Carbohydrates are both a vital necessity & a curse when it comes to creating a great toned, ripped physique. They are instrumental in fueling your muscles and allowing them to recover from heavy training, but too many carbs will make it impossible for you to get lean & lose body fat. Too many carbs during the course of your day will cause your body to produce too much insulin—which is imperative for muscle growth but also an inhibitor for your body to burn its own fat. You want to greatly reduce your carb intake on days that are not “workout days”.
Remember—PROTEIN BUILDS MUSCLE. Whether you are building muscle mass or burning body fat, protein is the most important component in your diet. The amino acids in protein are the building blocks your body uses to build & repair muscle after a workout. Essentially, when you are eating meat, you are consuming an animal’s muscle to rebuild your own.
Most people don’t consume nearly enough vegetables. It is especially essential when watching caloric intake– vegetables contain essential vitamins and vital minerals which you’re not going to be getting from your otherwise-limited food intake. Vegetables like broccoli and spinach also contain nearly zero calories—yet are high in fiber…so you can eat as much of them as you want—as long as you are smart in the way you prepare them—lay off the butter—think olive oil.
Too many people slash calories thinking they want to lose weight, forgetting that their body is remarkably adept at slowing its metabolism when it “thinks” it is being starved. Short term weight loss will stop abruptly when the body slows its metabolic rate in an attempt to “save itself”.
You should strive to maintain a moderate, but steady rate of fat loss in your quest of six pack abdominals. The best way to do that is to focus on losing a couple of pounds per week—and remember that you also need to keep your strength up. If you start getting weaker as you lose weight, you’re going to lose vital muscle mass and work against everything you are striving for—plus you won’t have the energy to do your workouts. Dietary shortcuts& starvation will defeat you.
Last, but certainly not least— Healthy fats don’t make you fat! Eating “bad fat” does. Healthy fat is an essential nutrient which is vital for your body’s maintaining proper hormone levels. Eating healthy monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and even saturated fat is crucial for keeping your testosterone high and your metabolism burning at full, optimum speed. If you really want the “wheels to come off your nutritional wagon”, and have nothing to show for all your hard work– go on a super restrictive, low-fat diet. Your body won’t be happy—and neither will you.
Make sure to include healthy fats in your daily meal plan. Use olive oil when you cook, and add nuts or avocados to your meals – and fatty fish like salmon or trout to your diet a couple times a week. Not only are these fish great sources of protein, they are abundant in Omega-3 fatty acids, which have been proven to accelerate your fat loss. Quality fish oil supplements are valuable additions too.
These are just some of the nutritional tips to be found in addition to invaluable workout and cardio coaching at MIKE CHANG’S SIX PACK SHORTCUTS. The combination of scientifically proven nutrition, high intensity cardio and strength training will produce eye opening, visible changes in the evolution of your physique.
