Spring is here and summer is closing in. If you haven't started ramping up your fitness routine, now is the time. Even if your summer abs still have some hibernation girth, it's not too late to rev up the metabolism and melt away the flab.

I know you want to hear about what revolutionary abdominal exercises will shred up your core, but doing endless amounts of crunches and sit-ups are only useful for enhancing abdominal strength and have very little to do with bringing out ripped, summer abs.

Instead, focus on these key points; that go to show, abs are made in the kitchen.

1. Watch Your Sodium

Sodium does not affect body fat directly, but it does influence water retention and the overall health of an individual. In turn, this can detour one's body away from metabolizing body fat and shift it's priorities towards flushing out excess fluids. Remember, you wouldn't drink seawater, would you?

Eating out, or having too many cheat foods often transpires into sodium bloat, which for some can be an instant four to twelve pound weight gain within a 24 hour period. This is clearly not good for you, but it is also not the look you are going for.

To solve this dilemma, establish your own sodium homeostasis. Keep sodium moderate and always know the values of sodium and its derivatives (especially in frozen foods). Whether it's foods or seasonings, keeping track of sodium and doing your best to avoid a rapid fluctuation is in your best interest for summer abs.

2. Avoid Processed Foods

Most people purchase processed foods because they are cheap and convenient. However, not only do these foods lack necessary nutrients, they can cause one's body to become insulin resistant. Meaning, eating packaged goods, cereals, candy and other processed carbohydrates causes insulin to be released and blood glucose to spike. If this becomes to frequent and insulin spikes are too high, one's body becomes insulin resistant, leading to weight gain and Type Two Diabetes.

To avoid this travesty of modern foods, go back to the basics. Whole foods, such as quinoa, sweet potatoes and brown rice, provide the perfect blend of energy and nutrient rich complex carbohydrates. As well, finding the right ratio and portions of these whole foods will rev up one's metabolism and ignite body fat.

3. Do You Really Need Dairy?

There's a reason why dairy is excluded from the healthiest, lifestyle diets. Paleo, Vegan and most clean diets exclude dairy because of a large majority of civilization having natural allergies and intolerances to dairy. This causes an inflammatory response that can detour weight loss and promote weight gain.

Personally, I was a huge advocate of dairy and lived by it for most of my life. It was not until I excluded dairy from my diet that all my digestive issues vanished and so did an excess 20 pounds! As well, I have had clients experience the same exact physical changes.

One needs to ask themself, "Do I really need dairy?" There are countless calcium, vitamin d and protein substitutes. With all of this available, one should definitely give it a try if not convinced. Sure, there are studies for both sides of the argument. However, most of the pro-dairy studies are funded by dairy, FDA or USDA, basically all lobbyists for dairy.

4. Manage Your Calories

When hydration and nutrients are on par (while avoiding food intolerances, sodium, sugar and processed foods) fat loss comes down to a numbers game. Finding your caloric allowance for weight loss can be the game changer everyone needs for consistent fat loss. Odds are, if you are not sporting your summer physique yet, you are not there yet (keep this in mind while having at least five meals a day, every two to three hours apart).

So, making periodic calorie drops and adding the occasional cheat meal can keep you metabolism interested in fat loss. Literally, a metabolism that is used to a monotonous meal plan is less likely to give up fat stores then an active metabolism.

5. Are You Getting Enough Fiber?

Fiber is a crucial component to weight loss because fiber offsets hunger while slowing the release of carbohydrates into the body.

To make sure fiber is an adequate part of every meal, use this formula from the Institute of Medicine. For men 50 and younger, 38 grams of fiber is necessary, every day. For men older than 50, 30 grams is necessary. For women 50 and younger the number is 25 and 21 grams for women older then 50.

Great sources for fiber are raw fruits and vegetables.

Unfortunately, just like Rome, summer abs are not built in a day. Be sure to practice these steps consistently and routinely for optimal results.