This is simple (but is not easy):
- Consume less than 15g of sugar a day
- Reduce your carb intake (it turns to sugar)
The end.
Warning: The amount of sugar you DRINK per day is really insane. Watch your ass on this one. Single can of coke is 39g. Fruit juice too. Do not eat/drink this shit if you want a flat stomach.
Even be careful with actual FRUITS as far as sugar intake is concerned (no joke). Eat raw veg instead/green shakes (my fave - and really easy).
If you 100% need sweetnesss, use a plant extract called Stevia. Also, you can easily eat a small cookie that has 2g of sugar in it, for a quick treat if you really need it.
You can not eat cakes n crap while cutting down. Once you reach your ideal state, you can occasionally have these things (cakes and fizzy drinks).
The basic idea is to keep your insulin level steady. When you eat sugar, the insulin levels go through the roof, and your body basically goes in to fat storing mode. You want to be in fat burning mode.
Check the belly fat cure for more info (no that's not my program, and the info in it is simple AND legit)
In addition:
Build muscle. The more muscle % you have, the more calories your body burns even at resting rate. 3 x 1 hour long workouts per week (look up high intensity training) will be all you need to do this. If you MUST eat shit, do it within 60 mins of a HI workout.
BTW, working out will not make you lose as much weight as we are led to believe. Losing weight is 90% diet. Cardio is the rest. Fitness models and fashion models all know this as standard. Look at construction workers/builders. They are on the go all day, and are still overweight, cos they eat shit all day long.
I personally know people who have trimmed down with ZERO work outs (they hate the gym), and strict diet contol.
Working out is still needed, but for building flexibility + fitness NOT losing weight.
Arnolds response to how he cut down after bulking, on a recent AMA:
"I would add in extra cardio - running on the beach, swimming, and bicycling. I cut out bread, pasta and desserts.
It definitely wasn't rocket science, but it worked."
Like I said, carbs and sugar are the enemies. Stick to meats, higher protein foods and veg. You can even eat high fat foods (bacon + eggs etc) and still achieve this - just watch your cholesterol.
Finally, alcohol. No. If you really need a drink, keep it to one day a week, and keep it red wine. Tastes like shit mostly (to me), but you get the same effects. Just make sure you're not intolerant (lots of people are), and don't go overboard and swim in it.
Easiest way to do it is stick to the same few meals a day. Boring yes, hard to stick to, yes, simple to learn, yes, difficult to do, yes. Worth it in the end when your gut is a flat washboard - YES.
Once in a while do this diet for a serious internal fat (visceral fat) burn:
Reversing Type 2 Diabetes - Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre - Newcastle University
Also, a lot of actors are now required to get in shape for their movie roles. Although they have all day to dedicate to this, it's still interesting reading what they eat.
More smaller meals more often in the day is a good way to ramp up your metabolism. If you eat one meal a day, then your body is starving and when you finally do eat, your body stores the food as fat, because it learns the pattern of hardly ever getting food. Train your body to burn the food you eat instead, by eating smaller meals more often (6 smaller meals a day instead of 3 large ones etc).
As for actors, you can see what these actors eat in many interviews:
- Hugh Jackman
- Chris Evans
- Chrisian Bale
- You get the idea - people who've had to bulk up and trim down quickly.
Check Arnolds diet info out plus Matus Valent. These guys are pros.
PS: Salt will cause you to bloat (it makes your body hold in more liquids) and fizzy drinks (even water) will cause your belly to hold gas and look larger too.
Man I gotta get back to my site - good luck!