How To Have 3 Kids And Six-Pack Abs

Okay folks, so last day Holly Rigsby from ClubFYM.com and I were discussing the most effective methods for overcoming oddly shaped abs after pregnancy. It’s a fairly common problem amongst women, and Holly tackled it head on with some great advice. Check it out here.

But what if you’ve had 3 or 4 kids…is there still a chance you can have those flat and sexy, six-pack abs?  Well, let’s hear what Holly has to say, shall we?

****************************

Craig Ballantyne: Just kind of a general question here. Two specific questions came in.

1. Is it possible to have a six pack after three kids?

2. How do you tone your abs after pregnancy, especially after several in a row?

It’s kind of a general question after we’ve talked about these very specific issues and I know you’ve probably covered the general strategy for this, but is there maybe 3 to 5 rules that are common across everything that we kind of talked about, kind of summing up all the great information that you’ve given so far?

Holly Rigsby: Oh, heck yes. I will say that yes, it ABSOLUTELY is possible to have six pack abs after three kids. I’m like, “This sounds like a really familiar story,” because I’ve posted on my blog a couple times about moms who have three children who now have six pack abs.

When it comes to six pack abs it truly is a matter of setting a goal that allows you to burn excess body fat. You know this, you want to lower your body fat and you know how to do this. I’m not going to keep repeating myself. But, we get the exercise part, it’s the eating component that is the DIFFERENCE MAKER in turning flat abs into six packs abs.

While it’s very easy to think that we do eat right, we must be willing to take it to the next level if you want to see more definition in your abs. If we’re talking six pack here you have to understand what type of goal you need to set. Not only measuring where you are right now, but setting that goal of understanding that six pack abs are going to be achieved when you get your body fat in the mid to lower teens.

Once you get under 20 percent that’s when you’re going to see the top portion of your six pack. When our body loses fat from the top down, and that last little bit to go is going to be around the belly button or lower area. So, the lower your body fat percentage is the more definition you’re going to see in that area.

It’s a matter of, and I’ll say this as ONE OF THE RULES, make sure that you’re eating enough.

A lot of women think, “Hey, I’m going to reduce my calories to be able to see six pack abs.” If you’re at the point in your fitness plan where you have flat abs and you’re pretty darn fit you’ve got to make sure that you’re eating enough to fuel your body to be able to burn more fat, because cutting calories is just going to cause your body to go borderline starvation mode and it’s not going to let go of that last little bit that’s preventing you from seeing the true definition.

So, making sure that you’re eating enough.

Just for an EXAMPLE, I personally do not eat anything less than 2,000 calories and typically more than that. I’m 5’ 4”, 115 pounds and on my Facebook fan page for Fit Yummy Mummy I had posted my Bahamas bikini ready results where I was able to really cut some definition into my abs. I did that by telling you everything that we’ve done today.

It was really cleaning up what I was eating, but making sure I was eating enough.

This is where JOURNALING is a must, because you’ve got to identify the foods that you could swap out for cleaner eating and eliminate the foods that are going to hold onto fat, such as sugar, processed foods that are loaded with chemicals that are going to hinder your results, artificial sweeteners, and those top two food groups that I talked about before, breads and dairy, especially pasteurized milk, a lot of milk products.

It’s so funny, because when I do my research on this stuff I’m like, “Dairy and fat loss or belly fat.” Every single article that’s online talks about how dairy is good for you to lose more belly fat and that’s just contradictory advice. It’s a matter of going through the elimination diet and seeing what a difference it can make to be able to cut that last little bit off of your abs.

The best way to approach EATING FOR SIX PACK ABS is to plan all of your meals around protein and produce.

Produce, of course is your fresh fruits and vegetables. Your protein is lean meat, fish, eggs, nuts, beans, some dairy, because of the way that it is processed it does not hinder the belly fat to be burned. That would be like Greek yogurts or organic cottage cheese. Once again, making sure that you’re eating enough, making sure that you’re eating every three to four hours.

When you follow this type of plan it’s allowing you to:

• Get the protein that your body needs to help burn more calories
• Boost your metabolism
• Build muscle so your body has that fuel
• Get about 10 servings of produce a day, which not only keeps you energized and satisfied so you’re not turning to junk food that hinders your ability to burn more fat, but it’s cleansing out all the bloat in your belly in addition to providing the fat burning effect.

Since your body has the nutrients it needs to create a healthy metabolism. I always tell the ladies a healthy body is going to burn more fat than an unhealthy body. So, that being said, taking a good quality multivitamin is also essential.

Going along with all this, obviously, women give up way too easily, way too quickly. You’ve got to STICK TO THIS. When I hold my challenges or I’m helping Fit Yummy Mummy get started on the plan I make it very clear that you’re going to re-measure once you’re four to six weeks into the plan. That’s just the start.

Then you’re going to reassess your goals and see what you’ve learned about your body and what you’ve been able to achieve, and then set new goals for the next four to six weeks. This is a process and it takes time, especially when we have these problem areas and we want to see things change, we want to see definition, we want something very noticeable.

Sure, our skinny jeans fit and everybody else is giving us compliments, but when we look in the mirror we’re looking through a filter and our eyes go right to our problem areas. It’s important to take those BEFORE PHOTOS, and I know Craig, you talk about that all the time. This is so essential to take those before photos, because as you’re making those changes you can’t see them day to day.

After four to six weeks if you take those before and afters and you’re like, “I see improvement. I see a difference.” Then you want to continue to see that difference, and that’s where your commitment to being consistent with the plan is so essential. Don’t give up after two weeks. Don’t give up if you had a bad day or a setback. Get right back up and keep applying what you know works.

We keep telling you each and every day, “This is what works.” It’s all a matter of staying consistent with it and you will be so pleasantly surprised when you look back and say, “Wow. I’m glad I followed their advice.”

Craig Ballantyne: Alright, cool. A lot of great advice there Holly, thanks.

Let’s finish off the interview where in part 6, Holly reveals just how much time you really need to lose fat, and how you, as a busy mom, can do it!

If you’d like more information about this or anything Holly has covered over the past few days, then you can go to ClubFYM.com.