Lately ive been feeling quite motivated to exercise and eating healthy.thats a good thing!!!! I think everyone has an ideal weight where they'd want to be. I'm 5'1 short therefore, i am short and when i gain a few pounds it will show immediately! At one point in life, i was skinny...yes i was skinny!!!! i actualyl hated it because i wanted to gain weight! Then i met my husband who is american and everytime i came to visit him for several months at time in the US i started gaining weight!!! I actually liked it..BUT i didnt care much about exercise....As time went by i started to become conscious about how i looked. I now had a belly!!!! During my long vacations in the US i ate out a lot as it is a common thing to do in the US as compared in the mediterranean. Back home in Malta, going out to eat was a big treat!!!! Anyways, to cut story short i now live in the US with my husband and thank god he is an exercise freak! Most of the time i start exercising, than i stop....than i start again. However, i always tend to eat healthy when not exercising.
Few weeks ago i heard about a book called The Abs Diet through youtube and i really wanted to know what this book was all about. So i went to the library and started reading...its a very interesting book and realistic as opposed to many diets....It tells you to eat 6 times a day....breakfast, lunch and dinner....and 3 snacks. It also stresses out the need to eat foods like vegetables (spinach, greens, etc), nuts, Low fat dairy products, protein foods like chicken and fish, whole grain foods etc. It refers to the important foods we should eat as PowerFoods and these are:
- Almonds and other nuts
- Beans and Legumes
- Spinach and other veggies
- Dairy products
- Instant Oatmeal (i prefer steel cut oats, much healthier!)
- Eggs
- Turkey & other lean meats
- Peanut butter (organic, not the mass produced which contains sugar)
- Olive Oil
- Whole grain breads & cereals
- Extra Protein i.e. Whey Protein
- Raspberries & other berries
The plans says that you should also drink 8 glasses of water a day and that you should include at least 2 or 3 of these power foods into each of the three daily meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and at least one into the three snacks. one day out of the week you also get to eat whatever you want. Nothing wrong with that!
Personally i think its not that hard if you're used to eating healthy. However, it can be of a challenge if you're not used to choosing healthy foods. From what i read in the book, this plan lasts for 6 weeks. However, it helps you in eating healthy all throughout your life so its ongoing. Yeah the book is very interesting because it also gives you exercises that you can do everyday for 6 weeks...and there's so many that you can always switch it up so it's not boring for you. So besides eating healthy, you also exercise 6 times a week with one day rest.
I started this challenge today and i wonder if it really works. I am not really overweight. My main problem is that i have a belly and love handles!!! I'd also love to tone up all over and become more firm. The Abs diet focuses on building muscle which is vital for burning fat. The effect of muscle is much greater than doing only cardio. The effect of cardio usually lasts only for a few hours, whereas the effect of strength training lasts up to 48 hrs!
Ok, so thats a little idea of what The Abs Diet is about. Anyone whose interested in starting it should really read the book from your library if they have it. Afterall, we all want to be healthier, happier and toned up for the summer!!!! If anyone decides to try it out feel free to email me, we can all motivate each other! =)
I will show you what i will be doing during this 6week plan. Hopefully i will also stick to it and will be able to see results at the end!
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