Question about Abs Diet

Hey everyone. I try to eat a very healthy diet. When I eat at my dining hall at school, one of my staples is the salad bar. I make these really good salads with spinach, kidney beans, chick peas, onions, broccoli, and hummus. I really liked eating this because I could make a gigantic salad for not too many calories and it included "abs diet" foods: spinach, beans, chick peas, broccoli, hummus.

However, the reason I am now on the verge of boycotting my salad is because it not only makes me horribly bloated but it also seems to cause trouble with regards to my bowel movements. Due to the gassy side effect and the bloating, how are these foods then staples of the abs diet? I agree that they're healthy, but I want my stomach to look toned and flat, but it seems that the side effects of eating these foods is doing the opposite. In fact, I read an article yesterday about how if you want a flat stomach, you should CUT OUT raw green vegetables and beans because of the bloating effect (not because they're bad for you). How then are these foods staples of the abs diet?

http://www.absdiet.com/uof/absdiet/flash_eret /bullseye.html

The ABS diet is BS.  Washboard abs are a function of two things and two things only - Hard exercise and low body fat % - and surprisingly probaby more the second than the first.  No special diet will change that. 

You are probably bloated and gassy because your body is not used to eating that volume of roughage.   I would definitely not stop eating it as it sounds delicious and very healthy, just slow down a bit and let your body adjust a bit better.  The bloating is temporary, don't worry about it.   Same with the bowel movements, it just takes time for your body to adjust.  Same thing happened to me when I started eating healthy and it will correct itself in time. 

The reason those foods are on your abs diet is probably because they are highly nutritious and relatively low in calories, provides protein etc.   I would assume the the abs diet encourages you to lose weight/body fat, and work your tummy, but you can do that with any diet.  Shoot for a goal of overall healthy eating, then just adjust your calories and exercise routine to get where you want to go.  It'll work...trust me...lol..

Sounds like a very healthy & delicious salad.  You might was to take some charcoal or bean-o with it though? 

Definitely don't add eggs!  lol

Original Post by johnnypenso:

The ABS diet is BS.  Washboard abs are a function of two things and two things only - Hard exercise and low body fat % - and surprisingly probaby more the second than the first.  No special diet will change that. 

A special diet can't change your body fat %? huh? diet is the most important factor in lowering body fat. 

Sully, no a "special" diet cannot lower body fat %.   EVERY diet lowers body fat percentage, given enough calorie deficit and enough exercise to maintain your metabolism.  To think that because something is called the "ABS Diet" and therefore is somehow a good diet for one particular muscle group for some reason, is marketing, not science. Someone is selling a concept, a dream , not a reality.  No diet in the world will help one particular part of your body, it just doesn't work that way, so in that sense, it's a scam, the same as targetted weight loss.   Any diet will help your abs... 

So, a 'special diet' doesn't lower body fat, but every diet lowers body fat? Even if 'every' diet lowerd body fat (which isn't even close to true) that would make a 'special diet' not actually a diet? if it isn't a diet, then what is it?

Who said the Abs diet targeted any particular muscle group? From publishers weekly via Amazon.com:

"Eat everything. Concentrate on whole grains. Drink milk. Balance protein with carbohydrates. Avoid processed sugars. Do some exercise. The idea that a diet book making such proposals comes as a pleasant surprise shows just how far afield we've gone in the search for new ways to be fit. The only thing new about this diet by the editor-in-chief of Men's Health is its name, and this, one can presume, is because nowadays, a book simply called "Sensible Eating" wouldn't sell. The book's title is indeed misleading; only the final chapter deals solely with abs. The rest is full of rational recommendations for a realistic diet plan: eat more and smaller meals; have oatmeal in the morning for a nourishing breakfast; don't starve yourself; drink plenty of water; and stay away from sodas and foods that contain high-fructose corn syrup. Whether readers will, in the end, walk away with abs of steel is not really the point. They'll control their weight in a healthy way, without counting calories, cutting out whole food groups or supporting the beef futures market. Best of all, this book tells readers why it works: increase your body's metabolism, gain some muscle and fat burns away. The authors make this seem like a fresh and very attainable ideal."

You're right, recommending whole grains and protein, and cutting out processed foods and sugar definitely sound like BS.

Sully, I think you're taking his statement and twisting it. I think he was saying special diet as in a fad diet and if the OP ate sensibly as suggested here on CC, then the same thing would happen. That's how I interpreted it. Did you find a fly in your oatmeal this morning?

The only thing the Abs diet really does is makes sure you're getting fiber, which you should be doing anyway under any nutrition plan.  If you're not used to the added fiber, you may experience bloating and difficult stool.  However, like johnny said, it's probably temporary.

You may want to ease into it more slowly and make sure you're getting enough water...