The 3 Biggest Diet Mistakes Preventing You from Getting Six-Pack Abs
Are you committing one of the 3 Biggest Diet Mistakes that prevents most people from getting 6-pack abs? In this article, we will breakdown the biggest diet mistakes most people make when trying to diet to get a six-pack.
Mistake #1: Cutting Calories Too Low
This is the number one mistake most people make when cutting. Sure, you will see the numbers on the scale drop at first, but the results will be
short-lived.
When it comes to weight loss, that first significant drop is mostly water weight and muscle―not fat!
When you don’t eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode. The human body has many self-defense mechanisms, and storing fat to prevent starvation is one of them.
By cutting your calories too low, your body actually thinks that it’s starving and will desperately try to hold on to body fat. What’s even worse is that your body will start to eat up your own muscle tissue which will slow down your metabolism.
Since muscle burns more calories than fat, your body tries to get rid of muscle while trying to “stock up” on fat.
Once your metabolism slows, you will be burning fewer
calories. That’s why you lack energy while on an extremely low-calorie diet. Your body is trying to conserve and store as much
energy reserves―fat―as possible.
As the weight loss comes to a halt, most people eventually get
frustrated and go off the diet.
The problem is that you’ve now lost valuable muscle and slowed your metabolism down, which means your body can’t burn as many calories as it used to. This is the reason why many people actually gain more weight back than they lost after going on a super low-calorie diet. It’s called the “rebound effect”.
To make things worse, the weight you gain back is almost all fat, because you now have a lower percentage of muscle than you did before. So not only does extremely low-calorie dieting not work, it can actually make you FATTER in the long run!
Mistake #2: Restrictive Dieting
Although not as bad as Mistake #1, restrictive dieting is the second most common mistake that sabotages most people’s 6-pack goals.
The reason is simple: Restrictive diets, especially ones that eliminate entire food groups, are nearly impossible to stay on for a very long time and can lead to on-again/off-again dieting.
Research shows that restrictive diets are often unsatisfying and create powerful cravings for sugary high-fat foods. Even worse than the cravings are the feelings of deprivation.
This is especially true when you are at a social gathering and see your friends and family eating and enjoying foods and drinks that you are not “allowed” to have. This is where most restrictive diets do the most damage.
Rather than just giving in and going off-diet for that meal or some drinks, most people tend to go completely overboard and give up altogether.
Although it is very normal to have lapses when on a restrictive diet, many people see going off their diet as a sign of failure.
This can become mentally challenging and lead to a constant struggle with food and dieting.
Mistake #3: Doing the Same Things and Expecting Different Results
This is one of the most common mistakes I see people make.
When most people decide to start cutting calories or try to lean up, they usually go back to something they have tried in the past, even though it likely didn’t give them the results they wanted in the first place. People often think that things will be different this time around, assuming it was their effort rather than the method they chose that failed.
They think to themselves, “This time is gonna be different! I’m gonna go
all out til hit my goal!!!” But what they are not realizing is that what needs to change is not the amount of effort, but the method itself.
If you try the same diet or nutrition strategy that has either stopped working for you or has failed to work in the past, you can’t expect it to magically work this time.
The only thing that you can expect to get is the same results you got the last time you did it.
Check out How To Eat To Get a Six Pack (10 Step Guide) to learn more.
David Varvaro is a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist with over 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. He has helped thousands of clients lose weight and get in shape through his private personal training studios and now offers online fitness and nutrition programs.