<p>Want guaranteed abs? We&rsquo;ve got the answer. Follow these directions to the letter.</p>

- Sean Hyson, C.S.C.S

If it’s a flat belly, a better all-around diet, and a stronger heart you’re after this year, we’ve got you covered (see our “Lean in 2016” feature on page 68). But if you’ve got an even bigger goal in mind—like, say, a truly diced midsection (we’re talking Brad Pitt in Fight Club, or our current cover guy, Matt “Magic Mike” Bomer, in basically everything he does), you need a slightly more—OK, much more—stringent approach. “Seven percent is as lean as you’d ever want to be,” says John Alvino, a nutrition coach in Morristown, NJ, who works with bodybuilders. So, if you want to get cover-model-worthy abs, you’ll have to be willing to think about food purely as fuel and regulate it with precision. Follow these four steps.

STEP 1

DETERMINE YOUR MACROS

Nobody gets a 7% body by accident, unless he’s a genetic wunderkind or an athlete. To do it, you’ll need to track the foods you eat closely and make sure you’re getting the right amounts of each macronutrient (proteins, carbs, and fats). 

To start, multiply your current body weight by 12 to determine the number of calories you should eat. So, if you’re 180 pounds, start eating 2,160 calories daily. If, however, you’re very overweight— as in, your belly hangs over your waistband—calculate your calories with the body weight yo

This story is from the January - February 2016 edition of Men's Fitness.

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