Here’s how to eat your way to fat-free abs.

More often than not, the abs are obscured by a layer of fat that ranges from half an inch to 20 inches or more! The culprit? Poor diet. Most people are working out vigorously, but the fat on their abs is obviously not going away no matter how many sit-ups they do. The way of obtaining great abs in just plain misunderstood. You could keep doing ab work, but no matter how much muscle you build under that layer of fat, it’s going to play hide and seek for the rest of your days unless you improve your diet.

With all of our favorite junk foods available and addictions, no one wants to hear that diet is the cornerstone of anything. The familiar statement that we are what we eat is absolutely true. Tending to our diets should be our number one concern. A lot of fitness experts claim diet is 75 percent responsible for how we look, regardless of our workout schedule. Maintaining a good diet regularly may even alleviate the need to work as hard in the gym, some say. But, just imagine, 75 percent success from diet! That means the five-mile run we do every other day and the 40-minute resistance-training routine we do four times a week don’t matter half as much as what we put into our mouth. Sadly, we don’t always make the best choices in spite of our good intentions with regard to diet. So much of what we eat is overproccessed that even finding quality whole food is no longer easy. But, that’s really the key: eating a balanced diet of quality, whole foods. The more processed the food, the further away we get from having that chiseled midsection, let alone good health.

Here’s what you need to know to have great looking abs:

- What gives.

Diet is what gives. So, while working the abs may aid in their overall appearance and the conditioning of the midsection, without a low body-fat level seeing them is impossible. Unfortunately diet is the only way to have both aesthetics with condition. Doing a thousand crunches per day is great for the abdominal wall and, while it isn’t ever a waste of time, those efforts will never appear to pay off until the diet is in order.

- Understanding the elements of diet.

Diet can be a very individual matter. Not everyone responds in the same way to a diet of egg whites, chicken breast, oatmeal and protein powder. Certainly not everyone’s tastes are suited to a diet like that. The essential ingredient of any successful diet is balance. A diet consisting solely of chicken breasts and egg whites, while more healthful than a diet of snack cakes and soda, is no more balanced. Finding the proportion of macronutrients that is right for you is the key to success--not only in seeing your abs, but also in achieving great health and overall conditioning.

- We need protein, carbohydrates and fats.

* Protein is the lifeblood of tissue. Without protein we’d all waste away. It’s responsible for cellular division and production, the regeneration of cells and functions, and sustaining our daily lives. Protein is also closely linked with metabolic function and therefore becomes a strong ally in any diet which may restrict calories or fat or both.

* Carbohydrates are also crucial to sustaining life. They are the brain food of choice. Having a good balance of carbohydrates in the diet is essential to proper nutrition and bodily function. Carbs aid proteins in protein synthesis at the cellular level, and can feed new and existing cells. In fitness today many people keep starchy carbs low in the diet because they spike the blood sugar, stimulate the release of insulin and cause fat to be stored. In place of starches bodybuilding and fitness athletes keep the balance by eating fresh vegetables and low insulin-producing carbohydrates such as oatmeal.

* Fats, despite what people are preaching, are good for you--the right kinds of course. A diet devoid of fat can cause ill heath. Our bodies need fat in order to maintain healthy skin, hair and nails, and to keep our internal organs well oiled and running optimally. Avocadoes, almonds, olive oil and flaxseed oil supply essential fatty acids. Using these foods in balance with the other macronutrient groups will promote fat loss rather than stifle it.

- Eating right.

* Proteins(choose four to five daily)

4oz. Of turkey breast, chicken breast, tuna, halibut, extra-lean beef.

3 egg whites + 1 yolk

2 scoops low-carb whey protein(5 grams or less of carbohydrates)

* Carbohydrates(one daily before 2 p.m.)

½ white potato, ¾ cup brown rice, ½ cup white rice, 1 yam/sweet potato, ½ cup cooked pasta, 1 cup peas, black beans or kidney beans

Vegetables(at least two or three servings daily)

2 cups of any steamed green vegetable except peas(including broccoli, green beans, spinach, kale, zucchini or cabbage)

* fruits(one serving daily either berries or melon)

Berries: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries(¾ to 1 cup)

Melons: cantaloupe, honeydew(1 cup)

* Grains(one serving daily)

Oatmeal(1 cup cooked), Amaranth flakes(no sugar)(¾ cup)

* fats(3 servings daily)

½ avocado

20 almonds or walnuts

1 tbsp. of flaxseed oil(not capsules!), olive oil, canola oil, peanut butter(natural, no sugar), almond butter, cashew butter

- The right stuff.

So now you have the diet components that support most of your energy needs and provide you with the ability to either lose or gain weight. Diet is the single most important factor in looking your best and having those abs show. You’ll also need a sound abdominal training program. Experts recommend that you train the abs at least three or four times per week. During that time try to do one workout using straight sets, one workout using supersets and one using giant sets. Vary the intensity and maintain this pace for a couple weeks. Once you start seeing those pounds disappearing, you can increase your calories while keeping your aerobic work constant. When you hit a stride with your metabolism and diet, decrease your cardio slightly but still maintain the volume of food you were eating. The key is to make sure your metabolic rate increases sharply.

- Spot reducing a myth?

It’s mainly true. When you work an area repeatedly, however, the tone you achieve underneath whatever fat is present can often create the illusion of leanness. The denser the muscle becomes, the more it presses up against the skin whether your body fat level has changed or not. Keep working for overall condition, even if you can’t yet see those abs quite yet.

The most important factor in creating a midsection to die for is diet. All the hard work in the world will never bring your abs to the surface until the fat layer is gone from your stomach. The good news is, in combination with training and cardio, a good diet works!