Abs Diet
The 6-week plan to flatten your stomach by David Zinczenko.
BACKGROUND
Envy is a powerful emotion. When we browse through magazines at our local bookstore, the fitness covers with rock-hard washboard stomachs make us jealous, and if we're lucky, motivates us to get fit. One of the best-known culprits is Men's Health Magazine and its army of cover models with perfect midsections. If you want to get beyond the jealousy, the magazine’s editor-in-chief David Zinczenko has vowed to help you turn the page and help put you side by side with those cover models. Creator of The Abs Diet, Zinczenko gives you a six-week plan to flatten your stomach and get lean for life.
PRO
- Abs Diet promotes a healthy diet with regular exercise
- Not a fad diet
CON
- Only one chapter deals with getting toned abs, the rest covers how to eat sensibly
- May appeal more to men than women
- Claims of expected weight loss may be exaggerated
Effective marketing and truthful assertions often come to a head with companies selling health products. The Abs Diet makes a few claims that aren’t malicious, but let’s just say stray a little from the truth.
For example, the site says "turn fat into muscle." You can give them some slack by saying that they only intended it figuratively. But in actuality, fat doesn’t magically turn into fat. They are two separate things.
Also, they say that it's "guaranteed to give you a flat stomach and great physique in just 6 weeks." It's a nice marketing slogan, but just a little simplistic. Someone who is, say 15 pounds overweight, will have an easier time getting there than someone who is 100 pounds overweight. And the latter person will not have a trim waist in 6 weeks.
And finally, it says "Lose 20 pounds or more - from your belly first!" Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as spot reduction, so you can't pick and choose where the weight comes off.
DIET and NUTRITION
The Abs Diet includes a well-outlined eating plan that has you eating three meals each day with a small snack two hours prior to each. So there’s no starving involved. The website has interactive software and graphic illustrations of recommended exercises.
Meals consist of lean proteins, low-fat dairy, whole grains, protein powder, minimal fats and lots of green veggies. Each mini-meal will include a balanced proportion of carbohydrates, fat and protein.
EXERCISE
The Abs Diet includes an exercise program that promises to help you burn fat while building muscle. The exercise program consists of exercising 30 minutes three times a week. Over time, you'll increase your physical exercise, by weight-training the main muscle groups like the back, chest and legs, in addition to 30-45 minutes of light cardio.
CONCLUSION
The Abs Diet promises that by adhering to the Abs Diet program, you'll transform not only your abs, but your life, in six short weeks. With motivation, healthier eating and physical activity you'll be on your way to a healthier you. The Abs Diet will help prevent illnesses including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and osteoporosis by encouraging a diet rich in fiber, calcium and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Common Misspellings
AbsDiet, The Abs Diet, Abs Deit, Asb diet, Asb deit
Related Diets: Men's Health TNT Diet, Eat This Not That, Ab Circle Pro, Hip Hop Abs, Mens Health Personal Trainer, BioTrainer, Slendertone Flex
> Leave Feedback
User Feedback
(Page 1 of 2)
Started book last night. Got me thinking. I'm 55. But I got one question. I'm allergic to fish, and nuts. My body doesn't like either. So that takes a LOT of protein away. How should I compensate?
I don't know where you are coming from with many of the statements. It does not sound at all like you have read the book, or you would have hardly anything negative to say about it. No, there is no such thing as spot fat loss, but you can prevent your body from storing excess harmful fats over your stomach. Its not so much a diet as it is a food reality check. This book explains why additives in processed foods cause you to gain weight, and how super foods help your body rather than wreck and ravage it. Personally, I am very, very happy that I read this book, it was one of the most useful tools I have found in the search for truly healthy living and eating. Before starting the abs diet, I was already at a low weight, 125 (I'm very petite and small framed). But I have always had weight on my midsection, abs and hips. Just by picking foods that were better for my body and doing the extremely easy work outs, I lost ten pounds (significant for my size), and my mid section gained a toned and healthy look for the first time in my life. Not only do I get compliments on how good and healthy (not starved) I look, but I feel amazing physically. I can tell that my body and midsection are stronger, I can feel it in every day normal activity. My body did not go through drastic harmful starvation (skipping meals or losing crucial nutrients) diet either, I am always full because I eat so much of the right stuff. I would recommend this book to ANYONE who cares about their health in any aspect, from acne to diabetes, you name it.
I am interested in starting this diet however I cannot seem to find how much it is a month. Does anyone know?
I love that I get to eat more times a day and still lose weight. Ive lost 10 pounds so far and I already feel so much better. Ive tried so many different diets before and this is the only one that has actually worked so I would reccommend it to anyone.
I have only been on the diet for 4 days, but today I was feeling heavy like the diet wasn't working or that I ate too much. I just weighed myself and weigh 2lbs less! This diet is great and I feel real good about eating healthy foods.
I like it alot, just not sure what to eat and can I run?
The Abs diet is the best diet I have found. At 43 I have the best abs and flattest abs of my life. The food is good, so I have made this a lifestyle change. The cool thing about this diet is you get one cheat meal a week, so I can feed my mexican food addiction each week.
i know it's a bit premature, cos i have only started the diet for about a week. but i have lost 5 pounds. The exercise routines are important. I actually feel more toned. There are a variety of exercises to choose from, so I'm not bored of it (yet). But the ABS Diet most definitely cuts down on cravings :)
great diet! I love abs diet for women
My boyfriend and I have been following the Abs Diet for just over 6 months and it has dramatically changed not only our waistlines, but we feel better and have tons more energy. I have now lost 50 lbs and am in the best shape of my life. I find that this is a real common-sense diet - which makes it easy to plan meals and order at restaurants as it desn't rely on counting points or have any "rules" to memorize. I found it super easy to follow and encouraging because we started to see results with a few weeks. That being said - if you aren't prepared to do the excercise portion of this diet - it is very unlikely that you will lose any weight - as it is designed to provide your body with fuel for those workouts.
I think this sounds like a nice idea but I wonder what it does for women who have had several babies and are pretty stretched out.
This diet rocks.
I used the Abs Diet book a while back and subscribe to Men's Health that is always mentioning Abs Diet. I found the diet helpful and the exercises easy enough. The diet and recipes were probably the best thing about the book. Overall I thought it was a solid program.
I just bought the Abs Diet for Women book and it is great! I am glade they re-worked this program for women. I use to have the Abs Diet for Men version and it was similar but I like some of the new content they added for women. Also pictures of a women doing the exercises is less intimidating :-)
This doesn't look too tough. Turkey, nuts, berries, peanut butter- doesn't look like i'll be starving or eating gross food.
Abs Diet is straight forward and smart. I like that it balances diet and excersise- so many seem extreme or cut out one or the other. It says 6 weeks, but i've made this the way i live.
I saw this diet on 20/20 and am wondering if its for me, I am in fairly good shape, but have trouble shifting the pocket of fat on my tummy! It's frustrating because all my crunches are going to waste underneath this layer! Anyone have any advice, can this diet help me?
Did anyone see Abs Diet on 20/20?
I tried the Abs Diet a few years back but I didn't add the exercises, didn't see the progress I was looking for as a result, and quit. Then we tried South Beach--my husband loved it but I had a really hard time on it, as I'm very picky about my fruits and veggies and I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I lost quite a bit of weight on South Beach but I eventually gave it up because the eating guidelines involved too much self-deprivation. SO then the Abs Diet for Women came out, and I had been reading in Prevention, Fitness and other mags that strength training actually beat out cardio in overall ability to make the kind of changes to my body that I'm looking for, particularly this troublesome tummy I never had before I approached 40. I've been doing the exercises for 2 weeks now and finally started the eating plan in earnest this week. Already my clothes fit looser (but not as quickly as with South Beach--I suspect its because I'm gaining muscle and also not flushing my system in a Phase I-like state) and I'm enjoying the strength training a lot. I've read several published reviews that rave about this diet but warn that flat abs in 6 weeks is probably somewhat of a stretch, and I agree, but I like the food SOOO much better (reduced fat organic chocolate milk and 3 mini York Peppermint Patties as a snack!!!), it's much easier for me to get through the day without the drudgery and deprivation that came for me with South Beach. I've actually been using the Women's Health magazine article that ran a month or two ago and my husband's original Abs Diet for men book, but I think I'm ready to get the women's book to see the commentary on tips and challenges specific to the female body. Oh, and the recipes are almost all pretty tasty -- a big problem I had with SB is that I thought the recipes, even in the follow-on cookbook, lacked flavor and texture. This doesn't seem to just be a diet, it seems like it could possibly be a successful lifestyle change, for healthier living.
I have to say that eating 6 times a day has given me so much mental focus during the day. I love all the food its something you dont have to starve yourself like the rest of the so called diet plans....
See 95 more diets
