That's the thing...I haven't tried to get abs.
It's a side effect of metabolic conditioning
and an endurance workout once a week.
I enjoy the lifestyle of eating whatever and whenever I want.
I don't care to count calories; did that for years. That doesn't mean
I eat fast food or junk food, pop, or candy, etc. I eat whole food but
I also eat out at restaurants often. Sometimes I'll eat a whole box of
donuts (my only sugar fix besides gatorade during my workout).
Cheesburgers, pizza, and tacos are always in my diet.
So what I'm saying is for not trying for abs and eating a surplus of carbs
and fats, I have some decent abs showing and I attribute that to my
conditioning (3x/week) and my endurance workout (1x/week).
Of course I'm conscientious and I know when I've had too many fats or carbs
and I'll cut them down or out in the next meal or two. But I never count cals
and I rarely deny a pizza, cheeseburger, or taco.
Then again, if I was trying to be a legit bodybuilder (in the past), it would be a different story.