Shockingly, this may not just be for attention.  A friend of a friend was doing 1000 situps a night to get the 6 pack... or at least she told me that he was.    Back when I was still naive and stupid, I offered to help him lose weight and get in shape if he wanted.  He of course said yes, quite enthusiastically... until he found out that my "secret" to looking good was eating healthy and working out hard 4 days a week.  Suddenly he lost interest in my help... Fats, always looking for a magic pill or easy answer.