Excerpt: 'The Abs Diet Get Fit, Stay Fit Plan'

Jan. 3, 2006— -- Dave Zinczenko's book, "The Abs Diet," was a hit that inspired videos, magazine articles and a Web site where people shared their success stories. But all workout programs need to be modified in order to continue to produce results, which is why Zinczenko has added a third book to his "Abs Diet" series -- "The Abs Diet Get Fit, Stay Fit Plan."

You can read the introduction from "The Abs Diet Get Fit, Stay Fit Plan" below.

Time for a Change: You Have to Make Up Your Mind If You Want to Make Over Your Body

Change, they say, is good for us.

But like most everything else that's good for us--cough medicine, fiber supplements, the programming on PBS--change can sometimes be a little hard to choke down. The grown-up world is an unsettling place, and when we find a comfort zone--in our jobs, in our relationships, or in our sofas and easy chairs--we like to stay there.But the most comfortable place isn't always the healthiest place.

Sixty-two percent of Americans today are overweight or obese. And most of us who struggle with our weight would like to make a change. But change has always been hard.

Until now.

When I developed the Abs Diet in 2004, I did it with that very thing in mind: I wanted people to change. I wanted to start a program that would inspire people to eat better, live healthier, be leaner, and develop stomachs flatter than a plasma screen TV. And that's really what the Abs Diet is all about. It's about changing the way you eat, and the way you think about nutrition and exercise. It's about changing your body--and your health.

And here's the amazing part: It's easy.

If you read the success stories of the people featured in this book--as well as the original Abs Diet and The Abs Diet Eat Right Every Time Guide--you'll find one common theme. The people who lose fat with the Abs Diet say it isn't a diet. It's a change in philosophy, a change in lifestyle, a change in a healthier, leaner direction. I've read the stories of so many men and women who've written to tell me how the Abs Diet has changed their lives: contributing more energy, lower cholesterol numbers, smaller pants, and a more powerful sex drive. The Abs Diet is not only changing America's bodies--it's changing our lives.

What most people find so amazing about the Abs Diet is its simple nutritional principles.

The Abs Diet is built around 12 delicious food groups--I call them the Powerfoods.These 12 Powerfoods will make you over faster than those guys from Queer Eye. (You can read more about the principles of the Abs Diet and how the Powerfoods will work for you by turning to Chapter 5 of this book.) But the right diet is only so effective. If you truly want to make over your body and your life--if you truly want change--you need to unleash your body's real potential with the secret ingredient found in this book: exercise.

Now, hold on, hold on. Remember what I said at the beginning of this chapter: Change is good, but sometimes it seems hard. Well, listen, while the idea of changing your body through exercise seems hard, it isn't--at least, not when you incorporate the principles of the Abs Diet Get Fit, Stay Fit Plan.

For example, I bet the first thing you thought when I mentioned exercise was, "I have to burn off calories in the gym." Well, guess what? You're wrong. The Abs Diet Get Fit, Stay Fit Plan isn't about burning calories in the gym. In fact, let's go back to that comfort zone, the sofa, the easy chair. How would you like to burn off life-altering quantities of calories while you're lounging in your recliner? Or, how about while you're lying in bed? Driving your car? Checking your e-mail? Eating?

That's what this plan is designed to do: to train your body to burn calories all the time, everywhere, even while you're at rest--heck, even while you're asleep. The key is to reset your body's metabolism, to teach it to burn more calories, all the time, not just when you exercise. And you do that by building muscle. Not governor-of-California muscle. Not Rambo-covered-with-leeches muscle. Just lean, firm, powerful muscle that fights fat even while keeping your body safe from injury.