Does having a 6 pack abs show one of your fitness goals? Well, you are not alone.

Many guys and gals want to show off their hard work in the gym by having that wash board of a mid section. Forget the latest fad diet, all of the pills, powders and portions that over promise and under deliver.  While it is not an easy thing to obtain, it is totally doable.

Here are my 6 Steps to a Sizzling 6 Pack

1. Make nutrition a habit

Regardless of what you are trying to achieve, if you are not choosing the right amounts of the right foods, you will never see those well defined muscles that make others envious. I recommend my clients to start grocery shopping wiser.

Buy at least 80% of your food from the outskirts at the supermarket.  Those foods are whole foods with little to no preservatives. They are nutrient dense and generally cost less than buying a cart full of processed foods. Once these foods are taken home, you must follow the next step

2. Food Prep

Creating a meal plan for the whole week is another massive step towards seeing those awesome abs. The key here is what I call, “Food Batching”.  You want to cook all your of foods at once and store them in air tight containers. By doing this, you can store them in the fridge and freezer when you need them for the upcoming week. You can easily make 10-20 meals all at once, thereby saving you copious amount of time.

3. Portion control

It is often overlooked by many people because it doesn’t sound super sexy. By controlling your portions in your meals when you are batching your meals, you can ensure that you won’t overeat or under eat for your goals. Many people believe that as long as they are eating the right kind of foods, they can eat as much as they want, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You can easily sabotage your goals by eating too much of a good thing. So measure out your foods when you prepare them so you are aware of how much you are eating.

4. Its the little things that matter most

Watch out for small food and beverage items that may seem innocent, but can tally up quickly at the end of the day. There are many little seemingly insignificant foods that we rarely consider. For example, foods like jams, jellies, spreads, syrups, granola, sugar, butter, cooking oil, juices, alcohol, etc. Add these calories to your food journal and watch how fast they add up! If you truly want to see those abs pop, use these empty caloric foods very sparingly.

5. Keep a food journal

This has become an easy way to make sure you are meeting your daily amount of calories and nutrients by using an app like My Fitness Pal. My Fitness Pal is a free and easy way to ensure you are keeping yourself accountable to your goals. By recording and tracking your macro nutrients, this is also a great way to see how many calories are in each of the meal you consume.

6. Don’t give up

There will certainly be times when you slip up or feel like quitting all together. My best advice for this is to stay the course and never give up. Life has a way of getting in the way of our goals so don’t feel bad if you have to take an extended break from your clean eating habits.  Just make sure you get back on the horse and don’t stop working towards your goals. You will always be glad about everything you did.

Try implementing these strategies to your current fitness regimen and soon you will start to see those 6 pack muscles that are hiding within that nice layer of insulation. Remember that what you do consistently is a habit. This is where excellence lies.