wins hands down.

Good luck!

For more information, complimentary consultation and workout, contact Steven Walker, National Academy of Sports Medicine certified trainer at 801-688-1918 or evolutionstevew@gmail.com.