With everybody trying to search for instant fitness results, it's little surprise that one of the most popular searches on Youtube is 'how to get a six pack in 3 minutes'. However, not everything is too good to be true. Today you'll learn how to lose weight and develop your abdominal muscles quickly with five basic, proven diet principles.

Naturally, the rate of progress you should expect depends on your starting point. Common sense should tell you that if you have a lot of weight to shed then you should not put yourself down if you aren't in Sylvester Stallone shape in just a week or two. []

You may have heard the following expression. Abs are developed in the kitchen not in the gym. In order to see the fruits of your hard efforts in the gym you will need to adhere to a few 'rules' with regards to your daily diet. Are you ready?

1. Lower your daily calorie intake.

2. Get your macronutrients in check.

3. Don't cut your favorite junk foods from your diet.

4. Drink water regularly.

5. Use HIIT to elevate fat burning.

Let's begin with a calorie deficit. This basically means eating less than you do at the moment. Most people lie to themselves about how much food they eat during the course of an average day, so in order to work this out properly it would be wise to record a food diary over three days. Then simply operate on slightly less calories from now on.

In order to really make the most of that new calorific deficit, however, we should ensure that not only are you getting fewer calories but they are also coming from superior sources than they used to. This means getting your intake of fat, protein and carbohydrates worked out correctly. Simply aim for 40% of your calorie target from protein, 40% from carbohydrates and 20% from fats. The '4-4-2' system is time tested and simple to follow.

Stage three is where things get tricky for most folks. If you go down the road of cutting out all of your favorite junk foods and unhealthy meals then you will more than likely fail to reach long-term success. This is because you'll not enjoy your diet. Remember, this is not something you're going to do for a couple of months before switching back to an unhealthy lifestyle. No, this is a lifestyle change. Use your favorite unhealthy foods as rewards for sticking to your new diet. By treating yourself every few days you will stick to your plan for much longer.

Next we look at how much water you drink. Or should we say, how much water you don't drink? Most people get nowhere near enough. Tea, coffee and juice doesn't count. Aim for 6-8 glasses per day. []

Rule five is the final point because it needs a little bit of explaining. Rather than spending hours in the gym pounding on the treadmill, bored out of you mind, try using high intensity interval training. Not only are the fat burning benefits far better than regular cardiovascular exercise, your workouts will become far more fun too.

Here is a quick session to attempt right now:

* Full Leg Raises.

* Torso Twists.

* Twisting Crunches.

Try doing all three exercises for 45 seconds and aim for no rest in between, other than the short time it takes you to transition between each move. Once you finish a round take 30 seconds rest and go again. Three rounds would only take seven minutes, but the results would far outweigh the time investment.

So, before you stress about how to lose weight or spend money on products which claim to yield miracle results, take some time to apply the strategies you have picked up today. Sure, it might not be able to show you how to get a six pack in 3 minutes but then again, you want something which actually works, don't you?