Getting to Fabulous Abs

By Marianne Van Weezep

I recently started a weight loss program with a goal in mind: lose 60 lbs and achieve the most taught muscle for my abs. I was absolutely determined to develop flat abs without going through having to purchase an abs machine or go through massive abs workouts. I was pumped and motivated.

I did the typical ab work outs Pilates, aerobics, crunches, ab rollers (ouch!) and upper workouts (more ouch!). I did the supplements, the fads, and the cheater tricks. I learned a lot in the process! One thing I learned is we jump into doing things without finding simpler methods making the process so much more difficult on ourselves.

I also learned doing anything in life could get expensive when you do not know what you are doing and it is getting harder to trust the experts! There is so much information and so little time to sort through it all.

Here is a list of the five most important things I really did not understand and which messed me up for a while:

1. I did not know if you are going to lose your belly fat and get six pack abs, there are many health foods cleverly disguised as junk foods that will actually stimulate you to gain more belly fat. Imagine that. The diet food marketing industry continually able to increase their profits while being the culprit to maintaining our belly rolls!

2. I didn’t know doing Ab Exercises like crunches, sit-ups, and Ab Machines were considered to be the least effective means for getting flat 6 pack abs. If I could tell you how many wasted hours (not less waisted) here!

3. I did not know the boring cardio exercise routines were not the best way to lose body fat and uncover the muscle and weight loss in my abs. I found out there were much better workouts that produced 10x the results.

4. I did not need any of the fat burner pills or other supplements I had purchased. Instead, I needed to know about the natural foods and the power of the natural foods in relation to my body. In the end it all seemed so simple and Wow – had I been down the wrong path!

5. Finally, I had to come to the realization that ab belts, ab-rockers, ab-loungers and other infomercial ab-gimmicks were just that – gimmicks. (Nope –the models are not real!). Great abs were designed not by equipment but instead by REAL workouts and REAL nutrition strategies. Remember if it sounds too good to be true it generally is. Hard work was the only answer.

The truth is once I checked the reality of my goal I did the prescribed work, ate the proper diet, tested myself against the right way of exercising in a 10-day work out, and actually achieved the 10” loss. With every inch and pound loss I became more motivated to challenge myself to the great six pack abs challenge. With lots of water and water based foods to flush my system I was well on my way. Am I there- not yet- but I am closer than I have ever been and if you knew me that is a good thing!

What did it take? Starting with understanding my BMI and recognizing how many calories I could intake while on my diet. So here it is - 3500 calories = 1 lb. Therefore you have to lose 3500 calories off your current daily intake to lose 1 lb. It does not matter if its protein, carbs, or fat – the body does not discriminate. If you eat above your daily intake of calories – you will gain weight. If you eat less than your caloric intake per day you will lose weight. Do not let anyone tell you different.

A colon cleanse to rid your body of toxins and allow your bowel to move in the manner in which it was designed to is also important. With all the toxins and chemicals in the air, in our food and our environment our bodies are finding it more difficult to rid itself of excess waste. You can easily lose up to 5 lbs just by doing the colon cleanse. A good colon cleanse can take a long time to complete. It took years for the build up so be patient as it takes time for the build up to be removed. Trust me, you'll feel great afterwards!

Make sure to drink plenty of water but don't overdue. You must consume at least 6 to 8 cups of water per day. Do not drink more than this as it will over tax your body! Very important to remember.

Next you have to figure out how many calories you are allowed to consume in a day. Here is my formula for figuring this out. Take your weight and simply add a zero. If you are 150 lbs your calorie intake should be around 1500 per day in order to not gain weight. Keep in mind if you are doing high energy activities you can probably increase this by 300 calories.

Knowing you can only intake 1500 calories per day without gaining weight (and trust me that is not a lot of food) it is easy to see why we are having such a difficult time with obesity. One meal from any of the major fast food outlets can easily total more than this amount and that is just for one meal! So you can see why it is so important to measure and monitor everything you intake when deciding to lose weight. If you don’t you will get nowhere!

It also took a disciplined, regimented program, proper nutrition, a colon cleanse, calorie counting, proper ab exercises, daily vigilance and major persistence! Day to day focus on my goal - No kidding – losing weight and getting 6 pack abs is HARD WORK but also THE MOST REWARDING experience I have had in a while!

I like using tracking tools to help keep me in focus while working towards my goals. It makes the goal seem easier to accomplish. The info listed below are tools you can use to ensure you get to your goal. They helped me – maybe they will help you.

For More Info on abs go to: Truth About Abs

For more info on the FREE 3 Bottle Colon Cleanse: www.Energize-Me-Now.com

For more info on a great calorie and nutrition tracker go to Fit Day

For more info on a great FREE trial on weight loss: ACAI Berry Select

Remember; never ever ever ever ever give up! Keep trying. If you fail, forget, do not have the energy for today, cannot be bothered, mood change, swing whatever! - try again tomorrow or tomorrow or tomorrow. You will arrive at your goal it is just a matter of time! The more you attempt the closer you come. More importantly do it for yourself. Forget what others think or say about you. It is your life to live it as you see fit. Live it well!

Hope this helped. Good Luck And May Your Creator Bless You.