In order to achieve good looking abs, you have to reduce your body fat %. There are basically three steps to do this: 1.) controlling how much you eat, 2.) controlling what you eat, and 3.) exercising (in that order.)
1.) You have to burn more calories than you consume. However, if you are burning too many calories, your body will burn too much lean mass, and not much (if any) body fat. So, to target the body fat instead of the muscle, the first thing to do is to find out your caloric maintenance level. To get a general idea of your maintenance level, use a BMR calculator that takes into account your activity level. Here's a pretty good one:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/tools/calories-burned
Now, to lose body fat, you should be eating about 500 calories less than your maintenance level. You will lose 1 lb. of fat per week at this rate. Losing much more weight than this will all but guarantee that you'll be losing too much lean mass in the process. Also, keep in mind that using a BMR calculator should only be a starting point, as everyone's metabolism is different. So use the calculator at first, but then adjust your calories based on your results.
2.) Now that you know how many calories to eat, you have to eat those calories spaced fairly evenly throughout the day, during at least 5-6 separate meals. Your daily calories should come from 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. Your first three meals of the day should be higher in carbs and your last three should be higher in fat. Generally, your protein should come from lean meat/eggs/whey/casein, carbs from complex sources like vegetables and whole grain, and fats should be mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated which are found in nuts/olive oil/fish/flax seed.
3.) Finally, make sure that you're lifting weights/strength training. Even if your goal isn't to build alot of muscle, lifting weights will further ensure that your body is catabolizing the fat and not the muscle. Ab exercises like crunches should be included in your workout, but only give them as much attention as the rest of your muscle groups. If your only focus is on ab exercises, you're just going to overwork the muscles and they won't grow or become more defined. Also, doing cardio exercise is good as it can help with burning off calories and in general help with your overall fitness level. But cardio should come secondary to weight lifting. Also make sure that you take the calories burned into account when figuring out your daily calorie needs.
So, that's it in a nutshell. Whether or not October is realistic depends on your current body fat %. Generally speaking, abs start to show at about 17-18% bf for women and 12-13% for men. Hope this helped, and good luck!
2007-07-28 14:38:10
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answer #1
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answered by tearharvester 3
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It's the one common thing everyone would probably agree on wanting, yet they'd all disagree on how to say it. For example, some people may want washboard abs, others may prefer a flat stomach. You might want to get six pack abs, but your friend might want ripped abs. Person X would love to have chiseled abdominals, yet Person Y would rather have a slim sexy core. No matter which way you say it (and for the record, I find 99.9% of these ways absolutely hilarious) they all mean the same thing.
The big problem here is that a lot of people don't seem to actually understand what that is and, even more so, how exactly to get it. So... let's change that.
<--------How to get a "flat stomach" and "ripped abs."-------->
<--http://www.loseweighthappy.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=181&Itemid=62
hope you success!
2007-07-28 12:28:14
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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best, most effective book ever to be written on the subject of abs and how to get them: "the abs diet for women" by david zinczenko. not a diet book! includes real nutritional information as well as the best exercise routine to develop abs.
2007-07-28 12:21:48
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answer #3
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answered by kestrelk8 6
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getting abs has more to do with dieting than working them. @ 10% bf or lower u start 2 c abs.
2007-07-28 12:21:38
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answer #4
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answered by Jake 7
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Eat less fatty foods, run/swim and do ab workouts a lot more. I hope you're already close ... these things take time.
2007-07-28 12:21:16
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answer #5
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answered by Dan 1
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once you shed pounds, it comes off your total physique, no longer particular spots. to try this, you will possibly desire to paintings on healthful eating, and healthful exercising. a million/2 hour exercising each and on a daily basis (work out those muscle tissues might help!) and right this is the place the energy might desire to come from (those are all optimum values; plus it extremely is quantity of nutrition. i've got given you calorie values as a instruction manual.) 30% carbs- wholegrain bread, pasta and rice, oats and so on. 30% supplementations and minerals- fruit and veg! proper up with supplementations to get optimum nutrients. 15% lean protein- chicken, fish, lentils, beans and so on. 15% dairy- low fat yoghurt, cottage cheese, skim milk and so on. 10% fat and sugar (particular you study maximum suitable!)- yet do exactly no longer overdo it! woman- six hundred kcal from carbs, 5 parts fruit and veg a minimum of, 3 hundred kcal from lean protien, 3 hundred kcal from low fat dairy (although, its greater useful to assert in simple terms objective for a million-2 parts low fat dairy each and on a daily basis) and a pair of hundred kcal max from fat and sugars, nonetheless one hundred kcal is greater useful. stable success! playstation ; rest and sleep are had to lessen the levels of the strees hormone cortisol; your physique releases this as its attempt to alleviate rigidity. even though it regrettably makes you crave nutrition and additionally makes fat assemble around your abdomen. rest and sleep needless to say advise that your physique won't produce as plenty cortisol.
2016-11-10 11:00:25
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answer #6
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answered by costoso 4
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Great news! You already have them....
do some ab exercises if you want to grow them.
do cardio & burn some fat if you want to show them.
2007-07-28 12:19:27
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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Run, cut down on your caloric in take and do mad sit ups or crunches.
2007-07-28 12:19:12
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answer #8
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answered by Ryan 4
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One word: crunches!
2007-07-28 12:18:44
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answer #9
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answered by embroidery fan 7
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