What Supplements Will Help Me Get A 6-Pack?

Hi,
I have always been in good shape, but recently, I have wanted to try and get a 6 pack (therefore decrease body fat) but try increase muscle elsewhere also. For the past month, I have been training strength and cardio and eating healthy, and am making a lot of progress. My question is what supplement to take: These are the two I was looking at - EAS 100% Whey Protein or PURE PROTEIN IGF-1. I would take the supplement after training, and perhaps as a snack some time during the day (before training) or at night before bed. Which supplement do you recommend? Would either of these supplements help me to reach my goals? (lower body fat percentage (6 pack) and increase muscle / strength?) Dave S.

Dear Dave,

I know it's tempting to believe that some pill or powder will make it easier to achieve your admirable goal of a 6-pack, but the only thing that's really going to get you there is exercise to build and define those muscles.

In fact, even body builders who are aiming to put on pounds of muscle can only realistically gain about a pound of muscle each week: Surprisingly this works out to be less than 25 grams of protein per day that needs to be increased in the diet. You can get this amount of protein in 2 glasses of milk + an egg, or 3-1/2 ounces of lean meat, or 3 cups of rice--okay, maybe that's a pretty big serving of rice. The point is, it's not difficult to get the nutrition you need in a fairly typical diet, balanced with servings of meat, dairy and other protein foods like eggs and beans.
A lower fat diet may help you trim fat off your exterior (be sure and include at least 10% of your calories from fat to meet the minimum needs for essential fatty acids and other healthy fats). But extra protein taken in that your body can't use for muscle building will itself turn to fat. It's like pouring extra gas into your tank, hoping you'll be able to get better mileage--it just spills out onto the pavement: extra protein is used in your body for energy (4 calories per gram) and if you don't burn it all off it gets stored for later use (as fat).

In general, eating 6 small meals per day will help your body take best advantage of using all the calories you feed it. You don't need anything special, or in any special order. There's no evidence, for instance, that you should have meat at breakfast time or that you shouldn't eat after a certain hour in the evening. Any bedtime snack you enjoy will do, whether it's cheese and crackers, a sandwich, or a bowl of cereal. If each of your small meals is relatively low in fat and contains protein, you'll be full enough to last until the next one without getting too hungry before then.

There aren't any supplements I would recommend that are proven to build muscle and burn fat. Your body's appearance also depend on your genetics. Some people can work out certain muscles every day and never get to where they want to be. Since you say you are already seeing results, I would say it sounds quite promising!