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The Abs Diet Eat Right Every Time Guide
Smart Eating Choices – Made Simple!
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS HAVE CHANGED THEIR BODIES – AND THEIR LIVES – with the help of The Abs Diet , the New York Times bestseller from David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men's Health magazine.
The principles of The Abs Diet are simple: Eat more healthy food – six delicious meals a day – and crowd out the bad stuff that's making you fat. The Abs Diet has been proven to strip off 10, 15, even 20 pounds of flab – from your belly first – in six weeks or less.
Now, Zinczenko makes eating smart and healthy easy with this eye opening portable weight-loss manual, THE ABS DIET EAT RIGHT EVERY TIME GUIDE. This on-the-go guide pinpoints the foods you should choose to burn away belly fat no matter where you are – at home, in the supermarket, even at the fast-food counter. And it reveals the hidden killers that are adding inches to your waistline and taking years off your life!
Discover these amazing weight-loss secrets:
Should you toast a bagel or an English muffin? Did you know that making the wrong choice will cost you 150 extra calories?
What's healthier – a bean burrito or a taco salad? Would you believe the healthy salad will pile 130 more calories onto your plate?
Which will make you fatter – a Whopper or a Big Mac? You'll be stunned to discover the shocking truth!
Learn why a hot fudge sundae is a treat you should eat, why potato chips are better for you than french fries, and why Swiss cheese is three times healthier than Cheddar.
You don't have time for complicated plans or fancy recipes. In THE ABS DIET EAT RIGHT EVERY TIME GUIDE, Zinczenko tells you how to strip away belly fat in every situation – from the frozen food aisle to the deli, from a five-star restaurant to the drive-thru. On-the-go eating doesn't have to end up on your gut.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS HAVE CHANGED THEIR BODIES – AND THEIR LIVES – with the help of The Abs Diet , the New York Times bestseller from David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men's Health magazine.
The principles of The Abs Diet are simple: Eat more healthy food – six delicious meals a day – and crowd out the bad stuff that's making you fat. The Abs Diet has been proven to strip off 10, 15, even 20 pounds of flab – from your belly first – in six weeks or less.
Now, Zinczenko makes eating smart and healthy easy with this eye opening portable weight-loss manual, THE ABS DIET EAT RIGHT EVERY TIME GUIDE. This on-the-go guide pinpoints the foods you should choose to burn away belly fat no matter where you are – at home, in the supermarket, even at the fast-food counter. And it reveals the hidden killers that are adding inches to your waistline and taking years off your life!
Discover these amazing weight-loss secrets:
Should you toast a bagel or an English muffin? Did you know that making the wrong choice will cost you 150 extra calories?
What's healthier – a bean burrito or a taco salad? Would you believe the healthy salad will pile 130 more calories onto your plate?
Which will make you fatter – a Whopper or a Big Mac? You'll be stunned to discover the shocking truth!
Learn why a hot fudge sundae is a treat you should eat, why potato chips are better for you than french fries, and why Swiss cheese is three times healthier than Cheddar.
You don't have time for complicated plans or fancy recipes. In THE ABS DIET EAT RIGHT EVERY TIME GUIDE, Zinczenko tells you how to strip away belly fat in every situation – from the frozen food aisle to the deli, from a five-star restaurant to the drive-thru. On-the-go eating doesn't have to end up on your gut.
215 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2004
30 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
David Zinczenko
131 books64 followersDavid Zinczenko is an American publisher, author, and businessman. Previously, he was the executive vice president and general manager of Men's Health, Women's Health, Prevention and Rodale Books, the editorial director of Men's Fitness and the nutrition and wellness editor at ABC News.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 2, 2021
Read this book many years ago and found the notes in computer.The Abs Diet
By David Zinczenko
Eat 6 meals a day – 3 meals and 2 snacks (lower cholesterol 5%)
12 Basic Foods (power up your fat burners)
Almonds, other nuts
Beans, legumes
Spinach and green veggies
Fat free or low fat diary
Oatmeal (lowers LDL 20%) – raises levels of testerone –builds muscles, burns fat, boost sex drive.
Eggs (lutein) (vit B12)- necessary for fat breakdown
Turkey – breast is leanest – dark meat has zinc and iron (avoid self basting – added fat)
Peanut Butter
Olive Oil
Whole grains
Extra Whey Protein
Raspberries and other berries
Make smoothies : milk, yogurt, whey, oatmeal, fruit
Exercise: 20 mins 3 x s a week
Drink 5 eight oz glasses water daily.
Drink green tea – 7 cups a day
Black current jelly – quercetin
Apples – lower breast disease risk
Berries – salicylic acid (aspirin)
Grapefruit – reduces arterial narrowing
Potassium – banana, 2 small sweet potatoes, 2,000 mg day
Calcium – fortified OJ
Magnesium – pumpkin seeds, chickpeas
Change your oil to monosaturated oils (olive, sesame)
AVOID: licorice root – raises blood pressure
Other good foods: baby carrots, balsamic vinegar, cayenne, ginger, garlic, gabanza, cranberry juice
“Benecol” – stanol ester – lowers LDL
Beans – lowers LDL and prevent heart disease by 22%.
Calorie Burn
1. Thermic effect of eating – 10 to 30 % used up during digestion – more for protein
2. exercise and movement
3. basel metabolism
Exercise: aerobic exercise- burns a lot of calories/ overrated/ but builds little muscle/ decreases muscle mass.
MUSCLE EATS FAT– key component for speedy metabolism.
1 pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day just to keep the muscle alive
6 pounds of muscle burns 300 more calories a day
Low intensity aerobic exercise – uses fat/glycogen as fuel/ for longer periods (20 mins) depletes and looks for easiest source of energy – protein – begins to eat up muscle – 5 to 6 gms of protein for each 30 minutes
Strength Training / Weight lifting
Do not burn as many calories during workouts, but you burn more the next several hours after
exercise – “afterburn”.
Effects of weight training lasts for 48 hours and keeps burning calories at rest just to keep the muscle alive.
Long term weight management – iron over road rubber….(his opinion)
Process of muscle repair – break down and rebuild (protein synthesis) responsible for calorie burning – continues for 3 hrs after workout.
*****Short but hard workout has same effects as a long workout.
Aerobic exercise is still valuable for 3 reasons: 1. burns calories 2. controls stress 3. strengthens heart
When testerone levels are low the body stores fat.
Protein cranks up the thermic effects of digestion by 1/3rd and builds calorie consuming muscle – DOUBLE BURN.
DIET : animal protein is burns 2 % more calories than soy protein.
Protein: 1. builds framework of body
2. contains enzymes – helps digest foods
3. acts as hormone that tell body to store fat or use as energy
4. transports O2
5. acts as antibody –protects from illness
Protein burns twice as many calories as a high carb meal.
Protein builds mucles. – 1 gm per lb of body weight per day ex 160 lbs needs 160 gms protein
Where you lose weight is abdominal fat.
Protein helps control levels of cortisol – causes fat to converge in abdominal region.
Beef – “creatine” – Lean cuts – rounds, loins (extra lean), NY strips, sirloins
Calcium – reduces the amount of saturated fat you absorb.
Fish – fatty acids lower levels of the hormone “leptin”****the lower the levels of leptin the less
the body stores fat.
Fat
We need fat – 1. vital role in absorption of A, D, E, K
2. produces testesterone – triggers muscle growth
3. controls appetite
Trans fat – bad – partially hydrogenated oil, vegetable or palm oil – AVOID FRIED FOODS
Saturated fat – bad
Polyunsaturated fats – good
Omega 3 Omega 6
Fish (salmon, tuna) meats, eggs, diary
Eating fish itself is better for muscle building than taking fish oil supplements.
Flaxseeds – omega 3 – cereals, smoothies – BEST WEAPON AGAINST FAT
1 tblspn flaxseed +60 calories and 4 gms fiber.
Monounsaturated oils – good – nuts, olive oil, peanuts, avocado, canola, macadamia oil
HELPS BURN FAT – BODY BURNS MORE FAT IN 5 HRS AFTER MEAL WITH MONO’S THAN SATURATED FATS.
Shad – 3.7 gms, Sardines 2.4 gms, Mackeral 1.9, Salmon 1.6 gms, Tuna 1.5 gms, Trout 1.2 gms , canned tuna 0.07 gms
Eat foods low on glycemic index (GI) glycemic load (GL).
Calcium – firms up the gut…..3 servings a day – 6% less overweight. GET 1200 MG A DAY
limits the amount of new fat your body can make.
3 servings a day of yogurt – 61% less body fat 81% less stomach fat
increases thermic effect of eating
stronger bones
leaner bodies
50% less colon cancer
Prevents cancer
lycopene – tomatoes
color fruits/veggies – 70% lower amounts of digestive tract cancer
diary lowers risk of breast cancer
beta carotene in carrots
broccoli – florets have 3Xs beta carotene than the stem
salmon
d-limonene is an antioxidant that reduces skin cancer (lemon zest/orange zest)
green tea
spinach (neoxanthin)
whey (cysteine)
whole grains
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich – whole grain bread 2 tblspns PB, ½ cup blackberries smashed.
Peanut Butter raises level of testerone so your muscles grow
Eat Mono’s before meal – ate 25% fewer calories.
Energy Balance – (hourly)
Keep hourly surplus /deficient (about 300 to 500 cal at all times)
Changes body composition by losing fat and adding muscle.
8 am Breakfast
11 am snack – 2 tblspns peanut butter / celery
1pm lunch
4 pm snack – 1 oz almonds, 1 ½ c berries
6pm dinner
8 pm snack
Smoothies – 8oz – base – milk, yogurt, ice, oatmeal, peanut butter, whey powder
Advantages – require little preparation, add berries, whey, satisfy sweet cravings, make it thick and it takes up space in stomach, 3 yogurts a day – less overall body fat and less stomach fat.
Almonds – king of nuts – vit E, Calcium, Magnesium
Magnesium – eat a lot get 20% more muscle.*******
Beans – build muscle, lose weight
- Soy, Pinto, Garbanzo, Navy, Black, White,
Mustard Greens – brain booster – contains tyrosine – memories and concentration.
Spinach – lutein and zeaxanthin – vision – 43% less macular degeneration.
Whey protein – fat burner – have a shake before working out – increased ability to build muscles – greater uptake of amino acids – “cysteine – builds gutathione.
Ricotta Cheese – contains whey protein.
Blueberries
Strawberries – pectin (grapefruit, apples, oranges )
AVOID: high fructose corn syrup (cereals, ketchup, pasta, sauces, cookies)
It metabolizes into fat….
Prevent Diabetes: oatmeal, apples, low glycemic foods, vit E
Breakfast – berries and nuts one day w oatmeal and eggs and meat the next.
Exercise and Training
1. Circuit training : - set of leg exercises 8 or 10 lifts in a row
set of upper body exercises
a. keep working and cutting down on rest – keep heart rate elevated.
b. keep work out short – 20 mins 3 xs a week.
2. Compound Exercises: use multiple muscle groups - ex: squat – uses 25 muscles in
1 movement – greater muscle demand.
3. Focus on intensity – elevate the intensity higher – 30 to 90 sec
3 x’s a week - 3 sets of push ups (8-10 reps)
3 sets of squats 915to 20 reps)
48 hours between weight lifting workouts of same body parts
1 day each week – rest
Warm up 5 mins – light jogging, ride bike
1. Strength training – 3 x’s a week ( two for total body parts) (one for legs)
2. Other days – do cardio
3 Abs – 2 x’s a week before weight training.
Larger muscle groups are in the chest, back, and legs.
Legs are the key to total body stores.
Lower body – build the most muscle in less amount of time.
By David Zinczenko
Eat 6 meals a day – 3 meals and 2 snacks (lower cholesterol 5%)
12 Basic Foods (power up your fat burners)
Almonds, other nuts
Beans, legumes
Spinach and green veggies
Fat free or low fat diary
Oatmeal (lowers LDL 20%) – raises levels of testerone –builds muscles, burns fat, boost sex drive.
Eggs (lutein) (vit B12)- necessary for fat breakdown
Turkey – breast is leanest – dark meat has zinc and iron (avoid self basting – added fat)
Peanut Butter
Olive Oil
Whole grains
Extra Whey Protein
Raspberries and other berries
Make smoothies : milk, yogurt, whey, oatmeal, fruit
Exercise: 20 mins 3 x s a week
Drink 5 eight oz glasses water daily.
Drink green tea – 7 cups a day
Black current jelly – quercetin
Apples – lower breast disease risk
Berries – salicylic acid (aspirin)
Grapefruit – reduces arterial narrowing
Potassium – banana, 2 small sweet potatoes, 2,000 mg day
Calcium – fortified OJ
Magnesium – pumpkin seeds, chickpeas
Change your oil to monosaturated oils (olive, sesame)
AVOID: licorice root – raises blood pressure
Other good foods: baby carrots, balsamic vinegar, cayenne, ginger, garlic, gabanza, cranberry juice
“Benecol” – stanol ester – lowers LDL
Beans – lowers LDL and prevent heart disease by 22%.
Calorie Burn
1. Thermic effect of eating – 10 to 30 % used up during digestion – more for protein
2. exercise and movement
3. basel metabolism
Exercise: aerobic exercise- burns a lot of calories/ overrated/ but builds little muscle/ decreases muscle mass.
MUSCLE EATS FAT– key component for speedy metabolism.
1 pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day just to keep the muscle alive
6 pounds of muscle burns 300 more calories a day
Low intensity aerobic exercise – uses fat/glycogen as fuel/ for longer periods (20 mins) depletes and looks for easiest source of energy – protein – begins to eat up muscle – 5 to 6 gms of protein for each 30 minutes
Strength Training / Weight lifting
Do not burn as many calories during workouts, but you burn more the next several hours after
exercise – “afterburn”.
Effects of weight training lasts for 48 hours and keeps burning calories at rest just to keep the muscle alive.
Long term weight management – iron over road rubber….(his opinion)
Process of muscle repair – break down and rebuild (protein synthesis) responsible for calorie burning – continues for 3 hrs after workout.
*****Short but hard workout has same effects as a long workout.
Aerobic exercise is still valuable for 3 reasons: 1. burns calories 2. controls stress 3. strengthens heart
When testerone levels are low the body stores fat.
Protein cranks up the thermic effects of digestion by 1/3rd and builds calorie consuming muscle – DOUBLE BURN.
DIET : animal protein is burns 2 % more calories than soy protein.
Protein: 1. builds framework of body
2. contains enzymes – helps digest foods
3. acts as hormone that tell body to store fat or use as energy
4. transports O2
5. acts as antibody –protects from illness
Protein burns twice as many calories as a high carb meal.
Protein builds mucles. – 1 gm per lb of body weight per day ex 160 lbs needs 160 gms protein
Where you lose weight is abdominal fat.
Protein helps control levels of cortisol – causes fat to converge in abdominal region.
Beef – “creatine” – Lean cuts – rounds, loins (extra lean), NY strips, sirloins
Calcium – reduces the amount of saturated fat you absorb.
Fish – fatty acids lower levels of the hormone “leptin”****the lower the levels of leptin the less
the body stores fat.
Fat
We need fat – 1. vital role in absorption of A, D, E, K
2. produces testesterone – triggers muscle growth
3. controls appetite
Trans fat – bad – partially hydrogenated oil, vegetable or palm oil – AVOID FRIED FOODS
Saturated fat – bad
Polyunsaturated fats – good
Omega 3 Omega 6
Fish (salmon, tuna) meats, eggs, diary
Eating fish itself is better for muscle building than taking fish oil supplements.
Flaxseeds – omega 3 – cereals, smoothies – BEST WEAPON AGAINST FAT
1 tblspn flaxseed +60 calories and 4 gms fiber.
Monounsaturated oils – good – nuts, olive oil, peanuts, avocado, canola, macadamia oil
HELPS BURN FAT – BODY BURNS MORE FAT IN 5 HRS AFTER MEAL WITH MONO’S THAN SATURATED FATS.
Shad – 3.7 gms, Sardines 2.4 gms, Mackeral 1.9, Salmon 1.6 gms, Tuna 1.5 gms, Trout 1.2 gms , canned tuna 0.07 gms
Eat foods low on glycemic index (GI) glycemic load (GL).
Calcium – firms up the gut…..3 servings a day – 6% less overweight. GET 1200 MG A DAY
limits the amount of new fat your body can make.
3 servings a day of yogurt – 61% less body fat 81% less stomach fat
increases thermic effect of eating
stronger bones
leaner bodies
50% less colon cancer
Prevents cancer
lycopene – tomatoes
color fruits/veggies – 70% lower amounts of digestive tract cancer
diary lowers risk of breast cancer
beta carotene in carrots
broccoli – florets have 3Xs beta carotene than the stem
salmon
d-limonene is an antioxidant that reduces skin cancer (lemon zest/orange zest)
green tea
spinach (neoxanthin)
whey (cysteine)
whole grains
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich – whole grain bread 2 tblspns PB, ½ cup blackberries smashed.
Peanut Butter raises level of testerone so your muscles grow
Eat Mono’s before meal – ate 25% fewer calories.
Energy Balance – (hourly)
Keep hourly surplus /deficient (about 300 to 500 cal at all times)
Changes body composition by losing fat and adding muscle.
8 am Breakfast
11 am snack – 2 tblspns peanut butter / celery
1pm lunch
4 pm snack – 1 oz almonds, 1 ½ c berries
6pm dinner
8 pm snack
Smoothies – 8oz – base – milk, yogurt, ice, oatmeal, peanut butter, whey powder
Advantages – require little preparation, add berries, whey, satisfy sweet cravings, make it thick and it takes up space in stomach, 3 yogurts a day – less overall body fat and less stomach fat.
Almonds – king of nuts – vit E, Calcium, Magnesium
Magnesium – eat a lot get 20% more muscle.*******
Beans – build muscle, lose weight
- Soy, Pinto, Garbanzo, Navy, Black, White,
Mustard Greens – brain booster – contains tyrosine – memories and concentration.
Spinach – lutein and zeaxanthin – vision – 43% less macular degeneration.
Whey protein – fat burner – have a shake before working out – increased ability to build muscles – greater uptake of amino acids – “cysteine – builds gutathione.
Ricotta Cheese – contains whey protein.
Blueberries
Strawberries – pectin (grapefruit, apples, oranges )
AVOID: high fructose corn syrup (cereals, ketchup, pasta, sauces, cookies)
It metabolizes into fat….
Prevent Diabetes: oatmeal, apples, low glycemic foods, vit E
Breakfast – berries and nuts one day w oatmeal and eggs and meat the next.
Exercise and Training
1. Circuit training : - set of leg exercises 8 or 10 lifts in a row
set of upper body exercises
a. keep working and cutting down on rest – keep heart rate elevated.
b. keep work out short – 20 mins 3 xs a week.
2. Compound Exercises: use multiple muscle groups - ex: squat – uses 25 muscles in
1 movement – greater muscle demand.
3. Focus on intensity – elevate the intensity higher – 30 to 90 sec
3 x’s a week - 3 sets of push ups (8-10 reps)
3 sets of squats 915to 20 reps)
48 hours between weight lifting workouts of same body parts
1 day each week – rest
Warm up 5 mins – light jogging, ride bike
1. Strength training – 3 x’s a week ( two for total body parts) (one for legs)
2. Other days – do cardio
3 Abs – 2 x’s a week before weight training.
Larger muscle groups are in the chest, back, and legs.
Legs are the key to total body stores.
Lower body – build the most muscle in less amount of time.
May 6, 2019
This book is an excellent guide on discerning which foods are really bad for you and cause you to accumulate fat. Some foods might surprise you and be healthier than you think! It’s packed full of nutritional information for making wise decisions, and it includes a very long list of healthier choices from popular restaurants (again, the options might surprise you!). It also includes a long list of recipes you can make at home, and a lot of tips for grocery store shopping options. Plus, it includes workouts that will help you build muscle and burn fat! Muscle is important because (as the book mentions repeatedly) muscle requires more energy to maintain, and burns more calories even when you’re sitting around doing nothing. Just gaining 5 pounds of muscle will cause you to burn an extra 250 calories a day!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2021
I found the recipes and exercises helpful which is why I gave the book 3 stars. However, No specific studies were sited and the overall research seems designed to support the authors theories. No information on sugar contents which was frustrating.
March 13, 2019
I bought my copy in 2005 when this first came out. I can tell you that this Diet TOTALLY works if you stick to it.
September 28, 2013
Zinczenko has put together an easy way to remember all the healthy foods in one place. The Abs Diet didn't really tell me a lot of stuff I didn't already know, but it has given me a structure to follow. Zinczenko's advice centers on what he calls "powerfoods", eating 6 meals a day incorporating them, letting the body do its own portion control and building muscle. He gives space for one cheat meal a week. He also does a great job simplifying everything by giving tons of easy recipes and a nifty guide to eating healthy outside.
The plan sounds pretty well organized and balanced to me- except I probably would try to include some portion control just because that's what I have trouble doing. 3 stars for now. Will increase stars if it works.
The plan sounds pretty well organized and balanced to me- except I probably would try to include some portion control just because that's what I have trouble doing. 3 stars for now. Will increase stars if it works.
September 28, 2007
The author, David Zinczenko, has a certain flair while delivering his healthy message. I learned a few new things, but I'm baffled by no mention whatsoever of carbohydrates being a no-no. (I know there are good carbs.) I like THIS guide since it offers menu choices, actual recipes, and out-to-dinner guides. Looks like I'll be shopping at Trader Joe's-that's a safe bet for healthy food. I think anyone would like it. It's another look at success stories AND a very manageable plan.
May 7, 2008
The nutritional information in this book is great. It gets real about what's good to eat and what's not good. The thing I liked most about it is that it encourages eating fatty foods as longs as they are the right kinds of fat (poly & mono - unsaturated) because these foods are actually very healthy. It does warn to watch the portions, though, and also gives info about several main-stream restaurants...what's the most healthy and least healthy dish from each one.
September 8, 2007
really good recipes. we've tried three of the suppers and two out of the three were a big hit with my whole family and that is saying something! also we are big fans of the smoothies and make them all the time.
October 3, 2008
For an eating plan designed to help you lose the fat to enable you to build 6-pack abs, I found it interesting that his smoothiee recipes were made with ice cream. Now, I like that idea!!
October 21, 2008
This book is amazing! I don't know if it will actually help me lose weight yet, but I love the philosophy and I definitely feel better and am making better choices when it comes to food.
February 25, 2009
Full of helpful hints, especially from a nutritional standpoint. The 12 Powerfoods work and are delicious.
January 21, 2016
Interesting take on food. I'm not planning on doing the actual diet but I did find the books very informative regarding good nutrition for weight loss.
February 1, 2013
Great informational book. It teaches you to make better food choices when buying groceries and when eating out.
June 7, 2014
Some good information but not very organized in order to find specific things that you'd want to learn or remember throughout the book. Just seems scattered.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews