On the other hand, keeping your fridge and pantry stocked with nutrient-dense, whole foods is a great way to keep your healthy diet in mind and encourage yourself to have those nutritious foods more often. You can help avoid the temptation to eat these foods by keeping them out of your house, limiting your access to them at home ( 21, 22). Not only are ultra-processed foods tempting due to their flavors, but even being in the presence of these types of foods can affect brain chemistry and behavior ( 17, 18, 19, 20). Some examples of ultra-processed foods include fast food, frozen dinners, and sugar-sweetened juices and sodas. They tend to contain additives like sweeteners, thickeners, stabilizers, and other ingredients that make the foods last longer and taste better ( 5). Ultra-processed foods are those that have been made by industrial processing. In recent years, researchers have found that people around the world are eating more ultra-processed foods than ever before ( 13, 14, 15, 16). Plus, there’s no guarantee the results will last. SUMMARYĬrash dieting might help you lose weight quickly, but that’s not always healthy. Oftentimes, the healthy habits you instill by eating a nutritious diet end up being more important in the long run than how much weight you’ve lost in a short period of time. Thus, when it comes to sticking with a healthy diet, try to resist the urge to focus too much on weight loss. Interestingly, one diet that has held up to the test of time is the Mediterranean diet - and it’s rich in whole foods ( 10). Over time, most people who diet regain the weight they’ve lost ( 10, 11, 12). If the answer to that question is no, you could be embarking on a crash diet.Ĭrash diets usually rely on extreme calorie restriction to obtain fast weight loss results ( 8, 9).īut here’s the thing about crash diets - actually, the thing about diets in general, from keto to Atkins and everything in between - the results usually don’t last in the long run. One of the most important questions to ask yourself when starting a healthy diet is, “Can I keep this up long term?” Healthy diets come in all shapes and sizes, but most of them are centered on nutrient-dense, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein. On the contrary, ultra-processed foods like chips, candy, and sodas are more likely to promote inflammation and encourage chronic diseases ( 3, 5, 6, 7). Whole foods are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that support a healthy gut and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes ( 1, 2, 3, 4). Shakes, supplements, and fad diets might seem useful on the surface, but time and time again, whole-foods diets have been linked to better health outcomes all around the world. Whole foods are those that have been minimally processed, such as: Still, most successful, long-term healthy diets have at least one thing in common: They’re rich in whole foods. If, on the other hand, you have a healthy lower back and would like to add extra mass to your abs, do the workout three times a week and use some resistance in the exercises, such as holding a small plate or dumbbell.There are many ways to follow a healthy diet, and no two nutritious diets look exactly the same. If you can't do an exercise, due to lower-back injuries for instance, feel free to substitute it with an exercise that doesn't bother your back. How to Make This Ab Routine Easier or Harder If you'd rather do the workout in one session, I recommend either performing the ab routine as a warm-up for your weight training or after your training if you're going to be doing heavy lifting like squats or deadlifts. That way, I get to spike up my metabolism twice a day. Personally, I like to head to the gym early and do abs and cardio first thing in the morning, then come back in the afternoon for weight training. An advanced bodybuilder could do it just about every day. When to Work Your Absįor most people, performing this routine a minimum of three days per week will be plenty. Besides, obliques get enough stimulation from exercises like squats, deadlifts, and other full-body weight training. In my experience, direct oblique work only leads to a wider waistline. Note that I haven't included any direct oblique work.
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