Abs are made in the kitchen. What does it mean? It’s just a cool way of saying good eating practices will help you lose some flab. What you eat, is, essentially, more important than how much you exercise if you want to see some abdominal muscles.

But can one have perfect abs by simply watching what one eats, or is there some extent of workouts in the mix too, such as a thousand crunches a day? Let’s jump into how nutrition vs exercise impacts body composition, look at different types of diet plans and then decide if this is fact or fiction.

Nutrition vs exercise

Your kitchen is a great way to start building abs. Your diet should consist of nutrition, including whole foods, healthy fats, and high-protein items. These foods are high in micronutrients and low in calories, supporting weight loss and increasing fat burning.

Some of the best foods to eat on an ab-building diet are fruits & vegetables, whole grains, nuts & seeds, fatty fish, legumes, and teas. However, foods to avoid include sugar-sweetened drinks, fried foods, alcohol, sugary snacks, and refined grains.

Unfortunately, your diet isn’t the only factor when it comes to more defined abs. You also don’t have to do a thousand crunches daily, but regular physical activity is just as crucial to burning calories and toning your muscles.

Jogging, biking, boxing, or swimming can help you get those abs more quickly, but we suggest ramping up your routine with some resistance training. It can help increase lean body weight, reduce fat mass, and boost metabolism by 7% within 10 weeks.

Weight training, for instance, is effective for muscle building as it burns more calories at rest than some other tissues, including fat. However, if you need some guidance, we suggest a few exercise programs for ab training:

• The 15-minute AB Annihilation with a Trojan Sit-Up 140 Bench
• Duo AB Wheel exercises with a Trojan Exercise Wheel
• Torso Slider exercises with a Trojan Torso Slider

Diets for abs

Various diets exist – too many to mention because it all comes down to preference. But we’ll look into the most popular and review which are effective.

• Paleo Diet: refers to eating foods humans consumed before modern agriculture, such as lean meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, eggs, and nuts; but excludes grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and processed oils. Relatively new and therefore doesn’t have a whole lot of credible evidence.
• Ketogenic Diet: refers to eating high-fat, moderate protein, and low-carb foods. Similar to Paleo, but carbs are restricted to 25-50 grams per day. Very effective in short-term body weight and fat loss.

• Mediterranean Diet: refers to eating foods and recipes of Mediterranean-style cooking such as large quantities of fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, fish, and olive oil. Studies have shown that this diet produced more significant weight loss.

Although these are popular, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to dieting. People can lose weight with both low-carb and low-fat diets. The critical factor is to get the right amount of protein to improve your body composition.

No matter which diet you follow, we suggest trying this delicious Ultimate Ab-Friendly Bowl. YUM!

Abs are made at home

So, the verdict? We believe abs are made at home – in the kitchen and with exercise. Making diet adjustments can lead to more fat loss in less time than just working out, and vice versa. At the end of the day, the best nutritional and exercise program is the one you stick with. Find the right approach for you and make it a life-long habit, and you’ll get your six-pack.

Remember, it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes both work and knowledge.

Good luck, and keep it healthy!