Many body-conscious people like to show their abs on the beach, at poolside barbeques with family and friends, and while exercising. It is not too difficult to show off the abs you were born with if you adopt a new healthy eating plan and embrace a new active lifestyle that includes light cardiovascular exercise.
You have abs without working out because your abdominal body fat is low enough for your abs to be visible. Most people cannot see their abs due to too much body fat and must reduce calorie intake and adopt a more active lifestyle. Strict diets and strenuous gym workouts are not always necessary.
By simply changing these two aspects of your life, you can comfortably achieve the goal of having a super six-pack that is not covered by unhealthy subcutaneous body fat. Some body fat is essential for life and reproduction, but it is advisable to get rid of excess fat and show those fabulous abs. Most able-bodied and healthy people can do it.
Reduce Body Fat Covering Your Abs By Eating Well
You can adopt a healthy eating plan by reducing your daily calorie intake to lose weight. Consult our medical doctor and a dietician to safely and comfortably eliminate certain foods and drink from your everyday meal plan. These include:
- Carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, cereals, pretzels, cakes, chips, and baked goods are stored in the body as body fat.
- Sugar, candy, sugary sodas, and soft drinks.
- Alcohol that is not eliminated from the body is stored as fat.
- Avoid processed, chemical-laden foods and eat more nutritious whole foods.
- Avoid frying fatty foods in cooking oil. Grilling your meat in an oven is preferable.
Show Your Natural Abs By Adopting An Active Lifestyle
Burning calories by being more active help you lose weight and bring your abs to the fore. Try the following:
- Park your vehicle as far from the shopping mall entrance as you can and walk to the shops.
- Walk your dog as often as possible. Dogs need daily walks and so do you. Try to attain 10 000 steps a day to lose weight gradually.
- Take hikes on the beach and in the mountains. There are suburban recreational hikes and walks in most large towns and cities.
- Walk up the stairways instead of taking the elevator.
- Take up a hobby like ten-pin bowling, dancing, surfing or bird watching, which requires lots of walking. Choose one that will suit your physical abilities.
- Clean and vacuum your house or apartment and mow the lawn with a push mower.
Help Your Abs Show Up By Staying Hydrated
Have a drink of water after waking up in the morning and at regular intervals during the day and evening. It will ease hunger pangs and stop you from over-eating.
If you drink a glass of cold water, you will kick a calorie-burning effect into action when your body utilizes energy to heat it to average body temperature.
Get More Sleep To Lose Body Fat And Show Those Abs
Getting more sleep and being less active for a longer period every 24 hours seems counter-intuitive to losing body fat, but it can help you lose weight and show your abs. Here’s how: Not getting enough sleep causes your leptin level to decrease.
The hormone Leptin tells the brain when you have had enough food to eat. When you don’t have sufficient leptin it tells the brain you need more food and boosts your appetite so you eat more. Try to get eight hours of sleep.
Slashing Your Intake Of Alcohol Will Help Reveal Your Abs
Alcohol consists chiefly of empty calories, so by cutting back on alcohol consumption, you will reduce your calorie intake and lose weight. Alcohol that is not eliminated from the body is stored as fat, so cut back on drinking alcohol.
The Mechanics of Abdominal Muscles
For some folk, the term six-pack is a misnomer. The abs are one single muscle, the rectus abdominis, and a six-pack is formed by the intersections of three lateral tendons and a horizontal one.
Some people will have two or four lateral tendons – they have a four or eight-pack, and can still have great fat-free abs.
Get A Flatter Stomach To Show Your Abs Without Exercising
Follow the simple steps below to help you have a flatter stomach.
You can achieve this by:
- Drinking coffee is good news for many people. It triggers “brown fat” and produces body heat by burning sugar and fat.
- Relaxing as stress hormones hamper digestion of food and you might look and feel bloated. Relax by watching TV, doing yoga, or listening to a podcast.
- Take water on board regularly to curb your appetite and eat smaller meals.
- Add lemon juice to your water in the morning, reducing inflammation and bloating in the gut.
- Eating dark chocolate: The monounsaturated fat speeds up your metabolism and thus reduces body fat.
- Run a bath and add two cups of Epsom Salts to reduce excess water. It is unclear whether this is scientifically proven and results are primarily anecdotal but many people do this for health reasons.
What Is The Optimum Body Fat Percentage For Great Abs?
The percentage of body fat for men and women differs – for women, 4 to 24 percent is healthy and abs should be visible, while roughly 6 percent to 17 percent is healthy and abs should be visible for men. Definition of the abs will begin to show at a higher percentage and become more visible as the figure lowers.
More than 25 percent are considered obese men and more than 30 percent are obese women. It is advisable to have this body fat percentage checked by a medical professional as losing too much body fat can be very dangerous for your health. Some body fat is essential for healthy living.
People have body fat in different parts of the body: It can be around your waist, while others are prone to fat in their hips and chest. Body fat can be determined in part by environmental factors, such as drinking alcohol and smoking, but it also has a genetic element. We all differ: you may have 18% body fat but carry most of that weight on your hips, but someone else could also be at 18% and carry it around the stomach.
Conclusion
It is perfectly feasible to have abs without strenuous workouts at the gym or a strict diet because we are born with them. If your abs are not visible they are most likely to be covered by abdominal body fat.
Suppose you lose weight by eating healthy food and adopting a more active lifestyle, including light cardiovascular exercise like walking and mowing your lawn with a push mower.
In that case, those magnificent abs you have been hiding all your life will come out to play.
References
- https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2004/jan/31/weekend7.weekend5
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/fitness-myths/2013/05/28/28c04d6a-bf25-11e2-9b09-1638acc3942e_story.html
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-ways-to-get-abs#contributing-factors
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_loss_effects_of_water
