Once you reach the age of 40 and beyond, it becomes increasingly important to maintain a healthy body fat level and be as lean as possible. For some people building new muscle is still an important goal, but the majority of men over 40 are mostly interested in losing their gut, getting abs and building a nice-looking lean, athletic physique with a decent amount of muscle, without the extra bulk common among fitness models and bodybuilders.
Visceral fat, which is fat stored in the abdominal cavity is also known as “active fat”. It’s dangerous because it is related to the release of proteins and hormones that can cause inflammation and it can have potentially dangerous consequences.
Visceral fat can cause metabolic disturbances and increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In women, it is also associated with breast cancer and the need for gallbladder surgery.
Carrying extra visceral fat will make you feel a lot slower and sluggish, besides the unavoidable effect of making you look unattractive. However, if you are over 40 you need not despair. There’s still time to get rid of that belly and achieve the physique of your dreams.
Lots of men in their mid-to-late thirties think they’re too old to show off their abs and that getting a six-pack was only reserved for younger men in their twenties. But that’s simply not true. Getting abs after 40 is not only impossible, but very doable. In fact getting in shape, getting abs and building a nice looking athletic body knows no age. All you have to do is follow a well-designed training program and eat a diet comprised of healthy whole foods.
You might even succeed without spending money on useless supplements or following a low-calorie diet. One of the worst things a man over 40 can do is restrict his caloric intake, carb intake, or eliminate dietary fat. Carbs and fat are crucial for keeping your testosterone levels high, feeling satiated, and being able to follow a fat loss diet without losing your marbles downstairs.
Talking about testosterone, here is a natural guide to help you bring your testosterone back to normal levels.
So, considering all of the above, what foods should you be eating to get yourself the much-desired six-pack? Well, first of all, you should be eating a diet having a balanced ratio of healthy lean proteins, complex carbs, and essential fats.
Any food in its natural state brimming with all kinds of vitamins and minerals is a safe bet that your body will use it to function optimally.
Below, are some excellent examples of foods you should include in your diet to get six-pack abs. They’re broken up into proteins, carbs, and fats.
The foods you need to eat to get abs after 40
Protein
- All types of fish, for example, salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardine, sea bass.
- Chicken breast
- Turkey breast
- Pork tenderloin
- Lean beef
- Cottage cheese
- Eggs
Carbohydrates
- Oats
- Whole grain rice
- Whole grain pasta
- Potatoes
- All kinds of vegetables
- Fruits
Fats
- Coconut oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Nuts and seeds
- Nut butter
- Avocados
The lists above contain just a few examples of the foods you should be consuming regularly, whilst keeping your caloric totals in check. Even the most high-quality foods will make you overweight if you eat too much of them, so always make sure that you’re in a caloric deficit.
If you don’t keep an eye on your total calories you consume during the day, it won’t matter how much training or cardio you do, you still won’t lose weight.
As previously mentioned, consuming carbs and dietary fat is very important for men over 40 since it helps them keep their testosterone levels high. If you’re a man over 40 and you want to get a six-pack you’ll need to know exactly how much fat you need to lose.
You can do that by purchasing some body fat calipers. They will help you measure your body fat percentage quickly and accurately by taking a single pinch of your waist and comparing that measurement to a chart displayed on the packet.
It should be noted that scale weight is not something that gives a definitive assessment of your current situation. For example, two men (or women for that matter) of the same height and weight can look entirely different depending on how much body fat they carry.
If one man has 20% body fat and the other has 10%, that’s a difference of nearly 20 pounds of fat even though the scale shows the same total weight for both of them.
Once you’ve determined how much fat you need to get rid of, you can then start a diet that will have you losing 1-1½ lbs of fat every week until you reach your desired goal.
Of course, this won’t happen overnight, however, if you eat the foods that we listed above and keep track of your daily caloric, carbohydrate, and fat intake regularly, results will inevitably come. In addition to proper nutrition, a solid strength training program is crucial to ensure you’re eliminating fat, not muscle.
How many meals a day you need to get abs after 40 ?
There is a widespread belief that eating smaller meals more often throughout the day would “rev up” the metabolism and ultimately lead to losing weight and getting lean. However, the fact is that science is still inconclusive about this and what we can say for sure is that it’s not the number of meals that you eat, but the total number of calories you consume during the day that matters.
This means it doesn’t matter if you ingest your calories over 2,3 or 6 meals. If you consume slightly fewer calories than what your body burns during the day, you will still lose weight.
The main benefit of eating fewer bigger meals is that it has a great effect on testosterone and growth hormone production. When you haven’t eaten for a longer period and then eat a huge meal, it’s been shown that testosterone and growth hormone production is increased by as much as 200%.
This goes especially for men over 40 who would surely benefit from increased testosterone production and increased fat loss. Not to mention the time you will save that you would otherwise spend preparing small meals every day.
