NO BS DIET BLUEPRINT
Introduction
Few people will ever achieve a ripped 6-pack, not because they don’t possess the potential, but
because they are not willing to do what it takes. Your 6-pack will only be impressive if your body
fat is low and the only way to get your body fat low is to change your diet.
Losing body fat is particularly hard in this day and age. We have at our disposal more varieties
of tasty food and beverage than in any time in history. Much of this food is not healthy and will
pack fat on us like a bear getting ready for winter.
The No BS Diet is a blueprint for dropping your body fat so that you can enjoy the personal satisfaction and bragging rights of a ripped 6-pack.
The No Bs 6-Pack Formula And The Key To Body Fat Success
To successfully build a head-turning 6-pack you must:
• Train correctly
• Eat correctly
• Think correctly
The No BS 6-Pack Formula lays out, with it’s Exercise Blueprints and Demonstration Videos,
exactly how to CORRECTLY TRAIN your abs to build them in the shortest time possible. This is
really the easy part of the program because it is largely mechanical and can be learned.
While the No BS Workout builds your abs, it is the Diet that gets you lean so that your abs
really pop. Until you become the master of your diet, an impressive 6-pack will elude you. In this
Blueprint you are going to learn how to EAT CORRECTLY to get a shredded 6-Pack.
Learning to eat correctly, like learning to train correctly, is also a largely mechanical process…
except for this one wrinkle... What we eat on a day-to-day basis is driven by our feelings. In
other words, we ultimately eat what we eat because it makes us feel good.
Feelings are the most powerful driver of all human behavior, whether rational or irrational, and
present the greatest obstacle towards achieving your 6-Pack goals. Most people know a large
piece of cake is an unhealthy fat-maker, but many are driven to eat it anyway because, in the
moment, their emotional drive to eat cake exceeds their emotional drive to achieve dynamic
health and fitness.
So what is the best way to take charge of the feelings that are driving us to eat and behave in a
counterproductive manner?
We have to strike at the very heart of our feelings which are our thoughts. What we call our
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feelings are nothing more than chemicals that create sensations in our brains and bodies and it
is our thoughts that trigger the release of these chemicals.
This is why THINKING CORRECTLY is so important to your diet success. Thinking correctly
begins by becoming aware of our thoughts and then consciously making better choices. In time
you will begin to think and FEEL differently about food. The ultimate goal of the No BS 6-Pack
Diet is for you to crave the foods that keep you ripped and to lose interest in the foods that keep
you smooth and unimpressive.
Awareness And Clarity Are The First Step To Success
Simply deciding that “I want a 6-Pack” won’t cut it.
It is far too vague of a goal.
To achieve a 6-Pack, you must know:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Where you currently are
Why you are where you currently are
Where you want to go and
What you must do to get there
The following Five (5) Action Steps are to be begun immediately and concurrently...
#1: Where You Currently Are
Do you know your:
•
•
•
Current weight?
Waist measurements?
Body fat percentage?
If you don’t know where you currently are, how can you devise a plan that will take you to where
you want to go?
At the very least you should own a bathroom scale and a body tape so you can measure your
weight and waist circumference. Inexpensive scales and measuring tapes can be found on
www.amazon.com.
For a more advanced scale try the Tanita brand. Some of their more advanced models give you
a fairly accurate body fat measurement as well.
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No BS 6-Pack Action Step #1
Weigh and measure yourself and record your results below.
Date:
________________
My starting measurements:
Weight:
_________________
Waist:
_________________
Bodyfat %:
_________________ (include this if you are able)
#2: Why You are Where You Currently are
Why do you have the amount of fat you do covering your abs?
The responses, “Because I eat too much”, “Because I don’t eat the right kinds of foods”, “Because I don’t exercise enough” are too general and will not lead you to taking correct action.
For true awareness and clarity you must ask and define the following:
•
•
•
How much do I actually eat every day? How many calories?
What kinds of foods do I eat? How much sugar? How much processed food? How much
Fat? Carbs? Protein?
How many calories am I burning through exercise?
You may think you know the answer to these questions but I can guarantee that if you are relying on your best guesstimate, you are wrong! Most people consume more food and burn fewer
calories than they think.
It is time to go off of automatic and gain a real awareness of what you are eating and burning. When you do, you will likely be surprised, even shocked, however, you will now possess the
awareness to take charge of your diet.
No BS 6-Pack Action Step #2
For the next 7 days record everything that you eat and all of your physical activity. You can do
this on a piece of paper but ideally you use one of the many free apps available such as Livestrong’s My Plate. These apps will give you a running total of the calories, fats, carbohydrates,
proteins you consume. It also allows you to record your activity. Recording your diet takes about
ten minutes of your day and is a minor inconvenience but it exposes your true THINKING about
food and sets the stage for a lifetime of 6-Pack eating habits. Do yourself a favor and take the
time to do this. The payoff is huge.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: Do this in real time throughout the day. In other words, DO NOT try to
do this at the end of the day. Most people find that when they input what they have eaten at
the end of the day they ate more calories and sugar than they thought. By then it is too late to
make any necessary adjustments.
DAY 1
Date: ____________ Total Calories: _______________ Fats: _______________
Carbohydrates: ________________ Sugars: ______________ Proteins: ________________
Calories Burned: _______________ Net Calories: _______________ (consumed - burned)
DAY 2
Date: ____________ Total Calories: _______________ Fats: _______________
Carbohydrates: ________________ Sugars: ______________ Proteins: ________________
Calories Burned: _______________ Net Calories: _______________ (consumed - burned)
DAY 3
Date: ____________ Total Calories: _______________ Fats: _______________
Carbohydrates: ________________ Sugars: ______________ Proteins: ________________
Calories Burned: _______________ Net Calories: _______________ (consumed - burned)
DAY 4
Date: ____________ Total Calories: _______________ Fats: _______________
Carbohydrates: ________________ Sugars: ______________ Proteins: ________________
Calories Burned: _______________ Net Calories: _______________ (consumed - burned)
DAY 5
Date: ____________ Total Calories: _______________ Fats: _______________
Carbohydrates: ________________ Sugars: ______________ Proteins: ________________
Calories Burned: _______________ Net Calories: _______________ (consumed - burned)
DAY 6
Date: ____________ Total Calories: _______________ Fats: _______________
Carbohydrates: ________________ Sugars: ______________ Proteins: ________________
Calories Burned: _______________ Net Calories: _______________ (consumed - burned)
DAY 7
Date: ____________ Total Calories: _______________ Fats: _______________
Carbohydrates: ________________ Sugars: ______________ Proteins: ________________
Calories Burned: _______________ Net Calories: _______________ (consumed - burned)
PS: Your assignment is to record these numbers for seven days but most people find that the
awareness gained by continuing this assignment for an extended period of time will improve
their results. Also, if you ever find yourself putting fat back on, begin tracking again to put yourself back on the right path.
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#3: Where You Want To Go
Now that you know where you are and what you have been eating to keep you there, it is now
time to define where you want to go and how quickly you want to get there.
Yes, you want a ripped 6-pack, but what weight, waist circumference and body fat percentage
must you reach to achieve it? And by what date do want to reach your goal?
If you have never had a 6-pack you likely don’t know exactly what weight, waist circumference
and body fat you need to achieve to get your desired result, so at this stage of the game you
need to make an educated guess. These numbers can always be revised if needed.
Obviously your weight and waist circumference is partly based on your height and build. However, your bodyfat percentage typically has to be under 10% for men and under 15% for women,
although these numbers are not written in stone.
These numbers will also vary based on how ripped you want your 6-pack to be. A 10% 6-pack
will not be as impressive as a 6% 6-pack.
I have a 5’ 8” client who thought he would achieve his desired 6-pack at 155 pounds and a 30”
waist. After reaching his goal he discovered that he needed to make revisions to achieve the
look he desired. By the time all was said and done, he had dropped to 143 pounds and had a
28” waist and 7% bodyfat. He was shocked because he thought a 28” waist wasn’t even possible.
The point is this... The 6-pack you desire will likely be at a lower weight and smaller waist circumference than you might expect.
In the following Action Step estimate where you believe you need to be to achieve your desired
6-pack.
No BS 6-Pack Action Step #3
I will have my No BS 6-Pack when:
My weight is: _______________
My waist is: _______________
My bodyfat is: _______________
I will achieve this by (date): _______________
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#4: What You Must Do To Get There
At this point you know:
•
•
Where you are and
Where you want to go
So now, how are you going to get there?
Obviously you will be following the No BS 6-Pack Formula Foundational and Anabolic Triggering
Workouts to maximize your ability to build impressive abs. However, in this Blueprint our focus
is on diet and how you can eliminate body fat so that you can expose rock-hard abs.
Let’s begin with the fact that fat is simply stored energy. Every day our bodies require a certain
amount of energy to move, repair and build. This energy comes from our food. Any energy we
do not burn is stored as either glycogen (glucose) or fat.
When you burn more calories than you consume your body will then draw on the energy either
stored in your muscle or fat cells. When energy is consumed from your fat cells you lose fat.
As a general rule of thumb, each pound of fat contains 3500 calories of energy, so, in order to
lose a pound of fat in a week it stands to reason need to be at a 3500 calorie deficit over the
course of the week.
Using this math you can fairly predictably devise a plan to lose weight and to achieve the goal
you set in Action Step #3.
Accomplishing this requires that you first determine how many calories you need to consume to
maintain your current weight. This number can be determined using the Livestrong’s My Plate
app I mentioned earlier (or other app). You will enter your gender, age, height, current weight
and activity level and it will spit out a number.
As an example let’s say Bob is a 5’ 10” 35 year old male that currently weighs 185 pounds and
is moderately active. Bob’s caloric intake to maintain his current weight will be listed as around
2,900 calories per day.
Is this totally accurate? No, but it is a place to start.
Let’s assume Bob wants to lose one pound of fat per week and that he does, indeed, burn
2,900 calories per day. In order to reach his goal he will need be at a caloric deficit of 500
calories per day (500 calories X 7 days = 3,500 calories or 1 pound of fat).
He can do this by:
1. Reducing his caloric intake to 2,400 calories per day
2. Eating the same and increasing his activity to burn an additional 500 calories
3. Changing his metabolism so that he burns the 2,900 calories faster
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Reducing His Calories
Knowing his maintenance weight is 2,900 calories/day and because he is tracking his food
intake, Bob can begin consuming 2,400 calories/day and expect to lose one pound of fat per
week.
This is a viable method but as you will soon learn, maybe not entirely the best solution.
Increasing His Activity
Bob may not want to reduce his calories but instead chooses to up his level of activity to burn an
additional 500 calories per day. This is also a viable solution, however, again, perhaps not the
best.
Changing His Metabolism
What if Bob can change his metabolism so that his body burns more calories per hour than
before?
Understanding how to manipulate this option is perhaps the most important thing that you can
do to burn fat.
There are two key ways to change your metabolism:
1. Diet
2. Exercise
Diet And Metabolism
Not all calories are created equal. Although 100 calories of broccoli contains exactly the same
amount of energy as 100 calories of cake, the affect they have on your metabolism is very different.
It has been proven that refined carbohydrates such as sugar and white flour can affect the rate
at which you burn calories, how fat is stored and how hungry you feel.
The sugar glucose, found in table sugar, grains and starches, increases blood sugar and raises
insulin levels. When your insulin is elevated, your body keeps fat locked away in your cells and
prioritizes clearing glucose from the bloodstream. In other words, as long as your insulin is elevated you will NOT lose any fat.
The sugar fructose, found in agave syrup, table sugar, corn syrup, honey and fruit, is metabolized in your liver and does not directly raise your blood sugar like glucose. Large amounts of
fructose acts to damage your liver and leads to dysfunction of the mitochondria, the energy factories of your cells, which contributes to a slower metabolism and increased fat storage. Unlike
glucose, which is widely used as energy for your bodily functions and is the preferred fuel for
your brain, there is no biological need for dietary fructose.
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Excess consumption of glucose and fructose contributes to insulin resistance, which means your
body no longer responds as well as it should to insulin (insulin resistance), resulting in insulin
levels staying high for longer than normal periods of time. Insulin resistance is at the heart of
excess fat storage, diabetes and heart disease.
Furthermore, the excess consumption of glucose and fructose impairs the ability of the satiety
hormone, leptin, to tell your brain that you are full. This is called “Leptin Resistance” and leads
to overeating because you stay hungry longer.
Food additives, hormones, artificial sweeteners such as Nutrasweet or Sucralose (Equal/Splenda) also affect the chemistry of the brain and your metabolism leaving you hungrier and fatter.
On a positive note, it has been scientifically established that replacing regular fats with medium
chain triglycerides, such as those found in coconut oil, results in more fat loss even though the
calories are the same.
This is by no means a comprehensive analysis of the effects of food and diet on your body’s metabolism but the message here is that all calories are NOT created equal and if you want to lose
fat you must focus on more than just the number calories you consume.
Exercise And Metabolism
Just like all food is not created equal, not all exercise is created equal.
Consider this... 30 minutes of jogging burns more calories in most cases than 30 minutes of
weightlifting (depending on intensity).
For this reason, people flock to the exercise bikes and elliptical machines in an attempt to burn
calories and lose weight.
But here is an important distinction. While moderate intensity cardio does burn calories, the
moment you step off the machine little has happened to your metabolism. In other words, you
burn calories while exercising but once you stop, your body continues to burn calories at about
the same rate that it did before you started the exercise.
Now consider weightlifting. The proper application of resistance training can actually change
your body’s chemistry and raise your metabolism post workout. This is often called the “Afterburn Effect.” Resistance training elevates your testosterone and growth hormone levels. These
are building and fat burning hormones and when they stay elevated you burn calories at a more
rapid rate. The result is that 30 minutes of properly executed resistance training will burn more
net calories than 30 minutes of jogging in the long run.
This is not to say you shouldn’t do moderate aerobic activity, however, to maximize your fat burning ability it is in your best interest to maximize the Afterburn Effect of exercise. This is what
your No BS 6-Pack workouts do.
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No BS 6-Pack Action Step #4
Using an app such as Livestrong’s My Plate or a Google “weight loss calculator,” determine how
many calories you should consume to maintain your current weight.
Number of calories to maintain current weight: _____________
No BS 6-Pack Action Step #5
In this Action Step you are going to map out what must take place for you to reach your fat loss
goal by your target date:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Enter your current weight (From Action Step #1):
______________
Enter your target weight (From Action Sept #3):
______________
Subtract the above two numbers to compute your
target weight loss): ______________
Multiply the number you just computed in #3
by 3,500 to compute the total calories that make
up the weight you want to lose. (If you did this in
kilos multiply by 7,700):______________
Using today’s date & your target date
(Action Sept #3), compute the number of days
you intend to take to reach your goal:
______________
Estimate the calorie deficit you need each day
to reach your goal (#4 ÷ #5):
______________
Using the number calculated in Action Step #4
subtract out your calorie deficit to determine the
calories you should consume each day to reach
your goal:_______________
EXAMPLE:
Let’s use our fictitious person Bob to see how this works:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Bob’s current weight: 185 pounds (84 kilos)
His target weight: 165 pounds
His weight loss goal:20 pounds
The total number of calories (20 lbs x 3,500): 70,000 calories
The number of days intended to reach goal:
100 days
Estimated daily calorie deficit (70,000 ÷ 90): 700 calories/day
Estimated daily caloric intake to reach goal
(2,900 - 700)2,200 calories/day
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OK, So What Is The Point Of These Action Steps?
Do you believe you are going to count every calorie and religiously eat the exact number of calories every day?
Highly unlikely.
The goal of these exercises is not to make you an obsessive food-weigher and calorie counter.
The goal is to:
•
•
•
Give you a clear target and deadline for achieving your head-turning 6-Pack. Numerous studies verify that people with clearly written goals and a defined completion date are far more
successful at achieving their goals than those who don’t.
Gain awareness of your eating habits. Most people are deluding themselves, thinking they
are eating fewer calories and healthier food than they actually are.
Gain clarity on what must be done to reach your goals. Once you have defined what must
take place to achieve success, you will you know exactly WHY you are either succeeding or
failing on a day-to-day basis.
The ultimate goal here is for you to become laser-focused on what you want to achieve and to to
make health and fitness a lifetime lifestyle rather than a short-term goal.
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The No BS Diet: HOW To Eat To Melt Fat Off Your Abs
Much of the success to be gained from diet is not from reducing the volume of food that you
consume but by changing WHAT you eat and HOW you eat it.
If you were to ask me to tell you in a sentence what to eat to build a killer 6-Pack I would simply
tell you to:
“Eat natural, whole raw, roasted, steamed, boiled or sautéed foods in moderation, do
not drink your calories and avoid all processed and packaged foods and beverages.”
It is really that simple but of course, not all foods are created equal and the following is a list of
specific foods to include and avoid on your path to a head-turning 6-pack…
Best animal proteins
Foods to avoid
Beef
Bison
Chicken
Lamb
Fish
Turkey
Pork
Eggs
Wheat
Flour based products
Processed sugars
All highly processed foods
All processed vegetable oils (canola, soybean,
safflower, etc.)
Artificial sweeteners
Best starchy carbohydrates
Rice
Potato
Buckwheat
Quinoa
Oatmeal
Best vegetables
Spinach
Broccoli
Kale
Swiss Chard
Collard
Mustard Greens
Zucchini
Brussels Sprouts
Asparagus
Bok Choy
©2014 Sal Di Stefano/Artizen Creative, LLC
Food to eat in moderation
Dairy
Fruit
Nuts
Seeds
Legumes
Beverages
Water
Tea
(no milk or sugar)
Coffee (no milk or sugar)
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Additional Eating Guidelines
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Do not bread and fry your food
Limit your carbohydrate intake. In other words, if eating rice put a small amount on your
plate rather than a heap.
Avoid juice, soda (this includes diet soda) and alcohol
Watch out for commercially prepared salad dressings (loaded with sugar)
Do not fear fat but don’t go crazy with it either!
For Maximum Health Focus On Eating:
Whole, organic and/or non-GMO foods
To keep expenses down not all foods need to be purchased organic. Go to www.ewg.org and
download their free shopper’s guide which lists the foods with the highest and lowest pesticide
loads.
In the United States most corn and soybeans are GMO. Go to www.nongmoshoppingguide.com
for their free guide and iPhone app so that you can avoid GMOs.
Purchase grass-fed beef and lamb, pastured raised chicken and eggs and wild fish when possible, otherwise limit your intake. Raw, non-homoginized milk is also recommended if you eat
dairy.
Finally, healthy fats & oils include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Olive oil (for salads, not for cooking)
Organic coconut oil
Grass fed butter
Ghee (clarified butter)
Grass fed beef tallow
Unprocessed, non-GMO fed pork lard
Molecularly distilled cod liver or fish oil
Avocado
Tree nuts
Use only saturated fats such as coconut oil, ghee or animal fat for high temperature cooking.
A Word On Carbs
Carbohydrates (carbs) have been demonized and for many have become synonymous with putting on fat. Studies do show that people do tend to get leaner on lower carb diets than on lower
fat diets so I recommend reducing your carb intake. However, carbs are a macronutrient and if
you lower your consumption substantially you may find that your athletic performance drops.
The best way to reduce your carbs is eliminate processed carbs such as flour and foods that
contain sugar.
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Eating carbs will not necessarily make you fat, just look at largely thin Asian populations that
eat white rice several times each day. The important thing to consider is that these populations
have traditionally eaten smaller portions and very little sugar. (Unfortunately these cultures are
getting fatter as they adopt American fast food and eat less of their traditional cuisine.)
Fruit
Most fruits get their sweetness from fructose. As I mentioned earlier, fructose affects the
metabolism and is likely the greatest cause of the obesity epidemic today. For this reason, if you
want to drop your body fat, limit your consumption of fruit.
Yes, whole fruit does contain vitamins, antioxidents and fiber but keep in mind one of the ways
bears fatten up for the winter is to eat large quantities of ripe fruit in the fall to slow their metabolism.
Of course, you can freely eat fruits that contain little sugar, such as lemons, however, don’t go
too crazy with avocados that are high in fat.
Flavor
One of the greatest fears people have is that losing body fat will require them to eat bland food.
This absolutely does not have to be the case. In fact, the whole foods listed on the prior page
can be combined in a near-infinite number of delectable combinations. To add extra flavor and
to jazz up your food feel free to use:
•
•
•
•
Garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, etc.
Real fermented soy and fish sauce
Vinegar (no sugar added) and
Spices
Many spices, such as cinnamon and turmeric, have excellent health properties AND they taste
great.
Since quality fats such as butter and coconut oil are part of a healthy diet, cooking in some fat
with garlic, salt and other spices will allow you to enjoy delicious food.
Food Timing
At this point you have determined how much you should eat and what you should eat so let’s
now talk about WHEN you should eat.
It has become standard practice among bodybuilders to eat six or more times a day. Let me
just say that if you are taking high doses of anabolic steroids this may apply to you but for the
natural muscle builder this number of meals per day is absolutely unnecessary.
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In fact, the natural muscle builder will do best eating 1 to 3 times per day.
Let me tell you why…
Evolution
Our ancestors did not eat 6 meals per day. Often they were happy to get one good one. A day
hunting animals, working in the fields or marching would be capped with a large evening meal
and a good nights sleep if all went well.
Food Is Thermogenic
When we eat, our body heats up to digest the food. In other words, our metabolism increases.
A small meal stokes a small digestive fire and a large meal stokes a large digestive fire. Larger
and less frequent meals actually serve to increase our metabolism.
Fat Burning
Long periods without food burn up glycogen so that your body now must burn fat stores.
So Here Is What I Recommend…
If you want to lose fat and maximize muscle I recommend a concept known as Intermittent Fasting. What Intermittent Fasting entails is eating all of your food each day in approximately an 8
hour period of time and fasting for the other 16 hours.
An example of this would be eating your first food at 11 am and completing your evening meal
by 7 pm.
The benefit of this is that during your 16 hour break you will begin burning fat. You will also be
able to enjoy bigger and more satisfying meals when you do eat, keeping you satiated until it is
time to go to bed.
Finally, it is shown that intermittent fasting helps to normalize insulin and leptin sensitivity, boosts
mitochondrial energy efficiency and promotes growth hormone (HGH) production. What this
means is more fat burning and less hunger.
The Most Important Meal Of The Day
It is often said that the most important meal of the day is breakfast. I agree with this but not
for the reasons that most people are familiar with. You see, the importance of breakfast was
first promoted by the breakfast cereal manufacturers who wanted people to consume their
grain-based processed cereals in the morning. For people who consume this kind of breakfast,
breakfast is, in fact, the most destructive meal of the day, leading to elevated blood sugar, obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
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I say breakfast is the most important meal of the day because:
•
•
Breakfast is exactly what it says it is. It is when you break your fast. Does this mean it has
to be a morning meal? No, your evening meal can be your breakfast if it is your first meal of
the day.
What you eat during that first meal sets the tone for the rest of the day. Break your fast
with healthy food and you will feel more energized and much more likely to crave more
healthy food. Break you fast with junk and you will feel run down and more inclined to medicate yourself with high carbohydrate fare in an attempt to feel better.
My preference is that I only eat light amount of food during the day and my main meal at night.
This keeps my energy high and a large evening meal helps me sleep like a baby, exactly when I
should be feeling ready to slow down for the day.
Won’t I Be Hungry?
Most people find that their appetite really kicks in AFTER they eat their first meal of the day. If
they eat a 7 am breakfast they often find by 10 am they are obsessing about lunch.
Eating a morning breakfast is so ingrained in many of us that it is psychologically hard to give it
up. However, those who forego a morning breakfast and choose to break fast in the middle of
the day will soon find that they have more energy and do not experience much hunger.
All I can say is try it, you’ll probably like it!
What About My Energy?
One of the concerns people have about not eating “3 squares” a day is becoming weak because
they haven’t eaten. But who are we kidding? By skipping a single meal do you really think you
become like a car running on fumes? We all have a reserve tank. It’s called fat. Skipping a
meal does not leave you without fuel, it just requires that your body switch fuels, which is exactly
what you want to do.
“But what if I work out in the morning? Surely I need to fuel up before going to the gym.”
It really depends on what fuel you want to burn… sugar or fat…
Try working out in a fasted state. You will likely find that you have tremendous strength and energy and that your body will be left with no choice but to burn fat.
But Won’t I Lose Muscle?
The fear of going to starvation mode and losing muscle by not eating every few hours is a myth
propagated by protein powder and bar manufacturers who want you to pound their products
between meals so you “don’t waste away.”
Here is the truth… You would have to go more than 48 hours without food for your body to pref©2014 Sal Di Stefano/Artizen Creative, LLC
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erentially choose burning muscle for fuel rather than glycogen and fat.
Stop worrying about losing muscle. This fear is what keeps a lot of guys muscular and smooth,
which is FAR less impressive than being muscular and ripped.
In fact, you CAN build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Your own fat stores can fuel your
muscle growth when you are in a calorie deficit as long as you are eating a healthy diet with
sufficient protein.
The sooner you can get over the belief that you have to be feeding your muscles all the time the
sooner your abs will appear.
So What Is Sufficient Protein?
Eating more than one gram of protein for each pound pound of bodyweight may be of value
to an anabolic steroid user but the natural athlete does not need anywhere near this amount.
Studies show that .7 grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight (1.5g protein/kg of bodyweight) is more than enough. On your quest for the ripped 6-Pack forego those excess protein
calories and reap the rewards.
This Sounds Good BUT…
I recommend intermittent fasting because it works. However, I have found that many people like
eating small meals throughout the day and are resistant to changing what they do. My response
to them is this…
Do what works for you, whether it is intermittent fasting, eating small frequent meals or eating
a large breakfast and a small dinner. As long as it is healthy and results in the fat loss you are
looking for it is really a matter of personal preference.
Ultimately, whether you fast or not is not going to make or break you. WHAT you eat will.
Therefore make sure your eating schedule is sustainable and best supports the achievement of
your goals.
Your Morning Ritual: Starting Your Day Off To Burn Fat
One of the most powerful things you can do towards achieving a ripped 6-Pack is to start your
day with a clear intention.
The biggest obstacle you face on your journey is slipping back into old habits and this easily happens if you allow yourself to go on “automatic.”
The solution to this is what I call the “Morning Ritual.” The Morning Ritual takes about 2 minutes to complete but keeps you aware and in charge of your day.
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The Morning Ritual is as follows:
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Wake up, go to the bathroom.
Before you drink or eat anything, use a tape to measure your waist around your belly button
and then weigh yourself on a scale. Record the measurements on a piece of paper.
Drink at least 16 ounces of room temperature water (473mL). If you have trouble drinking
that much water, add some fresh squeezed lemon.
Review your goals and set an intention to do what is necessary to achieve them.
That’s it! This ritual will set a positive tone for your day and rehydrate you. The measurements
will let you know on a day-to-day basis if you are track.
Drink Your Way To A 6-Pack
The benefit of drinking plenty of WATER throughout the day cannot be overstated. Often times
what we call hunger is simply a result of our body being thirsty. Staying hydrated will keep you
healthy and energetic as well as subdue feelings of hunger. Drink plenty of water prior to eating
and you won’t eat as much.
Keep a bottle or glass of water accessible at all times and drink frequently.
Sleep Your Way To A 6-Pack
In this fast paced world, operating on limited sleep has become commonplace for many people. It seems that the whole, “I will sleep when I die” attitude may in fact lead to an early grave.
Studies show that sleep deprivation not only ages you prematurely, but increases your risk for
chronic disease and makes you fatter.
Lack of sleep contributes to insulin resistance, decreased levels of the fat-regulating hormone
leptin, decreased growth hormone (HGH) production and increased production of the hunger
hormone ghrelin.
Longer waking hours means more eating hours. Combine that with fatigue and you may find
that you have a hard time resisting self-medicating with fat-building foods such as a late night
bowl of ice cream.
How many hours a night? Sleep requirements vary from person to person but most everyone
can benefit from at least seven to eight hours.
The Most Important First Step Towards Achieving An Impressive
6-Pack
As I emphasized earlier, the way you think is critical to your ability to successfully achieve the
6-Pack you desire and when it comes to thought, the most important step you can take is to
MAKE A CLEAR DECISION THAT YOU WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL.
The word “decide” comes from the latin word decidere, which means literally “to cut off.” When
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you have truly decided to get a 6-Pack it will become the ONLY option and will “cut off” all other
options.
You will know when you have truly committed to your quest when you become obsessive. When
you go out to eat you will carefully order what serves your purpose, not what looks the most
delicious. While everyone else is eating bread and drinking beer you will enjoy a glass of water
or sip a cup of tea.
Once you have truly decided, following the Action Steps in this Blueprint will be easy to do because it will be in line with your commitment to yourself.
If you are skimming through this Blueprint and thinking that it sounds like a lot of work then you
have not made a clear decision to achieve your 6-Pack. Indecision is the sign of internal RESISTANCE and resistance only exists where a clear decision has not been made.
Make a clear decision now to do what it takes and resistance will fall away. You will then joyfully
move in the direction of your goals.
Staying Ripped For Life
As people around the world get fatter, losing fat has become a worldwide obsession. Diets of all
kinds have been created and many of these diets work when people follow them.
The challenge is that most people who “go on a diet” go OFF the diet either before or after they
have reached their goal. When they go off they automatically go back to their old way of eating,
the way of eating that made them fat in the first place.
Don’t be one of those people!
The goal here is to get a 6-Pack and then KEEP your 6-Pack. This can only be accomplished if
the diet that you “go on” becomes your diet for life.
The guidelines I lay out in this Blueprint are not extreme. The foods you can eat are varied. You
can enjoy fats and carbohydrates as long as the foods you eat are natural and the quantities
you eat are reasonable. There is no reason you cannot continue eating in this manner once you
reach your goals.
In fact, many people find that eating healthy foods is far more satisfying than eating in any other way and going back to old eating habits is not an option. When this takes place you know
you have won. Your brain has been rewired to drive you towards health rather than destructive
eating behaviors.
Does this mean you will not stray? Of course not. There will be times when you DECIDE to eat
a slice of pizza or cheesecake. The key is to be in charge of your actions and to not let raw
emotion drive your behavior. Once you have eaten said junk food do not beat yourself up! You
are the captain of your ship and the occasional indulgence is your right. Enjoy it and then move
on.
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One key to staying on track for the rest of your life is to stay aware of your actions and your
goals and to not allow yourself to go back on automatic.
Perform your Morning Ritual every morning for the rest of your life and you will find you will never stray far from your ideal.
A Final Thought
Eating to get lean and eating for health can be two separate things. One can diet and get lean
but still have poor health. I do not separate the two because healthy AND lean looks and feels
best and are ultimately the key for LONGEVITY.
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