Skip to main content
Nutrition

Are Abs Made In The Kitchen? The Truth You Didn’t Know

Dawid Lyszczek
New Product Developer & Food Technologist7 years ago
View Dawid Lyszczek's profile

Written by Dan Rayner

How Are Abs Made?

As a personal trainer, one of the most frequent questions that I get asked is “can you show me certain moves to work my abs and how to tone them?”

 

A calorie deficit is the most important and is the correct answer you're looking for. Without a controlled, healthy, nutritious diet you won't see your abs no matter how many sit-ups you attempt! You could plank for two hours a day but if you're eating into a big calorie surplus (consuming more calories than you're burning off) then you're shooting yourself in the foot!

cable crunches

If you aren't losing weight or can't see any physical changes in the mirror, then you'll need to do one of two things. Either decrease your calorie intake or increase the amount of exercise you're doing. Both will aid towards pushing your overall calorie intake down slightly.

 

Make small changes. With exercise, introduce a little more cardio at the end of your workouts so that your calorie output for the week increases. With weight loss, try and consume good wholesome and nutritious foods rather than relying on processed foods. You need to be aiming for a loss of 1-2lbs a week to make it both realistic and maintainable.

15 minute abs workout

I want to make it clear that everyone has abs. EVERYONE. You just have to work hard in order to see them! Like anything, be patient! It won't happen overnight! Getting to the required level of body fat to be able to see your abdominal muscles will take numerous things. Consistency in nutrition and training, patience, dedication, good willpower and to some degree your genetic potential. Some people will be genetically gifted with a strong solid six pack. Everyone is different.

 

The abdominals are a muscle, like any other muscle. So, spending an hour every single day performing ab exercises will be somewhat pointless. They need rest, time to recover just like all muscles do! I suggest 3 maybe 4 times a week for about 10-15 minutes with a lot of variation of exercises. Even though this won't help in terms of revealing your abs, it will certainly help make them stronger and give them more shape when you do eventually reach a low enough body fat percentage.

abs how to lose belly fat

There are no magic pills, no special protein shakes and no special fat burners. Supplements can aid your journey and contribute, but they are not the full answer. They are there to supplement alongside an already well-balanced nutrition plan.

 

The answer is not removing all your carbs, nor is the answer avoiding eating anything fatty! Just high-quality nutrition, which is well managed. Remember, you can’t out-train a bad diet. Until your nutrition is of a high standard, you will not see your abdominal muscles. Abs are 100% made in the kitchen!

Our articles should be used for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to be taken as medical advice. If you're concerned, consult a health professional before taking dietary supplements or introducing any major changes to your diet.

Dawid Lyszczek
New Product Developer & Food Technologist
View Dawid Lyszczek's profile

Dawid Lyszczek is an expert new product developer, food technologist, nutritionist and personal trainer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition, master’s degree in Food Innovation and Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training. Dawid specialises in evidence-based body-composition nutrition and training for both amateurs and physique athletes, and has been involved in sports nutrition and weight training for over 15 years. Dawid is also a former competitive bodybuilder, UKBFF British finalist in “Intermediates Over 90kgs” Class of 2013, as featured in Flex magazine.

Dawid’s academic area of interest has involved both the role of meal frequency on body composition, and also functional food development, which you can find out more about here.

In his current role, Dawid bridges the gap between sports nutrition and food technology, bringing in academic experience backed by real life practice that produces results.

You can find out more about Dawid’s experience here.

myprotein