The Abs You Always Wanted

As a personal trainer I am always asked, "How do I get nice abs?" Or, "How do I get rid of this belly fat?" I think most people are looking for a magical answer that doesn't exist. We can slave away in the gym for hours doing thousands of crunches but the truth is....

Abs Are Made In The Kitchen!

Yes, it is important to have strong core muscles but if you want to see abs like the ones in fitness magazines and on Pinterest, we have to take a closer look at what we are eating.

The truth is, our body fat percentage has a lot to do with our ability to see our abs. You can't target one part of your body, do a ton of exercises and expect to see results. The key to having nice abs is to have a low body fat percentage. For the average woman you need to be at about 14% body fat to really be able to see your abs like the girls on Pinterest... but who wants to look like the girls on Pinterest!?!? ;) However, you will have a nice flat stomach if you are around 20% body fat. (These percentages are all generally speaking.)

There are also two other components to having "the abs you always wanted" that I think are grossly overlooked. These being SLEEP and STRESS.

Both your sleep schedule and your stress levels have a large part in controlling your cortisol hormones. When you live under extreme stress and get little sleep (usually these things go hand-in-hand) your bodies cortisol gets WAY out of wack. Leaving you with excess cortisol hanging out in your body which in turn stores in your belly fat. That is a super simplified, nonscientific way of putting it. :)

To get The Abs You Always Wanted you need to mainly do these three things:

1. Eat clean i.e. Limited carbs, dairy, sugar and processed garbage. Increase protein, vegetables, and healthy fats. Eat the right, and just enough.
2. Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
3. Live a stress free life (you might think this is impossible.... but it's not... More on that later)

There is no magic exercise that will get you the abs you want. Abs are the result of living a disciplined life. Unless, you are one of those people who have a ridiculously high metabolism... which in that case.... I don't want to talk to you. ;) (I'm totally just kidding with that last part.)

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo