CONTENTS
You Have Abs. Yes, You. And This Plan Will Help You Find Them
Cutting-Edge Research Blazes New Paths to a Flat Belly and Healthier Body
The Abs Diet Start-Up Kit
Why the Abs Diet Works When Others Fail
How Metabolism Shapes Your BodyAnd How You Can Change Yours
What Your Last Meal Is Doing to Your Body Right Now
A Week-by-Week Guide to How Your Body Will Change
The Truth about the Trend Thats Threatening Americas Health
The Powerfoods and System That Will Change Your Body
Meet the Powerfoods That Will Shrink Your Belly and Keep You Healthy for Life
Using Powerfoods in Quick and Easy Recipes
Featuring Three Perfect Weeks of Eating for Women
Tailoring the Plan for Each Womans Individual Needs
Psychological Strategies for Dealing with Your ObstaclesAnd Your Changing Moods
How This Simple Eating Plan Makes Your Life Simpler, Too
How Exercise Can Strip Away Fat and Add Lean Muscle
The Easiest, Most Effective Workout Plan Ever
A 50-Six-Pack of Exercises
Leg-Toning and Butt-Shaping Exercises for Your Abs Diet Workout
How the Program Can Work with Your Bodys Natural Cycles
Using the Plan to Prepare for the BabyAnd Lose the Baby Weight
A Program That Can Give You the Fit Body And Calm MindYou Want
I HAVE A FRIEND WHO DREADS going to parties because she equates socializing with overeating. Imagine thatshe would rather skip spending time with her friends than put herself in harms way of circulating appetizer trays carrying tempting bites.
Shes not alone, of course. I can relate. Im sure you can, too. Is there something in the female DNA that compels us to beat ourselves up the day after enjoying a slice of cheesecake or a few mini hamburger sliders?
Perhaps we mistake the power of food for a character flaw. Unless we are denying ourselves one of lifes basic pleasureseating delicious foodwe cant feel good about who we are or how we look in our jeans. Yet denial is not a sustainable eating strategy. Its against human nature to deprive ourselves and, frankly, its not a fun way to get ready for bikini season!
Thats why Im so excited about this new edition of the bestselling Abs Diet for Women. Four years ago, David Zinczenko, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Mens Health, penned this revolutionary eating guide to address
the unique challenges women face when it comes to losing weight. And it has helped hundreds of thousands of women just like you and me to improve their health. What makes this diet so refreshing is that its not about sacrifice. Its not about what you cant eat. It doesnt require monitoring every morsel that passes your lips. Instead, the Abs Diet for Women puts you in control of your fitness and nutrition: eat the right food (and more of it!) and youll trim away belly fat for good. And though this diet was designed specifically to give you a flat tummy, your whole body will benefit from the fat-torching eating and exercise plans.
The secret weight-loss method detailed in The New Abs Diet for Women involves the Power 12, a cornucopia of foods that will fill you up, satisfy your hunger longer, and help power up your bodys natural fat burners. Make these foods the focus of your meals and snacksat home, at work, at parties and when you traveland you wont ever have to count calories. Youll never again feel guilty about eating great food.
This, The New Abs Diet for Women, has been updated with the latest nutrition research, fantastic new recipes using the 12 Abs Diet Powerfoods, and fast-acting, fat-blasting exercises. And we couldnt be launching it at a more critical time. Our nation is facing a major health crisis. More than 142 million Americans are obese or overweight. More than 10 percent of all women age 20 or older are living with diabetes, a devastating, life-threatening disease. Telling people to just say no to fast food or fat or carbs has not worked. Providing people with the tools to take charge of their health will. And thats what the New Abs Diet for Women does, brilliantly.
So grab a jar of natural peanut butter (its an Abs Diet Powerfood!). Lace up your walking (or running!) shoes and try the new metabolism-boosting workout on page 219. Soon youll be on your way to a healthier, hotter body for life. You deserve it!
Michele Promaulayko, editor-in-chief of Womens Health
You Have Abs. Yes, You.
And This Plan Will Help You Find Them
W HEN I WROTE THE ORIGINAL Abs Diet more than 5 years ago, some people thought it was written for beach volleyball players, body-builders, and people who aspire to prance around in front of large-format cameras wearing lace thongs. It couldnt possibly be for real men and women who have more pressing things to do than crunch washboard bellies in a gym all day long.
But then a funny thing happened. It wasnt the athletes or rappers or Victorias Secret models who picked up the book, but tens of thousands of real men and women. People like you. They gave the program a shot, lost the stubborn pounds, found their hidden abdominal muscles, and, most important, dramatically improved their health.
Then they told their friends about it. And thats how The Abs Diet became a New York Times bestseller and spawned a half dozen other books, including The New Abs Diet Cookbook released in 2010.
Im proud of the Abs Diet and the impact it has made on peoples lives. But Im not satisfied. Not yet, because so many more people still need to hear the message and learn the secrets to losing weight and firming up their bodies for life. I know that some critics see flat bellies as the modern American symbol of vanity, but dropping pounds, inches and dress sizes is more than just a way to support the mirror industry. We are at a crucial point in our nations history: Were too darned fat. Obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of premature heart attacks in the United States. Imagine thatovereating is worse for you than smoking a pack a day. Weve forced the smokers out of our restaurants and onto the sidewalk to light up, and yet you can still order an appetizer off the menu that delivers a days worth of calories and enough grease to turn your colon into a Roman candle. Go figure.
Sixty-seven percent of the populationroughly 142 million Americansare overweight or obese. And a new forecast by University of Chicago researchers estimates that the number of Americans living with diabetes will nearly double in the next 25 years to 44.1 million people.
But it doesnt have to be that way. And I know that the Abs Diet can help. So, whether you are worried about pre-diabetes or your cholesterol numbers, or youre just a little anxious about the approaching bikini season, heres my promise: With this book you will improve your health and find your abs, and if I can also help you into that barely-there bathing suit, well then Im happy to oblige.
As the editor-in-chief of Mens Health magazine, and editorial director of Womens Health, I know that youno matter how flabby your belly, how many kids youve brought into this world, or how many diets youve triedcan develop a flat stomach. See, I analyze health and fitness information with the time and tenacity that your boyfriends and husbands devote to their fantasy baseball teams. Its my job to find the fastest, best and smartest ways for you to make tremendous gains in your most important investment: your body. And Im encouraged by all the new research in nutrition and exercise science in the past 5 years, amazing strategies youll put into practice later in the book. A flat stomachthat is, abs that showis a worthy goal because its the ultimate predictor of your health. And you will get there even if youve failed on previous weight-loss attempts and have yo-yoed more than kids at a toy store. I understand your struggle. Ive talked to and heard from thousands of women who have shared their weight-loss attempts with me. I know what youve gone through because I, too, know what its like to feel fat.