Six-Pack Abs | The Ultimate Top 6 Foods
 |
| Top 6 Foods for Six Packs |
The only natural way of
getting six-pack abs is to lower your body fat percentage. As your body fat
percentage goes down, so does the layer of fat that hides the six-pack muscles beneath
the skin of the abdomen.
Below, I've compiled a
list of top 6 foods which have the maximum potential of melting this stubborn
fat at the earliest time.
Lean Protein
Lean protein means any
protein-rich food with minimum fat content. Typical lean proteins include
skinless chicken/turkey breast meat and skinless fish.
Multiple studies have
linked a diet high in lean protein with a low body fat percentage and better
weight management.
In a 2020 study conducted in South Korea, it was shown that a high-protein diet not just led to reduced body fat but also prevented weight regain after successful weight loss based on 1-year long clinical trials.
The primary reason for
this effect of lean protein is that these foods are high in protein, a
macronutrient with the strongest thermic effect. It means that it’s very
challenging for our body to digest and metabolize protein than any other
macronutrient.
Protein’s thermic effect
is very powerful, about 30%.
For example, if you eat 10
grams of protein, you get 40 calories (as a gram of protein provides 4
calories). But 30% of these calories, i.e., about 12 calories are required by
the body just to properly digest and process the ingested protein, which is a
significant number.
If your daily protein
intake is as much as recommended, which is 75 g for a 75-kg adult, that number rises
to 90 calories per day without any physical exercise or gym membership and without
keeping yourself away from your favorite mouth-watering recipes.
These additional calories
come from the body’s stored energy reserves, which are glycogen and body fat.
Therefore, proteins can help you lose fat from the midsection more effectively,
making those six packs visible much faster than many other approaches.
Watermelon
Watermelon is a sweet
summertime blessing, which is known for its delightful sweetness and its remarkable
ability to quench thirst and keep the body cool on a scorching hot day. But do
you know that this red juicy fruit can also contribute to achieving
well-defined abdominal muscles?
The primary reason behind
watermelon's effectiveness in this regard is its status as a fruit with the
highest water content. In fact, 92% of a watermelon’s weight is simply water.
Increased water intake has been associated with fat loss. In a study, drinking just half a liter of water led to a 30% rise in metabolic rate for about 1 hour.
Water cools down the body,
resulting in some decrease in the body’s temperature. As a human body has an
optimum temperature range, it tries its best to keep the body within that
temperature. The body counters this water-induced cooling by burning additional
calories, which can come from the stored body fat.
By promoting fat loss
throughout the body including the abdominal area, adequate water consumption
can accelerate the clearing of the core, giving way to defined six-pack abs.
Raspberry
Raspberry is a very lovely
fruit, which everyone of us enjoys for its unparalleled power to refresh the body
and for its addicting combination of sweetness and sourness. Including this
fruit in your diet can be advantageous for sculpting chiseled six packs.
This effect of raspberries
stems from their rich dietary fiber content, making up about 7% of their
weight. Evidence supports the idea that consuming more dietary fiber can
contribute to the loss of body fat.
In a review article ‘’Dietary Fiber and Weight Regulation’’ by Howarth NC, Saltzman E, & Roberts SB., it was concluded that an additional 14 grams of fiber per day resulted in weight loss of 2 kg over four months.
Our body doesn’t have the
necessary enzymes for the digestion and absorption of dietary fiber. Therefore,
it becomes difficult for our body to break down a high-fiber food to extract
the nutrients that the food contains. This necessitates increased effort from
the body to process such foods, resulting in the burning of more calories from
body fat reserves, including abdominal fat, leading to reduced waistline and a
toned tummy.
Spinach
Spinach is often labelled
as ‘king of vegetables’’, a title that holds true given its exceptional
nutritional value. It stands out as one of the most nutritious and
health-promoting food items ever existed on this planet.
Apart from a plethora of
vital nutrients, spinach boasts protein and dietary fiber, both of which have
been scrutinized for their potential in facilitating fat loss. But it has
another substance worth considering if you're genuinely committed to presenting
a captivating physique on the beach.
Thylakoids, found in
spinach and other leafy greens, serve as the hub for photosynthesis, where
sunlight is harnessed by plants to synthesize food.
In a systematic review of literature spanning from January 1990 to May 2019, conducted in 2020, thylakoids were observed to have a positive correlation with fat loss. This link was attributed to their potential to decrease appetite, resulting in reduced food energy intake.
More information on this relation
between spinach and fat loss is available in one of my earlier articles:
Spinach Melts Body Fat. Proved!
Beans
Animal-based proteins are
devoid of fiber, whereas fruits and vegetables lack protein. However, beans
present a remarkable exception by offering ample quantities of both protein and
dietary fiber.
For instance, a 100-gram
serving of boiled kidney beans delivers 9 grams of protein and 6 grams of dietary
fiber, constituting 18% and 25% of the daily value based on a 2,000-calorie
diet respectively.
Consequently, beans have a
strong thermic effect and lead to a full stomach without consuming too many
calories.
This effect stems from the
substantial presence of both protein and dietary fiber in beans, which work
together to boost metabolism and promote satiety.
This effect of beans is
not just theoretical but has been experimentally verified multiple times.
In one such study conducted by Prof. Larry A. Tucker, affiliated with Brigham Young University, Provo, in 2020, the correlation between bean consumption and body fat percentage & waist circumference was examined involving 246 women. The study findings indicated that women who included moderate to high levels of beans in their diet tended to have lower body fat percentages and smaller waist circumferences compared to those with lower bean intake.
Dairy Foods
Our, means humans’,
enduring and everlasting love for dairy foods, like milk, yogurt, and cheese,
originates from their delectable flavor and creamy texture. Dairy foods can be
one of the most effective foods to burn the fatty layer that obscures the
six-pack muscles beneath the abdominal skin.
Dairy products do assist
in fat loss, especially fat loss from the abdominal region, as found in some
high-quality academic studies.
A study led by Zemel, Michael B., et al., which involved 32 obese individuals, concluded that those adhering to a high-dairy diet experienced a 70% greater weight loss and 64% more fat loss compared to those following a low-dairy diet. Additionally, the high-dairy diet resulted in a significantly higher proportion of fat loss from the abdominal region, accounting for approximately 66% of the total fat loss, compared to only 19% in the low-dairy diet group.
The reason for this effect
lies in the high calcium content of dairy foods, a well-known fact. Dairy
products contain the highest levels of calcium compared to any other food
sources.
Calcium enhances lipolysis,
a metabolic process wherein body fat is converted into energy. During this
process, triglycerides, the form in which fat is stored in the body, are
converted into glycerol, which is subsequently transformed into glucose, the
primary energy source for our body.
As dairy consumption
increases the utilization of fat from the abdominal area as noted by the
above-mentioned study, it can be said that a high consumption of dairy makes
the body prefer belly fat to fat located in other areas; consequently, your
dream of washboard abs may become a reality sooner than expected.
Related Articles:
Comments
Post a Comment