4 Regions To Move To, To Stay Lean And Build Abs

 

You don’t have abs… yet? Well guess what? The reason isn’t because you aren’t eating fat to lose fat (Yes, you should be eating fat to lose fat, which I’m sure you know by now). The reason is because of where you live! 

So what you need to do, is pack your bags and ship yourself off to one of the 4 regions below!

OK, maybe you don’t need to ship yourself over. Maybe just a visit. However, one immediate thing you can do is adopt some of the things that the individuals that live(d) in these countries do to stay lean, despite their unusually high levels of fat in take.

And of course, we’ll learn why they’re able to do this, as opposed to why us typical westerners can’t.

Now, before we move on ahead, let’s just remember that this lifestyle benefits us, not just in terms of how we look, but also in terms of how we function. In short, how to prevent heart disease and obesity. Both of which run rampant in humans who are located in the western side of the world (US, UK, Europe, Australia). Mostly due to the heavy promotion of processed foods.

We once created an article titled ‘The caveman diet’. It was there where many FitBuzzers discovered the power that a varied and natural diet can bring to the body. In fact, we have more variety than ever in today’s world. It’s just that what you ‘need’ isn’t always heavily promoted. If it was, then all of the kids would be running around fit and healthy and obesity and heart disease wouldn’t be an issue. It may also be due to the fact that many healthy foods are perceived as boring, tasteless or expensive. But they don’t need to be. And you certainly don’t need to be as restrictive as you may think in terms of the foods you eat in order to stay lean. But more on this later.

 

Onwards…

 

Eating fat to stay lean is not a new concept. But let’s look at some more evidence of why eating fat won’t make you ‘fat’ by looking at how our ancestors (And even current day folk)  consumed foods in different regions around the world.

 

Southeast Asia/Pacific Islands (Close to Australia)

 

If you have visited any of the countries in the the South Asian region, you’ll instantly notice that the folks that live there generally ‘look’ better than us westerners. And in some cases, regardless of age! Better looking skin, hair and overall general appearance. Despite the fact that most countries in that region are still considered 3rd world countries.

The reason is that they simply eat more natural foods. And one part of that has to do with a diet that consists of a high intake of coconut fat (Approx 65-70% of their total calorie intake!). Coconut fat contains a high of 90% saturated fat, yet you’ll be challenged to find any obese individuals in this region. Yes, western influences have begun to plague these places with huge brands such as McDonalds and Burger king setting up shop in these places. However, these places tend to only exist to cater to the western tourists.

 

Fat can be good. Those in Southeast Asia/Pacific Islands are not…

 

 

Eskimo Regions

 

We haven’t visited any of the places in this region yet. But we know that historically, these individuals ate/eat a variety of types of fish. Which of would mean that they consume high levels of fat. Yet it’s not a region that’s known for developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes or other diet related illnesses/diseases.

 

Fat can be good. Those who live/lived in this region are not…

The Mediterranean

 

This is the part of the world that is most often associated with oily or foods that are high in fat. We once had a FitBuzzer writer send us some meal plans from that region. Yes, there is a lot of fat in some of the foods, but again, it tends to be from natural, unprocessed kinds. Oh and if you hadn’t noticed, these are often perceived as healthy, long living regions.

 

African Tribes

 

We know a bit about ‘tribes’ and the whole ‘tribe’ thing has been brought back into popularity in recent years, with related reality TV shows, ambitious business start ups and the like. Many of those involved in those endeavors have mimicked how the ‘real’ tribes men used to eat. Raw meat, blood, milk and others, which of course would lead to a high  intake of fat. (More than twice the amount that us westerners consume). Yet these individuals were super lean.

 

Fat can be good. Those who live/lived in this region are not…

 

The main take away here, is that all those who lived or still live in these regions eat 1) Natural and 2) A variety of foods. No processed foods! So your goal isn’t to avoid fat, it’s simply a case of limiting the amount of processed foods that you consume.

 

How To Find Your Unprocessed Fat

 

This part is easy. Take a look at the natural foods listed from Ratings A – C in the Lifestyle diet ebook. 

Animal based foods = Go for grass fed meat (You are what you eat, but you are also what they eat. And they should be eating the foods that they should naturally be eating).

Plant based foods = Cocoa butter, Coconut oil (These contain a high amount of saturated fat, yes. Your goal is to simply gauge how much you consume. Variety is the key here. And keep in mind that your diet can allow for 20-40% of your calories to come from ‘fat’)

 

To keep it simple, you just need to eat a variety of fats from your food sources and limit the amount of fat consumed from processed food sources. Do that and you’ll obtain a good balance. In fact, that rule applies to your carb and protein intake too

The meal plans for abs series is always being updated, but here’s some food combo ideas to keep things interesting.

 

• Nuts/Seeds + Yogurt
• Nuts/Seeds + cereal (A rated cereals – Natural food stores)
• Nuts/Seeds + salad (Fresh salad too, as salad is mostly boring and tasteless. You can snack on a lot of veggies, but you WILL get bored of munching away if you can’t taste anything)
• Olive oil/Flaxseed oil + Protein shakes

 

How To Eat Clean And How To Keep On Eating Clean

 

FitBuzzers speak to us on a daily basis. FitBuzzers seem to love the motivation that we provide. Which is great. But one of the main dilemmas that FitBuzzers face is not how to eat clean (Lifestyle diet ebook)… but how to ‘keep on’ eating clean. The solution is pretty simple. Just simply follow the 3 rules listed below

 

The 3 rules 

 

• Don’t shop on an empty stomach (On another note, don’t train on an empty stomach. Just a reminder )
• Plan your meals at the start of each week (You now know how to structure your meals and what each meal should consist of. We’ve even laid the meals out for you HERE)
• Perform dinner > dessert shopping on your travels to the supermarket (Those who have the budget foods for abs ebook will be familiar with this method of shopping. You simply buy the foods in the outer isles of the store first before shopping into the middle isles. The outer isles consist of all of the A-rated foods you have come to know from the Lifestyle Diet ebook, such has lean meat, veggies, fish and low/non fat dairy products. While those in the middle consist of mainly processed, B-rated and lower rated foods. However, don’t completely avoid the center isles, because this is where you’ll find those high in fiber cereals, beans, dark chocolate and nuts that offer a variety of healthy fats, oils and seeds

 

Once you follow these 3 rules, you’ll start to find that D, E and F rated foods will actually make you feel sick, even from just looking at them. But as mentioned above, it’s not a good idea to be completely restrictive with the A-rated foods that you eat.

 

Why?

 

Because a long term or ‘Lifestyle’ diet actually needs a strong balance of the following 6:

 

• Carbs
• Protein
• Fat
• Water
• Vitamins
• Minerals

All of which you will not find in just A- rated foods. Which is why the A-F list was created.

The main thing you need to do is just ensure that you limit the amount of processed foods that you eat. And not to avoid fat.

As you learned earlier, our ancestors in those 4 regions got by just fine and were super lean and healthy, despite their high level of fat consumption. The reason is because their diet consisted of natural ‘unprocessed’ foods. In fact processed foods are still a relatively ‘new’ thing. As is obesity and heart disease for people who live in those regions. And of course, it’s not hard to put two and two together in that instance.

The Lifestyle Diet ebook is a start. There is no magic ratio that will work for everyone. Just focus on your total caloric intake and eating healthy foods as described here and in that ebook/FitBuzz programs. Just calculate your approximate caloric range for weight maintenance and fat loss from that ebook and over time, you’ll know what does and doesn’t work. In fact, you’ll have plenty of ammunition to play with as most of the programs here contain continuous updates. Updates that contain new things for you to play with. Because amongst all of this self testing, we still have to battle with the bodies ability to adapt to change. And the fact that our bodies are continuously changing over time

 

 

To conclude

 

You don’t need to avoid fat. You just need to make sure that the majority of the foods that you eat are from A-rated food sources and that your fat intake is varied and that it makes up for about 20-40% of your calorie intake. For a full break down of ‘fat’, you can always check out the Guide to necessary supplementation. And remember, protein also equals variety. Carbs equals fiber and Vitamin C.

 

Fat does not make you fat. Consistently eating processed foods does.

 

 

Incoming search terms:

• optimum nutrition t shirt
• Jessica Ennis abs
• fat to abs
• gymnast huge butts