Summary
There is a saying that “abs are made in the kitchen”. Some might ask, how true is this saying? Well, I’ve been involved in health and fitness for eleven years and I can say with 100% certainty that this saying is true. Abs are made in the kitchen. Because regardless of how much you exercise, you must eat less calories than you burn to get a six pack. If you don’t, you never will.
Calorie deficit
To understand why abs are made in the kitchen, first I must explain what a calorie deficit is. A calorie deficit, put simply, is burning more calories everyday than you burn. A calorie deficit can vary from 300-1000 less calories than you need every day to maintain your bodyweight. At the low end this will translate to half a pound of fat loss every week. At the high end it will be around two pounds a week.
Now you’re probably asking “ok, great. But first how do I even figure out how many calories I need to maintain my body weight? Well, there are quite a few handy calculators on the internet for this. I use this one because personally, I find it pretty straight to the point and easy to understand.
Counting calories might seem overcomplicated and intimidating to some… But believe me, it’s waaay easier to do than you initially might think. In fact, it’s extremely simple. Why? Because people are creatures of habit. We generally don’t have more than a few different types of meals we eat everyday. So, after about three or four weeks you’ll know how many calories are in most of your meals. It will be so intuitive, you won’t even having to google anything anymore!
But on the off chance you do need to find the calorie content of something, you can either type “how many calories are in (insert food here)” on google; or go to this website and type the food in the search bar. That simple. Only takes a few seconds. This is how you put the saying “abs are made in the kitchen” into practice.
Is a calorie deficit some fad diet or something?
No, this is not a diet. It’s just eating less calories than you burn. That said, most diets (that are effective, at least) work by applying calorie deficits. To put it simply, a calorie deficit is not a diet, but most diets (that work) are calorie deficits.
For example, the 21-day smoothie diet and smoothie diet guide provided with it are calorie deficits. This, which I reviewed in another article, is based around utilizing a calorie deficit to lose weight. That’s also why generally, The Smoothie Diet reviews are so good. Because it works! And it works because it’s based on a concept that’s tried and true: the idea that abs are made in the kitchen!
This said, the smoothie diet also incorporates the nutritional benefits of fiber, fruit, and vegetables (which are great!). But if you really look closely, what makes it work is something even more important… The fact that you are removing two meals from your day. This translates to consuming “2 smoothies a day and 1 meal” everyday, which (drum roll) results in a calorie deficit! The best way to describe the smoothie diet is a “5-star calorie deficit”.
If you look at any diet that really works, you will immediately see that they are all based around the concept of consuming less calories than you burn. They just have their own little modifications and quirks build around this idea.
So how do diet supplements fit into all of this?
The first step in the “abs are made in the kitchen” process is to engage in a calorie deficit. No question about it. This is not to say supplements don’t have a place, but supplements enhance the effects of calorie deficit rather than make it unnecessary. Think of it as “dialing things in”.
What’s magnificent about the process of losing weight is that there are a lot of mechanisms that contribute to it. While calorie intake contributes the most to weight loss, nutritional aspects affect it as well, such as: Fiber intake, vitamins and minerals, pro-biotics and specific herbs that can affect body processes. So let’s dive in and find out how supplements apply to the saying: “abs are made in the kitchen”.
Blood sugar management supplements:
For example, with the right supplements you might lose 2.5 pounds a week instead of 2 or be able to eat a bit more sugar because of a supplement with herbs and compounds that lower your blood sugar. This is because lower blood sugar means that excess sugar levels will not convert into fat through a process called fatty acid synthesis.
So you might ask yourself, ok, well what supplements lower blood sugar? Well, there are quite a few, but my personal favorite is glucotrust. If you want to check it out and find out what make the ingredients so effective, you can click here.
Probiotic supplements:
Another way supplements may effect weight loss is through the effects of probiotics. With the right probiotic supplement, you can increase levels of healthy cholesterol while decreasing unhealthy cholesterol; improve metabolism; and even burn unnecessary fat.
For example: Bacillus Subtilis is a well-known probiotic that helps with in weight loss, but better digestion, overall health, hormonal balance, and lipid metabolism. This is probably the most amazing probiotic I’ve encountered. It’s effects are so pronounced and well documented i, that it’s been patented.
Of course, it’s very important that if you purchase a product like this, that it is GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certified. This means the manufacture uses nationally approved standards for manufacture to ensure a high-quality product.
When you purchase a probiotic, it’s important that’s you know it is NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certified, because that way, you can be sure that that the company producing their probiotics ensures that it meets national production standards.
My go-to probiotic recommendation for weight loss is BioFit, because it is both NSF and GMP certified, and contains 5.75 billion probiotic organisms. Additionally, it contains the patented Bacillus Subtilis and 6 different strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. All of these ingredients are so potent, that the reviews on biofit are overwhelmingly positive. Which is why I trust this product to deliver effective results.
Antioxidants, multivitamins, and Fiber supplements
The utilization of antioxidants, multivitamins, and fiber in your diet has a ton of advantages when it comes to weight loss.
Antioxidants, known for their free radical-scavenging properties, not only help protect against cellular damage but also aid in reducing inflammation and oxidation within the body. Both inflammation and oxidation are two important factors that can cause weight gain.
Put simply, antioxidants reduce the “stress” that day-day activities put on your body, and as a result, help keep off weight. This is why when it comes to the saying “abs are made in the kitchen”, it’s best not to neglect these three factors.
Think of antioxidants like a “bath” for your body. The “dirtier” (aka cellular oxidation) you are, the easier it is to put on fat. Consuming the right amount of anti-oxidants can work wonders for your health, and impact your weight gain as result.
Moreover, by incorporating a balanced blend of multivitamins into your regimen, you can help to level-up metabolism and increase energy levels, leading to a more active lifestyle and aiding in the “abs are made in the kitchen” process.
Finally, fiber is important because it helps you feel full. More importantly it slows down the release of sugar into your blood stream.
If your body was a castle, and sugar was the invader, fiber would be the walls. They protect all the invading “glucose” from coming into the castle and converting into fat, resulting in weight gain!
Is there any one supplement that combines Antioxidants, Multivitamins, and Fiber? Or do I have to purchase these things separately?
There are many different products that you can use to obtain adequate levels of fiber, multivitamins and antioxidant. My main issue is that you have to buy them all separately, which makes it not only expensive, but a big hassle every time you buy them. Additionally, they are not all GMP certified.
There are, however, GMP certified products which include all three of these very important nutrients; my favorite being Organifi. I did a review on the product here, and you can purchase it from their official website by clicking here. If you want to add a reliable supplement to assist your “abs are made in the kitchen” process of weight loss, this is a good way to go.
Exercise:
Exercise is important, just not as important as you might think. Let me put it this way: So…. a big myth is that by doing sit-ups, you can get abs. This isn’t true. Everyone already has abs, they are just not visible because they are under a layer of fat! It’s not until you get to around 10-15% body fat that they will begin to become visible. In fact, you could have the strongest pair of abs in the world, but if your body fat level isn’t low enough, you won’t see a thing! You need to lose the layer of fat covering them first before you’ll ever see them.
That being said, while the saying “abs are made in the kitchen” may be true, that doesn’t mean that exercise doesn’t have its place if you want a great looking set of abs. I’d recommend exercise in general because it keeps your body healthy, but in the case of looks, regular exercise will keep your muscles looking defined and delicious once you do begin to see them!
In the case of abs, a consistent routine of lower and upper ab workouts is plenty to achieve this aesthetic. This is first assuming that you have prioritized your calorie deficit first. And don’t let anyone fool you: an adequate ab routine doesn’t have to be super complex. It just needs to include lower and upper abs so you can target every abdominal region. After following the “abs are made in the kitchen” process of cutting daily calories consistently, your abs will begin to appear. Here’s a good workout to help build some ab definition as you start to lose body fat and your abs become more visible:
Credit: Beginner Abs Workout (darebee.com)
Conclusion:
The saying “abs are made in the kitchen” is 100% correct. In fact, if you want abs, you should first engage in a calorie deficit of 300-1000 calories less than you need daily for weight maintenance. This will result in 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week. If you can’t find a calorie calculator to determine your daily need you can find one here and you can find a website to calculate the calories of the foods you eat here.
After taking that first step of being in a daily calorie deficit, supplements can assist you with weight loss. There are a lot of avenues you can take to assist in this, but blood sugar management, probiotics, antioxidants, and multivitamins were the ones I covered most thoroughly in this article. In my opinion, Glucotrust, Biofit, and Organifi are all solid choices in this regard. I can say this with certainty because I evaluated and reviewed them myself.
Finally, once you’re on your way to achieving to the 10-15% bodyfat levels required for visible abs, an effective workout regimen is helpful in building definition and aesthetic. I wouldn’t overthink it; anything that targets the upper and lower abs is fine. This might surprise a lot of people, but the solution to visible abs really comes down to just eating a bit less than normal. It’s really that simple! All the other stuff helps, but first you need to take that first big step. Good luck!