“Abs are made in the kitchen” is a phrase you may have heard before, and for good reason. You can have the strongest, toughest set of abs. But no one will be able to see them if you’re not lean enough, as they’ll be hidden under a layer of excess fat.

On the other hand, you might be very lean and sweating it out in the weight room multiple times a week. But if you’re not eating the right nutrients to fuel your muscles, they won’t grow, and you’ll only end up wasting multiple hours a week with nothing to show for it.

Which is why in this article, we’ll be going through the 3 best foods to get abs. & the 3 you should avoid in your six pack abs diet to get there as fast as possible.

What to include in a six pack abs diet

For most people, getting abs comes down to two things: Building abdominal muscles, and losing the layer of fat on top of them. For that, some types of food are better than others. Some foods. The healthy, nutrient-dense ones, will help speed up your results and save time, while others, the calorie-heavy nutrient-empty ones, can hinder your progress if not outright reversing it. 

Best Foods for six pack abs

Here are the three types of food to focus on if you’re looking to build a lean, strong, and visible set of abs.

Proteins and healthy fats

Proteins are the most important nutrients for muscle growth, as they form the building blocks for muscle tissue. On top of promoting muscle growth and repair. In short, they are what your muscles (and abs) are made of. Making them the most important component of any six pack abs diet.

Healthy proteins to look out for include eggs, lean meats (like lean beef and poultry), fish and shellfish, as well as lower fat dairy products, just to name a few. 

As for fats, the healthy kind includes avocados, nuts and seeds, vegetable oil, and fatty fish like salmon and sardines. 

These healthy fats are important because they provide energy to your body while keeping you feeling full for longer. Studies also suggest that they can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and are less likely to be stored as fat compared to unhealthy fats (1).  

Check out this article to find out exactly how much protein and fat to eat every day to get abs in 60 days.

Whole grains

Whole grains are foods which have been through some processing, but still have most of their nutrients intact. As opposed to refined grains, which undergo more processing to improve their texture, but end up stripped of most of their nutrients in the process. 

These whole grains include barley, brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat flour, and whole wheat bread, among others.

They are nutrient dense and a great source of fiber. Whole grain foods have been found to enhance weight loss, lower blood pressure (2), lower the risk of type-2 diabetes and heart disease (3), as well as reducing appetite and regulating energy levels (4). Earning them their spot among the best foods to get abs.

Fruits and vegetables

Of course, no healthy food list would be complete without fruits and vegetables. 

Remember your parents always telling you to eat your vegetables? Well, turns out they were onto something. Fruits and Vegetables are nutrient dense, containing not only fiber, which is linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity, but they also supply a host of key vitamins and minerals that your body needs (5). 

A 2018 review of 10 studies found that adding more than 4 servings a day of vegetables resulted in reduced weight gain and smaller waist circumferences in women (6). 

Fruits are generally very healthy and nutritious, fitting neatly in a weight loss/muscle building diet. But some fruits like dates are high in natural sugars and calories, and thus should be consumed with caution. As eating too many can result in slower fat loss or even weight gain. 

Foods to avoid 

If the best foods will speed up your progress and help you lose fat and build enough muscle to get abs, then these unhealthy foods we’re about to show you, that are unfortunately very common in our modern day diet, will hinder your progress and slow down your results, wasting valuable time and effort.  

Here are the 3 worst foods to avoid in your six pack abs diet if you’re looking to get quick results.

Sugar sweetened drinks 

you probably saw this one coming. Sugar sweetened drinks like sodas, sports drinks and juice are packed with sugar, making them high in calories. Sugar sweetened drinks are linked to increased weight gain and accumulation of belly fat (7). Which will slow down fat loss and reduce ab visibility.

while they aren’t the best choice, they can have a place in your six pack abs diet, if consumed sparingly and within daily caloric and macronutrient limits.

Refined grains

As we mentioned above, refined grains are grains which have been stripped of most of their nutrients in order to improve taste and texture. These include: white rice, bread and pasta, among others.

Refined grains are high in carbohydrates and lacking many nutrients compared to whole grains, like fibers, vitamins and minerals. Making them little more than empty calories. 

Replacing these refined grains with their whole grain counterparts has also been shown to result in enhanced weight loss, and lower blood pressure. Making them the clear better option if you’re looking for some carbohydrates in your diet.

Fried foods

Fried foods are everywhere you look nowadays. french fries, fried chicken, and onion rings have become a staple of many people’s diets.

The problem with these fried foods is that they’re high in calories and trans-fat, With trans-fat in particular being more harmful, as it’s strongly linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes (8).

A 2007 animal study on monkeys even found that trans-fat intake resulted in extra weight gain and increased belly fat, even with no increase in the amount of calories consumed (9).

Conclusion

For most people, when it comes to building abs, it all boils down to losing fat and building muscle through proper exercise and nutrition. But the biggest challenge when it comes to getting visible abs is nailing your diet. Which means eating the right type of food that will give you the most nutrients for your buck. 

In that regard some foods are far better than others. 

Foods like Proteins, Whole grains as well as Fruits and vegetables provide a large amount of key nutrients for very little caloric cost. On the other hand, foods like sugar sweetened drinks, refined grains, and fried foods offer very little nutrients for their expensive caloric cost. Making them a poor option for anyone looking to build muscle without gaining fat. 

If you want to get abs quickly, check out this article for how to get abs in 60 days, including a full training and nutrition plan.