The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Meal Plan: The Secret to Losing Those Last Six Pounds: A Plant-Based Nutrition Program and Recipes

The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Meal Plan: The Secret to Losing Those Last Six Pounds: A Plant-Based Nutrition Program and Recipes

by Ella Magers
The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Meal Plan: The Secret to Losing Those Last Six Pounds: A Plant-Based Nutrition Program and Recipes

The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Meal Plan: The Secret to Losing Those Last Six Pounds: A Plant-Based Nutrition Program and Recipes

by Ella Magers

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Overview

An Energizing and Delicious Vegan Meal Plan for a Strong and Lean Body

Ella Magers has the perfect solution for those stubborn last six pounds and it doesn't involve logging hours and hours at the gym. Ella's unique formula for weight loss is made up of nutrient-dense, calorie-light, whole plant foods. She has created an effective, easy-to-follow six week plan for shedding body fat fast. Not just another fad diet, this program is designed to kickstart a vegan lifestyle and efficient workouts, without the calorie counting or "rabbit food" label!

Ella offers a six-week plan of action, from all your meals to snacks, treats and workouts, designed to whip your tummy into shape! She provides delicious and healthy recipes such as the Beet This! Smoothie and Muay Thai Zucchini Noodles, along with grocery lists and tips and tricks for vegan food prep. The supplemental workout plan is intense, yet balanced, and features exercises such as burpees and plank variations for full body; assorted types of pull-ups and push-ups for upper body; and a squats and lunge medley for the lower body. The cross-training focuses on select areas and alternates with cardio on some days and yoga on others.

Shed those last few pounds through this nutritious lifestyle by embracing the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs plan and see why it's not about dieting; it's about eating according to your goals!


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781624141591
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Publication date: 12/15/2015
Sold by: Macmillan
Format: eBook
Pages: 208
File size: 29 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ella Magers has been on the fitness scene for over 12 years. With certifications in Personal Training from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and Wellness Coaching from the University of Miami, Ella strives to help others achieve a compassionate and healthy lifestyle through all things vegan. She was named one of America's 50 Hottest Trainers of 2014 by Shape magazine. Ella has been featured in publications such as Prevention, Ms. Fitness, Modern Bride and can be found blogging at SexyFitVegan.com.

Read an Excerpt

The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Meal Plan

The Secret to Losing Those Last Six Pounds: A Plant-Based Nutrition Program and Recipes


By Ella Magers, Grace Dickinson, Michael Reh, Anthony Gaston

Page Street Publishing Co.

Copyright © 2015 Ella Magers
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-62414-159-1



CHAPTER 1

WHY THE PLAN Works


Now that you've gotten to know me a little better, I'm sure you're curious to find out what the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan entails, so let's dive in! The majority of our focus in this book will be on diet. Why? It's simple. You can't outrun your fork. What I mean is, no matter how much you exercise or how hard you train, you'll never get the results you want unless you are eating the right foods. Ready for this? You have to jog over two miles (3.2 km) to burn off the empty calories in one, grab-size bag of potato chips ... Ouch!

The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan is here to guide you through six weeks of eating clean and green, without sacrificing the flavors and textures of foods you love. Take a minute to visualize yourself six weeks down the road, pounds lighter, feeling better than ever. How motivated will you be then? Especially when you love what you're eating and how it makes you feel!

Whether a plant-based diet is new to you or not, embrace the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan as a life-changing challenge. It's not about dieting; it's about eating according to your goals. If losing those last few pounds of body fat is your goal, healthy plant-based eating is the path that will get you there and keep you there more effectively than a diet that includes animal products. The results make it well worth the discipline it takes to stick to the plan.

The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan is designed to carefully guide you toward your goals with structure and support. Remember, you're creating permanent, positive changes in your body and health! You've already made the first huge step — caring enough to pick up this book and start reading! It's important to give yourself credit for each and every step you make in the right direction, starting right here, right now.


What We "Will Do" and "Won't Do"

In a nutshell, the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs diet consists of nutrient-dense, calorie-light, whole plant foods. Let's take a look at the basic principles of the plan.

Here is what we WILL do as part of the diet:

• Increase the amount of nutrient-dense foods we consume.

• Eliminate refined sugars from our diet.

• Decrease the amount of processed foods we eat.

• Eliminate animal products and bi-products from our diet.

• Eliminate dietary cholesterol and trans fat from our diet.

• Decrease the amount of saturated fat we consume.

• Decrease the amount of processed grains in our diet.

• Listen to our bodies and use simple techniques to control portion size.

Here is what we WILL NOT do as part of the diet:

• Calorie count.

• Replace animal products with empty-calorie foods.

• Replace animal products with highly processed foods.

• Feel hungry all the time.

• Overeat high calorie plant foods.

• Beat ourselves up if we "mess up."

Understanding why the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan works is a must for you to make the commitment and stick to it. The basic principles are surprisingly simple!


The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan works because it is:


Comprised of Nutrient-Dense Plant Foods

Why does having a diet filled with nutrient-dense plant foods make such a difference? Eating foods that have a high nutrient content per calorie make it possible for you to give your body what it needs in the most efficient way possible. Think of it as getting more bang for your caloric buck! Your body needs good calories, filled with essential nutrients to thrive. When you start to give your body these essentials, your body will say, "I'm finally getting everything I need! Now I can let go of the extra body fat I was clinging to!" That's precisely when your body transformation will begin.


Low In Simple Carbohydrates

The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs diet is void of processed sugars and relatively low in grains. The grains that are included are nutritious whole grains that provide you with needed energy. Although fruits are sometimes considered simple carbohydrates, when eaten whole or blended, the fiber in the fruit allows you to utilize the sugars in a healthy way. They are extremely nutrient-dense and provide you with helpful energy that your body will crave during the day, especially when you are training hard throughout the week!


Calorie Light

As I mentioned before, we will not be counting calories. Why is that? With this plan, there's no need! By following the basic guidelines, the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs diet is lower in calories than the Standard American Diet by default. Significantly lower! The calories you do consume are quality calories. We are simply cutting out empty and harmful calories, filling our bodies with more nutritious calories, and voilà, our body fat drops!


Void of Chemicals, Additives and Preservatives

The chemicals and preservatives found in the majority of products on the grocery shelves today have harmful effects, both short and long term. Artificial sweeteners confuse your body, causing sugar cravings that can really throw you off your healthy track. They can also affect brain chemistry and cause the release of insulin into the blood stream. For many people, artificial ingredients can also create digestive problems. Additionally, artificial sweeteners over time may slow our metabolism. Not worth it! Chemicals, additives and preservatives are simply no good and don't have any business in our bodies so we stay away from them as a rule.


Satisfying

The meals on the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs menu are both delicious and satisfying. The food is flavorful with a variety of textures that can help satisfy cravings (we will talk about cravings a little later). The meals are also high in fiber, which helps you feel full but does not sit "heavy" in your stomach, a feeling many people experience with meals high in meat and animal bi-products. Secondly, you won't get bored with the menu from one day to the next. The wide variety of foods, flavors and preparation techniques used will keep your taste buds interested and happy. Don't worry, the meal plan goes way beyond "rabbit food"!


Effective at Increasing Your Metabolism

Starting the day with a nutrient-packed breakfast kick-starts your metabolism. Many people skip breakfast, which has a detrimental effect on your metabolism for the rest of the day. Your body goes into "starvation mode" and does its best to preserve fat ... the very thing you don't want! This plan is structured to support an increase in your metabolic rate so that you are burning more calories more consistently, causing your extra body fat to drop.


Simple, Convenient and Customizable

The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs diet takes into consideration that most people are in need of a plan that fits their busy lifestyle. Not many of us have time to spend hours in the kitchen these days (nor do many of us want to!). The recipes on the menu are easy-to-follow, and the meal plan provides simple suggestions to save you time throughout the week, making your life as easy as possible. Following the simple guidelines and using the sample six-week meal plan to steer you down the right path, you will come out on top!


The Exercise Component

By focusing on diet, I'm in no way saying exercise isn't important. It absolutely is! Developing a strong, well-balanced musculoskeletal system is a fundamental component of basic health and well-being. Exercise also plays a key role in maintaining a healthy weight. And on top of it all, strong is sexy!

An effective exercise program that strengthens your muscles and bones, and improves your cardiovascular system, is an essential component of looking and feeling your best for years to come. The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan includes an efficient and effective workout regimen designed to sculpt strong lean muscles while shedding body fat. Your success in achieving the body you want is contingent on your commitment to following the recommended diet. Remember, you can't outrun your fork!

In this day and age, most of us have access to convenient places to exercise, whether it's the gym down the street, at a park around the block or even in your own living room. There are also tons of choices when it comes to classes, trainers and exercise videos that can help guide and motivate us to work out. I'm here to encourage you to take advantage of all the resources available to you that will help you maintain an active lifestyle. I support you in finding the types of activities that not only challenge you, but also bring you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

The workout regimen in the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan is intense and highly effective. It's designed to burn body fat and gain lean muscle to help you get those cut abs you desire in the shortest time frame possible.

Commitment (yes, that dreaded word!) to both a workout schedule and eating plan is required to successfully change your body. Think about it though ... our commitment to exercise is only about one hour per day. What about our commitment to nutrition? We have 24 hours every day in which we must commit to making healthy food choices. Not only that, we are also overloaded with different information about what we should and shouldn't put in our mouths. Your trainer might tell you to try the Paleo diet, while your doctor tells you to lower your fat intake. You then read that a low carb, gluten-free diet is the key to losing weight. Who do you listen to? How do you even begin to get motivated to make changes when you don't know what the right changes are?

The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan gives you a structure to follow. A plan that will give you results quickly and start the motivational snowball effect. Once you experience even a little bit of change in the right direction, your motivation level automatically increases. You find yourself inspired to get to the gym and cook a healthy meal. You will be on a roll in no time! All you have to do is commit and give it your all. We're talking six weeks out of a lifetime here — you got this!


Added Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet

While looking good naked may be the most outwardly obvious benefit of a healthy, plant-based diet, there are countless other reasons to go vegan. Knowing these other reasons can be added motivation for sticking with the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan, so let's take a look at these added benefits now.


Prevent Disease

Whole plant foods are the most powerful weapon we have to fight disease! A plant-based diet can prevent, treat and even cure many diseases, including our top killers, heart disease and cancer. Looking at diet as our drug of choice instead of prescription medications, and understanding that more time in the kitchen now can result in less time in the hospital later, is key!


Improve How You Feel on a Daily Basis

There's a long list of potential ways you will feel better daily on a plant-based diet. You can experience a better overall mood, clearer skin, improved digestion and bowel functioning, better sleep, enhanced performance, increased concentration level ... shall I go on?


Save Animals

It's sometimes easier to feel motivated to help others even more than helping ourselves. This can be especially true when it comes to our furry friends. The conditions on the factory farms where the vast majority of farm animals are raised and killed are horrific. Eating a plant-based diet means doing your part to stop the appalling treatment of innocent creatures. Watching a video that exposes the practices that take place inside factory farms is an effective way to stay on track with your eating when you start to waiver!


Preserve the Environment

The environmental impact of raising animals for food is devastating. In fact, eliminating meat from your diet is the single most important contribution you can make to help preserve our planet. The greenhouse gases that are produced from livestock have a far more expansive impact on ozone depletion than all transportation combined. Massive amounts of natural resources are used to raise the number of cows it takes to feed just a handful of people. If these same resources were used to raise the plants that are fed directly to people, there would be no food shortages. There are plenty of informative documentaries on the topic. I encourage you to check them out and become informed on the facts that have been hidden from us for years!


Motivation and Mindset for Success

Before you begin the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Plan, we need to get you set up to succeed! You are a unique human being and your specific needs and desires are different than any other person in the world. Developing a mindset that will keep you motivated for the next six weeks and beyond is critical. It's all about preparing for a positive experience! The answers you come up with to the following questions will empower you to find the motivation you need to change those old, stubborn, bad habits and form new good ones that will serve you better! Take some time now to write down your answers to each question. Having your answers written out on paper is essential to your success. Reviewing your answers daily can keep your mindset in success mode throughout the entire six weeks!


1. What are your goals?

In order to succeed you must have a vision of what success looks like. This takes goals. Take a minute now to write down your goal(s). What difference do you want to see six weeks from now?

2. What is your driving force to change your unhealthy habits?

When it comes to change, part of the process involves understanding that in order to change, we must be uncomfortable! It's not easy to be uncomfortable, and that's why we often fall back into old, bad habits — because they are comfortable. No more! What is your driving force for change? What is it that will make this time be different than attempts at change in the past? Identify those reasons now.

3. What is your "Personal Power Statement"?

I encourage you to develop phrases, or mantras, that you can turn to when you are feeling challenged. I call them personal power statements. It may seem silly at first, but it can really work! You can have one or multiple statements for different situations. The idea is to empower yourself when you begin to slip into a victim mentality, which we all do at times. Here are a couple I use:

"It takes only one person to change my life. Me! I have the power!"

"Everything I ever wanted is on the other side of fear. Fear is not going to stop me, I can do this!"

"I'm not on a diet ... I'm eating according to my goals. I will reach my goals!"

"This too shall pass."

"What others think of me is none of my business!"

"Letting go is the key to happiness."

4. Who will make up your support team?

Being proactive in putting together a support team is a must. The people that surround you can be a great help or a hindrance. Talk to your coworkers, friends and family ahead of time about the journey you are embarking on for the next six weeks. It will make your life easier if your coworker stops offering you a bagel with cream cheese in the mornings! You will find that many people will be inspired by what you are doing and even want to join you! In addition, find support from people with experience living a healthy plant-based lifestyle. Social media and online chat rooms are great for this! There is such a vast wealth of support online from organizations and individuals who are passionate about eating clean and green!


What to Expect

Let's touch on what you can expect during the six weeks you are on the plan. First off, everyone reacts differently, both physically and mentally, to the dietary changes you're about to make. There are a ton of different factors that can come into play, many of them having to do with what your diet has consisted of up until now. Are you already highly plant-based or are you a meat-eater ready to take on a challenge for change? Are you a cheese-oholic? What about a sugar addict?

If your body is accustomed to a diet heavy in animal products, sugar and/or processed foods, it's going to get a bit of a shock. A good shock — but a shock nonetheless!

Some people feel better almost immediately. The "heavy" feeling they carried around daily vanishes and they feel lighter and more energetic. Their digestive system welcomes the high doses of plant food and begins to function better right off the bat.

For others, there is more of an adjustment period in which the body must detoxify from years of a diet high in toxins. This is quite the task! It sometimes leaves people feeling achy, irritable and crappy for a few days, sometimes even a couple weeks. It's important to realize that this is a possibility before you begin the Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Meal Plan because these symptoms could feel completely defeating if you are unaware of the reasons behind them.

Cravings are often a concern — understandably! Cravings are tricky. Sometimes they come from a place of food addiction. Just like when a drug addict goes through withdrawal and craves their drug of choice. Think of sugar as a drug. In fact, it's been said that sugar is more addictive than heroin! Bottom line, the cravings you may get during the plan may be caused by withdrawal and have nothing to do with what your body "needs."


(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Meal Plan by Ella Magers, Grace Dickinson, Michael Reh, Anthony Gaston. Copyright © 2015 Ella Magers. Excerpted by permission of Page Street Publishing Co..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Contents

Title Page,
Copyright Notice,
Dedication,
FOREWORD,
INTRODUCTION,
CHAPTER I WHY THE PLAN WORKS,
CHAPTER II THE SIX-WEEK PLAN OF ACTION,
CHAPTER III MAINTAINING YOUR SEXY FIT ABS,
CHAPTER IV TOOLS & TIPS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER,
APPENDIX,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS,
INDEX,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR,
Copyright,

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