Are you ready to burn off some serious “down to the last pound” weight?

Well, I want to share with you a reliable and simple diet plan that I use to help take my abs from looking good to looking “crazy cut” in just a matter of weeks. Some of hardest weight to try to lose isn’t the 20 lbs that got you seriously working out. Actually, it’s those last 5-10 pounds of subcutaneous fat—you know the layer of fat that seems to have permanently made a home on your abs—that are really going test your drive and will.

(Photo: theaverywatts)

To turn your body into a fat burning machine is no easy task. But the good thing is that once you’re close to your last stages of your goals you can knockoff the last wee-bit of fat blurring your abdominal muscles in just a matter of weeks.

The only sucky-thing about getting so close to your goals is your body has pretty much adapted to every other thing you’ve thrown at it. What this means is you’re really going to need to be ready to push yourself like never before. Your level of commitment has to be a lot higher when executing this diet.

Finding 6-Pack Success With This Simple Diet Plan

Do you know how many calories you’ll need to burn off each week? When you’re aiming to shred the fat off it’s important to eat below your maintenance calories on a daily basis. Everyone has different caloric needs and activity levels, so there’s no single formula that will represent the masses.

Luckily, there’s an easy method to figure out how many calories you need per day. You don’t have to have your better half walking into the room to find you scratching your head and tapping away at a calculator. A ton of serious math isn’t required. Actually, there’s a pretty easy method to figure out your daily calories: just eat as if you’re maintaining your target weight.

So, for example, if you weigh 190 lbs and want to get down to 180 lbs you can eat around 8 to 10 calories per the 180 lbs, which is your goal weight.

With a quick look at the math:

8 x 180 = 1440 calories per day

10 x 180 = 1800 calories per day

The best way to make sure you find success on a low-cal diet is to skip the 5-6 meal-a-day approach and opt for getting just 2-3 meals per day. If you’re eat often it’s actually pretty hard to make sure you’re not eating too many calories. The strategy I’ve found to work best is to drink a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, and then have a regular meal for dinner.

Real Fat Loss Means Real Work

Making this simple diet plan the cornerstone for heading into the last stage of your goals is a great way to close the gap on any plateau you might be trying to overcome. In just 2-3 weeks, depending on hard-as-bricks you are, you can get to damn-low fat levels and make the abs looks sharp as hell.

Most people will probably last about a week before breaking down and start raiding the fridge. And that’s okay. This diet isn’t forcing you to give up your favorite foods. I wouldn’t expect you’d want to live on protein shakes for the rest of your life. The objective is to last for as long as possible on this plan for rapid fat loss. It’s meant to help you on your workout follow through.

Are Two Protein Shakes Enough Each Day?

There are regular old protein shakes that you drink after a workout, and then there are meal replacement shakes. The latter is designed to keep you fueled for longer periods throughout the day. It’s these meal replacement shakes that help you keep the calories down on this simple diet plan.

The reason you can’t stick with just a regular protein shake is because it’s missing a few important components that you’d normally get in a regular “food” meal. Yes the protein will certainly be there, but your body also needs the right amount carbs (as an energy source), and other nutrients a post-workout drink just won’t be able to offer.

The typical makeup for both breakfast and lunch shakes should contain a 2:1 ratio of protein to carbohydrates. I normally prefer products that use Whey Isolate protein as the base, but regular Whey will work just as good. As long as you get enough protein to help prevent the loss of lean muscle then you’re going to be fine.

If you want to make your own meal replacement shakes at home here’s an easy to follow video that’ll guide you with all you need to use for some awesome results.

How Big Should the Final Meal of the Day Be?

You don’t want this last meal of the day to kill the entire effort you’re put into this simple diet plan. It doesn’t need to be super strict and low-cal—so you can have some fun with it. Yet, don’t go out and eat an entire pizza by yourself.

Where most people will probably go wrong on this diet is they will assume since the calories are low throughout the day they can slack a bit on this later feeding. You don’t get free-license to go gorge on what you’re craving just because you’ve managed to stick with the program during the day.

A meal I like to close out my day with is a simple tuna salad, using a heft serving of an organic spring salad mix, a bit of olive oil, garlic and black pepper. Simple, yet it’s satisfying. You could pair this meal with a complex-carb side dish, or not. That’s up to you, and if you have a rumbling stomach.

There aren’t any cheat meals here. But if you’re feeling a craving coming on have a glass of water. You can try a cup of coffee too. I drink my coffee black, no sweeter, and with a dash of cinnamon for flavor.

Make Sure You Don’t Miss Those Workouts

What’s the point of hitting your diet hard but not back it up by sticking your your workout routines?

If your wondering how to apply this simple diet plan so you can get the maximum results from your workouts here’s my typical workout schedule:

• I wait three hours after the breakfast shake to working out, and then drink the lunch protein shake an hour later…

or

• I wait three hours after your lunch shake to workout, and then have dinner an hour after you finish your routine.

The main idea behind either of these two workout approaches is to start each session in a fasted state. This helps speed up that fat loss. Also, if you wait an hour to eat after an exercising you’re going to get the right amount of HGH release, which will help you maintain muscle mass and help you stay leaner for longer periods.

My “day job” schedule is usually in constant flux, so I’m forced to plan out my workout routines ahead of time. Not that it’s a bad thing. Staying on top of your workout plan  should be like second nature if you’ve made exercising a lifetime habit.

This simple diet plan will do more than help to combat the fat loss sticking points that have kept you from getting your abs ripped. If you use this strategy just a couple times a year, like right before summer vacation, you can make sure you’re looking lean and mean all year long.

About the Author

Hey! I'm Mitch, and I've setup this blog to prove anyone can get in shape without needing a gym fee. Each article is drawn from my own experiences, expert trainers and bestselling fitness authors. Please feel free to chat me up on Facebook, G+ and Twitter. Also, I do reply to every comment...so drop me a line down below.